Sermons found for the topic Sarah

The Blessing of a Believing Spouse - Hebrews 11:8-10

God may arrange things so that your faith bears vast fruit in the years to come. Your legacy will be most clearly seen after you have gone to heaven. Sarah never lived to see the world-changing impact of her faith in God, but we still remember her 4000 years later and honor her example. 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,” 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

A Tale of Two Women: Are You a Child of Promise? - Galatians 4:21-31

Almost all the commentators agree that this is the hardest passage in the book of Galatians. It's not easy to understand on a quick reading exactly what Paul means to say. Or perhaps more accurately, we know in genera More

Shall We Kill Our Children Today? - Hebrews 11:23

The amazing faith of Moses’ parents shows us the high value that God puts on children, including those children that are born in less than ideal circumstances. Christians love children because God loves children. Ours is true pro-family religion. More

The Incredible Journey - Hebrews 11:8-10

Our focus in this message is on the man we often call “Father Abraham.” Hebrews 11:8-10 tells how he obeyed God’s call at great personal sacrifice. It tells us what he did; more importantly, it tells us why he did it. And it clearly shows us that obeying God doesn’t always work out the way we think it will. More

What You Seek, You Find - Jeremiah 29:12-14

God uses the hard experiences of life to bring us to the place where our trust will be in him alone. Through those hard times, we learn to seek him and to rejoice even when life doesn’t make sense. More

By Faith - Hebrews 11:1-2

Faith is the law of the kingdom. It is “belief plus unbelief and acting on the belief part.” Every blessing of the kingdom is available to those who put their faith to work by “acting on the belief part,” moment by moment, day by day, one little step at a time. 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

What You Seek, You Find - Jeremiah 29:12-14

God uses the hard experiences of life to bring us to the place where our trust will be in him alone. Through those hard times, we learn to seek him and to rejoice even when life doesn’t make sense. More

God's Good vs. God's Best - Genesis 21:1-21

Have you every wanted something very badly and waited a long time for it to happen, only to discover that when it did, things didn't work out the way you thought they would? Most of us have had that kind of experienc 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

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

Death of a Princess - Genesis 23

Some years ago an artist painted a picture showing a mountain of skulls. At first glance all the skulls seem to be the same, but when you look closely you notice some writing on each skull. One said, "doctor," anoth More

When God Comes to Dinner - Genesis 18:1-15

Last Tuesday night I sat on the platform at the UIC Pavilion for the Say Yes Chicago campaign with Luis Palau. During the evening Luis told the story of an evangelist named Mordecai Ham who came to Charlotte, North C More

The Oldest Dad in the Nursery - Romans 4:18-25

Let's start off with a bit of historic trivia. Who is oldest mother in history? I'm going to give you four choices:Ellen Ellis Ruth Alice Kistler Murphy Brown None of the Above According to the Guinness Book of World 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

God of the Impossible - Genesis 17

J. Hudson Taylor, pioneer missionary to China, said these words: "There are three stages in any great work attempted for God: impossible, difficult, done." I was reminded of those words this week when I visited Bob More

Portrait of a Dysfunctional Family - Genesis 27

Although it is not a new word, most of us never heard the term "dysfunctional" until a few years ago. In the last decade, however, "dysfunctional" has become one of the buzz-words of this mixed-up generation. The dic More

God's Word Has Not Failed - Romans 9:6-18

For many people no question seems as puzzling as the problem of unanswered prayer. Why is it that some things we pray about are never answered? We could all spend hours remembering times when we prayed and prayed, o More

Dear Sarah: A Letter About Forgiveness at Christmastime

(A few days ago I received a letter that took over a month to finally reach me. It came from someone I have never met. Because of the unusual nature of the letter, I began to think about the question, "What does forgi More

How to Overcome Fear - Genesis 15

Genesis 15 has rightly been called one of the most important chapters in all the Bible. In it we discover the details of the Abrahamic covenant, which is the most important covenant in all the Bible. Hundreds of yea More

Keep Hope Alive

An old man and an old woman, childless for decades, are promised by God that someday they would have a baby. Abraham responds with total honesty. He laughs out loud at the Almighty. When Sarah hears the news, she laughs, too. How could such a thing happen? Twenty-five long years pass while they wait for God to keep his prom… More

Good, Pleasing, Perfect - 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).Bible translators han More

Why We Keep Believing - Hebrews 11:13-16

Because Christians are aliens and strangers on earth, we are destined to live and die feeling slightly (and maybe more than slightly) out of place. But we will not quit, give up or go back because our home is in heaven. We have expectations of something much better than anything the world has to offer. More

He's In Charge - So Relax! - Genesis 24

Nothing is more important in the life of the children of God than becoming fully persuaded that God does indeed lead his children on their journey from earth to heaven.Besides building your confidence in God, I also w More

Living by Faith in an Uncertain World - Hebrews 11:8-10

He must have been in a hurry to get home to see his family. That's the only reason his friends could think of to explain why Thomas Burnett of San Ramon, California changed his reservations and took an earlier flight More

Dancing With the Devil - Genesis 13

While most of you were eating Easter dinner my youngest son and I set out on a quick trip to Alabama. We journeyed back to my home in order to surprise my mother on her 75th birthday last Monday. It was the first ti More

The Ultimate Test - Genesis 22

Several times in this sermon series I have pointed out that a particular portion of Abraham's story is well-known to the people of the world. For instance, many people know about Abraham and Sarah leaving Ur of the C More

If God is Good, Why Do I Hurt? - Job 23:10

Of all the questions that trouble the people of God, none is greater than the question posed in our title. Sometimes it is asked in other ways: Why is there so much suffering in the world? Or why do bad things happen More

Prophet on the Run - 1 Kings 19:1-9

The Bible doesn't sugarcoat the truth about its heroes. It gives us the whole story, the good news and the bad news at the same time. When the Bible describes the great heroes of the Old Testament and the New Testamen 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

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

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). Hav More

Good News for Poor Performers and Splendid Sinners - Luke 1:5-20, 57-64

This afternoon I read a bit from Faithfulness and Holiness by J. I. Packer. The book consists of Packer's short biography of J. C. Ryle, the 19t5h-century Anglican bishop, and a reprint of Ryle's justly-famous book ca More

You Can Stumble But You Won't Fall - Psalm 37:23-24

"The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the LORD upholds him with His hand" (Psalm 37:23-24 NKJV).Since this is the final Su More

Who's in Charge Here? "I Believe in God the Father Almighty" - Various

All week long I've been thinking about the phrase "Father Almighty" and trying to decide what it really means. It's a fascinating question because the Apostles' Creed compresses the entire nature of God into just two More

Hope for Tomorrow: How God Keeps His Promises - Genesis 11:10-32

This is the 19th and final sermon in the series on Genesis 1-11 that we started in late April. Almost five and a half months later, we have come to the end. In bringing this series to a close, I feel as if I should co More

What Is Your Isaac? - Hebrews 11:17-19

From the story of Abraham offering Isaac, we learn that God calls us to yield our dearest treasures to him. Anything good can become an idol when it becomes too important to us. What is your Isaac? Are you willing to lay it down for Jesus’ sake? More

The Incredible Adventure Begins - Genesis 12:1-9

This morning we are beginning a brand-new sermon series. This series is brand-new in two ways. It is new to us as a congregation and it is new to me personally. Although I have been your pastor for nearly seven yea More

How to Make Peace with Your Enemies - Genesis 21:22-34

Slain Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin said it, "You don't make peace with your friends, only with your enemies." He uttered those words soon after Israel signed an historic peace treaty with the PLO in 1993. Ha More

In God's Waiting Room: Lessons from the "Down Time" of Life - Acts 1:4

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 1:4Have you ever h More

Who Owns Your Life? - Mark 8:34-38

My subject today—and for the next two Sundays—is money. Contrary to popular belief, most preachers don't enjoy talking about money. No matter how hard you try, someone is almost certain to misunderstand More

Four Women in Jesus' Family Tree - Matthew 1:1-16

You might call this text "The forgotten chapter of the Christmas story." It is a genealogy—a list of names, most of them unpronounceable. Because of that, this is a portion of Scripture that we tend to overloo More

Christmas Hope - Hebrews 6:18-20

This is Christmas Eve. Even though there is no command in the New Testament to celebrate Christmas, we happily join with millions of Christians around the world in remembering the birth of our Savior. "Joy to the worl More

Most Likely to Suceed - Judges 13

How long has it been since you were in high school? It seems like a thousand years ago to me.The point was driven home last Sunday when we ate lunch with two other families from the church. Around the table that day More

From Temptation to Triumph

Playwright Oscar Wilde once jokingly remarked, "I can resist everything except temptation." We smile when we read those words because they speak an important truth about the human condition. Temptation pays a visit More

WALK-THRU THE OLD TESTAMENT - Various

The Bible begins with FOUR GREAT EVENTS (Genesis 1-11) Creation Fall Flood Tower (Job?)In Genesis Chapter 12 God Called Abraham Ur of the Chaldees Persian Gulf Two Rivers Tigris and EuphratesFour People More