Praise

Introduction

These Psalms of Ascent remind us that we are on a journey through our lives with God. These 15 psalms, from 120 through 134, were sung and ...

Majestic Beauty, Incomparable Glory

Introduction

Recently while riding on an airplane, I was doing some light reading. As usual, this book had endorsements on the back, and one caught my ...

Reasons to Be Thankful

Introduction

As a little boy I recall thumbing through an old church hymnal. I came across a piece that has become one of my favorite Thanksgiving songs. ...

What Difference Does Christmas Make

Introduction

Here we are, at the very beginning of the Christmas season. Oh, I know the malls and stores have been playing Christmas music and hanging ...

A Heart of Gratitude

Introduction

Stone Mountain is a very large, naked hill of solid granite that is located about 15 miles northeast of Atlanta. If you've been there, you ...

The Lawful Pleasure of Praise

Introduction

The key insight of this sermon is this: God will lavish his people with praise on the Last Day. Those who are in Christ can expect to find ...

Pointing Fingers

Introduction

We live in an age of finger-pointing. Some of this finger-pointing is regrettable, I think. One expression of it is inspirational, I believe. ...

A Picture of Praise

Introduction

Thanksgiving Day was near. The first grade teacher gave her class a fun assignment—to draw a picture of something for which they ...

A Psalm for Giving Thanks

Introduction

Psalm 100 reads:

A psalm for giving thanks. Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence ...

God Knows What He's Doing

Introduction

There is a pattern in the New Testament Epistles of Paul. He begins by explaining doctrine and then exhorts us to duty, reminding us that ...

As Good As It Gets

Introduction

In 1969, Malcolm Muggeridge, a British journalist, broadcaster, and the editor of Punch, a satirical magazine, went to Calcutta to make a ...

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 ...

When the Bottom Falls Out

I remember the events that led to her tears. My wife, Kathy, had come home from a weekly grocery trip with more than groceries to be concerned about. ...

Faith in the Furnace

How do you win the World Series? A few decades ago, when the New York Mets were the underdog darlings of the National League, two young pitchers told ...

It's Not About You

Introduction

Today we're going to look at Matthew 8:23-27:

And when he got to the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm ...

The Joy You've Always Wanted

The topic today is joy. And the chief question is: how do we get it? How do we have more joy more often? How can we be happy?

We are looking at Paul's ...

An Empowering Presence

Introduction

Some years ago I had a conversation with a guest after one of our services. It was her first or second time at our church, and she offered ...

The Whats and the Why of Worship

Introduction

What does God want? What would please him? Did you ever ask those questions about worship? If I only knew, I would do it. If I only knew what ...

Worship: What We're Doing & Why

Introduction

If a visitor from another planet attended a service of Christian worship anywhere in the world, he wouldn't have to be especially perceptive ...

Hallelujah Chorus

Introduction

I've heard before that if you want to get along with people, you ought to avoid discussing politics and religion. But a list of taboo topics ...

The ABCs of Praise

Introduction

This is a Psalm that begins with a commitment that on the surface seems rather simple: "I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise ...

Worship and Love

Text: Malachi 1:1-5
Topic: The first steps toward restoring right worship

Click here to listen to the audio.

The Story Behind the Sermon (from Steve Mathewson)

The Messy Family of God

Introduction

"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." So reads the first line of Leo Tolstoy's famous novel, Anna ...

Mary: A Song of Trust

Introduction

A lot of people travel at Christmas. During this time of the year, many of us would like to be with family to celebrate, so we load up the ...

The House of Worship

Introduction

Where is the best place to live? Every year, the UN asks this question about countries, and every year they release their recommendations ...

Dangerous Worship

Introduction

Have you considered that many of the things we do every day are inherently dangerous? Yet we hardly think about it. Every morning, I take ...

Giving Thanks for God's Enduring Love

Introduction

I want you to imagine a special, highly festive event. Psalm 118 was written for such an occasion. It began with a blare of trumpets, the ...

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 ...

Elements of Worship

Introduction:

One of the most interesting points of a pastor’s week is greeting people after Sunday morning worship. People say the most interesting things ...

Eternal Worship

Introduction:

I want to begin this message on worship in eternity by sharing with you a line from a hymn by William Cowper. One of the great hymns of our ...

Expressions of Worship Part 2

Introduction:

As we continue our series on biblical worship that I’ve entitled, “A Summer of Praise,” I want to remind you that last week, I shared a message ...

In Spirit and in Truth

Introduction

In her powerful little book Up With Worship – How to Quit Playing Church, Anne Ortlund writes:

"When I was little we used to play church. We’d ...

Thanksgiving: The Truth About Thanksgiving

Introduction:

The first Thanksgiving dinner I ever ate outside of the United States was in Belgium. The people of Belgium are as thankful as any other ...

The Source of Celebration

Introduction

We love celebrations, don’t we? Celebrations are an important part of our lives. For example, we celebrate our birthdays, anniversaries, and ...

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 ...

Getting Your Day Off To a Great Start

About 20 years ago I heard a teacher say, "The experts say how you spend the first hour of your day plays a major role in determining how the rest of ...

Humble and Proud of It

Introduction

Bob Hope tells this story: "I got a call from a fellow who said I'd been named Man of the Year by his organization because I was an ...

When You Feel Like Dancing

Introduction:

One day an expert in time management spoke to a group of business students. He said, "Okay, time for a quiz." Then he pulled out a one-gallon, ...

Singing in the Rain

The psalmist is singing again. It's not exactly like singing in the rain, but it's kind of like singing in the rain, because he's in trouble ...

Worship: What We're Doing & Why

If a visitor from another planet attended a service of Christian worship anywhere in the world, he wouldn't have to be especially perceptive to discover ...

The Praise of an Old Man

Shortly after David came to power, he brought the ark to Zion. The ark was a box about the size of a piano bench, and in it were some famous artifacts. ...

How to Behave in a Worship Service

When I was a boy, I grew up in a war zone. I lived halfway between Chicago and St. Louis, in the heart of baseball country. I remember many playground ...

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 ...