Pastor Dale Critchley Sermons

This is what the LORD says about Cyrus, his anointed one: I have held him by his right hand so he could conquer the nations ahead of him, strip kings of their power, and open doors ahead of him so that the gates would not be shut. I will go ahead of you, Cyrus, and smooth out the rough places. I will break down the bronze doors and cut through the iron bars. I will give you treasures from dark places and hidden stockpiles. Then you will know that I, the LORD God of Israel, have called you by name. For the sake of my servant Jacob, Israel, my chosen one, I have called you by name. I have given you a title of honor, although you don’t know me. I am the LORD, and there is no other. There is no other God besides me. I will strengthen you, although you don’t know me, so that from the east to the west people will know that there is no God except me. I am the LORD, and there is no other. I make light and create darkness. I make blessings and create disasters. I, the LORD, do all these things. (Isaiah 45:1-7, GWV)

"Again Jesus used stories as illustrations when he spoke to them. He said, "The kingdom of heaven is like a king who planned a wedding for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the wedding, but they refused to come. He sent other servants to tell the people who had been invited, 'I've prepared dinner. My bulls and fattened calves have been butchered. Everything is ready. Come to the wedding!' "But they paid no attention and went away. Some went to work in their own fields, and others went to their businesses. The rest grabbed the king's servants, mistreated them, and then killed them. "The king became angry. He sent his soldiers, killed those murderers, and burned their city. "Then the king said to his servants, 'The wedding is ready, but those who were invited don't deserve the honor. Go where the roads leave the city. Invite everyone you find to the wedding.' The servants went into the streets and brought in all the good people and all the evil people they found. And the wedding hall was filled with guests. "When the king came to see the guests, he saw a person who was not dressed in the wedding clothes provided for the guests. He said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in here without proper wedding clothes?' "The man had nothing to say. Then the king told his servants, 'Tie his hands and feet, and throw him outside into the darkness. People will cry and be in extreme pain there.' "Therefore, many are invited, but few of those are chosen to stay."" Matthew 22:1-14

"although I could have confidence in my physical qualifications. If anyone else thinks that he can trust in something physical, I can claim even more. I was circumcised on the eighth day. I'm a descendant of Israel. I'm from the tribe of Benjamin. I'm a pure-blooded Hebrew. When it comes to living up to standards, I was a Pharisee. When it comes to being enthusiastic, I was a persecutor of the church. When it comes to winning God's approval by keeping Jewish laws, I was perfect. These things that I once considered valuable, I now consider worthless for Christ. It's far more than that! I consider everything else worthless because I'm much better off knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. It's because of him that I think of everything as worthless. I threw it all away in order to gain Christ and to have a relationship with him. This means that I didn't receive God's approval by obeying his laws. The opposite is true! I have God's approval through faith in Christ. This is the approval that comes from God and is based on faith that knows Christ. Faith knows the power that his coming back to life gives and what it means to share his suffering. In this way I'm becoming like him in his death, with the confidence that I'll come back to life from the dead. It's not that I've already reached the goal or have already completed the course. But I run to win that which Jesus Christ has already won for me. Brothers and sisters, I can't consider myself a winner yet. This is what I do: I don't look back, I lengthen my stride, and I run straight toward the goal to win the prize that God's heavenly call offers in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:4-14, GWV

"The LORD spoke his word to me. He said, "What do you mean when you use this proverb about the land of Israel: 'Fathers have eaten sour grapes, and their children's teeth are set on edge'? As I live, declares the Almighty LORD, you will no longer use this proverb in Israel. The life of every person belongs to me. Fathers and their children belong to me. The person who sins will die." ""But you say, 'The Lord's way is unfair.' Listen, nation of Israel, isn't my way fair? Isn't it your ways that are unfair? When a righteous person turns away from doing right and does evil things, he will die. He will die because of the evil things he has done. When a wicked person turns away from the wicked things that he has done and does what is fair and right, he will live. He realized what he was doing and turned away from all the rebellious things that he had done. He will certainly live. He will not die. "But the nation of Israel says, 'The Lord's way is unfair.' Isn't my way fair, nation of Israel? Isn't it your ways that are unfair? "That is why I will judge each of you by what you have done, people of Israel," declares the Almighty LORD. "Change the way you think and act. Turn away from all the rebellious things that you have done so that you will not fall into sin. Stop all the rebellious things that you are doing. Get yourselves new hearts and new spirits. Why do you want to die, nation of Israel? I don't want anyone to die," declares the Almighty LORD. "Change the way you think and act!"" Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32, GWV

""The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at daybreak to hire workers for his vineyard. After agreeing to pay the workers the usual day's wages, he sent them to work in his vineyard. About 9 a.m. he saw others standing in the marketplace without work. He said to them, 'Work in my vineyard, and I'll give you whatever is right.' So they went. "He went out again about noon and 3 p.m. and did the same thing. About 5 p.m. he went out and found some others standing around. He said to them, 'Why are you standing here all day long without work?' "'No one has hired us,' they answered him. "He said to them, 'Work in my vineyard.' "When evening came, the owner of the vineyard told the supervisor, 'Call the workers, and give them their wages. Start with the last, and end with the first.' "Those who started working about 5 p.m. came, and each received a day's wages. When those who had been hired first came, they expected to receive more. But each of them received a day's wages. Although they took it, they began to protest to the owner. They said, 'These last workers have worked only one hour. Yet, you've treated us all the same, even though we worked hard all day under a blazing sun.' "The owner said to one of them, 'Friend, I'm not treating you unfairly. Didn't you agree with me on a day's wages? Take your money and go! I want to give this last worker as much as I gave you. Can't I do what I want with my own money? Or do you resent my generosity towards others?' "In this way the last will be first, and the first will be last."" Matthew 20:1-16, GWV

"What can we say about all of this? If God is for us, who can be against us? God didn't spare his own Son but handed him over to death for all of us. So he will also give us everything along with him. Who will accuse those whom God has chosen? God has approved of them. Who will condemn them? Christ has died, and more importantly, he was brought back to life. Christ has the highest position in heaven. Christ also intercedes for us. What will separate us from the love Christ has for us? Can trouble, distress, persecution, hunger, nakedness, danger, or violent death separate us from his love? As Scripture says: "We are being killed all day long because of you. We are thought of as sheep to be slaughtered." The one who loves us gives us an overwhelming victory in all these difficulties. I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love which Christ Jesus our Lord shows us. We can't be separated by death or life, by angels or rulers, by anything in the present or anything in the future, by forces or powers in the world above or in the world below, or by anything else in creation." Romans 8:31-39, GWV

"Son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman for the people of Israel. Listen to what I say, and warn them for me. Suppose I say to a wicked person, 'You wicked person, you will certainly die,' and you say nothing to warn him to change his ways. That wicked person will die because of his sin, and I will hold you responsible for his death. But if you warn a wicked person to turn from his ways and he doesn't turn from them, then he will die because of his sin. However, you will save yourself." Ezekiel 33:7-9, GWV

"From that time on Jesus began to inform his disciples that he had to go to Jerusalem. There he would have to suffer a lot because of the leaders, chief priests, and scribes. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be brought back to life. Peter took him aside and objected to this. He said, "Heaven forbid, Lord! This must never happen to you!" But Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get out of my way, Satan! You are tempting me to sin. You aren't thinking the way God thinks but the way humans think." Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Those who want to come with me must say no to the things they want, pick up their crosses, and follow me. Those who want to save their lives will lose them. But those who lose their lives for me will find them. What good will it do for people to win the whole world and lose their lives? Or what will a person give in exchange for life?" Matthew 16:21-26, GWV

"Brothers and sisters, in view of all we have just shared about God's compassion, I encourage you to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, dedicated to God and pleasing to him. This kind of worship is appropriate for you. Don't become like the people of this world. Instead, change the way you think. Then you will always be able to determine what God really wants--what is good, pleasing, and perfect. Because of the kindness that God has shown me, I ask you not to think of yourselves more highly than you should. Instead, your thoughts should lead you to use good judgment based on what God has given each of you as believers. Our bodies have many parts, but these parts don't all do the same thing. In the same way, even though we are many individuals, Christ makes us one body and individuals who are connected to each other. God in his kindness gave each of us different gifts. If your gift is speaking God's word, make sure what you say agrees with the Christian faith. If your gift is serving, then devote yourself to serving. If it is teaching, devote yourself to teaching. If it is encouraging others, devote yourself to giving encouragement. If it is sharing, be generous. If it is leadership, lead enthusiastically. If it is helping people in need, help them cheerfully." Romans 12:1-8, GWV Featured Video: A Thousand Questions

"Jesus left that place and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that territory came to him and began to shout, "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon." But he did not answer her at all. Then his disciples came to him and urged him, "Send her away. She keeps shouting behind us." Jesus responded, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the nation of Israel." She came to him, bowed down, and said, "Lord, help me!" Jesus replied, "It's not right to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs." She said, "You're right, Lord. But even the dogs eat scraps that fall from their masters' tables." Then Jesus answered her, "Woman, you have strong faith! What you wanted will be done for you." At that moment her daughter was cured." Matthew 15:21-28, GWV

"Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me if you have such insight. Who determined its dimensions? Certainly, you know! Who stretched a measuring line over it? On what were its footings sunk? Who laid its cornerstone when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? Who shut the sea behind gates when it burst through and came out of the womb, when I clothed it with clouds and wrapped it up in dark clouds, when I set a limit for it and put up bars and gates, when I said, 'You may come this far but no farther. Here your proud waves will stop'? Have you ever given orders to the morning or assigned a place for the dawn so that it could grab the earth by its edges and shake wicked people out of it? The earth changes like clay stamped by a seal, and parts of it stand out like folds in clothing. Wicked people are deprived of their light, and an arm raised in victory is broken. Have you gone to the springs in the sea or walked through the valleys of the ocean depths? Have the gateways to death been revealed to you, or have you seen the gateways to total darkness? Have you even considered how wide the earth is? Tell me, if you know all of this!" (Job 38:4-18, GWV) Special thanks to @_7654_, @Atheist_Dave, @FlyingFree333, and my Facebook friends.

(Matthew 13:44-52) "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field. When a man discovered it, he buried it again. He was so delighted with it that he went away, sold everything he had, and bought that field. "Also, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant who was searching for fine pearls. When he found a valuable pearl, he went away, sold everything he had, and bought it. "Also, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea. It gathered all kinds of fish. When it was full, they pulled it to the shore. Then they sat down, gathered the good fish into containers, and threw the bad ones away. The same thing will happen at the end of time. The angels will go out and separate the evil people from people who have God's approval. Then the angels will throw the evil people into a blazing furnace. They will cry and be in extreme pain there. "Have you understood all of this?" "Yes," they answered. So Jesus said to them, "That is why every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a home owner. He brings new and old things out of his treasure chest."

(Isaiah 44:6-8) The LORD is Israel's king and defender. He is the LORD of Armies. This is what the LORD says: I am the first and the last, and there is no God except me. If there is anyone like me, let him say so. Let him tell me what happened when I established my people long ago. Then let him predict what will happen to them. Don't be terrified or afraid. Didn't I make this known to you long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God except me? There is no other rock; I know of none.

(Romans 8:12-17) So, brothers and sisters, we have no obligation to live the way our corrupt nature wants us to live. If you live by your corrupt nature, you are going to die. But if you use your spiritual nature to put to death the evil activities of the body, you will live. Certainly, all who are guided by God's Spirit are God's children. You haven't received the spirit of slaves that leads you into fear again. Instead, you have received the spirit of God's adopted children by which we call out, "Abba! Father!" The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. If we are his children, we are also God's heirs. If we share in Christ's suffering in order to share his glory, we are heirs together with him.

(Matthew 11:25-30) At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for hiding these things from wise and intelligent people and revealing them to little children. Yes, Father, this is what pleased you. "My Father has turned everything over to me. Only the Father knows the Son. And no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son is willing to reveal him. "Come to me, all who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest. Place my yoke over your shoulders, and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble. Then you will find rest for yourselves because my yoke is easy and my burden is light."