Sermons by Bruce Pratt (Page 9)
Don’t Try…Die
Sermon text: Galatians 2:20 Many followers of Christ live what could be called a Christian lifestyle. They pursue choices that they believe match up with Scripture and avoid those which don’t. There’s nothing wrong with this. In fact, it’s commendable to wanting to live in accordance with biblical standards. But it’s also easy for this to tip into religion. And Christians aren’t called to be religious. We’re called to be surrendered to Jesus.
Life-Changing Words
Sermon text: John 1:43-51 Jesus said to Philip, “Follow me.” When Philip told Nathanael about Jesus, Nathanael was less than impressed. Philip couldn’t tell him much, so he challenged Nathanael, “Come and see.” To his credit, Nathanael came and saw. And when he did, Jesus told Nathanael, “I saw you.” Simple phrases, but ones which changed these men’s lives.
Don’t Settle
Sermon text: Genesis 16:1-6 God’s plan for each of us is perfect. That shouldn’t be surprising, since God is all-knowing. In fact, He’s know His plan since before creation. Yet, we imperfect and certainly not all-knowing humans try to convince Him of the merits of our plans. We settle for something that we don’t even know is going to turn out right, instead of His perfect plan.
God’s Love
Sermon text: 1 John 4:9-10 The greatest demonstration of God’s love is Jesus Christ. When God sent His only begotten Son to die for mankind’s sin, God gave the most precious gift He could give. What’s even more amazing about this is that God showed us this love before we even loved Him.
Caution Ahead
Sermon Text: Romans 16:19 As Paul finishes his letter to the Roman Christians, he warns them of a potential threat. Many scholars believe that this would be false teachers, who would confuse and divide these believers. There are many threats today confronting the modern church. Christians today must heed the same warning and instruction provided by Paul.
The Master’s Business
Sermon text: Matthew 25:14-30 Jesus’ parable of the talents challenges believers to use our resources for God’s glory now, while we have opportunity. We don’t know when Jesus will return. It could be today. We need to make sure we’re making the most of all that Lord has blessed us with to reach and impact others. The parable also makes it clear that an unwillingness to do this indicates that someone is not a follower of Christ.
Let the Spirit Lead
Sermon Text: Acts 16:6-10 The Holy Spirit would not allow Paul and his fellow travelers to go north or south. So they kept on going until they ran out of road. Only then did Paul receive his next directive from the Lord. This episode teaches us a great deal about how the Holy Spirit can lead our lives.
The Promised Light
The Bible is chock full of references to light and darkness. Many times these are in reference to spiritual realities. Light denotes holiness and good, while darkness is sin and depravity. Several of these light and darkness passages are prophecies of the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
Jesus’ Family Tree (Matthew 1:1-17)
Matthew’s gospel begins with a long list of names. It’s tempting to just skip over this list. Don’t do it! These names tell us a great deal about Israel’s history. But it goes much deeper than this. These opening verses in Matthew also reveal much about God’s plan of salvation.
Grace Period (2 Corinthians 5:18-21)
Jesus came to earth the first time to usher in His kingdom. He came to seek and save the lost. As he departed after His resurrection He charged His followers with making disciples. We are still in that period of human history. We’ve been given a grace period to lead as many as we can to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Scripture tells us clearly that Jesus Christ will return. And when He comes back this time, it will…