If God Is Great, Where Is He in World of Suffering?

Introduction

Of all the reasons for rejecting the claims of Christianity, the one most frequently offered comes in the form of a question: "If God is so ...

If God Is Great, Where Is He in a World of Suffering?

Text: Matthew 27:27-46
Topic: Dealing with the reality of suffering

From the editor

Easter really isn't that far away—April 4, 2010—so we'll ...

It All Comes Down to This

Introduction

Bodies are a pain. I know a body can be beautiful. I saw Baryshnikov dance once. And I have held babies. And I agree with the psalmist: "I ...

Raw Ugliness

Introduction

On one level, this is a brilliant story handed down to us by a brilliant storyteller. This is a gripping, plot-twisting, edge-of-your seat ...

Avoiding Foolishness

Introduction

In the early 1980s a very wealthy Swiss couple started acting like mutual fools. It all began when the husband cancelled a vacation. The wife ...

A Ministry of Reconciliation

From the editor:

In this week's featured sermon, John MacArthur says, "Never has the world seen a God who by nature is a lover. Never has the world seen ...

When Sin Creeps In

From the editor

If you remove the first three chapters of Genesis, anything goes. So much foundational theology is packed into those seminal verses. One ...

Forgiven and Forgotten

Text: Hebrews 10:1-18
Topic: The effectiveness and scope of Christ's forgiveness of our sin

From the editor

As Brown points out at the very start of his ...

I'll Stand by You

Introduction

So far in our series we've talked about three big ideas—love, joy, and peace. These Christ-like qualities offer a grand vision for our ...

Softening the World's Harshness

Introduction

Let's look at John 15:1-17 together. These are likely very familiar words. They're the words of Jesus on the last night of his time ...

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 ...

It's No Mistake

From the editor:

One of the more important things you can do for your listeners—both believers and nonbelievers alike—is to find an appropriate ...

Wait for the Morning

Introduction

Right after the Virginia Tech University massacre, the worship leader at a community worship service turned to this text. On behalf of those ...

The Christian's Happiness

Text: Romans 8:28–30
Topic: Our joy can be constant no matter our life circumstances.

From the editor

Romans 8 is such a beloved, oft-quoted section ...

The Purpose of the Passion

From the editor

By the close of this sermon, Mac Brunson has masterfully explained complex theological concepts like condemnation, salvation, and justification ...

A Man Like Us and a God Who Lives

Introduction

Elijah is one of the Bible's most dramatic characters, because he experienced the light of God's presence even when everything around him ...

Redneck Christmas

Editor's note: The following monologue is delivered in character by a shepherd named Larry. There was a live nativity scene on stage for the Children's ...

You Need a Good Priest

Introduction

I could tell that he had been badly injured in the accident. I'm no medical expert, but I could tell by the pallor of his skin that he was ...

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 ...

You Don't Know, Do You?

Introduction

A member of this congregation experienced a tragedy when her father was suddenly killed in an accident. He was driving home one Wednesday ...

The Lord Is My Shepherd

Introduction

I don't know much about sheep. I was born and raised in the suburbs, and we didn't have sheep. In fact, they were probably illegal. ...

My Favorite Heroes: Joseph

Introduction

We are in a series looking at different heroes of the faith, and today we'll be looking at Joseph. You can turn in your Bibles to Genesis ...

The Process of Transformation

Text: 1 John 3:1–10
Topic: How to attain holiness

Introduction

Imagine that you've been asked to write a book on marriage. Your publisher says, "We ...

Diamonds in the Rough

Introduction

The hardest and most valuable substance in the world is diamonds. Diamonds are thought to be formed by intense heat at the Earth's core and ...

The Way We Were

Introduction

When I was about 11 years old, I almost drowned. I was swimming in the pool at summer camp with my friends from church. I had graduated ...

A Life Worth Saving

Introduction:

There’s a story of a man who risked his life to save a boy trapped in a burning building. The doorway was blocked, the room was filled with ...

The Gospel According to Jesus

Introduction:

Have you ever found yourself completely confused by the multitude of religious ideologies being sold in the marketplace? I'm not just ...

Triumph of the Self-giving One: Meditations for Holy Week from the Book of Isaiah

Triumph of the Self-giving One:Meditations for Holy Week from the Book of Isaiah

by Kevin Conrad

Introduction: God responds to suffering.

As long as humans ...

Stay In the Game

Anyone who has heard me preach more than a few times knows that I love a good comeback story. I love to read stories or watch movies or witness real-life ...

A Half Time Talk

Several years ago, my sons and I were watching the Buffalo Bills and Houston Oilers in the playoffs. At halftime the Bills were down 35-3 and their ...

Getting Focused

For the past two weeks I've talked about the change that occurred in Peter's life. He went from being failure prone, impulsive, and brash to ministering ...

A Promise for Life's Long Pull

Luke 10: 25-37

Introduction:

We all know the account of the Good Samaritan. Does it strike you as something more than odd that an obscure itinerant preacher, ...

Why Christ Had to Die

Charles Haddon Spurgeon said that preaching is like throwing a bucket of water at a row of bottles. Some of the water goes in some of the bottles. But ...

Back from Failure

The cartoon was "Dennis the Menace. The scene is bedtime prayers. He's kneeling. He has his hands folded. He's looking heavenward. He has on his pajamas, ...

Hide and Seek

Illustration: A pastor phoned the home of some recent visitors to his church, and a voice on the other end of the phone answered with a whispered "Hello." ...

Decreation and Recreation

I would like to remind you of two notes that have worked their way into the popular culture psyche of America, bringing more foreboding, more are more ...