Hiss or His?

Introduction

(Read Luke 4:1-13)

Are you interested in having power? You don't have to have delusions of grandeur or dreams of being elected President ...

The Gift of the Son: Mighty God

This sermon is part of “The Gift of the Son” sermon series. See the whole series here.

Introduction

For this Advent sermon series leading up ...

Mourning to Joy

Introduction

Haman hated the Jews, and he was in a position to do something about it. Around 480 B.C., Haman was the second-most powerful man in the vast ...

The God of the Left-handed

Introduction

Simon Birch is a funny and sad movie about two 12-year-old boys, Simon Birch, who is a little-person, and his friend Joe. Rejected and ignored ...

Unity in the Cross

Introduction

There was once a man in San Francisco walking along the Golden Gate Bridge, and he saw a second man about to jump over the edge. He stopped ...

Power, Politics, and the Example of Christ

Introduction

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus shares some important insights on power. Mary the mother of James and John came to him and asked, "When ...

You're the App for That

Introduction

Steve Jobs has been in the news this week after announcing that he was stepping down as the CEO of Apple. When Jobs announced the original ...

New Eyes for New Life

Please turn in your Bibles to Mark 10:46-52, which we identify as the account of a young man who was blind named Bartimaeus. Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem ...

Can You Do Any Better?

The story behind the sermon (by Claude Alexander)

This sermon is a part of a series on the Book of Daniel entitled "A Challenged and Challenging Faith." ...

Where Do We Find Hope?

Introduction

On the hillsides and on the mountainsides along the ocean in Japan there are stone markers, some of them over six hundred years old, and on ...

God Is Present and Powerful

Introduction: Our struggle with sin

We've been trying to renew together our vision of who God really is. Everything good in life flows from the person ...

Jesus Christ: His Resurrection from the Dead

"The gospel of God … regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendent of David according to the flesh, and who was declared to be ...

The God Who Shines Like the Sun

Introduction

One Friday night I was getting in a little exercise. It was a rainy and cloudy day, but just around dusk, the sun came out for a short time. ...

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 ...

Fearing God

I don't believe I've ever witnessed such a powerful portrayal of fear as in the film Saving Private Ryan. From the first scene of shuttered, vomiting ...

What Do Christians Think About Jesus?

Introduction

From the standpoint of world history, Jesus Christ looms as the most incredible and significant person who's ever lived. Yale historian ...

Three Ways to Worship

Introduction

Back when I was in college, I had a professor of American religion who gave us a really interesting assignment. He had us visit nearly every ...

Fear of God

Text: Psalm 103
Topic: Understanding godly fear

From the editor

We don't hear too many sermons about the fear of God. The reasons why vary—from fear ...

The Kingdom of God Is Near

From the Editor

Hamilton's passage is but two verses long, but the chief idea of those two verses—the kingdom of God—knows no bounds. ...

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 Miracle of Christmas

Introduction

In Luke 11:33–35, Jesus says, "Your eye is a lamp, lighting up your whole body. If you live in wide-eyed wonder and belief, your body ...

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 ...

Fear of God

Introduction

A few summers ago, my family took a family trip to Toronto. We'd never been there before, so we didn't know what to see. But all the guidebooks ...

Above All Earthly Powers

Introduction

Martin Luther's famous Reformation hymn, "A Mighty Fortress," is about the triumph of God over all the attacks of Satan, including his attack ...

Evangelical Laughter

Introduction

I have never been criticized for being too serious in a sermon. Humor is my downfall. Sometimes I've attempted a little remark in a sermon, ...

The Grieving Heart of God

Introduction

On the first day teaching his class for 250 college freshmen, R. C. Sproul carefully explained the assignment of three term papers. Each paper ...

God's Consuming Fire

Text: 1 Kings 18:16–39
Topic: What we learn about God and ourselves from fire

Fire. It was there from the beginning of God's creation. He said, "Let ...

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 ...

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 ...

The Roaring of the Lord

Introduction

This morning, in a very unique way, each one of you will have to be the preacher, or there'll be no sermon. The sermon that you are going ...

Power

Introduction

"Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty Dumpty together ...

Ancient Mystery Revealed

Introduction

Everyone loves a good mystery, a thriller, a whodunit! Some of the most popular books, movies, and TV shows of all time are mysteries. We ...

The Coming of the King

Sermon One

Introduction

Jesus and his disciples were on the Jericho road. They had already climbed most of the treacherous pathway that twisted and turned ...

Enter the King of Glory

Introduction

First they heard the noise of the crowd, the cheering and shouting. As they drew closer they could hear what everyone was saying: "The ...

My Redeemer Lives

Sermon Three

Introduction

At Westminster Abbey in London there is an impressive monument to G. F. Handel, sculpted by the Frenchman Louis-Francois Roubiliac. ...

At the Last Trumpet

Sermon Four

Introduction

Nearly everyone believes in the crucifixion of the body. Even historians who deny the deity of Jesus Christ nevertheless accept ...

Where Can God Be Found?

When Elvis Presley died there were a lot of different ways in which the news was covered concerning the reactions of the people who really loved him and ...

Is God for Us or for Himself?

I would like to try to persuade you this morning that the chief end of God is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Or to put it another way, the chief ...

Our Majestic God

Introduction

A few summers ago, I was asked by Bill Leslie to fill the pulpit at Elm LaSalle Church (in those days), now LaSalle Street Church. I remember, ...

God and the Hebrew Midwives

Many of you perhaps were shaped the way I was in terms of where I really learned my first Bible pictures of the Exodus story. I didn't get mine in Sunday ...

How Do You Catch the Wind?

One Sunday morning a number of years ago, my wife piled the children into the family car to go to Sunday school and worship. When she turned the key, ...

When You Feel You're at the End

By Faith, Miracles!

Introduction

I sometimes feel when I get to a passage like Hebrews 11 that I'm almost like a little boy walking through the Hall of Fame wearing sneakers ...