Waiting for a God-Given Perspective

Introduction

We are in the second week of our Advent series called “Christmas with Joseph: When Things don’t Go as Planned.” ...

Suffering and the 'U-Curve' of Life

Introduction

A story that I think about from time to time may also be one that you are familiar with. There was a wise man who lived on the northern frontier ...

God's Eraser

Introduction

I have a friend who has a great saying. He says, "Make your plans in pencil because God has a big eraser." That's great wisdom. I used to ...

To Live Is Christ, and to Die Is Gain

Introduction

I don't like it when people take Bible verses out of context and slap them on coffee mugs, put them on bookmarks, put them on bumper stickers. ...

Through the Valley

Introduction

It was near the twilight of his life, and quite possibly he sat on one of the curvaceous slopes of the hills of Judea, looked out into one ...

The Joy You've Always Wanted

The topic today is joy. And the chief question is: how do we get it? How do we have more joy more often? How can we be happy?

We are looking at Paul's ...

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 Audacity to Hope

Editor's note: In light of current political controversy, questions have been raised about the following sermon by Jeremiah Wright. Preaching Today published ...

Yet Will I Praise Thee

Introduction

Have you ever asked God questions and felt you haven't received a good answer? I heard about a little boy once who said to his father, "How ...

Guide

Click here to listen to the audio.

The story behind the sermon (from John Ortberg)

I have grown to love the theme of God's guidance. This is a chance to ...

God's Unstoppable Purpose

Text: 2 Chronicles 17:1-18:34
Topic: The unstoppable will of God

From the editor:

Here's a sermon from Old Testament professor Dennis Magary (Trinity Evangelical ...

God Is Strong—Am I?

From the editor:

Here's another great sermon from one of our featured preachers, Francis Chan. A few noteworthy items: Just below this editor's ...

I'll Stand by You

Introduction

So far in our series we've talked about three big ideas—love, joy, and peace. These Christ-like qualities offer a grand vision for our ...

Courage

Introductory remarks from Mark Buchanan:

"Courage" was the third week in a 10-week series on Philippians entitled I Can Do Everything: Paul, Jesus, the ...

When You Really Want to Quit

From the editor

We all struggle with the reality that sometimes bad things happen to good people. Adding to our inner turmoil is the reality that sometimes ...

Simeon: A Song of Hope

Introduction

In the 1960s, psychologist Walter Mischel conducted a famous experiment that has come to be known as "The Marshmallow Test." Groups of 4-years ...

Angels: A Song of Peace

Introduction

We've been looking at Christmas songs preserved for us in Scripture. Some, like Zechariah's song last week, are completely foreign to most ...

In the Father's Arms

Text: Job 36, 38
Topic: How a Christian should respond to suffering

From the editor

As you read Jill Briscoe's sermon, notice how she takes a classic story-story-story ...

Asleep at the Wheel

From the editor

Chances are, you've probably preached the story of Jesus calming the storm. The account is recorded in three of the four Gospels (Matthew, ...

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 ...

Finding God in Desperate Places

Introduction

I'd like to write a book someday called Desperate Places: How God Shines Through Our Weakness. These desperate places are places of weakness, ...

What Have We Done?

Introduction

After the Chicago Cubs lost their 96th baseball game in 2006, manager Dusty Baker, was called in to meet with the general manager. We all ...

Expect God's Visitation

Introduction

In Charles Dickens' novel A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge lies down on Christmas Eve hoping to enjoy a good night's rest. In the course ...

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 ...

Lessons from Lepers

Introduction

We often look at thanksgiving backwards. We think of thanksgiving as thanking God for something that has happened to us already. The real ...

Doubts in Belief

Introduction

I once participated in a very interesting conversation. A group of sixteen evangelical pastors, who believed the Bible and had good ministries, ...

Facing Off Without Falling Apart

Introduction

In Acts 4 we witness an epic battle between a David-like underdog and a behemoth giant. In one corner you have two unschooled, unimpressive ...

When Life Crowds You Out

Introduction

On the wall of a subway in New York City was an advertising poster that depicted a dignified older gentleman recommending a particular product. ...

Sense Out of Nonsense

Text: Luke 24:1–11
Topic: How to make sense of chaos and suffering

Introduction

Ancient sailors puzzled over why some of their colleagues who sailed ...

How Should a Pastor Think About His People's Giving?

Introduction

When I mentioned the title of this sermon to a group of pastors at our monthly denominational meeting, it elicited considerable response. ...

Where's the "Gift Return" Receipt?

Introduction

Let's suppose there's a small town on the edge of Iraq, near the Saudi border. Let's call the town Mosel. It's a small community with no other ...

A Win-Win Situation

Introduction

Every so often we find ourselves in a win-win situation. No matter which way it goes, we come out ahead.

For example, at school we decide to ...

It's All About You, Lord

Introduction

A poet once complained to a friend, "Life's not fair. A banker can write a bad poem, and nobody says anything about it. But if a poet writes ...

Worship or Worry?

Introduction

There's an old Greek proverb that says, "The bow that is always bent will soon break." What that proverb seems to be implying is that the ...

Costly, Messy, Beautiful Obedience

Introduction

The key word in the title of this message is "obedience." When I did a Google search on obedience, the most popular sites fell into two categories: ...

The Second Extreme: Contempt for the Lost

Introduction

I've got good news, bad news, and hard news.

The good news: The best argument for God is the church. Everyday, God becomes accessible to a ...

Between Despair and Hope

Introduction

This is our final sermon in our series on Deuteronomy. We have been in between the wilderness and the Promised Land, waiting and listening. ...

Between Memory and Imagination

Introduction

Last week we learned that Deuteronomy is a book about transition. The people of Israel are standing on the banks of the Jordan River with ...

The Hardest Part of the Journey

Introduction

Today marks the beginning of a four-week series on the one book of the Bible that perhaps is read less often than any other. If we took a ...

Inquiring of the Lord

Introduction

I want to read to you an obscure little verse from an obscure part of the Old Testament. Very few people know this story, but it has a lot ...

Understanding Providence

Introduction

A loyal person understands providence. In order to understand this, by way of contrast, consider our culture today. If there's one word that ...

You Don't Have to Be Good to Come to Christ

Introduction

The description of the early church that is found in the opening chapters of the Book of Acts almost sounds like paradise revisited. Two events ...

Back to Reality

Introduction

Do you know what it is like to have a mountaintop experience and then come down hard when necessity forces you to get back to reality? Maybe ...

Seeing Life God's Way

Introduction

Not too long ago, a friend of mine was at the doctor's office for his annual checkup. As part of the exam, the doctor looked in his eyes. ...

Embarrassed by God

Introduction

I want to tell you about my Aunt Julie, because everybody has an Aunt Julie in their family or an Uncle Harry or a cousin Jessica—someone ...

On Suicide

Introduction

Death is never easy. But death is even harder when someone is too young to die or dies under especially difficult circumstances. The tragic ...

Those Who Rise

Introduction

The story is told of a farmer's donkey who stumbled into an old, dry well. For hours the animal cried piteously as the farmer tried to sort ...

We Need a Downpour

Text: Hosea 6:1
Topic: Why we need revival

Where would we be without the Lord? Where would we be individually; where would we be in our family? Where would ...