Sermons found for the topic Youth

Come Before Winter - 2 Timothy 4:21

Procrastination destroys many good intentions. Some things must be done “before winter” or they will not be done at all. There are doors of opportunity that open before us today, but if we do not take advantage of them, tomorrow they will be forever shut. More

How to Be a Leader People Want to Follow

Recently I was asked to speak to a group of youth leaders on becoming a credible, authentic leader. In preparing my first message, I decided to focus on two key words. According to the dictionary, the word credible co More

Our Name is Our Mission - President’s report

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

Has God Lost the Battle? - Romans 11:1-10

In this sermon series we are looking at Romans 9-11, arguably the three most difficult chapters in the New Testament. I've called it "Understanding God's Plan" because these chapters help us understand the flow of eve 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: "Make no 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

The Wind Blows Wherever It Wills - John 3:8

This is the first in a six-part series on the Holy Spirit called Experiencing God Today. Two months ago I had no idea that I would be preaching on the Holy Spirit once we finished I Peter. But as I thought about the m More

Arrows From Heaven: - Psalm 127-128

What a difference a day makes. Tuesday morning dawned bright and clear and peaceful in Littleton, Colorado. At Columbine High School the students were still buzzing about the prom the previous Saturday night. Little d 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

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

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 plans. More

Allied Force Questions - Various

When we surveyed the congregation asking for their questions a few months ago, our high school ministry (called Allied Force) turned in their own set of questions. On October 12, the students joined me on the platform More

But God Remembered Noah: Hope for Those Who Feel Forgotten - Genesis 8:1

The story of Noah is very exciting until you get to Genesis 7. At that point, the story seems to get bogged down in details. There is information about the various animals brought on board, and also a very specific ac More

Mighty Oaks and Graceful Pillars: A Prayer for Our Children - Psalm 144:12

"Then our sons in their youth will be like well-nurtured plants, and our daughters will be like pillars carved to adorn a palace" (Psalm 144:12).Today is Children's Sunday at Calvary. In all of our services we are fea 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

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

Praying for Your Prodigal - Ephesians 1:18

I received an email with a heartrending question:I have a daughter that I don't believe is saved. I pray for her but often times I can't. I suppose that I'm angry she isn't responding and feel incapable of helping her More

The Eyes of God Are Upon You - Various

Our story begins in 1833 when a man named Joseph Kettlestrings, an Englishman from Yorkshire, arrived in the Chicago area. He settled first along the Des Plaines River where he worked at a saw mill. Two years later More

Sola Scriptura: The Bible and Only the Bible - 2 Timothy 3:16

"Your word, O Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens." Psalm 119:89 "You have exalted above all things your name and your word." Psalm 138:2b "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass awa More

The Invisible Hand: Coming to Grips With God's Providence - Genesis 50:20

Do all things really work together for good? Consider the following:•A little baby is born with no brain, only a brain stem. The doctors tell the parents that she has no chance of surviving. Somehow she stays aliv 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

Come Before Winter - II Timothy 4:9-22

Three things—apparently unrelated—have come together in my mind as I have prepared this message.First, in just a few days we will come to the second anniversary of the terrorist attacks that took place on More

Nitty-Gritty Faith - Hebrews 11

It is a pleasure to salute our young people today. They are the future of this church. And it is a pleasure to have our teenagers share in the morning service. In case you didn't know, Bruce Smith made the announcem More

Revival in Our Time

I don't know what the word "revival" means to you, but I know exactly what it means to me. It means a week-long meeting with an out-of-town evangelist who preaches every night (and sometimes in the morning) calling Christians to get right with God and exhorting sinners to be saved. It also means "cottage prayer meetings," b… More

Worship Vision Statement - Various

Re: Contemporary Worship–The VisionA few days ago the Board of Calvary Memorial Church met to consider the possibility of changing our present worship format by adding a contemporary worship service on Sunday m More

What Moves Your Mountain? - Romans 12:8: I Corinthians 12:9

I'm sure you've heard this definition of a football game: It's an event where 50,000 people who desperately need exercise sit in the stands watching 22 men on the field who desperately need rest. Unfortunately, that More

What We Believe About the Bible - II Timothy 3:16

"Modern theology of almost every shade is in crisis." With those words Clark Pinnock begins his monumental work Biblical Revelation: The Foundation of Christian Theology. He goes on to say, "While there is no lack More

God's Inerrant Word - Article A: The Scriptures - Various

Allan Bloom begins his ground-breaking work, The Closing of the American Mind, this way: There is one thing a professor can be absolutely certain of: almost every student entering the university believes, or says he More

REACHING PEOPLE WITH GOD'S LOVE - Various

Friday morning I did something I had not done since becoming pastor of this church. I took a few minutes and sat on the steps in front of the sanctuary. It was a typical March day in Chicago–clear and cool wit More

Letters From the Bean Field - Various

Sometimes you stumble across a new idea in the most unlikely places. Mine came from a little note that a friend wrote when he explained why he had decided to become a Prayer Warrior. He did it because of "Shammah, 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

A Place to Begin - Genesis 1:1; John 17:3

"True and substantial wisdom principally consists of two parts; the knowledge of God, and the knowledge of ourselves." With this sentence John Calvin begins his famous book, Institutes of the Christian Religion. He go More

Groundbreaking Sunday

GROUNDBREAKING SUNDAY by Ray Pritchard The elders have designated June 29 as Groundbreaking Sunday for our renovation project. A number of unique features will make it a Sunday unlike any other in the history of our church. Here are the details: On that Sunday there will be only one service, which will begin at 10:30 a.m. W… More

Reaching, Teaching, Caring, Worshiping

REACHING, TEACHING, CARING, WORSHIPING by Ray Pritchard At the Biannual Business Meeting in March, I announced to the membership that we are reorganizing the staff and all the ministries of the church around four great biblical priorities–reaching, teaching, caring, and worshiping. The idea came to me as I read Rick Warre… More

"Should I Not be Concerned about that Great City?" Why We are Staying in Oak Park - Jonah 4:11

It was an exciting time to be alive.The year was 1915, and change was in the air. So many things were happening all at once. Armies marched across Europe, meeting in the deadly combat of World War I. America was about More

Final Words of a Family Man - John 19:25-27

Part three of a sermon series “The seven last words of Christ” More

Forgiveness and the Lord's Prayer - Matthew 6:12

"Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors" (Matthew 6:12 KJV).The fifth petition of the Lord's Prayer seems simple enough, but simple things can sometimes be very deep. Everyone agrees that this is a difficult w 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 you are here More

Perilous Times - II Timothy 3

You've probably heard the old joke about the fellow who was told, "Cheer up. Things could be worse." So he said, "I did as I was told. I cheered up, and sure enough, things got worse." That in a nutshell is the messag More

25 Ways You Can Be Part of World Focus Week

25 WAYS YOU CAN BE PART OF WORLD FOCUS WEEK by Ray Pritchard Find Martha Peaslee’s picture on the missionary wall in the Sanctuary lobby. Pray for Uzbekistan at the Sunday night Concert of Prayer. Share a table with a missionary at the Family Night Supper on Wednesday. Ask Dr. Aletta Bell about her favorite Indian food… More

The New Worship Schedule

THE NEW WORSHIP SCHEDULE by Ray Pritchard Elsewhere in today’s bulletin you’ll find an announcement for the new worship schedule that begins Sunday, March 21. Here are the highlights: 1. We will have three worship hours on Sunday morning: 8:30, 10:00 and 11:30 a.m. 2. The worship schedule in the Sanctuary will be … More

A Survival Kit for Tough Times - I 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 summer not More

If I Believe, Why Do I Doubt? - Mark 9:24

This is a sermon about a topic we rarely discuss in church. This is a sermon about doubt. As such, it is an unfamiliar topic to most people, even though there are whole books of the Bible that deal with the issue of d More

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

When Paul wrote to the new Christians in Thessalonica, he summarized his brief visit with them this way: "You know, brothers, that our visit to you was not a failure" (I Thessalonians 2:1). The English Standard Versio More

Singing Your Way to Victory - 2 Chronicles 20

"I have no use for cranks who despise music, because it is a gift of God. Music drives away the Devil and makes people gay; they forget thereby all wrath, unchastity, arrogance, and the like. Next after theology, I g 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

Christ and the Problem of Death - Hebrews 2:14-15

"Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who has the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were hel More

Arrows From Heaven

Ray: Here’s a scene from our house, circa 1989. It was 10 P.M. and Joshua and Mark had just returned from the swimming party at Concordia College. Joshua walked in, flopped on the couch and said, “I think 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

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