The leaven of the Kingdom will bring great joy and satisfaction to the people of God.

Big Idea: Turn from your sin and produce the good fruit of a pure life.

THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS Luke 16:19-31 Introduction: There was a “fad” several years ago, and it has not yet completely run its course, wherein there were a number of incidents publicized of people who had been pro­nounced legally “dead,” and who then recovered. Fascin­ating stories were written, and…

THE POWER OF THE GROWING SEED Mark 4:26-29 26 And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; 27 And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. 28 For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade,…

The Wise Man & The Foolish Man Matthew 7:24 -27 Introduction: Coming as it does at the end of this great sermon, we need to view it as encompassing all of the things Jesus had just said (“...these words of mine.”) Jesus does not give us the option of choosing those parts that appeal to us and leaving…

THE PARABLE OF THE TEN VIRGINS Matthew 25:1-13 Introduction: Discuss the contextual background. Mt. 23 ends with a lamentation over Jerusalem; Mt. 25 contains three parables that have as a point of reference the Second Coming of Christ. Mt. 24 is a “bridge” between those subjects, verse 36 being the…

Introduction This is one of those passages that has caught my attention every time I read through this passage. It’s kind of like one of those Billboards, landscapes, or buildings that you notice every time you pass it. It’s like the Mackinac Bridge. I don’t think I could ever see that structure without…

If you pay attention to the details of this story and ponder it seriously, you will disagree with its traditional title being “the Prodigal Son” because this story is about “the Prodigal Father,” a father who is so extravagant with his love and grace. If you focus on the son, you miss a more profound side of the story.

I want to draw your attention this morning to the parable of the rich fool. A parable, that as I said earlier, I think is very contemporary to many of the problems and things that people may be experiencing today in the downturn, (or at least the perceived downturn) in the economy that has occurred over…

My new house is certainly a work in progress. One of the chores on the list is to take care of the backyard – which is almost completely weeds. At first I just cut the backyard really short – that way the weeds were simply a patch of green. Yet, the weeds were still there – ready to grow back quicker,…

Introduction: One of the greatest privileges, yet also one of the most neglected and misunderstood gifts we have, is the gift of prayer. Certainly prayer means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. For some it is an empty ritual they repeat in a religious ceremony. For others it is…

THE PARABLE OF THE WICKED HUSBANDMEN (Matthew 21:33-45; Mark 12:1-12; Luke 20:9-18) INTRODUCTION: This, and the following three parables which will conclude this series, were spoken in Jerusalem, after Jesus’ “triumphal entry” into the city. The events from that point marked the beginning of the last…

Today I want to invite your attention (if you want to go ahead and turn there) to Mark, the second chapter. I want to look at Jesus' response to a confrontation that He had in this particular occasion with the Scribes and the Pharisees. To set up the reading that we're going to do, which will begin for…

“Jesus also said to the disciples, ‘There was a rich man who had a manager and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. And he called him and said to him, “What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.” And…

Entering or inheriting the kingdom of God is the privilege of those who acknowledge and live by the rule of God and have become part of the new order of salvation and righteousness in Christ.

Matthew 18:21-35 21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven. 23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished…

Weeds in God’s Garden Matthew 13:24-43 Intro: Video: The Kingdom is… Parables are like windows that let the soul of man see and understand the things of God. What is God’s kingdom like? The setting: Jesus sitting by the Sea of Galilee. Mark tells us what had been happening (3:20- 21, 31-35): Great crowds…

Parables are an integral part of our picture of Jesus' teaching. But what are they? Why did he use them? Do they still apply? Are they useful for us? We grapple with these questions and more.

A short summary of the rejection of Christ in the Gospels.

Jericho… as Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem He goes through Jericho. WHY ? In Verse 35 we see He is approaching Jericho (a particular path) and interacts with a blind man In Verse 1 we see He is passing through Jericho (this is not His destination)… Jerusalem is! The people following Him know this and…

The scandal of God’s grace.

9 Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners,…

The Message Everyone Else Needs to Hear, But Not Me. The Sower Sows The Word 3 “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. See, Listen, Dwell on. Take it in. Mark 4:20 "Hear the Word." Over 155 times God commands men to hear Him and His Word. Not one time is there a hint that what He says will be hard…

There are many parables of Jesus that cause us to scratch our head. I think some of that is by design. Parables are supposed to make us think, but in all honesty, some make us think more than others. This morning we look at one of those parables. In Luke 18:1-8 Jesus tells a story about an unrelenting…