Sermons found for the topic Pride

Will the Real Sinner Please Stand Up? - Jonah 4

You’ve got a Nineveh in your life right now. Your Nineveh might be someone you love whose behavior has provoked you to the point of anger and bitterness. Nineveh ultimately stands for any part of the will of God that you are afraid to face. More

Lord, Please Change Me! - Romans 12:2

Knowledge alone will not save us and knowledge alone will certainly not change us. You’ve got to do something with the knowledge you have. More

When Jesus Comes to Church - Revelation 2:1-7

How easy it is to substitute knowledge for a warm heart toward Jesus. How quickly we justify our hard hearts by pointing to all our well-intentioned religiosity. More

Sleeping With the Enemy - Revelation 2:18-29

You can have the cheap thrills of the world and feel sick to your stomach the next morning. Or you can have Jesus now, a new life now, forgiveness now, real pleasure now, and you will one day rise to shine like the Morning Star. More

Church of the Living Dead - Revelation 3:1-6

The Sardis spirit overtakes us whenever we begin to take God’s gifts for granted. How quickly we can become the Church of the Living Dead and not even know it. More

The Church Christ Prefers - Revelation 3:7-13

Jesus wants his churches to be motivated by love, founded on the truth, strong under pressure, and unashamed of his name. More

How God Pursues Prodigals, Part 1 - Jonah 1:4-17

The people of the world can do without our sermons, but they can’t live without our prayers. And if they get our prayers, they might one day listen to our sermons. More

How God Pursues Prodigals, Part 2 - Jonah 1:4-17

If you’ve been running, here is some good news. It is never too late to stop running from God. More

Bad Manners at the Dinner Table - Galatians 2:11-14

We need an infusion of God’s love to make us open in our friendships, open in our churches, and open on Sunday morning to new people who love the Lord but don’t fit our particular target group. More

The Year of Good Riddance - 2 Corinthians 2:5-11

Maybe we should make 2010 a Year of Good Riddance in which we say farewell to anger, bitterness, blaming, finger pointing, self-justification and a critical spirit, and ask God to grant us a fresh infusion of his grace in all of our relationships. More

The God-Dependent Life - 2 Corinthians 3:4-6

While living in this flesh, we face the same limitations as others do. We keep going because our confidence is on God, not in ourselves. More

Before the Rooster Crows - John 18:25-27

Peter’s fall proves that anyone can fall at any time so we should be warned. His restoration proves that God’s grace truly is greater than all our sin. Therefore, let sinners everywhere flee to Christ for forgiveness. More

Six Miles From Jesus - Matthew 2:1-6

Jesus stands at the end of life’s road for all of us. There can be no middle ground. The ultimate question is not how someone else responds but how you respond to Jesus. That’s really the only thing that matters. More

Inner Beauty - 1 Peter 3:1-6

What is inner beauty that lasts and how do we get it? In today’s quest for physical beauty amidst a burgeoning population of aging Boomers who are finding it difficult to reconcile the ravages of time on their bodies, surgical and non-surgical cosmetic procedures are seeing explosive growth in this country. This craze is not particular only to celebrities and socialites but now includes the rest of society who can afford the cost of the procedures. We all want to look good, but all external and applied adornments will fail sooner or later. The Bible puts forth a better goal of the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. There is power and value in this inner beauty that all women can acquire. Scripture gives us a solid example of such beauty in the Old Testament character of Sarah. She was a woman of recognized great beauty in her society but Scripture credits her with a greater inner beauty of character that was more commendable and precious to God, described in First Peter, chapter three. Here, all Christian women are called to be “daughters of Sarah,” to emulate her lasting beauty of character quality and attitude. Ultimately for women, the beauty of eternal value is like that which Jesus demonstrated in his submission to and hope in God, in doing what is right without giving way to fear. This is true beauty in God’s sight. More

The King Who Went Crazy - Daniel 4

God deals with Nebuchadnezzar’s pride. Application: The moment you start taking credit for anything, you’re just daring God to come and smack you around. God won’t share his glory with anyone and he won’t sit idly by while we attempt to shove him out of the picture. If we choose not to listen to God, he turns up the volume until he has our undivided attention. More

God’s Graffiti - Daniel 5

Babylon became great because of the sovereign blessing of God. In their greatness they forgot about God and began to take him for granted. God judged them and they were no longer a great nation. In the end God judges that nations who forget him, and that judgment often comes at the hands of another nation God raises up for that very purpose. More

Empty on the Inside: How God Reveals Himself to Us - Acts 17:26-28

If you don’t know God, it’s not God’s fault. God has already done everything necessary for you to have a relationship with him. He created the world and then left his fingerprints everywhere. He even placed you where you are so that you would seek him. More

He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands - Daniel 4

The sovereignty of God is a mysterious doctrine because it brings us face to face with the problem of evil and free will. If God is sovereign, why is there evil in the universe? If man has free will, how can God be sovereign? Christians have debated these questions for centuries. Suffice it to say that God is sovereign and you are truly responsible for all the choices you make. Often we won’t understand how they work together, but they do. When we embrace this truth, we have the true freedom—and peace that comes with it—to stop trying to be God and let Him direct our lives. More

No Place for Pride - Romans 11:17-24

Tell them, Pastor Ray, tell them that nothing matters except Christ. The young people need to know this before it’s too late.” So said my friend Jim Johnsen on my visit with him in the hospital shortly be More

Why God Chooses Splendid Sinners and Lovable Losers - 1 Corinthians 1:26-31

When God chooses people for his family, he picks those the world considers losers. This means that imperfect people make excellent candidates for the grace of God. Since we are all imperfect, when we boast, let us boast only in the Lord. More

Overcoming Self-Importance - II Kings 5

This is the story of a soldier who met God. As we will see, this is one of those biblical stories that at first glance may seem rather remote from life in the 21st-century, but in the end proves the old adage that the More

How God Destroys Human Pride - I Corinthians 1:26-31

What sort of people does God look for when he gets ready to populate heaven? If heaven has an admissions committee, what qualifications do committee members look for? That’s not an idle question. We tell our you More

The Tower That Fell: Why God Stopped the Building Program - Genesis 11:1-9

"Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth” (Genesis 11:4).Think of it! A tower More

Deliver Us From Evil - Matthew 6:13

This petition reminds us of how weak we really are. We are sitting ducks for the flaming darts of the devil. Unless the Lord helps us, we will not only face temptation, we will succumb to it every single time. More

The Host Who Forgot His Manners: Christ Speaks to the Problem of Spiritual Pride - Luke 7:36-50

This text is one of the great short stories of the Bible. A Hollywood writer could turn it into a terrific one-hour drama on TV. You might call it “The Preacher and the Prostitute,” or you could call it &l More

Faithful to the Fallen - Luke 22:31-32

“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” Luke 22:31-32 This text gives us More

Blueprint for a Healthy Church - Romans 12:3-8

What makes a great church? We hear that expression often–"a great church"–but no one knows exactly what it means. How do you know when a church has truly become “great?” To begin with, humility, participation, cooperation and the exercise of the spiritual gifts are signs of a church that is healthy and on track. More

What God Wants For Christmas - Micah 6:6-8

There are only ten days left until Christmas. Have you done your shopping yet? Be careful, because there are some crazy people out there. Have you heard about this new doll called Tickle Me, Elmo? Every year there More

Sheep on the Right, Goats on the Left: The Final Separation of the Saved and the Lost - Matthew 25:31-46

My text describes an awesome event, the Judgment of the Nations, which takes place when Jesus returns to the earth to set up his kingdom. There are three reasons why this judgment must take place:1) Evil must be expos More

Paid in Full - John 19:30

Here is the gospel truth. Jesus died. God is satisfied. When Jesus said, “It is finished,” he meant it. Will you believe it? More

Song of a Slipping Saint - Psalm 73

“When we put our coming glory on the scales of eternity, the passing prosperity of the wicked amounts to nothing at all.” More

Press On! - Philippians 3:12-14

In the spiritual life, direction makes all the difference. True believers aren’t in heaven yet, but they aim their steps in that direction. More

How to Be a Leader People Want to Follow

To be credible means that you are believable. To be authentic means that you are genuine and real, not a fake or phony. Put the words together and a credible, authentic leader is someone who can be trusted because he is what he professes to be. He is the real deal, what you see is what you get. More

The God We Hardly Know

David Mains caught me off guard with his question. “If you had to grade your congregation on their knowledge of the Holy Spirit, what grade would you give them?”Up until that moment, the interview had gone More

Swimming Upstream - Romans 12:2

There are times when we need to see a familiar verse in a new way. The ESV translates the first part of Romans 12:2 this way: “Do not be conformed to this world.” Simple, clear and concise. But what exactl More

Changing Your Mind - Romans 12:2

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2).We would More

Father, Forgive Them

Here is part of an email from a friend:Do you have any suggestions for getting rid of bitterness? What do you do when you are dealing with a situation where you cannot go to the person and discuss the issue with them? More

In God’s Waiting Room: Lessons from the “Down Time” of Life

On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: ‘‘Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about” (Acts 1:4). Ha More

Getting Along With Cantankerous Christians - Philippians 2:1-4

Here is the text taken from The Message, a contemporary translation of the New Testament by Eugene Peterson: If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your More

Yet

What is it that you are waiting for from the Lord? What are you hoping for that you do not yet have? While you are waiting, don’t let go of that little word “yet.” It’s the difference between hope and despair because God is not finished yet. More

How Faith Works - Luke 7:1-10

The life of faith is inherently a life of risk. It is not for those timid souls who want to play it safe all the time. As long as we limit God to what we think he can do, we will never see anything great because our faith remains so small. But once we are willing to suspend our disbelief and renounce our skepticism, then and only then do we become candidates for a miracle. More

How God’s Will Can Mess Up Your Life in a Good Way - Luke 5:1-11

God’s will is always good, but it’s not always comfortable. And it’s certainly not predictable. What if God blew your categories and gave you success beyond your wildest dreams? What if he let you fail miserably so he could give you overwhelming success later? More

The Fool on the Hill: What the Cross Means to the World - 1 Corinthians 1:18-25

Some people are surprised to learn that in the beginning Christianity had no recognized symbol. In the earliest days Christians recognized each other by declaring “Jesus is Lord.” It took several generations for the cross to become the universal symbol of the Christian faith. Perhaps the cross is little more than a symbol to many people. Yet, it is much more than a symbol and has great meaning and significance. More

Judge Not! - Matthew 7:1-5

"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do More

The Life God Blesses - II Timothy 2:14-26

Almost five years ago we started sending free copies of my books to prisoners across America. Through a partnership with Prison Fellowship, we have distributed tens of thousands of copies of Keep Believing, What a Chr More

The Frustrated Fisherman: Christ Speaks to the Problem of Limited Vision - Luke 5:1-11

Occasionally I am asked how I ended up in the ministry. My close friends know that I come from a family with a background in medicine. My father was a surgeon and my three brothers are all medical doctors. There are n More

Only One Gospel: Why We Preach an Unpopular Doctrine - Galatians 1:1-10

Today we are beginning a brand-new sermon series on the book of Galatians. Whenever a pastor starts a new series, especially an exposition of a book of the Bible, it’s always useful to know why this book and why More

Risky Business: The Other Side of Christian Freedom - Galatians 5:13-15

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free” (Galatians 5:1a). What exactly is this Christian freedom that Paul talks so much about in Galatians? In order to help us understand the answer, I’d like to b More

Restoring the Fallen, Helping the Hurting: Two Ways You Can Serve the Lord - Galatians 6:1-5

We begin with a famous story from the early days of the Salvation Army. As the eyes of the nation have focused on the rescue and recovery efforts in New York City, the work of the Salvation Army has been easy to spot. More

The First Law: He's God and We're Not

This is the first sermon in a new series called “The Seven Laws of the Spiritual Life.” For the last few years I have been thinking about putting together a short list of the basic principles of the Christ More