The Disproportionate Life

Introduction

Last week we started this series on responsibility, and we discovered a few things from the Scripture. Number one: you were created to be ...

Deep Walk

A real Christian?

How do you know if someone's a real Christian? Is it the fish sticker on the car, or Bible on the desk? Is it that they don't use bad ...

Brother, Interrupted

Introduction: A tale of two brothers

In 1989, two brothers from Boston started a T-shirt business. For five years Bert and John traveled the East Coast, ...

Consequential Strangers

Introduction: Everyday people

So who have you bumped into lately? Think for a minute about the multitude of people—strangers or acquaintances—whose ...

A Hard Saying

Introduction: A hard saying

This morning we come to one of the hard sayings of Jesus. There are quite a few of them, actually. I have a book on my shelf ...

No Strings Attached

Introduction

For the last several weeks, we've been sowing the seeds of a revolution around here. Being in Massachusetts, this area is familiar with ...

What Can One Person Do?

Introduction: What now?

For five weeks we have been teaching ourselves to see what Jesus sees and feel what Jesus feels, as we make our way through our ...

WWJS?

Introduction: Shouldn't we be saying something?

There are certain words or phrases that are almost guaranteed to make people really uncomfortable: root ...

Good News in America

Introduction

The Roman empire was a pagan place where Christian values were little known or honored, where corruption was pervasive in business, where ...

Brothers, Interrupted

The story behind the sermon (from Bryan Wilkerson):

This sermon was preached early in September to launch our ministry focus for the year, which we're ...

Why Are You Angry?

Text: Genesis 4:1-12
Topic: How to overcome anger.

From the editor:

Here's a great sermon from one of our featured preachers, David Anderson, that is sure ...

It's About the People

Introduction

Recently our church softball thoroughly trounced our opponents. The game ended with what's called the mercy rule: when one team is ahead ...

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 ...

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 ...

Speaking Truth

Introduction

For the next few weeks, we're following the story of Saul and David in First Samuel. We discovered last week that he is one of these characters ...

The Right Way to Handle Church Conflict

Introduction

I am by nature an idealist. I start almost everything in life by thinking about the best-case scenario. As a young man, I had a best-case ...

Public Performance Is Easier than Private Devotion

Introduction

If you are just joining us, this is the third week in a six-week series entitled "Adventures in Missing the Point." We have been learning ...

Tradition Becomes More Attractive than Truth

Introduction

According to Merriam-Webster, tradition is "the handing down of information, beliefs, and customs by word of mouth or by example from one ...

Bending the Twig

Introduction:

Alexander Pope said, “As the twig is bent, the tree’s inclined.”

The future of their children is perhaps the uppermost thought in the minds ...

Don't Ask Me, I'm Only Visiting This Planet

Introduction

Have you ever put down the newspaper—after reading about genocide in Sudan and beheadings in Iraq and shootings in Dorchester and sexual ...

The Most Beautiful People on Earth

Introduction

The latest rage in reality TV is the makeover show, in which a team of experts are brought in to transform somebody's wardrobe, car, backyard, ...

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Introduction

I had originally announced that I would be speaking today on the Christian's relationship to government, but in recent days the Lord has put ...

Like a Living Stone

Introduction

"How does it feel," Bob Dylan asks. "How does it feel to be on your own, with no direction home, a complete unknown, like a rolling stone?" ...

Rediscovering Marriage

Introduction

I think we'd all agree that marriage has fallen on hard times these days. They tell us that the number of people getting married has declined ...

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 ...

Endurance

Introduction

Let's begin with some audience participation. I know it's been a long weekend. Some of you are tired from traveling or cooking or shopping. ...

How to Improve Your Standard of Living

Introduction:

Today's message should come with a warning. Caution: This passage requires no interpretation. Peter writes Chapter 3 in a way that makes ...

Words Mean Things

Introduction:

On February 7, 1996, three teenagers breezed through an intersection and directly into the path of an eight-ton truck. These three young men ...

A Reason for Living

NOTE: This message can also be used in the "Jesus the Messiah" series

There's an old country song that goes...

There goes my reason for living, There ...

Hide Your Holiness

In the first week of this series, we read the words that Jesus spoke to his followers:

"Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good ...

How to Prepare for Your Final

Today we're finishing the series "Outlasting the Darkness." We've been looking at Jesus' teaching about the second coming and the last days. When he ...

Becoming a Team Player

Every sports team has its stars—the John Elways, Ken Griffeys, Michael Jordans. They're the reason fans come out to watch the games, and they often ...

What You Do Comes Back to You

During a holiday meal one of my young relatives mentioned that at her school (a private Christian school) the students are not allowed to wear the little ...

What If I Don't Feel Like Being Good?

Today we begin a new series. For the next five weeks we will discuss at length something that is essentially a split-second decision for you—whether ...

Plan BE

Last week we examined the seemingly impossible command to "imitate God"—and we saw that we imitate God by walking in love: showing forgiveness, ...

A Reason for Living

NOTE: This message can also be used in the "Jesus the Messiah" series

There's an old country song that goes …

There goes my reason ...

What About Sudden Conversion?

I am very intrigued by the new invention that is now being foisted upon some parts of the American people, whereby on closed-circuit television they ...