Shadyside Church of Christ

Filling in for Jeff this week is fellow Shadyside Church of Christ member, Bob Moore with his sermon titled...Pictures. Enjoy!

Jesus taught that His people were the "salt of the earth" and the "light of the world."  We understand those metaphors for what they are, but how do they translate into practical living?  Jesus mentions our "good works," but what are these?  Are we to fill an arena with 30,000 and preach the gospel to them?  Are we to head up a relief ministry which feeds thousands a...

It is quite easy to turn the Christian faith into a rule-keeping exercise.  "Do this, and don't do that."  Certainly there are things to do and not do, but at the center of it all stands a person - Jesus Christ.  He is the reason for and the focus of the Christian faith.  He is alive at the right hand of God and intercedes for us even now.  And the end of the journey is to be where...

After Nineveh repented, and Jonah saw that God relented of bringing disaster on the city, Jonah got angry.  He went to the east of the city, made himself a little shack and waited to see if the Lord would really not destroy the city.  But using a plant, a worm and a scorching east wind, God tried to teach Jonah a lesson about compassion.  We hope Jonah learned the lesson.  What about us? 

After Nineveh repented, and Jonah saw that God relented of bringing disaster on the city, Jonah got angry.  He went to the east of the city, made himself a little shack and waited to see if the Lord would really not destroy the city.  But using a plant, a worm and a scorching east wind, God tried to teach Jonah a lesson about compassion.  We hope Jonah learned the lesson.  What about us? 

After being thrown overboard from the floundering ship, the great fish swallowed Jonah.  Jonah had tried to flee from the presence of the Lord, so the Lord found him a good place for that - dark, lonely, uncomfortable, scary.  So, what do you do in such a place?  Jonah reflects, remembers and prays.  What does He learn?  

The Lord gave His prophet Jonah an assignment which he didn't want to do, so he tried to run from the presence of God.  He ended up in a very dark and lonely place.  Not a way to spend your life.  Has something like this ever happened to you?  Scriptures:  Jonah 1:1-3;  2 Kings 14:25;  Jonah 1:4-6;  Jonah 1:7-9;  Jonah 1:10-12;  Jonah 1:13-14;  Jonah 1:15-16;  Jonah 1:17

Defining God is an impossible task.  Scripture reveals many of His attributes and His nature.  Here we want to discus three aspects of His character.  God cannot act contrary to these, and they have always been behind everything which God has done or said.  God is holy.  God is love.  God is good.  We should be thankful that He is.  Scriptures:   Isaiah 55:6-9;  Leviticus 19:1-4;  Hebrews 12:7-11;...

For today's church to grow strong in the face of adversity and do the work of God, it must remain attached to its roots and the Source of its power.  One important way to provide encouragement in this endeavor is to take our cues from the early apostles who were witnesses of the life, death and resurrection of Christ Jesus.

Sermon Description: Some Christians still wonder about their forgiveness.  Their conscience still bothers them at times.  Can a person know they are forgiven of their sins?  How does that happen?  The Holy Spirit goes to great lengths in scripture to assure us that "in Christ" a person is forgiven of all trespasses.  So, how does that happen?

When the chief priests and elders had brought Jesus to Pilate, there was a lot of back and forth about who He was, what was happening, and the need to release one prisoner.  After all of this Pilate asked the question: "What shall I do with Jesus?"  It is a question which every person must ask and answer.  You cannot avoid it.  What about you?

Scripture teaches Christians to be ready for every good work to meet urgent needs.  However, sometimes we are so involved in something (even some good work) that we miss an opportunity which God puts right "under our noses."  In this event in Jesus' life, He teaches us about being ready and having the correct priorities. 

Many believers today are skipping the Sunday assembly of the saints in favor of virtual meetings or just being "spiritual."  But the early church met on the first day of the week, and there were several reasons they did so.  If these first disciples saw the need to meet on the first day of the week, how can we afford to ignore their example and teaching? 

Babylon was a very rich and imposing world power.  When Daniel and the other captives were led there in chains, they faced many pressures to abandon their heritage and faith, and to conform to Babylonian culture.  But Daniel and his three companions remained faithful, and God blessed them greatly.  Today, Christians are living in their own "Babylon."  Will you and I remain faithful? 

We humans are good at procrastinating.  Whether it's something in our every day affairs or our spiritual lives, we delay in doing things which we know we need to do.  Putting things off just keeps us mired in a place which we know we don't want to be.  So, is today the day for you to make those life-altering changes?  Is today the day for you to come back to Jesus?  To be baptized?  Is t...

Too often, we Christians tend to focus on the blessings of the next life and overlook the blessings promised in our daily walk with God.  These blessings are given by our Lord to help us face the rigors of life with peace and joy, so as not to get distracted by the troubles in the world and fall into despair and even lose faith.  God is with us and for us!

God is a God of life.  He made the earth to be inhabited by all sorts of living things from vegetation to fish to birds to creatures of all kinds.  The pinnacle of His creation was humankind for which He planned a truly great blessing - life eternal!  God is all about life, both of the body and of the soul.

Despite demonstrating authority over everything on earth and even death and demons, Jesus was rejected by His own and crucified.  He had forewarned of this often and even told a parable about His being rejected as King.  Jesus still invites people to serve Him in His kingdom, but scripture indicates that far too many will still reject Jesus as their King.  In doing so, they forfeit all hope for a...

When Jesus came proclaiming a kingdom of God, He was speaking of more than a new religious body.  Through the many miracles and wonders which God performed through Him, He demonstrated that the rule of God had come, and in some ways had returned to the world.  Jesus showed power over every facet of creation and affirmed that the "ruler of this world" was to be cast out.

 Because of all the trouble and chaos in the world today, some people are beginning to wonder if God is really there, or if He is, whether He can handle all that's going on! Let's meet someone who heard of God's mighty works and believed in Him because of what she heard. Those mighty works are still on record as well as many others. They continue to affirm the power and majesty of t...

It is a good thing for us all to be reminded that everyone who is saved is saved by the grace of God in Jesus Christ.  His grace is amazing, but it's also outrageous.  That God would offer forgiveness and a place in His eternal kingdom to the vilest of sinners is an incredible thing.  But such is the outrage of grace.

The church is called by its Lord to do good works. But the church should beware of getting so involved in doing good works of all kinds that it forgets the primary purpose and mission which Jesus has given to it. And that would be to proclaim the gospel to a lost world. Many groups and agencies do good works, but only the church has the gospel to share.

By and large, people do not understand love as God does. The world sees love as a warm feeling which, in turn, doesn't want to hurt the feelings of others. God says: I love you just the way you are, but I love you too much to let you stay that way. God has our best interests at heart - our eternal interests. Problem is - too many people choose to ignore their eternal interests.

Long ago, Job wondered that if a person died would they live again.  Resurrection of the dead is difficult to believe in.  It just goes against the reality which we know.  Even some of those present on the very day of Jesus' resurrection would not believe it happened.  Yet, others rejoiced that Jesus was alive again.  Eye witnesses reported a risen Jesus.  If their witness is true, this chang...

We often make the mistake, and it's too often been implied that Christianity is about doing the "big" things, you know - mission trips, seminars, Bible camps, etc. Although these have a place and serve a purpose, we don't see them emphasized in the scriptures. The Spirit spends more instructional ink on the home, family, work and congregation life. What we do in our everyday, b...