Zion’s Birth Story

Introduction

Since shops are already putting up Christmas lights and radio stations are playing Christmas music, I thought it would be appropriate to consider ...

Fake Faith

Introduction

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

Spirit of Adoption—Found

Introduction

So it’s 11 in the morning, and a little boy is called to the head teacher’s office. Sadly, this little boy knows the way very ...

The Way of Embrace

Introduction

A few months ago something strange happened on an airplane bound for Los Angeles. The actress Amy Adams was shooting a new film in Detroit ...

The Heart of a Pastor

The Story Behind the Sermon

This message represents an unusual approach to sermon prep and delivery. Jim Singleton and Matthew Kim, both professors at ...

Family Matters

Introduction

Colin Smith suggests a number of common, but faulty, metaphors for the church. He says the church can be viewed as a gas station—a place ...

The Church: Staying Connected to the Head

Introduction

The Bible's teaching about the church isn't easy to grasp. The church is a mystery, and it is only with the help of the Holy Spirit that we ...

Single in Christ

Today's scripture passage comes from Isaiah 56:1-7:

Thus says the Lord: "Keep justice and do righteousness, for soon my salvation will come and ...

Community: The Context for Change

Story behind the sermon (from John Ortberg)

I am a huge N. T. Wright fan, and I think some of his material on the role and destiny of human beings is a ...

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? ...

Deborah, the Encourager of Manhood

Today we're looking at Deborah, the encourager of manhood. But before we look at the life of Deborah, you've probably seen church bulletin announcements ...

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 ...

Christian Singles

Introduction

Currently 17 to 20 million unmarried women and several million fewer unmarried men live in the United States. It's estimated that, at ...

When the Roll Is Called Down Here

Introduction

I hope you will not feel guilty if your heart was not all aflutter during the reading of the text. It's not very interesting. It's ...

Calling on Family Support

Introduction

A mother entered her daughter's bedroom one afternoon and saw a letter on the bed. With trembling hands, she read:

Dear Mom, It is with much ...

The Real Scoop on the Lord's Supper

Text: 1 Corinthians 11:17–34
Topic: How to approach the Lord's Supper in a worthy manner

From the editor

When was the last time you preached about the ...

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 ...

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 ...

Peace in the Church

Introduction

When I was a pastor in Arizona, there were two men in the church who were greatly admired. They were both successful businessmen who desired ...

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 ...

Follow the Leader

Introduction

A church fails for one of two reasons.

The first reason is poor leadership—the failure of those whom God has called to lead, to lead well, ...

Mind Renewal

Text: Romans 12:1–8
Topic: How to reclaim community in the church

Introduction

Something that has become very popular in today's media-crazed society ...

Teach Your Children Well

Introduction

They say God has no grandchildren. What they mean is that it isn't enough to be born into a believing home or a believing church. Every child ...

Passing the Baton

Introduction

A few months ago, I heard a song on the radio by an artist named John Mayer. The song is entitled "Daughters," and you hear it several ...

It Takes a Church

Introduction

Several years ago, a Peace Corps worker wrote a children's book based upon her experiences in Africa. It tells the story of a young girl named ...

Call Me at Midnight

Introduction

Whether our "family" is a group of close friends, a bunch of kids running around the house, or a husband and wife alone, I think it is fair ...

The Incredibles

Introduction

As we saw last week, every great family is founded first and foremost on the Covenant Principle—on a radical commitment to one ...

People of the Table

Introduction

On this Mother's Day, it seems very appropriate that we continue to reflect together on what it takes to grow a great family. Whether our ...

Being a Bridge-Builder

Introduction:

Recently, I read about a retired executive from Decatur, named Richard Reeves. Ten years ago, Richard became captivated by the dream of Africa ...

Our Great High Priest

Introduction:

During the administration of Abraham Lincoln, a small boy saw a grown man weeping in front of the White House. The little boy asked the man ...

Like a Living Stone

Introduction

"How does it feel," Bob Dylan asks. "How does it feel to be on your own, with no direction home, a complete unknown, like a rolling stone?" ...

Does the Church Have Something to Say?

A cynical church leader once said, "Our church is looking for a great year. That year is 1961. If it ever comes back, we're ready." His reason for saying ...