Sermons found for the topic Purity

Staying Pure in an X-Rated World - Various

(This particular sermon was a "tag team" effort where I preached the first part, and Pastor Bob Boerman preached the last part. I have added a conclusion beginning with the section called "Rise and Walk.")"The moment More

Create in Me a Clean Heart: A Serious Call to Sexual Purity

I received an email from a young lady I have never met. She happens to live in a country on the other side of the world. Because she reads my weblog, she felt like she could write and share her heart with me. This is More

Choose Life! - Deuteronomy 30:19-20

Whoever occupies the Oval Office for the next four years will make decisions that will guide our nation far into the future. Which way will we go? How should we make up our minds? This sermon argues that we should “choose lifeâ€� by taking our Christian convictions with us into the voting booth. More

Sleeping Together and Christ’s Global Cause

Why shouldn’t two adult Christians who happen to be divorced and have fallen in love—why shouldn’t they sleep together? That’s the question a man asked in an email. Here is my answer. More

Inner Beauty - I 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,â€� 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

Purity: Staying Clean In A Dirty World - Proverbs 5

This sermon is different, unusual, in that it is directed only to men. In 16 years as a pastor I have never directed a sermon only to to men, but I am this time. My heart has been heavily burdened on this subject. As More

The Tragedy of Double Vision - Matthew 5:8

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."This beatitude stands alone. It is unlike all the others. In many ways, this is the most unexpected thing Jesus ever said. It is not difficult to believe&mdas More

Abstain! - 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8

"For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality" (1 Thessalonians 4:3 New King James Version).There are not many things from which the Bible tells us to abstain. The More

Think On These Things - Philippians

Here is God’s prescription for believers trapped in unhealthy living: Think On These Things! Focus on the good, the pure, the true, the holy, the right, the lovely. Find those things that elevate the mind and think on them! Enthrone Christ as the Lord of your mind and your life will be transformed. More

Does Jesus Live in Oak Park? - Galatians 5:19-26

"Perfect what you have begun, and grant me what you have made me long for." Prayer of Anselm of CanterburyThis week I was reading a massive book by Donald L. Miller called City of the Century. Subtitled "The Epic of C More

Adultery in My Heart - Exodus 20:14

This is easily the most difficult sermon to preach in this series. It is also the hardest Commandment to deal with fairly. Perhaps I can illustrate. A few years ago a writer introduced a chapter entitled "The Devil More

Forward-Leaning Defense

"There is no victory at bargain basement prices." General Dwight Eisenhower"World War IV began in a long string of terrorist attacks, whose real nature went unrecognized until on September 11, 2001, huge billows of bl More

You Gotta Serve Somebody - Romans 6:15-23

We'll call him Bill, but it doesn't matter. He's been a Christian for three or four or five years. Although he comes to church, he's not very faithful and he doesn't seem very interested in growing in his walk with Ch 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 Curse on Canaan And the Problem of Racism - Genesis 9:18-29

It has been a long time since I addressed the topic of racism from the pulpit. The last time I devoted an entire sermon to this issue was in March, 1994. I am returning to that topic today because it is impossible to More

Is Marriage Really Made in Heaven? - Genesis 2:18-25; Hebrews 13:4

Since this is the first sermon in the God Speaks Today series, I thought we should answer a few key questions up front: More

Famine in the Promised Land - Genesis 12:10-20

"Smart people sometimes do some very stupid things." A few years ago Jim Warren shared a statement with me that a friend had shared with him. It goes like this. "When hard times come, we always have two choices. W More

Spiritual Warfare 101 - Genesis 14 / Hebrews 7

On Friday a friend called and asked how my week had gone. After I told him, he said, "You won't believe what's happened to me this week." First of all, he owed thousands of dollars in income tax that he hadn't expec More

Beyond Your Dreams - Ephesians 3:14-21

Pray boldly for spiritual strength, teaches Paul. God is faithful and we can trust Him. He is more than able to do even more than we ask.. Through prayer, we are filled with the Holy Spirit and grow spiritually, understanding the height, breadth, length and depth of Christ’s love for us. More

Do You Know What Time It Is? - Romans 13:11-14

Christians, do you know what time it is? The Apostle Paul tells us it’s time to wake up, put off the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. In light of the return of Christ, and the lateness of the hour, how should we then live? More

Renewing Your Passion - II Timothy 1

Today we are beginning a summer series from the little book of II Timothy. People sometimes wonder how pastors choose what to preach on. In this case, I feel like I didn't choose II Timothy; II Timothy chose me. Last More

A Tale of Two Brothers - Genesis 25:17-34

Several years ago Dr. Kevin Leman wrote The Birth Order Book. You may be familiar with that book because Dr. Leman is a well-known Christian psychologist and has been on Dr. Dobson's radio program a number of times. More

Obadiah: A Good Man in a Hard Place - 1 Kings 18:1-15

Ahab was angry and that wasn't good news. It wasn't just that he was having a bad day or a bad week or even a bad month. For Ahab things had gone bad for the last three years. That's a long stretch of bad luck, and it More

Snake Eyes - Genesis 3:1-7

"The literal Genesis record of supernatural creation is the foundation of the true gospel, the true doctrine of Christ, true evangelism, genuine saving faith, and of all the key aspects of biblical Christianity." "All More

Behind Closed Doors - Hebrews 13:4

There are times when a writer knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that he doesn't have to worry about getting the reader's attention. Certain subjects require no gimmicks, tricks or elaborate introductions. Some subje More

Len Hoppe—A Friend Remembered

I can't remember the first time I met him. I know it must have happened the first time I visited Calvary, months before I became the pastor, but the precise moment has passed from my memory. That little fact doesn't m More

Curing the Itch Mites

Ray: How many of you know what itch mites are? We had never heard of them until two months ago. Marlene: We learned all about itch mites when we hosted a wedding reception in Chicago for Mark and Vanessa who had gotte More

Why Good People Won't Go to Heaven - Romans 10:1-4

I'd like to talk to you about who goes to heaven. We all know that the Bible teaches the reality of heaven and the reality of hell. Jesus himself spoke of both places many times. All of us, I'm sure, would like to 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 before he died 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 well. David More

Samson and the Fine Art of Self-Control

In December 2004 I received an email that changed my life. Right after the tsunami that devastated Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and India, Ramesh Richard, a professor at Dallas Seminary, sent an email that contained More

Forever and Ever, Amen! - Matthew 19:6

Let's begin with a little quiz. What well-known television actor said the following? "To me the greatest Latin lover in the world was may Dad, who married my mother and was faithful to her until the day he died 55 y More

Do Not Neglect Your Spiritual Gift - 1 Timothy 4:14

Is ministry your Spiritual Gift? No man calls himself into the ministry or into local church leadership. A self-called man and a God-called man are two different people. One man thinks he’s qualified so he calls himself. The other man feels unworthy but responds to God’s call. If God has called you, rise up, go forth and serve the Lord. More

Why We Pray - Romans 15:30-33

A quarter-century ago, when we were living in the Los Angeles area, I attended an all-day seminar on prayer led by Warren Wiersbe. Those who know Dr. Wiersbe will not be surprised when I say that it was an extremely p More

Trouble in the Church! - Romans 16:17-20

Greet one another with a holy kiss … but don't go kissing everyone.That will serve as a useful summary of our text. Sometimes it's not what you say but when you say it that matters. Paul writes these stern word More

Love is Blind but Marriage is a Can Opener

Ray: It was a hot night when we got married. Late August in Phoenix, Arizona is always hot but by the time our wedding started, the temperature outside had cooled down to a balmy 97 degrees. Marlene: There weren&rsquo More

How to Handle Trouble in the Church

Some subjects require special justification by the pastor; others are self-evident. This one requires no justification. Wherever you have two or more people gathered in one place, you will have trouble sooner or lat More

How God Revealed the Ingratitude of My Own Heart - Romans 1

"Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused.” (R More

God's Multicultural Church - Romans 15:7-13

The term multicultural is much in the news these days. Politicians and social scientists use it to describe a certain approach to American society in which persons are treated in special ways depending upon their raci More

God's Scapegoat: "Buried" - Leviticus 16

"I believe in Jesus Christ ¼ who suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried." The Apostles' CreedThis is a sermon based on a word that doesn't seem necessary. We know Jesus died. We know he ros More

Always Springtime in Heaven: I Believe in Life Everlasting - II Corinthians 5:8

This is the final message in the series on the Apostles' Creed. When we started in January, there was snow on the ground. We end on a hot summer Sunday in July. Our church theme this year is "Back to Basics," and our More

Strangers in a Strange Land - I Peter 1:1-2

Today we are beginning a journey through I Peter. I encourage you to crease your Bible open to this little book because we're going to be here for several months. We're going to go through this epistle verse-by-verse More

God Guarantees Our Salvation - I Peter 1:3-5

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that More

How Your Life Can Change Those Around You - I Peter 2:11-12

"Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may More

The Crisis in the Catholic Church

THE CRISIS IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH by Ray Pritchard All of us, I am sure, have been shocked and saddened by the repeated revelations of serious sexual misconduct (and an apparent cover-up in many cases) by priests inside the Catholic Church. How should those of us outside that particular church respond? A recent editorial in… More

Justification: Not Guilty! - Various

Some of you may recognize the name P.P. Bliss. If you know evangelical music and hymnology, you may have seen his name in our hymnal. He was a man who served as a musical song writer and associate evangelist for the g More

Doing the Right Thing in the Wrong Way - Genesis 16

This week my friend David Puckett was in town. I have known David ever since our days at Dallas Seminary. After we graduated I took a pastorate in California and he entered a doctoral program at the University of Ch More

Anatomy of a Backslider - Genesis 20

One of the great proofs of the supernatural origin of the Bible it that it tells the truth about people. As you read the Bible, you will find that it discloses the whole range of human activity—including the da More

Passing the Baton - Genesis 25

All week long one question hung in the air. Would he or wouldn't he? Some said yes, most said no. The debate raged in a sports bars across America. He's America's fastest runner. But he didn't practice with the t More

This Same Jesus: The Blessed Hope of the Church - Acts 1:10-11

"They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ‘Men of Galilee,' they said, ‘why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Je More