Tag Archives: temptations

“What Real Faith Looks Like: The Blame Game” (James 1:13-16 sermon)

Posted on 2024/06/03 by Shawn Thomas

On our trip to see our grand daughters baptized, Cheryl & I stopped to see a couple of Presidential libraries, including Jimmy Carter’s in Atlanta. I had to chuckle when we stopped there, because we have an ongoing joke in … Continue reading →

Posted in Book of James Sermons: What Real Faith Looks Like, Sermons | Tagged A.T. Robertson, ABCs of salvation, accountability, Adam & Eve, alpha privative, blame, blame God, blaming God, Book of James, born this way, C.S. Lewis, Calvinism, Charles Guiteau, Clint Hill, David and Bathsheba, Dwight D. Eisenhower, excuses, first step to salvation, free will, Gary Powers, genetic predisposition, God, God author of sin, Greek grammar, habits, homosexuality, how to be saved, James, James 1, James 1:13-16 sermon, James sermons, Jesus, Jimmy Carter Presidential Library, King David, lust, Mere Christianity, peirazo, President Eisenhower, Psalm 51, responsibility, Ronald Reagan, salvation, sin, temptation, temptations, The Blame Game, trials, trials vs temptations, Westminister Confession, What Real Faith Looks Like | Leave a comment

“What Tested Faith Looks Like” (James 1:2-4 sermon)

Posted on 2024/04/22 by Shawn Thomas

John & Abigail Adams are one of my favorite couples from history. He was, of course, the 2nd President of the United States, and they were both Christians. He was away from home a lot, either serving in Congress or … Continue reading →

Posted in Book of James Sermons: What Real Faith Looks Like, Sermons | Tagged Abigail Adams, Book of James, C.S. Lewis, Christian growth, Christian life, count it all joy, Ephesians 4:13, faith, glorifying God, hupomeno, I Peter 1:6, I Peter 4:12, I walked a mile with pleasure, James, James 1:2-4, Joe McKeever, John & Abigail Adams, John Adams, John Newton, My Dearest Friend, persecution, Philippians 1:29, Psalm 4:7, purpose of suffering, Robert Browning Hamilton, Romans 5:3, Samuel Rutherford, spiritual growth, spiritual maturity, suffering, temptations, tested faith, testimony suffering, tests, The Cocoon, trials, trials purpose, various trials, What Real Faith Looks Like, when sorrow walked with me | Leave a comment

“Tried By Fire” (I Peter 1:6-7 sermon)

Posted on 2019/05/06 by Shawn Thomas

Theodore Roosevelt was a man of very unique character: he gloried in facing obstacles and overcoming them. He would take his guests out on a 20-mile hike – and much to their dismay, the tougher the course, the better he … Continue reading →

Posted in I Peter sermons, Sermon Illustrations, Sermons, Uncategorized | Tagged Christianity in America, confess Jesus, confession, dark year, difficulties, distress, facing death, faith, faith proof, Garden of Gethsemane, Hawaii, I Peter 1:6-7 sermon, I Peter sermon, illness, John Calvin, John Calvin blocks of wood, joy, joy in trials, maturity, perseverance, professions of faith, real faith, refined by fire, rejoice, reward for trials, rewards, run tee shirts, salvation, saved, saving faith, temptations, Theodore Roosevelt, trials, tried by fire, various trials | Leave a comment

“The Man Who Almost Gave Up His Faith” (Psalm 73 sermon)

Posted on 2018/03/12 by Shawn Thomas

One of the best known memoirs of the Holocaust is Night by Elie Wiesel. Wiesel was a devout Jew before his experience in the Nazi death camps, but his time there destroyed his faith. He wrote, “Why, but why should I … Continue reading →

Posted in Sermon Illustrations, Sermons | Tagged Asaph, Bible Reading, church, devotionals, doubts, Elie Wiesel, eternity, faith, Harvey Weinstein, heaven, hell, Holocaust, Hugh Hefner, it will end better, John 6, judgment, justice, Luke 16, Psalm 73, Psalm 73 sermon, punishment, questions, revelation, rewards and punishments, Rich Man and Lazarus, scripture, temptations, unanswered prayer, Whitney Hand knee injury, wrong side of history | 3 Comments

From Joy To Crisis: The Principle of Undulating Circumstances

Posted on 2016/03/21 by Shawn Thomas

It is difficult to imagine how amazing it must have been for Mary & Joseph to experience the visit of the magi — and to receive from them the opulent gifts that they brought. What an emotional “high” they must … Continue reading →

Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Home & Family Life, Uncategorized | Tagged C.S. Lewis, circumstances, emotions, Matthew 2:13, principle of undulating circumstances, principle of undulation, screwtape letters, temptations, trials | Leave a comment

A Prayer For Young People (and others!)

Posted on 2015/02/26 by Shawn Thomas

Proverbs 2:11-13 contains a great Biblical prayer to pray for younger loved ones, like teenaged & college students, and younger adults: “Discretion will guard you, understanding will watch over you, to deliver you from the way of evil, from the … Continue reading →

Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies | Tagged intercession, knowing God, prayer, Proverbs 2, temptations, youth | Leave a comment

Many Dangers, Toils & Snares

Posted on 2013/11/06 by Shawn Thomas

As we see from this insightful segment of Richard Baxter’s The Saints’ Everlasting Rest, every single state we may find ourselves in here on earth places us in the danger of one temptation or another, due to our own wicked … Continue reading →

Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Discipleship, Ministry | Tagged confession, evaluation, examination, Lord's Supper, self-watch, sin, temptations | Leave a comment

Samuel Rutherford’s Five Lessons From the Furnace

Posted on 2011/07/27 by Shawn Thomas

In 1636 Samuel Rutherford, pastor of the Scottish church of Anwoth, was removed from his pulpit during a time of religious persecution. Sent into exile into Aberdeen, Rutherford, at first despondent, found grace that gave him a seldom-equaled walk with … Continue reading →

Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Discipleship, Doctrine/Theology, History, Reviews | Tagged furnace, Samuel Rutherford, spiritual growth, temptations, trials | 2 Comments