A Body You Have Prepared

Introduction

At Christmas we remember that Jesus came among us. The Second Person of the Trinity lowered himself, condescended, and became a man. That’s ...

Jesus’ Body Kept the Score

Author’s Note: The following sermon is based on John 20:19-23 and seeks to address trauma through the lens of Christ’s own wounds. The sermon ...

Growing Together

Introduction

Today, we're going to continue with our series called "Forever Luke." I know that for some of you, it feels like we've been ...

For the Sake of Others

Introduction

One of the hardest-to-get, most-difficult-to-live-into, toughest-to-hold-onto ideas of the truly Jesus-like life is this: A Christian lives ...

Glorify God in Your Body

Introduction

As we have seen through looking at the early Christians in Corinth, we see that so much of what they dealt with is the same thing that we ...

The Way of Embrace

Introduction

A few months ago something strange happened on an airplane bound for Los Angeles. The actress Amy Adams was shooting a new film in Detroit ...

God's Dwelling Place

Introduction

During the summer of 2014, the eyes of billions of spectators were glued to their television screens as they watched the most popular sporting ...

Family Matters

Introduction

Colin Smith suggests a number of common, but faulty, metaphors for the church. He says the church can be viewed as a gas station—a place ...

Guidelines for a Constructive Church

Note from PreachingToday.com: We asked a handful of preachers the following question: What aspect of Dr. King's life and work has had the greatest ...

God's Plan for Your Body

Introduction

I often need to fix and repair things, but I'm not very good with nails. I'm even worse with screws, and there are some things ...

Finding Joy in Our Differences

Introduction

In 1990, Saddam Hussein invaded the little nation of Kuwait. Saudi Arabia, knowing it would be next on Saddam's hit list, called Washington ...

The Marks of a Renewed Church

Introduction

Good morning, friends. Our topic this morning is "The Marks of a Renewed Church." In the New Testament, church means "people," ...

Three Challenges to the Contemporary Church

Introduction

Let's pray before I begin so that we may look to him for light. I'd like to use a prayer that John Calvin wrote in the 16th century ...

Grow Up!

Open your Bibles to Ephesians 4 beginning at verse 14 and concluding at verse 16. The apostle Paul is in prison. He is manacled and his feet are tethered. ...

Passing Judgment

Introduction

There is a new John 3:16. The old John 3:16 was John 3:16. That was the verse that everyone knew, the verse that was familiar to all, the ...

Your Super Power

Introduction

I grew up reading comic books: Fantastic Four, Spider Man, Hulk, and Iron Man. The last decade has been fun, as comic book hero after hero ...

The Church: Staying Connected to the Head

Introduction

The Bible's teaching about the church isn't easy to grasp. The church is a mystery, and it is only with the help of the Holy Spirit that we ...

You Were Created to Connect

Introduction

I have been the senior pastor at Christ Church for nearly eight years, and the theme I hope you've heard over and over in my preaching is ...

Loving Enough to Speak Truth

The story behind the sermon (from John Ortberg)

I preached this sermon right after I preached the sermon on giving God blessings to others. It was part ...

The Divine Legacy

Introduction

I'll never forget walking into the Smithsonian's National Museum of American Art in Washington, D.C., maybe 20 years ago. Just inside the ...

Community: The Context for Change

Story behind the sermon (from John Ortberg)

I am a huge N. T. Wright fan, and I think some of his material on the role and destiny of human beings is a ...

Church: The Wisdom of God on Display

The last couple of weeks, we've been going through a series in the Books of Acts and looking at this very important question: What is the church? ...

The Key to Church Development

People ask me, "Why has your church grown through all these years?" I'm going to answer the question in a way I think will shock you.

We are told constantly ...

Messiah's Community

Introduction

Years ago a small-town newspaper carried a letter sent in by one of its subscribers. She had gotten a thank-you note from her grandson after ...

Who Cares?

Introduction

Luke is one of the two New Testament writers who deals at length with the fundamental crisis of the early church, and that was the departure ...

Release Resentment

Introduction

It may have been King David's lowest moment. His son Absalom was leading a revolution against him. Absalom was a charmer and had convinced ...

When the Roll Is Called Down Here

Introduction

I hope you will not feel guilty if your heart was not all aflutter during the reading of the text. It's not very interesting. It's ...

How to Glorify God When We Disagree

The story behind the sermon (from Steve Mathewson)

A sermon series on the Book of Romans brought me to this text. The first challenge I faced was the sheer ...

The Sermon That Inspired Murder

From the editor:

We feel that this featured sermon from regular contributor Kevin Miller can inspire ideas for two different sermons: a sermon on the divinity ...

The Discipline of Communal Examination

From the editor

Next week we start to roll out all of our new Easter sermons, but seeing as many congregations have just begun observing the Lenten season, ...

Here Is the Love

Introductory remarks from Bryan Wilkerson:

Each year we choose a ministry focus for the church year, which we introduce in September and address from the ...

United

Introductory remarks from Mark Buchanan:

This sermon fell mid-way through a seven-part series on Ephesians, entitled "A Church for the World: Paul's Letter ...

Calling on Family Support

Introduction

A mother entered her daughter's bedroom one afternoon and saw a letter on the bed. With trembling hands, she read:

Dear Mom, It is with much ...

Brokers of Truth and Love

From the editor

We would probably all agree that conflict resolution is necessary, but incredibly tricky. Emotions trump reason, stubborn loyalties trump ...

The Real Scoop on the Lord's Supper

Text: 1 Corinthians 11:17–34
Topic: How to approach the Lord's Supper in a worthy manner

From the editor

When was the last time you preached about the ...

Balcony People

From the editor

John Ortberg points out that we are surrounded by basement people—folks who drain the life from us. This reality makes it all the ...

Church: The Message of 1 Corinthians

From the editor

In this sermon, Mark Dever offers a bird's eye view of one of Paul's longer letters, helping the audience hang their hats on a few critical ...

Remember Who You Are

Introduction

The Woodley family has a number of family picture albums. Each picture album contains an assortment of photos of people that matter to our ...

The Flames of Heaven

Text: Revelation 21:1–3
Topic: What would happen if heaven crashed into earth

Introduction

In Revelation 21:1–3, John gives us a glimpse—a ...

Body Life

Introduction

That the church is the "body of Christ" is more than simply a figure of speech. The church is the chief means by which Christ works today; ...

Don't Go To Church!

Introduction

D. L. Moody was visiting a prominent Chicago citizen when the idea of church membership and involvement came up.

"I believe I can be just as ...

Releasing Resentment

Text: John 21:15–22; 1 Corinthians 13:5
Topic: How we forgive those who hurt us

Introduction

It may have been King David's lowest moment: His son Absalom ...

Mind Renewal

Text: Romans 12:1–8
Topic: How to reclaim community in the church

Introduction

Something that has become very popular in today's media-crazed society ...

Teach Your Children Well

Introduction

They say God has no grandchildren. What they mean is that it isn't enough to be born into a believing home or a believing church. Every child ...

Passing the Baton

Introduction

A few months ago, I heard a song on the radio by an artist named John Mayer. The song is entitled "Daughters," and you hear it several ...

It Takes a Church

Introduction

Several years ago, a Peace Corps worker wrote a children's book based upon her experiences in Africa. It tells the story of a young girl named ...

The Incredibles

Introduction

As we saw last week, every great family is founded first and foremost on the Covenant Principle—on a radical commitment to one ...

People of the Table

Introduction

On this Mother's Day, it seems very appropriate that we continue to reflect together on what it takes to grow a great family. Whether our ...

New and Improved

Introduction

Today, it seems everything is hawked as "new and improved." We have new and improved shampoo, new and improved TV dinners, new and improved ...

Ancient Mystery Revealed

Introduction

Everyone loves a good mystery, a thriller, a whodunit! Some of the most popular books, movies, and TV shows of all time are mysteries. We ...