The Beauty of Sacrifice

Introduction

On October 1, 2017, as a shooter was spraying the field where concertgoers were attending a country western concert in Las Vegas, there was ...

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 ...

True Relationships

Introduction

As we wrap up our series on 1 and 2 Thessalonians, we are going to continue our focus on Christ's second coming.

I am a member at Sam's Club ...

Blessing the World and Ourselves, Too

The Story Behind the Sermon (by Bill Haley)

Why is it important to preach on social justice? It's important to preach on social justice for the simplest ...

Deny Ability

Introduction

Years ago Clarence Jordan started an interracial Christian community, Koinonia Farm, down in Georgia. He suffered greatly for his stand, ...

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 ...

Deep Hope

The person I want to be

We never stop longing to be better people, do we? There's always some aspect of our behavior or personality that we wish we could ...

The Transforming Word

Introduction

It's been called the speech that changed America. I'm talking, of course, of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech at the Lincoln ...

A Christian's Happiness

Introduction

If you're a Christian, you know that Christianity is supposed to be about joy. You probably also know that you're supposed to experience ...

The Forgiveness Factor

Introduction

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us all of our sins." What do you do when you forgive someone? What really happens ...

The King Whose Scepter is a Towel

Introduction

It was time to celebrate the Passover, the most sacred of Jewish feasts. Upwards of three million people might spend the week in Jerusalem. ...

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 ...

It's All in Your Head

Story behind the sermon (from Mark Buchanan)

When I first came to New Life Church, I established the practice that every January I would preach a month-long ...

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, ...

When the Seeds Come Up

Introduction

Someone hearing for the first time that the dead will be raised—physically—from the grave could easily picture something from ...

Growing Up

Introduction

When I was in kindergarten, we used to play a game based on a hit TV show called Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. My teacher, Mrs. Floaten, ...

Blessed Are the Persecuted

Introduction

Imagine you are in the market for a new car. You visit the dealer and the salesman who is showing you the latest model takes you for a test ...

Blessed Are the Peacemakers

Introduction

The troops the United Nations deployed to the war-torn Darfur region of Sudan look like they could be soldiers from just about any nation. ...

Blessed Are the Pure in Heart

Introduction

Through the centuries there have been some people who have wanted to view Jesus' teaching in the Beatitudes as a kind of ladder that can carry ...

Blessed Are the Merciful

Introduction

Prince Felix of Schwarzenberg entered the diplomatic service and was appointed foreign minister of Austria in November 1848. After the Hungarian ...

Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness

Introduction

A businessman decided to throw a party for some of his clients, and because he was doing so well, he spared no expense. He hired the most ...

Blessed Are the Meek

Introduction

Suppose the company you work for were to write a description of the ideal person to be its new CEO. Do you think meekness would be on the ...

Blessed Are Those Who Mourn

Introduction

"No one ever told me that grief felt so much like fear." That is how C. S. Lewis begins his book A Grief Observed, a compelling account of ...

Less is More, More or Less

Introduction

A few months ago my two teenage sons came to me and asked if they could go camping for a week … on Lower Wacker Drive in the city of ...

A Brand New You

Introduction

I've got hundreds of things around the house that I would like to see made new—sofa cushions that have begun to sag, kitchen cabinets ...

Fall

Introduction

My wife, Cheryl, and I had an opportunity in 2004 to spend a week in New Brunswick. We started in St. John, spent a couple of days in the ...

A Better Peace Prize

Introduction

At the turn of the 20th century, a man named Alfred was one of the preeminent scientists and entrepreneurs of his day. He made his fortune ...

Because of Righteousness

Introduction

The movie Braveheart tells the story of how a 13th century Scottish commoner named William Wallace led his country to freedom from an oppressive ...

What the Heart Wants

What the heart wants

Back in the 1990's, the comedian and filmmaker Woody Allen was an icon of the movie industry—until his personal life began ...

A Bleeding Hearts Club?

Introduction

Suppose someone were to describe you as "a bleeding heart?" How would you feel about that? That expression is often attached to ...

Our Hungry Hearts

Introduction

Have you ever used an image to help motivate you? To help you clarify what and who you want to become? An image can be an object or can come ...

In God We Trust (Though We'd Rather Pay Cash)

Introduction

Have you ever felt really anxious and stressed? If I don't accept this offer, then …. If my child doesn't get into the right ...

The Heartbreak Gospel

Introduction

Last week we began our study of the Beatitudes: Jesus' intriguing list of people who are blessed and well-off. Suppose we were to come ...

Desperate Hearts

Introduction

Some years ago I experienced something that just about every stressed-out, 40-something American male experiences - chest pains. You know, ...

The Christian's Happiness

Text: Romans 8:28–30
Topic: Our joy can be constant no matter our life circumstances.

From the editor

Romans 8 is such a beloved, oft-quoted section ...

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 ...

Cross Here

Introduction

One of the great ironies of history is that those who took Jesus to Calvary believed they were forcing him to his dead-end; in reality, Jesus ...

Cross Talk

Introduction

There are times when the greatest power to change the world proceeds not from an act of forceful self-assertion, but from an act of gracious ...

Cross Bow

Introduction

I recently turned on the news and found myself confronted with another one of those stories that have become so common; my great fear is that ...

Cross Over

Introduction

It was an ordinary day of commuting Cameron Hollopeter. The 20-year-old film student made his way down the steps into a New York City subway ...

Cross Out

Introduction

In August of 2003, the Church of the Holy Cross in New York City was broken into twice. In the first break-in, thieves made away with a metal ...

Older People: The Future of Our Church

Introduction

On October 29, 1998, the space shuttle Discovery launched with a seven-member crew. One of them, John Glenn, was 77 years old. John Glenn ...

The Shadow of Jesus

Introduction

Well over a hundred years ago, Robert Robinson wrote a hymn that resonates with many of us. One line reads like this: "Prone to wander, ...

A Strange Résumé

Introduction

It's the most dreaded question of the job interview, and when the time comes, you can't seem to push the words out of your mouth. "Tell me," ...

Beyond Comfort

Introduction

Where do you turn for comfort when you encounter loss, pain, or disappointment? Some people turn to food. For some reason, certain foods—like ...

Unbreakable?

Introduction

M. Night Shyamalan's film Unbreakable begins with a train wreck. Everyone on board is killed—over a hundred people—except for ...

Drop Your Agenda

Introduction

By the end of Luke's narrative of Jesus' life, opposition from the religious leaders is mounting, and Jesus' popularity among the people is ...

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 ...

Warriors on Their Couches

Introduction

The account of David and Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 11 begins this way:

In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David ...