A Bad Day

Introduction

As we walk thru life all of us are going to have some good days, some average days, and some bad days.

One of my bad days happened ...

'Remember!'

Introduction

There were three sisters—ages 92, 94, and 96—who lived together. One night, the 96-year-old drew a bath. She put one ...

Joy Terenzoni and Her Sacks of Treasure

There is a story Jesus told about a man who entrusted his servants with his possessions. To one servant he gave 5 talents - that was 5 sacks of treasure. ...

More Than Your Personal Savior

Introduction

For over three decades, Paul Harvey made a name for himself by telling “the rest of the story.” Day after day he came on our radios ...

Lazarus the First

Introduction

When Jesus heard that his friend Lazarus was gravely ill, the first thing he did was nothing.

To be fair: I don’t know exactly what it ...

Our Suffering Servant

Introduction

With every step we have taken, the cross has slowly been coming into view. Certain death is looming over the Savior. As the tour continues, ...

An Upper Room Revelation

Overview of Sermon Series

Many years ago, my wife and I visited Alcatraz Prison in San Francisco, CA. Let me emphasize visited! We toured the prison via ...

A Tale of Two Trees

Introduction

This is the highest of holy days for the Christian church. This is the day where not only do we remember that Jesus died and he was buried, ...

I Did the Job No One Wants

You probably don’t know me. I guess I wouldn’t expect you to. I’m not exactly some big-name apostle who can fill up an amphitheater. ...

The Resurrection Matters—Really Matters!

Introduction

Like many of you, this Easter, I celebrate a radical truth—that Jesus died and rose to pay the price for our failures and affirm he ...

Empowered to Work

Editor's note: for needed context be sure to see Kim's first sermon on this topic, "Loving Our Work," available here.

Where Do You Want to Finish Your Life?

Introduction

Friends, the text before us is in Luke's Gospel. You have it in your books. Nowadays in Nigeria, young men and women have it in ...

Treasury Notes in Heaven

Introduction

Our son-in-law, Keith, works on the trading floor of the commodities market exchange in Chicago. I've been there to watch him. You stand in ...

Good News When You're Confronted by Death

Introduction

Luke 7:11-17 says this:

Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. As ...

What's Your Story?

Introduction

Have you heard of Storycorps? Storycorps is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to celebrate the lives of everyday Americans by inviting ...

Meditation for a Fallen Police Officer

Editor's Note: In the early morning hours of Christmas Eve 2012, police officer Jennifer Sebena was gunned down while on patrol. She was killed by ...

The Three Gifts of Christmas

Introduction

I'd like to begin by reading the entire passage of Hebrews 2:5-18 this morning, and then we're going to talk about how this passage helps ...

The Warrior Revealed

Introduction

It happens to all of us. It happens at different times, in different places, and in different ways. Sometimes it happens when you go out on ...

The Warrior Rises

Introduction

Do you ever watch wrestling? If you do, are you afraid to admit that you watch it? I recently read that you probably watch too much wrestling ...

The Warrior Returns

Introduction

There is a distinctive facial expression that is common to all countries and cultures. There is something that can happen to any human being ...

Foresight

Introduction:

There are weights that only Christians carry. I talked to a friend whose daughter was angry with him, a feeling many parents know. But my ...

Deny Ability

Introduction

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

Remembering Your Creator

Introduction

Today I want us to look at the Book of Ecclesiastes. I feel this text deeply every time I get into it. I pastor a very large, very young church. ...

Jesus, Lord of the Cross

There are few more exciting units of the U.S. Military than the Combat Search and Rescue (or the CSAR). If you've seen the movie Black Hawk Down, ...

Christmas in the City of Jerusalem

Introduction

We're going to do something a little different this year in December. We want to focus on a "Hometown Christmas." Typically we tend to think ...

Murderers and the Murdered One

Introduction

We're in our sixth week in our series on the Ten Commandments and today we're talking about the sixth commandment, Deuteronomy 5:17: "You ...

Encounter on Golgotha Road

From the editor:

We recently posted an Easter message by John Ortberg, because the themes like atonement, the Cross, resurrection, etc. are never out of ...

Loss, Loyalty, & Lament

Introduction

I've never been one to read romance novels, but lately I've been reading one. It's been a good one, too. Believe it or not, it's a book I ...

God in Our Sorrows

The Advent is where God meets us in our sorrow.

The word advent means an arriving or an appearing. It's the arrival of something we hoped for, something ...

Life and Death Advice

In Psalm 49, a man steps out of the pages of the Bible with a riddle in his hand, and he's desperate we hear it. In fact, he calls on us in verse 1 to ...

A Purpose Runs Through It

Introduction

One of the most beautiful movies of last year was A River Runs Through It, based upon the novel by the same title. The movie told the story ...

Captured by the Word

Introduction

I knew I would be changing this message when just last week twelve jurors in the state of Michigan decided that Jack Kevorkian did not break ...

Memorial Service for Robert Huizenga

Introduction

Even if we're Christians, life involves some enormous contradictions. Doesn't it? We pray for one thing, and the opposite seems to happen. ...

Memorial Service for Heather Gillian

Introduction

With God's help, I want to share just a few thoughts about Heather. When we look at this Gospel, which was a favorite Gospel of Heather and ...

Equipped to Face the Two Biggest Fears...

Introduction

I would like to ask you a question this morning: What are the two biggest fears in your life? If I get boring, where will your mind wander? ...

Memorial Service for Bea Campbell

Introduction

Joseph Bayly, delightful, personal friend now in heaven, was flying from Chicago to the city of Los Angeles. He engaged the woman sitting ...

The World's Greatest Step

The story behind the sermon (from John Ortberg):

For Easter I wanted to present some of N. T. Wright's material on the Resurrection. I love his work on ...

Death Is Life

From the editor:

Easter draws closer and closer (April 4), and we're here to help out with sermon ideas to inspire you in your own preaching. This week ...

Worth Your Attention

From the editor

More helpful resources for Easter! This week we're featuring a message from Mike Woodruff, pastor of Christ Church Lake Forest in Lake ...

The Last Enemy

From the editor:

This week we continue to roll out great Easter resources to help inspire ideas for your own preaching. Below is a sermon by Donald Sunukjian ...

If God Is Great, Where Is He in World of Suffering?

Introduction

Of all the reasons for rejecting the claims of Christianity, the one most frequently offered comes in the form of a question: "If God is so ...

If God Is Great, Where Is He in a World of Suffering?

Text: Matthew 27:27-46
Topic: Dealing with the reality of suffering

From the editor

Easter really isn't that far away—April 4, 2010—so we'll ...

It Doesn't Sting Anymore

Introduction

Tony Campolo, at the end of a sermon titled, "The Year of Jubilee," tells this story:

I went to my first black funeral when I was 16 years ...

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 ...

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 ...

The Long Tomorrow

Introduction

An 85-year-old couple died in a car crash after having been married almost 60 years. They had been in good health the last ten years mainly ...

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 ...

What if it's true?

Introduction

Several friends were talking in a restaurant when the conversation came around to dying. They asked each other what they would like to have ...

On the Cross

Introduction

A.D. abbreviates the Latin words "Anno Domini," which means "Year of Our Lord." Our calendars are all dated by the birth ...

Crown of thorns for the King of Kings

Introduction

It's almost Easter, but do you remember Christmas? We heard the joyous story that starts on the first page of the New Testament. Matthew ...