Sermons found for the topic Spiritual Leadership

Take Me to Your Leaders - 1 Peter 5:1-4

In early March I preached on “Are You Prepared to Suffer for Christ?” from I Peter 3:13-17. After the final service that morning, a first-time visitor came up and thanked me for my sermon. In the course of More

Lessons Learned Along the Way

Shortly before Christmas Dr. David Olford called and asked if I would consider speaking in early January at an evening session of the Stephen Olford Center for Biblical Preaching in Memphis, Tennessee. He told me that More

Portrait of a Godly Pastor - Romans 15:14-21

In 1978 Michael Hart wrote a book called “The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential People in History.” In it he ranked the most important people in the history of the world, taking into account the peopl More

Praying for the Sick–Part 1 - James 5:14-15

If we pray at all, sooner or later we will spend time paying for the sick. Our prayers matter to him. Our prayers matter to the sick. When we pray for the sick, we are bringing God’s mercy into the hospital room and inviting the Great Physician to take up the case. More

Portrait of a Godly Leader - I Timothy 3; Titus 1

We begin with the words of Robert Cook: “There is no substitute for character. You can buy brains, but you can’t buy character.” When it comes to selecting leaders, nothing is more important than g More

What Elders Do

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Praying For the Sick - James 5:13-16

If you have read the title, you know exactly what this sermon is about. Praying for the sick is something we are all asked to do from time to time. It is certainly something that all pastors do every week. That fact a More

Our Name is Our Mission

Dr. Ray Pritchard gives the 2007 President’s Report on the work of Keep Believing Ministries. He explains the thinking behind the Keep Believing logo, reports on various ministry projects, and shares his dreams for the future. More

Servanthood: The Mark of Authentic Leadership - Various

Warren Bennis is an educator, a philosopher, an author, a scholar and a keen observer of the American scene. These are his words. “Leadership is a word that is on everyone’s lips. The young fight against i 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

Equal But Not Identical: Men And Women In The Local Church

In this day of social upheaval, many traditional views held by the Christian church are being questioned. Not the least important of these is the issue of women in ministry. During the past several decades, the femini More

This Must Be the Place: - Various

Seven times in nine years I have given a State of the Church address to Calvary Memorial Church. In my first message I quoted the famous words of Daniel Burnham, architect and author of The Chicago City Plan: “M 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

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

The Tragedy of Open-Minded Christianity - Revelation 2:12-17

Christians are narrow-minded about God’s truth. We believe something the chattering classes find incredible. We believe that God has spoken in his Word and that his Word is to be obeyed, not debated. More

The Curse of Moderate Christianity - Revelation 3:14-22

How do you become lukewarm? Just do nothing, and that’s what you will become. 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

Ten Happy Years: - Various

It all started late in 1988 when I was sitting at my desk at home in Garland, Texas wondering what I would do with the rest of my life. I was 36 years old, with a wife, three children, a mortgage, and no regular job. More

How Do You Measure Success? - 2 Corinthians 3:1-3

God measures our success in terms of lives changed. He’s evidently not that impressed by the size of our budget or by the stained glass in our sanctuary. The One who hung the stars in space doesn’t really care how many books we’ve written or how much money we make or whether or not we see our name in lights. More

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

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

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

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

The Greatest Revival in History - Jonah 3

We can’t look to the past and focus on what others have done for Christ. Nor can we live in the future, thinking about what the children of today might do thirty years from now. The only generation we can reach is our own. More

Preach the Word! - 2 Timothy 4:1-5

I’d like to begin by calling your attention to verses 3-4 of this passage. They describe a scene that seems amazingly contemporary: “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Ins More

I Am a Sinner Too: What Pastors Need to Remember

My text is Ecclesiastes 7:19-22: “Wisdom makes one wise man more powerful than ten rulers in a city. There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins. Do not pay attention to every wor 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

Why God Makes It Hard When It Ought to be Easy - 2 Samuel 2-3

2 Samuel 2-3 tell the story of David’s long struggle to become king over all Israel. His life is a pattern of how God deals with his children. It is God’s plan to vindicate us slowly, bless us openly, surprise us occasionally, and test us continually. God intends to develop our character, and to do that adversity is essential. More

The Blessing of a Believing Spouse - Hebrews 11:11-12

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

A Tale of Three Men - 3 John

John’s third epistle has often called a “Tale of Three Men.” That is indeed an appropriate title for if you know these three men, you know what 2 John is all about. Verse 1 speaks of Gaius—the More

Calling All Servants - Romans 12:8; I Corinthians 12:28

The name Lee Roberson is perhaps only vaguely familiar to most of you. But if you lived in the Chattanooga area, you would certainly recognize the name. In 1942 he came to the Highland Park Baptist Church in Chattan More

The G Master

On my first day at Calvary 16 years ago, I was given a very special privilege. George Ahlenius entrusted me with a master key that would open every door in the church. If I recall correctly, Paul Lavenau had to talk him into it because George didn’t like to part with master keys. He was right to be careful about it because … More

The Shepherd's Gift - Ephesians 4:11

About the time I graduated from seminary in 1978, a leading Christian magazine published an article entitled, “Things They Didn’t Tell You at Your Seminary Graduation.” It is subtitled, “Some 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 doe More

Should Our Teachers Be Required to Sign the Articles of Faith? - Various

Tonight we are beginning a brand-new series of Sunday night messages. As you know, I usually take books of the Bible on a chapter-by-chapter basis on Sunday night. This series is a major departure from that pattern. More

Seize the Day! - Various

The scene is a prep school somewhere in New England. On a beautiful fall morning the bright young men have gathered in English Literature class, fearing the worst—long, boring hours arguing about Beowulf and th More

First Century Patterns For 21st-Century Churches - Various

How closely should local churches follow the patterns of the New Testament? The answer is, as closely as possible, understanding that no one is 100% consistent and that outward forms will change over time. That means we need to focus on the key functions of the church, giving freedom to differ on how those functions are expressed. More

Lessons for Modern-Day Sowers of the Word - Matthew 13:1-9; 18-23

The last few days I have been meditating on the famous parable of the seed and the sower. It is obviously important because is found in three different places in the gospels (with Jesus’ explanation in parenthes More

Deacons & Deaconesses: Servants of Christ

First images stay in the mind forever. Whenever I hear the word “deacon,” I always think of Hilliard Felton. He was a lifetime deacon at the First Baptist Church of Russellville, Alabama. As I think bac More

Is Congregational Government Biblical?

In approaching a topic like this, it helps if the pastor has no illusions. I candidly admit that most people don’t have a great interest in the subject I am tackling. In fact, over my 30 years in the ministry, More

Inside the Wedding Ring - Romans 15:5-7

I was twenty-five years old and fresh out of seminary when I became the pastor of a small church in Downey, California. I stayed there almost five years and then moved to Garland, Texas to pastor another church for fi 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

Our Coming to You Was Not in Vain - I Thessalonians 2:1

When one pastor leaves and another one comes, we learn again that God’s work depends on God, not on God’s messengers. Build your life on God’s Word, not on the man who delivers it. More

How Will You Be Remembered? - II Timothy 2:1-13

How will you be remembered? It’s a simple question that defies a simple answer. After you are dead and gone, after you’ve lived your 40 or 60 or 80 years, when your time on earth has come to an end, when y More

Life Has Been Good - Various

This is the fifth year I have been privileged to give a State of the Church address to Calvary Memorial Church. In my first message I quoted the great Chicago architect Daniel Burnham who said, “Make no small p 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

John Sergey Funeral Service

Message given by Ray Pritchard at the funeral service for John Sergey, January 5, 2009, Calvary Memorial Church, Oak Park, IL. More

Men and Women in Biblical Perspective - Genesis 1-3

I find myself in a peculiar position this morning. No matter what I say, or how carefully I say it, someone is bound to disagree with me. But that doesn’t begin to cover the subject. Not only will some people di More

A Survival Kit for Tough Times - 1 Peter 5

We come this morning to the end of our series on I Peter. This is the 24th and final message. We started on the last Sunday of July and we end on Mother’s Day. It was summer when we started and we end with summe More

The Church in Many Places - Acts 8:1-4

God uses catastrophe and disasters to scatter the church so that His word can be spread to all parts of the world. We can become comfortable and content in our lives, but God in His sovergn nature does things we are not used to. More