The Point of the Power

Introduction

I want to talk about the whole point of power here in Mark 4. What does Jesus’ power over the world, which comes from the fact that ...

Keyholders

Introduction

Across from the residence where I lived in college stood a mysterious building known as Scroll and Key. This great stone-clad mausoleum was ...

God's Love Language

Introduction

Why does it take so long to learn how to love the important people in our life? Am I the only slow learner in this crowd? When our kids were ...

Looking Otherward

Introduction

Many years ago, I had dinner at a place called Windows on the World. The restaurant sat atop a skyscraper so high that the wait staff literally ...

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 ...

Experiencing the Holy Spirit

Introduction

My name is Francis, and I was a pastor in Southern California for about sixteen years at a church that I planted. About a year ago, I moved ...

Good Music

A few years ago I read a story in the Chicago Tribune with the headline, "City Tries to Pump Up Its Crews Down Under." There was a new guy in charge of ...

The Hunger that Satisfies

Introduction

We all want to be happy. And Jesus tells us how. In Matthew 5:6, Jesus says, "Blessed [or happy] are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, ...

An Unstoppable Force

Introduction

Last week we learned that the Church was meant to be a life-changing community, where people are transformed by their encounters with God ...

Keep the Dust off the High Chairs

Introduction

A couple of months ago, a relative of mine passed away. The funeral service was at the church, and the burial service was at a cemetery next ...

The Eyes of a Doctor

From the editor:

Here's a sermon from Donald Sunukjian on what we ought to do when we encounter someone who has yet to know God. We've mentioned before ...

The Sermon That Inspired Murder

From the editor:

We feel that this featured sermon from regular contributor Kevin Miller can inspire ideas for two different sermons: a sermon on the divinity ...

The Lostness of Humankind

Text: Romans 1:18-25Topic: A look at mankind's journey through rejection, separation, domination, and condemnation—and his opportunity for redemption ...

Gentleness

Introduction

This is the seventh week we've been growing through our study of the fruit of the Spirit. This week we're going to look at gentleness. You ...

Blessed Are the Persecuted

Introduction

Imagine you are in the market for a new car. You visit the dealer and the salesman who is showing you the latest model takes you for a test ...

Blessed Are the Peacemakers

Introduction

The troops the United Nations deployed to the war-torn Darfur region of Sudan look like they could be soldiers from just about any nation. ...

Regime Change

From the editor:

Here's a sermon by Kevin Miller that might inspire a few ideas for your own Palm Sunday sermon (April 5, 2009). As you read the sermon, ...

Fall

Introduction

My wife, Cheryl, and I had an opportunity in 2004 to spend a week in New Brunswick. We started in St. John, spent a couple of days in the ...

Stop Witnessing, Start Working

Introduction

A few months ago, I came across an article in The Boston Globe about religion in the workplace. The columnist, who is one of the few Jewish ...

Good to Great

Introduction

Suppose someone were to show up at your workplace tomorrow, shove a microphone in your face, and ask, "How do you think your work affects ...

The Job

Introduction

One of the most talked-about shows on television today is called, The Office. The Office gives us a glimpse into the cubicles and consciousness ...

Fighting Well

Introduction

The movie Cinderella Man is based on the true story of a boxer named James J. Braddock. Braddock was a good boxer who lost his passion and ...

Keep the Dust off the Highchairs

Text: Luke 2:52
Topic: Why the young people of a church are important

Introduction

I once attended the funeral of a relative of mine. The service was at ...

Body Life

Introduction

That the church is the "body of Christ" is more than simply a figure of speech. The church is the chief means by which Christ works today; ...

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 ...

A Crop Is A Crop

Introduction

We've been considering what it means to be jars of clay—ordinary, fragile people living in a difficult and dangerous world. The message ...

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 ...

Don't Go To Church!

Introduction

D. L. Moody was visiting a prominent Chicago citizen when the idea of church membership and involvement came up.

"I believe I can be just as ...

Weighing Others Heavy

Text: Exodus 20:13; Matthew 5:21–24; Romans 12:14–21; Romans 13:8–10
Topic: How to apply the sixth commandment

Introduction

The sixth commandment ...

It's All About You, Lord

Introduction

A poet once complained to a friend, "Life's not fair. A banker can write a bad poem, and nobody says anything about it. But if a poet writes ...

The Blazing Fastball That Gives Us Confidence

Introduction

On July 15, 1986, Roger Clemens came to bat in his first Major League Baseball All-Star game. Roger was the sizzling right-handed pitcher ...

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 ...

A Christmas To-Do List

Introduction

Most of us have heard the Christmas story so many times that we think we know what it's all about, but the fact is we might have passed over ...

Gratitude Gives Way to Resentment

Introduction

I will never forget a meeting I had with unhappy parishioners a few years ago. We had made deliberate changes in our church in order to better ...

Separation Can Lead to Isolation

Introduction

Imagine a weird world where, before you can be admitted to a hospital, you have to have a clean bill of health. A world where doctors won't ...

The Witness of Worship

Introduction

Have you ever thought of the connection between worship and witnessing? As believers, we understand that we must be involved in both. We come ...

Is the Father of Jesus the God of Muhammad?

Text: John 1:1–18
Topic: The commonalities and irreducible differences between Christianity and Islam

In 1995 there was a book published by Professor ...

A Declaration of Faith

In today's story, Jesus has taken his disciples into a remote area to spend time alone with them. They have been together, at this point, for about ...

Encounter: The Vision of Witnessing

Introduction

Several years ago, I was enjoying a day of recreation on a ski slope in central Wisconsin. While other friends from the church had gone ...