The Great Exchange

Introduction

The New York Times magazine ran an article that was simply called "Happiness 101." They want to get to the root of what really makes people ...

The World's Greatest Talk: Choices

Introductory Remarks from John Ortberg

This message was designed to do one thing: challenge people to decide to follow Jesus wholeheartedly.

Part of ...

A Journey of Hope

Introduction

Today I'd like to look at Psalm 84. Someone once called the book of Psalms "the soul's medicine chest," and I think that's a good description. ...

The Great Gratitude Experiment

Introduction

There's a theme in the Bible that appears in several different places. Paul says to the church in Thessalonica, "Rejoice always, pray continually, ...

The True Vine

Introduction

Summer is here, and many of us have planted gardens. Why do we plant a garden? For the yield of produce, the production of fruit. Why does ...

Keep the Sabbath

Introduction

Today we'll be looking mainly at Deuteronomy chapter 5, and we're reading verses 12 through 15. Hear the Word of the Lord:

Observe ...

God Is Sufficient

Introduction: The most important thing about us

Have you ever met someone who seems to live a life so beautiful and good that it made you wonder, How can ...

What's With All These Names?

When we were first married, my wife Susan worked for a bank in Deerfield. You could get your license plates there at the time. The bank was issued a stack ...

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 Rock That Doesn't Roll

Story behind the sermon (from Bryan Wilkerson)

This is a sermon I've wanted to preach for a long time, ever since I took a D. Min course from Warren Wiersbe ...

Becoming a Child with God

Introduction

Ruth and I were visiting in California some years ago when our eldest granddaughter was three. She climbed up on the bed at 6:00 A.M. in the ...

The Muchness of God

Introduction

In this very moment, God is ready to pour out upon you—from the lavish abundance and overflow of his reserves—blessings that will ...

The Shortest Distance Between Two Points is a Zig Zag

Early in geometry we learned that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. That means if I'm at point A and want to get to point ...

The Whys Have No Answer

Introduction

In these last few days, most of us have witnessed what we have never seen before. I never could have imagined the fury of the most devastating ...

Why Worry?

Introduction

We're probably all familiar with the story of Howard Hughes. Hughes was a big-time businessman who dabbled in oil, entertainment, and ...

I Pray the Lord My Soul to Keep

From the editor:

Here's another great sermon from one of our featured preachers, Bryan Wilkerson—an in-depth look at the last few lines of the Lord's ...

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 ...

Mind Your Own Business: What does the Bible say about savings and debt?

From the editor

If the prognosticators are right, the current economic crisis will probably stretch on into 2010. With that in mind, now might be a good ...

Trusting in God's Process

Introduction

Coco was a pit bull mix, just barely one year old. As a puppy she was dumped on the freeway and rescued by a teenager who handed her off to ...

Faith in Tough Times

From the editor

I'm confident we all would agree that 2008 was a tough year: war, a tumbling stock market, natural disasters, the continued threat of terrorism, ...

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 ...

Desperate Hearts

Introduction

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

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, ...

Living on the Edge of Whatever Happens

From the editor

One of the great joys in preaching is when you know you have something special to offer. Perhaps it's a particularly well-crafted thesis ...

Remember God in the Moment

Introduction

"Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say, 'I have ...

The House of Prayer

Introduction

"My temple should be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves." That stands as one of the harshest indictments ever uttered ...

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, ...

The "Muchness" of God

Text: James 5:13–16
Topic: How to experience God's provision and power

Introduction

In this very moment, God is ready to pour out upon you—from ...

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, ...

The Prime Principle

Introduction

Abiding in Christ is simply staying near a friend who loves you. But what happens to a person who abides in Christ? If I really walk with ...

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. ...

The Lord Is My Shepherd

Introduction

I don't know much about sheep. I was born and raised in the suburbs, and we didn't have sheep. In fact, they were probably illegal. ...

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 ...

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 ...

You're In Good Hands

Introduction:

Have you ever noticed that the fear of getting a shot is often worse than the shot itself? You dread the moment, dread the moment, dread ...

Should We Move On with Our Lives?

Within days of the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington D.C. the President (as well as NY Mayor Rudy Giuliani) urged American citizens ...

Going with God's Game Plan

Today is Super Bowl Sunday, and I want to congratulate all the football fans for choosing to be here this morning, rather than at home watching the ...

Living Outside the Comfort Zone

The book of Matthew tells us that Jesus spent part of his childhood in Egypt. Matthew doesn't go into much detail about these years, but he tells us ...

How God Supplies Your Needs

Today we're taking a look at one of the most popular events in the life of Jesus: the feeding of the 5,000. (Actually, it was 5,000 men, not including ...

Changing What We Are Powerless to Change

This is the final week of our series called "This Year Will Be Different." We've been talking about principles for creating lasting change in your life. ...

Taking Control of Your Life

This morning I want to tell you the story of Rudy Ruettiger. Rudy grew up in a Catholic family in a small town in Illinois. He was one of 14 children ...

Stop Being a Pawn

In the sixth chapter of Mark there is a fascinating story about the household of King Herod. Herod was the king of Galilee, and his family life was ...

The Whys That Have No Answer

In these last few days, most of us have witnessed what we have never seen before. I never could have imagined the fury of the most devastating hurricane ...

Life in the Penalty Box

I'd like to just read an excerpt of someone who wrote to me from out of state and addressed the letter to me personally.

He said, "I'm 31 years old." ...

Great People Do for Others

In the recent NCAA basketball Final Four playoffs here at Dallas, I was interested in the statement made by one of the coaches prior to the game. He was ...

The Often-Overlooked Benefits of Losing

In our society being called a loser is the ultimate indignity. You can almost hear someone say, "Call me a liar or a cheat, but please stop short of ever ...

He Is Able

One of the lovely things about the Lord is that he hides the future from us. Most of us would love a sneak preview of the future. We say, "Well, Lord, ...

Real Giving

When it seemed as if every home in our community were getting an answering machine, Deb and I would affirm our mutual dislike for those machines and our ...

I Can Do All Things Through Christ

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

I'm thinking the apostle Paul is not imagining we're going to defy the gene pool, thinking lumpy, ...