The Blessing of Presence

Introduction

Christmas is nearly here. Even though it’s been in the shops a lot longer, we as believers in Jesus celebrate the most important day ...

Hope for a Weary World

Introduction

In the short story, later turned into a film, The Life of Walter Mitty, the main character has an overactive imagination. Living a commonplace ...

Witnesses, Not Experts

Introduction

Raise your hand if you have ever been called to jury duty. Imagine with me for a moment that you receive that letter in the mail. ...

God’s Presence, God’s Promises

Introduction

There’s no title it just says, Of David. We don’t know for sure, unlike some of the psalms, the situation at the time ...

The Unsuccessful Successful Prophet

Introduction

I’ve read Jeremiah many times over the years, but never got much out of it, apart from various passages. There’s something ...

When the Heat Is On

Introduction

Have you seen the famous photo from 1936 of a huge crowd of people all saluting Hitler, but one man stands out. Why? He keeps his ...

The Healing Power of No

Introduction

What is a two-letter word that we often don’t like to hear? It is a word you have probably used on your kids, maybe a word ...

Practicing Grateful Rest

Introduction

As we come to the Sunday before Thanksgiving, we often think about what we are thankful for. We think about how the year has gone ...

Living Between the Tick and the Tock

Introduction

Before Tik Tok was a social media phenom, Tick Tock was the way old clocks sounded. Mechanical, wind up clocks sounded a TICK and then after ...

Unshakeable Hope

Introduction

Happy Easter! Welcome to the largest digital Easter the world has ever seen, as thousands of churches are online right now!

It’s been ...

Relief for the Uncertain

Introduction

In recent days you’ve probably heard people around you say and found yourself repeating, “I’ve never seen anything like ...

Take Courage

Introduction

Football referees are unbiased, right? They would never be influenced by fans or football players, right? Well, according to a recent study, ...

The God Who Sees Me

I am very aware that Mother's Day isn't easy for some people. I have talked to two moms this morning who said, "I didn't want to come. ...

The Great Gratitude Experiment

Introduction

There's a theme in the Bible that appears in several different places. Paul says to the church in Thessalonica, "Rejoice always, pray continually, ...

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 ...

What to Do When Your Fig Tree Doesn’t Blossom

Introduction

Picture Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes. He's swinging on a swing in the school playground. Picture a bully named Mo, twice as big as Calvin. ...

The Big Picture of God's Faithfulness

Introduction

A few years ago there was an ad on TV that started like this: There was a woman sitting in a car. She's minding her own business, and suddenly ...

Believe the Blessing

Introduction

Ten years ago I had an experience that changed my life in a profound way. I was working at a Christian camp in the mountains of L.A. I lived ...

The House God Built

Some years ago friends gave me this extraordinary book, Churches, about the architecture of great churches. I'm partial to country churches, but the beautiful ...

God Is Still Loving

There are times in our lives when it seems like God is against us. I mean, we know that God is for us, but there are times when it seems like God is treating ...

The Rock That Doesn't Roll

Story behind the sermon (from Bryan Wilkerson)

This is a sermon I've wanted to preach for a long time, ever since I took a D. Min course from Warren Wiersbe ...

More

Introduction

As we continue in our series in the book of Exodus, today we are in chapter 33, and in chapter 33 we encounter Moses at prayer. And I think ...

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 Shortest Distance Between Two Points is a Zig Zag

Early in geometry we learned that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. That means if I'm at point A and want to get to point ...

Modern Golden Calves

Moses had delayed coming down the mountain. The Bible tells us in Exodus that it had been forty days and forty nights since Moses left the people to go ...

Unlistened to Lessons of Life

Introduction

It was in 1965 that I graduated from Moody Bible Institute, and a week later to the day, Charlene and I were married. Then 10 days after that ...

What Do Christians Think About the Holy Spirit?

Introduction

In this sermon series we've been trying to look at the basic beliefs of the Christian faith in a way that both irreligious people and Christians ...

Guide

Click here to listen to the audio.

The story behind the sermon (from John Ortberg)

I have grown to love the theme of God's guidance. This is a chance to ...

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 ...

Halos, Wings, and Harps

Introduction

I want to explore another person you meet in heaven. I use the term "person" loosely because of who we're talking about today: Angels. When ...

Immanuel

From the editor

Here's a short, to-the-point Christmas sermon from Mark Batterson, pastor of National Community Church in Washington, DC, and author ...

I Don't Believe It!

From the editor

One of the first things you'll probably notice about this sermon is how short it is. DelBene simply reads his text—the story of Thomas ...

Remember God in the Moment

Introduction

"Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say, 'I have ...

The House of Love

Introduction

This message concludes our series on the four best places to live. We've looked at the House of Worship, the House of Prayer, and the House ...

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 ...

Comfort for the Troubled Heart

Introduction

The Allies had planned Operation Overlord for years, amassing vast armies, an incredible navy, and enough arms to release Europe from the ...

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 ...

Worship or Worry?

Introduction

There's an old Greek proverb that says, "The bow that is always bent will soon break." What that proverb seems to be implying is that the ...

Where Are You?

Introduction

When I was a kid growing up in Minnesota, my family had a summer tradition. Every Sunday night, all seven kids and my parents would cram into ...

The First Extreme: Conformity

Introduction

We have already met Jonah, a scowling, spiteful little man in a chronic state of bellyache. The meaning of his name—"dove"—just ...

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 Valley of Death's Shadow

Everyone walks through valleys.

Donald Barnhouse was the pastor of Philadelphia's Tenth Presbyterian Church when his wife died and left him with young ...

Signed, Sealed and Delivered

Introduction

Several years ago, when Deb and I were still newly weds, we decided it was time to stop paying rent and purchase our own home. A realtor in ...

When You Think God Has Forgotten You

Introduction:

David wrote Psalm 13 at a time in his life when it seemed like everything had fallen apart. Saul, the king, was jealous of David's popularity ...

The 23rd for the 83rd

What does the psalm have to say to our day? I think it is possible to say with some confidence that this twentieth century has seen developments in many ...

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 ...

Pain is the Name of the Game

Paul said that he not only wanted to know the power of Jesus' resurrection but the fellowship of his sufferings. Paul was making a expression of his desire ...

When You Feel You're at the End