How to Glorify God When We Disagree

The story behind the sermon (from Steve Mathewson)

A sermon series on the Book of Romans brought me to this text. The first challenge I faced was the sheer ...

Hallelujah Chorus

Introduction

I've heard before that if you want to get along with people, you ought to avoid discussing politics and religion. But a list of taboo topics ...

The ABCs of Praise

Introduction

This is a Psalm that begins with a commitment that on the surface seems rather simple: "I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise ...

Why It's Hard to Worship

Introduction

A few years ago, songwriter Michael Card wrote a book and recorded an album focusing on the subject of lament. The project grew out of a series ...

Worship and Love

Text: Malachi 1:1-5
Topic: The first steps toward restoring right worship

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The Story Behind the Sermon (from Steve Mathewson)

The Refining Love of God

Introduction

In this Advent season, we are looking at the theme of God's promise of better days for our lives. That is the hope of Advent and Christmas, ...

The Messy Family of God

Introduction

"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." So reads the first line of Leo Tolstoy's famous novel, Anna ...

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 ...

The Long Tomorrow

Introduction

An 85-year-old couple died in a car crash after having been married almost 60 years. They had been in good health the last ten years mainly ...

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 ...

Regime Change

From the editor:

Here's a sermon by Kevin Miller that might inspire a few ideas for your own Palm Sunday sermon (April 5, 2009). As you read the sermon, ...

Mary: A Song of Trust

Introduction

A lot of people travel at Christmas. During this time of the year, many of us would like to be with family to celebrate, so we load up the ...

Zechariah: A Song of Faith

Introduction

As familiar as we are with the songs of Christmas, there are four songs recorded in the Bible sung by people surrounding the birth of Jesus ...

Solomon's Wish

Introduction

If you could wish for anything in the world, what would it be? Some people wish they had different abilities. Others wish for a change in ...

David's Last Words

Introduction

A life is a terrible thing to waste. In his life saving book, Don't Waste Your Life, John Piper recounts a story his father often told in ...

Long Live the King!

Introduction

According to ancient custom, the death of a ruler is greeted with the following words: "The king is dead; long live the king!" This may seem ...

A Royal Conspiracy

Introduction

The right to rule as king has been the occasion of many bitter conflicts. Often brother has fought against brother to wear the crown, forcing ...

Fear of God

Text: Psalm 103
Topic: Understanding godly fear

From the editor

We don't hear too many sermons about the fear of God. The reasons why vary—from fear ...

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 ...

It's About the People

Introduction

Recently our church softball thoroughly trounced our opponents. The game ended with what's called the mercy rule: when one team is ahead ...

Your Whole Life Matters to God

Introduction

I once read an article in the New York Times entitled "How the Worm Turns." The article focused on a group of scientists who spend ...

The Miracle of Christmas

Introduction

In Luke 11:33–35, Jesus says, "Your eye is a lamp, lighting up your whole body. If you live in wide-eyed wonder and belief, your body ...

Drop Your Agenda

Introduction

By the end of Luke's narrative of Jesus' life, opposition from the religious leaders is mounting, and Jesus' popularity among the people is ...

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 ...

Don't Go To Church!

Introduction

D. L. Moody was visiting a prominent Chicago citizen when the idea of church membership and involvement came up.

"I believe I can be just as ...

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 ...

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 ...

Cain-R-Us

Introduction

I was reading an article in the New York Times about the abundance of new wealth in Khartoum, Sudan. The article featured pictures of well-dressed, ...

Dangerous Worship

Introduction

Have you considered that many of the things we do every day are inherently dangerous? Yet we hardly think about it. Every morning, I take ...

The True Spirit of Christmas

Introduction

In one Peanuts comic strip, Lucy was saying that Christmas is a time for kindness and a time to forgive one another. Charlie Brown says: "Why ...

A Christmas To-Do List

Introduction

Most of us have heard the Christmas story so many times that we think we know what it's all about, but the fact is we might have passed over ...

The Roaring of the Lord

Introduction

This morning, in a very unique way, each one of you will have to be the preacher, or there'll be no sermon. The sermon that you are going ...

Tradition Becomes More Attractive than Truth

Introduction

According to Merriam-Webster, tradition is "the handing down of information, beliefs, and customs by word of mouth or by example from one ...

Eternal Worship

Introduction:

I want to begin this message on worship in eternity by sharing with you a line from a hymn by William Cowper. One of the great hymns of our ...

In Spirit and in Truth

Introduction

In her powerful little book Up With Worship – How to Quit Playing Church, Anne Ortlund writes:

"When I was little we used to play church. We’d ...

The Source of Celebration

Introduction

We love celebrations, don’t we? Celebrations are an important part of our lives. For example, we celebrate our birthdays, anniversaries, and ...

The Witness of Worship

Introduction

Have you ever thought of the connection between worship and witnessing? As believers, we understand that we must be involved in both. We come ...

What God Wants From Us

It seems that there was once a clerk in a large candy store who always had people waiting in line, even when the other clerks were standing around with ...

Worshipping Through Trials

Introduction

Four men decided to go mountain climbing over the weekend. In the middle of the climb, one of them slipped over a cliff, dropped about sixty ...

Passion for God's Honor

Dr. Gerald Hawthorne was my favorite professor in college. He was a good professor because he loved teaching and he loved his students. He so communicated ...

The Agony of Victory

Introduction

Some years ago a 14-foot bronze crucifix was stolen from Cemetery in Little Rock, Arkansas. It had stood at the entrance to that cemetery ...

Wasted on Jesus

Sermon One

Valentine's Day is tomorrow and I'm jittery. I love my sweetheart—no doubt about that—but I confess that Valentine's Day gives me ...

The Dinner Guests of God

Sermon Two

Mary Poplin, professor of education and Dean of the School of Educational Studies at Claremont Graduate University, attended a Methodist church ...

Where the Battle Is Fought

Sermon Three

Here's a surprise: Most incompetent people don't know they are incompetent. In fact, researcher Dr. David A. Dunning of Cornell University ...

Blasphemy!

Sermon Four

Years ago Bill Hybels told about seeing a newscast of a big Vietnam veterans parade in Chicago. Part of the commemoration was a mobile Vietnam ...

The Faces of Failure

Sermon Five

There was a clip on the sports last night that was painful to watch. College basketball between Memphis and Louisville, championship game—the ...

The Agony of Victory

Which Watchers?

Sermon Seven

Robert Russell, pastor of Southeastern Christian Church in Lexington, Kentucky, told about sitting behind a 5-year-old boy at their church's ...

The Difference-Making Difference

Introduction:

Have you ever noticed that some passages of Scripture are crystal clear and easy to understand—the previous passage, for example? And ...

Would Jesus Join This Church?

In the last couple of decades a style of worship—and a style of ministry—has become increasingly popular. You know the term: seeker sensitive. ...