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 ...

The Lasting Marriage

Introduction

In 25 years of pastoral ministry I've done close to 200 weddings. I always spend several hours with these couples trying to prepare them not ...

How God Brings Light into a Dark Situation

Introduction

Today we will be looking at 1 Samuel 2:12-36, although we'll focus on verses 12-26. About a year ago now, the Arab Spring was just starting, ...

Take Me to Your Leader

Let's look at today's text together:

Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines and fell slain on Mount ...

The Scarlet Letter

Introduction

Today we're continuing to look at the Ten Commandments. We've seen that this isn't easy material. These commands are anything but sugarcoated. ...

When Love Fails

From the editor

Given that Valentine's Day is this coming Sunday, many of you will probably be addressing themes like love, relationships, dating, and ...

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 ...

Desperate Hearts

Introduction

Some years ago I experienced something that just about every stressed-out, 40-something American male experiences - chest pains. You know, ...

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 ...

What Have We Done?

Introduction

After the Chicago Cubs lost their 96th baseball game in 2006, manager Dusty Baker, was called in to meet with the general manager. We all ...

Expect God's Visitation

Introduction

In Charles Dickens' novel A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge lies down on Christmas Eve hoping to enjoy a good night's rest. In the course ...

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 ...

Above All Earthly Powers

Introduction

Martin Luther's famous Reformation hymn, "A Mighty Fortress," is about the triumph of God over all the attacks of Satan, including his attack ...

You Can't Fool the Lord

Introduction

One of the ministers at this church the television show 24 because of the things that Jack Bauer never has to do: eat, charge his cell phone, ...

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 ...

Battered into Submission

Introduction

Not long ago, someone said to me, "I've never heard a sermon about violence in the home. I've never heard the preacher pray about it. I've ...

We Don't Have Men Like That

Introduction

[Editorial comment: Sunukjian delivers this sermon as a first-person narrative. References to props or stage directions will appear in italics.] ...

For Better, but Worse

Introduction

When the great Chicago Cubs second baseman Ryne Sandberg was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame this past summer, he began a speech as ...

Surviving D-Day: Divorce

Introduction:

When we launched this series called “Surviving Your Personal D-Day Invasion,” we said that each of the attacks we would discuss comes as ...

Don't You Believe It! The Myth of No-Consequence Sex

Introduction:

Today we're looking at the seventh of the Ten Commandments—"You shall not commit adultery." I will admit to you that I approach this ...