Fake Faith

Introduction

In a now famous experiment, two social psychologists at Princeton University in 1973 wanted to examine whether thinking religious thoughts ...

The Grace of Being Tender-Hearted

Introduction

I just read the story of a Pennsylvania legislator, newly elected to the Pennsylvania legislature. He said of his legislative agenda, "I want ...

Brother, Interrupted

Introduction: A tale of two brothers

In 1989, two brothers from Boston started a T-shirt business. For five years Bert and John traveled the East Coast, ...

Consequential Strangers

Introduction: Everyday people

So who have you bumped into lately? Think for a minute about the multitude of people—strangers or acquaintances—whose ...

A Hard Saying

Introduction: A hard saying

This morning we come to one of the hard sayings of Jesus. There are quite a few of them, actually. I have a book on my shelf ...

No Strings Attached

Introduction

For the last several weeks, we've been sowing the seeds of a revolution around here. Being in Massachusetts, this area is familiar with ...

What Can One Person Do?

Introduction: What now?

For five weeks we have been teaching ourselves to see what Jesus sees and feel what Jesus feels, as we make our way through our ...

WWJS?

Introduction: Shouldn't we be saying something?

There are certain words or phrases that are almost guaranteed to make people really uncomfortable: root ...

The Kingdom of God Is Like

Introductory remarks from Mark Buchanan:

This sermon was the second-to-last sermon of an eight-week series on the kingdom of God. I wanted, with this sermon, ...

Brothers, Interrupted

The story behind the sermon (from Bryan Wilkerson):

This sermon was preached early in September to launch our ministry focus for the year, which we're ...

Painting by Numbers

From the editor

If you've read or heard a sermon by Peter Hiett, chances are you've not forgotten it. Consider "Redneck Christmas"—a featured sermon ...

A Personal Relationship

Introduction

I want to share with you something that had a decisive impact on my life; it was a turning point for me. And ever since, it's been an anchor ...

Good Guys, Bad Guys, or Us Guys?

Introduction

Anybody here grow up in a legalistic, fundamentalist type of church? The emphasis in those kinds of churches is on keeping the rules, lots ...

Public Performance Is Easier than Private Devotion

Introduction

If you are just joining us, this is the third week in a six-week series entitled "Adventures in Missing the Point." We have been learning ...

The View From Up Here

Introduction

I love mountains. I love to gaze upon them and I love to climb them. For the last few years, I have taken an annual hunting trip to the Rockies ...

A Life Worth Saving

Introduction:

There’s a story of a man who risked his life to save a boy trapped in a burning building. The doorway was blocked, the room was filled with ...

Fasting as Fuel for the Soul

We're in the third week of a series called Fuel For the Soul. We're looking at some ancient Christian disciplines that serve to strengthen us spiritually. ...

The Heart of a Servant

Introduction

We're in the final week of a series called Fuel for the Soul. We've been talking about things you can do to turbo-charge your spiritual life—to ...

What It Means to Take Jesus Seriously

This is the second week of the series in Matthew called "The Master's Guide to Greatness." From a human standpoint, you can say that Jesus achieved ...

What Determines Your Future?

When the Jewish leaders challenged Jesus authority he responded with three parables: the parable of the two sons; the parable of the tenants; and the ...

Stepping Into Freedom

When my friend Russ Martin preached on this passage, he titled the message "Who's Yo Mama?" As you may have noticed, I'm a little more timid when it ...

Walk the Talk

When I was a teenager I met a man named Richard Coss. Richard had an amazing story to tell. At the age of 25, he had spent more than 15 years in prison ...

Thanksgiving and Faith

In a yard near us, a sign recently appeared with these words on it: MOM ON STRIKE. Michelle had "moved" into her children's tree house and vowed she wasn't ...