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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Life on Wings

Introduction

The biblical image of the kind of life Christians are called to live is, "The way of an eagle in the air." I have lots of experience with ...

How to Live Beyond Yourself

Introduction

I don't know if you are like me, but I imagine you are. I imagine there are times in which you feel boxed in by life; not only by what others ...

All I Really Need to Know I Learned by Suffering Triumphantly Until I Died

Introduction

In All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, Robert L. Fulghum writes:

All I really need to know about how to live and what to do ...

The Christian Subculture: Righteous or Rubbish?

Introduction

As believers, we sometimes feel pressured to act in certain ways, fit in with certain norms, or participate in certain activities. The pressure ...

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 ...

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 ...

Come to the Banquet

Introduction

One day last December, an invitation to a Christmas party arrived in our mailbox. Inside the card were a festive holiday greeting, a time ...

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 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 ...

Good Guys, Bad Guys, or Us Guys?

Introduction

Anybody here grow up in a legalistic, fundamentalist type of church? The emphasis in those kinds of churches is on keeping the rules, lots ...

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 ...

Walking in the Light

Introduction:

Most of us are familiar with Jesus’ dramatic self-revelation in John 8:12: “I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk ...

Harassed but Hopeful

Introduction

On November 14, 1999, thousands of churches around the world observed the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. This day ...

The Secret of Satisfaction

Introduction

Evander "The Real Deal" Holyfield is a former heavyweight-boxing champion of the world. During his boxing career he has earned ...

Reflections on Psalm 23

Introduction

When most people think of the Bible, they usually think of its numerous rules and restrictions—the "Thou shalts" and the "Thou shalt ...

The Cure for Conflict

We are in a series called "Religion vs. Spirituality: What's the Difference?" In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches that there is a BIG difference ...