Behold: Surrender

Introduction

Welcome to our Advent series that we’re calling Behold. Remember, Advent is a season of waiting, anticipating, and hoping. It’s ...

Trusting the Sovereignty of God

Introduction

We are in our Advent series called “Christmas with Joseph—when things don’t go as planned.” What we’re trying ...

Waiting for a God-Given Perspective

Introduction

We are in the second week of our Advent series called “Christmas with Joseph: When Things don’t Go as Planned.” ...

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 ...

Get into Jail Free

Introduction

A couple of hunters are out in the woods when one of them falls to the ground. He doesn’t seem to be breathing; his eyes are rolled ...

Persevering Through Suffering

This sermon is part of the “More Than a Holiday” sermon series. See the whole series here.

Introduction

Isaiah 53, a very familiar chapter for ...

Surviving Today's Opposition

Introduction

Several years ago, Woody Allen began a commencement address with this observation: "More than any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. ...

The Reigning King

Introduction

2017 is going to be way better than 2016. The dumpster-fire of an election is over for one. Race relations in our country can only get better? ...

Connecting the Dots at Christmas

Introduction

My professor Haddon Robinson from seminary tells a story about a married woman who decided to go on her own private vacation to Europe. She ...

Running to the Lost

Introduction

Should God have any enemies?

The popular answer these days is basically this: "No, God shouldn't have any enemies … if there is a God, ...

God Is in Pursuit

Introduction

What happens when what God wants is different than what you want?

That's one way to summarize what's so difficult about this life, ...

Christians Aren't Always Happy

Introduction

You may have come here this morning seeking happiness. In one sense, how could you not? Seeking happiness is as natural for us as our desire ...

God's Surprising Use of Governments

Introduction

We are going to begin a very important study in what is arguably the most important passage in all of the Bible, regarding how we as Christians ...

God Is at Work

Introduction

Do you have any recurring dreams? When I was a student, and for many years after, I had a recurring dream: I am enrolled in a math or French ...

There Must Be Some Mistake

Introduction

Do you know who TIME magazine's Person of the Year was for 2011? The Protester. Protesters were the big story in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, ...

Weathering the Storms of Compromise

Introduction

People wonder, Is it really possible to be a Christian in today's world? So much of the values of this world are inimical to Christian ...

God's God-ness

Introduction

When I first got to the Village Church it was at that time called Highland Village First Baptist Church in Highland Village, Texas, a suburb ...

For Such a Slime as This

Introduction

Our text this morning is in the book of Esther chapter two. Normally people tend to go to chapter 4, and that's often the only thing ...

God's Eraser

Introduction

I have a friend who has a great saying. He says, "Make your plans in pencil because God has a big eraser." That's great wisdom. I used to ...

To Live Is Christ, and to Die Is Gain

Introduction

I don't like it when people take Bible verses out of context and slap them on coffee mugs, put them on bookmarks, put them on bumper stickers. ...

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 ...

Mysterious Grace

Introduction

A few months ago my wife and I met with a woman who was telling us about her family. She told us that when her daughter was born she had big ...

The Church at War

Introduction

If you have a Bible, and I hope you do, I invite you to open with me to 1 Timothy 6, as we prepare to finish out tonight our journey through ...

The Christmas Story According to Ruth

The story behind the sermon (from Steve Mathewson)

Pastors who stay at the same church long enough will eventually wonder what to preach during the Christmas ...

It's God's Party, Not Yours

Introduction

People question my wife and me about where we live and how we choose to spend our money. They basically say, "You know, it's OK with God if ...

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. ...

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 Crook in the Lot

Introduction

One of the first people that I hope to meet in heaven is the Scottish theologian Thomas Boston, who was the subject of my doctoral research ...

Prayer: A Journey of Desire

One of the toughest things in life is living with unfulfilled desire. To experience desire is a normal part of life. It's as natural as an infant ...

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. ...

Loss, Loyalty, & Lament

Introduction

I've never been one to read romance novels, but lately I've been reading one. It's been a good one, too. Believe it or not, it's a book I ...

How Did the World Get So Messed Up?

Introduction

Not everything in the world is good. Not everything in the world is happy. Not everything in the world is beautiful. In fact, real evil does ...

Knowing Even A Snail's Pace

 

If I tell you I am going to do something quick as a wink, how fast is that? Do you know how fast a wink is? If I say, "I wouldn't do that for ...

Tragedy and the Providence of God

In light of the events of this past week I decided to step out of our study of the book of Genesis and address instead the topic of tragedy and the providence ...

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 ...

Memorial Service for Robert Huizenga

Introduction

Even if we're Christians, life involves some enormous contradictions. Doesn't it? We pray for one thing, and the opposite seems to happen. ...

Courage

Introductory remarks from Mark Buchanan:

"Courage" was the third week in a 10-week series on Philippians entitled I Can Do Everything: Paul, Jesus, the ...

What Child Is This Who Came Not to Bring Peace?

From the editor

One of the more popular texts in the Advent and Christmas season is Isaiah 9:1–7. Preachers love to explore the beauty of our having ...

When You Really Want to Quit

From the editor

We all struggle with the reality that sometimes bad things happen to good people. Adding to our inner turmoil is the reality that sometimes ...

Loss, Loyalty, and Lament

Text: Ruth 1:1–22
Topic: Learning to make the right choices in difficult times

From the editor:

Perhaps you're looking for a unique way to approach ...

Why Is the World So Messed Up?

Text: Romans 5:12–17
Topic: How the world is broken and what that means for us

Introduction

Not everything in the world is good. Not everything in the ...

The Kingdom of God Is Near

From the Editor

Hamilton's passage is but two verses long, but the chief idea of those two verses—the kingdom of God—knows no bounds. ...

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 ...

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 ...

The Story of Our Broken World

Introduction

When I was about ten years old, my dad, a medical doctor, received a special gift from one of his patients: a beautiful globe with shiny sequins. ...

God's Noninterventions

Introduction

When I was a boy, my sister left our home in Pitcairn, Pennsylvania, and traveled to Central Bible College. She had a lifelong problem with ...

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 ...

My Name Is Harbona

My name? Harbona. My job? The title depends on what country you're in. In Britain, I would be called a personal valet. In America, I would be a male private ...