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Sermons on Temptation


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Preaching on Temptation? Browse these sermons to find fresh ideas.

The Unbelieving Heart
The Unbelieving Heart

Introduction

The Book of Hebrews is written as an extended exhortation to Jewish believers not to go back into the law, not to fall into the air ...


4 ways to move us forward to keep doing what God has told us to do.


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A Better Trust
A Better Trust

Introduction

Hebrews 7 has this great theme of Jesus as a high priest, not after the order of Aaron, but after the order of Melchizedek. It is ...


Trust Jesus alone.


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God's Solution for Our Temptation
God's Solution for Our Temptation

Introduction

You probably heard about the now famous Stanford Marshmallow Test (1972). Walter Mischel put 32 young children in the study. He reported over ...


The Father wants to give you what you need, not what you deserve.


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Facing Temptation
Facing Temptation

This sermon is part of the “More Than a Holiday” sermon series. See the whole series here.

Introduction

We are in the second week of our Advent ...


When we face temptation, we need to hold fast to our confession and draw near to Jesus.


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Hiss or His?
Hiss or His?

Introduction

(Read Luke 4:1-13)

Are you interested in having power? You don't have to have delusions of grandeur or dreams of being elected President ...


True power comes not from ourselves but from God.


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Your Body: Under New Management
Your Body: Under New Management

Introduction

Sometimes when we read the Bible we fail to appreciate the way it was first experienced. For example, most of the New Testament books were ...


Use your body in a way that honors the One who owns it.


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Temptation
Temptation

Introduction

One of my favorite father-son stories in Western literature has to be story of Pip and Joe Gargery in Charles Dickens' novel, Great ...


It's a lie that you are fatherless; God will feed you, lead you, and abide with you.


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The Power of Spiritual Deception

Introduction

Jim Jones was the founder of the People's Temple. More than 900 of Jim Jones' followers died in a cult murder/suicide in 1978 in Jonestown, ...


When we turn away from the truth, we deceive ourselves—and will finally believe anything.


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Who Am I When I Sin?

Introduction

The early Christian movement had a list that is famous to this day: "The Seven Deadly Sins." The seven sins on the list were pride, envy, ...


We're not just "mistakers" who need self-help; we're sinners who need a Savior.


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Who Am I When I Sin?

Introduction

The early Christian movement had a list that is famous to this day: "The Seven Deadly Sins." The seven sins on the list were pride, envy, ...


We're not just "mistakers" who need self-help; we're sinners who need a Savior.


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The Three Gifts of Christmas
The Three Gifts of Christmas

Introduction

I'd like to begin by reading the entire passage of Hebrews 2:5-18 this morning, and then we're going to talk about how this passage helps ...


Through the glory of Christ in his humanity, we receive wonderful gifts.


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To Obey Is Better than Food

Introduction

The Scripture text this morning is Matthew 4:1-4:

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after ...

Only Christ can help you believe that only he can satisfy your deepest needs.


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It's Just Sex!

Introduction

I'm starting a four week series on sex, marriage, and singleness. My text for this series will be 1 Corinthians 6:12-7:40, where Paul addresses ...


Sex is a physical and spiritual gift from God, but only within marriage.


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Showdown in the Desert
Showdown in the Desert

The story behind the sermon (Bryan Wilkerson)

This was the twentieth message in a 40-week journey through the Bible called Living God's Story. It was the ...


Jesus shows us how to face temptation—by training and not just by trying.


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The Church at War
The Church at War

Introduction

If you have a Bible, and I hope you do, I invite you to open with me to 1 Timothy 6, as we prepare to finish out tonight our journey through ...


We're in a constant spiritual war. But Christ has already won the victory.


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God Is Worthy

Introduction: Every minute together

This past week I stood at a graveside with a small circle of people as we laid to rest one of the great saints of ...


Choosing the better way


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Jesus Christ: His Human Nature

"The gospel of God … regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendent of David …" (Romans 1:3).

Paul says, "Jesus Christ is ...


Jesus Christ meets us in our great weakness.


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The Undefiled
The Undefiled

When I was in seminary, the wife of one of my classmates worked as a quality control inspector at a pharmaceutical company downtown in order to support ...


God desires and rewards holiness.


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When the Bottom Falls Out

I remember the events that led to her tears. My wife, Kathy, had come home from a weekly grocery trip with more than groceries to be concerned about. ...


Daniel shows us a godly response in the face of great suffering.


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Faith in the Furnace

How do you win the World Series? A few decades ago, when the New York Mets were the underdog darlings of the National League, two young pitchers told ...


Daniel shows us how to truly trust God through great trial.


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Looking Up to Heaven

A shattered Colossus

The poet Percy Bysshe Shelly tells of meeting a traveler from an "antique" land who describes the ruins of a great statue in the desert. ...


God is in control and can soften the hardest of hearts.


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The Judgment of Grace

Chapter five of Daniel addresses the question of what would happen if you gave a party, and God crashed it. Nebuchadnezzar was no longer on the throne. ...


In the fate of King Belshazzar, we see God's righteous judgment.


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The Song of a Broom

Sunday school pictures of a ruddy faced lad in a lions' den have scant resemblance to the actual situation described in this sixth and last chapter of ...


God's call through Daniel to trust and live


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Killing the Red Lizard

Introduction

In his book The Great Divorce, C. S. Lewis describes a young man who is tormented by a red lizard that sits on his shoulder and mocks him. ...



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"Gay" Myths

Homosexuality is probably the most emotionally divisive issue facing our nation. It's a hot topic, as a range of Newsweek covers on the issue suggests: January ...


Since homosexuality is outside of God's will, we must deal with those desires just like any other sinful temptation.


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Return to Power

Introduction

We talk a lot here at New Life about the kingdom of God. The reality is that the kingdom of God comes first in the lives of God's people. ...


Practicing the power of "Yes, God"


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Who Can We Trust?

From the editor:

Here is another sermon from one of our featured preachers, David Anderson. Anderson uses the story of Samson and Delilah to explore issues ...


To overcome sin, we must admit to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.


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Avoiding Foolishness

Introduction

In the early 1980s a very wealthy Swiss couple started acting like mutual fools. It all began when the husband cancelled a vacation. The wife ...


Humans need to find grace in our folly.


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I Pray the Lord My Soul to Keep

From the editor:

Here's another great sermon from one of our featured preachers, Bryan Wilkerson—an in-depth look at the last few lines of the Lord's ...


Whatever may come, we must ask God to lead us in a way that honors him, blesses others, and advances his good purpose for our lives.


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God's Unstoppable Purpose

Text: 2 Chronicles 17:1-18:34
Topic: The unstoppable will of God

From the editor:

Here's a sermon from Old Testament professor Dennis Magary (Trinity Evangelical ...


We must allow the will of God to affect every aspect of our lives, because his will succeeds through and in spite of us.


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The Neighbors Are Nuts

Introduction

When I was a kid, my parents used to drag me out to church on Sundays. I'd walk into this big building in a shirt and shoes that seemed too ...


When crazy becomes normal


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Just Say Yes

Introduction

Back in the 1980's, when drug use became epidemic among young people, and teen pregnancy and AIDS were on the rise, and gangs were turning ...


The Holy Spirit's role in self-control


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Welcome to the Pearly-Gated Community

Introduction

In the first sermon in our series, I talked about the primary person we will get to see in heaven: Jesus, face to face. Now I want to talk ...


What Jesus requires to be a neighbor in heaven


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God Is Big Enough to Comfort My Suffering


There is purpose in our pain.


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Solomon's Wish

Introduction

If you could wish for anything in the world, what would it be? Some people wish they had different abilities. Others wish for a change in ...


The wisdom of God is our greatest gift.


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Putting the Kingdom First

Introduction

In an article entitled "A new kind of urban Christian," Tim Keller argues that "Christians should be a dynamic counterculture. It is not enough ...


This world is passing; use God's good gifts for his kingdom.


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Gone Fishin'

From the editor

John 21 is a powerful story of a fallen disciple, Peter, being restored by Christ. Many a sermon has been preached on the varying uses ...


If we love Christ, we will care about what he cares about.


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Ready or Not, Here I Come!
Ready or Not, Here I Come!

From the editor

Simply put: it's easy to mess up a difficult passage like Luke 21. You may find yourself applying something regarding Jerusalem's ...


If we know what to look for and act accordingly in faith, we'll be ready for the Second Coming.


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Taming the Beast

Text: Genesis 4:1–16
Topic: How to battle envy

Introduction

A few years ago, two high school girls in California—well liked, talented and ambitious—attended ...


Envy will destroy us if we don't tame it with love.


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Expect God's Visitation

Introduction

In Charles Dickens' novel A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge lies down on Christmas Eve hoping to enjoy a good night's rest. In the course ...


God visits to test, punish, and bless his children.


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You Need a Good Priest

Introduction

I could tell that he had been badly injured in the accident. I'm no medical expert, but I could tell by the pallor of his skin that he was ...


Christ is a perfect high priest, who still understands our every weakness.


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You Can't Fool the Lord

Introduction

One of the ministers at this church the television show 24 because of the things that Jack Bauer never has to do: eat, charge his cell phone, ...


God judges the sin of deceit.


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The Story of Our Broken World

Introduction

When I was about ten years old, my dad, a medical doctor, received a special gift from one of his patients: a beautiful globe with shiny sequins. ...


How believing a cosmic lie shattered paradise


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Pledging Love

Introduction

We have been learning how to deal with difficult people from the story of Saul and David. Today we come to the central theme of the whole ...


A loyal person keeps a covenant, no matter the cost.


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Showing Grace

Introduction

We are taking four Sundays to consider the subject of loyalty and what it takes to keep faith in a broken world. Our particular emphasis in ...


A loyal person shows grace.


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Patrol Your Pleasures

Introduction

When I ask you to give me an adjective that describes Jesus of Nazareth, what comes to mind for you? How many of you instantly thought of ...


When Jesus frowns on fun


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The Last Temptation of Christ

Text: Luke 4:1–14
Topic: Why the novel and film The Last Temptation of Christ are controversial

Introduction

I think we all know who the candidates ...


Jesus was never confused about his dual humanity and divinity.


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I Have a Dark Side I Must Understand

Introduction

Mark Twain once said, "We're all like the moon—we have a dark side." I think his analysis of human nature was right on ...


We all have a sinful nature, and we need Christ's salvation to overcome it.


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I Struggle With a Certain Sin Often. Will God Forgive Me?

Introduction

Here is today's question in the complete words of the person who submitted it: "I struggle with a certain sin often. Will God forgive me? ...


A fresh look at God's response to habitual sin


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Us and Them

Introduction

Just a few hours before his death, and a few days before he left his kingdom in the hands of his followers, Jesus prayed for them, and for ...


How do we live in the world without becoming part of the world?


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