3G Ministers in a 5G World

Introduction

I’m guessing that most of you probably own one of these (holding up a cell phone). It might even be fair to say that some of you are ...

Taken Up Into Glory

Introduction

In this series we have been walking in the footsteps of Jesus during his final days on earth. I have sought to employ the metaphor of being ...

Seeking Truth and Reconciliation

Behind the Scenes with Ken Shigematsu

As a Japanese Canadian, and by temperament, I prefer to steer clear of controversial subjects in my preaching. So ...

The Heart of a Pastor

The Story Behind the Sermon

This message represents an unusual approach to sermon prep and delivery. Jim Singleton and Matthew Kim, both professors at ...

Lessons after 26 Years of Planting Seeds

Introduction

Today is my final message as the senior pastor at New Life Fellowship. You'll hear other messages from me but not as senior pastor. I've ...

Preaching God's Unchained Word

Introduction

Second Timothy 2:8-9: "Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David. That is my gospel, for which I suffer hardship ...

It’s Good to Get Out Alive

The tourist brochure said that you can catch the bus to Yosemite Lodge up to Glacier Peak. When you get there, you can stand on the rock where a hundred ...

Through the Valley

Introduction

It was near the twilight of his life, and quite possibly he sat on one of the curvaceous slopes of the hills of Judea, looked out into one ...

Broken and Repentant

Introduction

Last week I talked about the road to compromise and the road to integrity. We are either on one or the other. David eventually walked the ...

BFFs

Introduction

There's a famous speech in Shakespeare's play Henry V. It's the night before the battle of Agincourt. As a young king, Henry prepares to lead ...

The Harvest

Introduction

In the stories of Jesus' ministry, he's giving us a preview of the kingdom of God. What would it look like on this broken planet full of broken ...

The Greatest of These

The story behind the sermon (from Mark Buchanan)

This was the second-to-last sermon of one of the longest series we've ever done at our church—20 ...

A Heart for Service

Introduction

Once upon a time there was a wonderful church that suddenly found itself in trouble. After an exciting season of growth, things just didn't ...

The Shared Life

Introduction

For the last few weeks, we've been turning to the Book of Acts, the place where we hear about the stories of the early church, to learn something ...

Good News in America

Introduction

The Roman empire was a pagan place where Christian values were little known or honored, where corruption was pervasive in business, where ...

Who Cares?

Introduction

Luke is one of the two New Testament writers who deals at length with the fundamental crisis of the early church, and that was the departure ...

Who's the Boss?

Story behind the sermon (from Lee Eclov)

I wonder if people aren't a little suspicious when we preach about work. When we say that all work is a calling, ...

Rebuilding the Walls

Introduction

In the countryside near Leicester, England, there stands an ancient church whose walls are inscribed with an eloquent memorial. The inscription ...

The House of Love

Introduction

This message concludes our series on the four best places to live. We've looked at the House of Worship, the House of Prayer, and the House ...

What Do Christians Think About the Holy Spirit?

From the editor

Tim Peck acknowledges that any discussion of the Holy Spirit has a certain mystery to it. After all, Jesus himself compared the Spirit ...

Keep the Dust off the Highchairs

Text: Luke 2:52
Topic: Why the young people of a church are important

Introduction

I once attended the funeral of a relative of mine. The service was at ...

Body Life

Introduction

That the church is the "body of Christ" is more than simply a figure of speech. The church is the chief means by which Christ works today; ...

A Strange Résumé

Introduction

It's the most dreaded question of the job interview, and when the time comes, you can't seem to push the words out of your mouth. "Tell me," ...

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 ...

Don't Just Do Something, Sit There

Introduction

Have you ever wondered how Jesus spent his evenings and his nights? Some of his disciples came to him early on to ask about the fringe benefits ...

I Will Build My Church

Introduction

I entered the ministry with my eyes wide open. Two great-grandfathers were preachers—one a circuit rider, the other a lay preacher. Both ...

My Favorite Heroes: Nehemiah

Introduction

The hero that we are going to look at today is a man named Nehemiah. I want to say just a couple of things as we get ready to walk into his ...

Teach Your Children Well

Introduction

They say God has no grandchildren. What they mean is that it isn't enough to be born into a believing home or a believing church. Every child ...

Passing the Baton

Introduction

A few months ago, I heard a song on the radio by an artist named John Mayer. The song is entitled "Daughters," and you hear it several ...

It Takes a Church

Introduction

Several years ago, a Peace Corps worker wrote a children's book based upon her experiences in Africa. It tells the story of a young girl named ...

The Barnabas Factor

Introduction

Life is difficult. Most of us know this only too well. There are few who skate by on good looks and a large trust fund. It is a given that ...

Separation Can Lead to Isolation

Introduction

Imagine a weird world where, before you can be admitted to a hospital, you have to have a clean bill of health. A world where doctors won't ...

How To Gain a New Perspective on Money

Introduction:

Leadership experts like John Maxwell, Warren Bennis, and Jack Welch, along with social psychologists, agree that when it comes to change, ...

Body Building

Introduction

Every now and again, I get the urge to do a little bodybuilding. As you may notice, it has been a long time since I've really had that urge. ...

Is the Father of Jesus the God of Muhammad?

Text: John 1:1–18
Topic: The commonalities and irreducible differences between Christianity and Islam

In 1995 there was a book published by Professor ...

The Foundations of a Life Well-Lived

After Jesus was tempted by Satan in the desert, he went to Galilee to begin his public ministry. Jesus had grown up in Galilee—in Nazareth, as ...

How to Avoid Becoming Obsolete

On a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks were frequent, a group of concerned citizens decided to build a rescue station. The building was just a hut, ...

Defining Your Mission

Grab a piece of paper and a pen, because I want you to take notes today. We walking through a simple but powerful process this morning—one that, ...

Becoming a Street Smart Saint

In the three previous messages in this series, we saw the Jewish leaders challenging Jesus' authority. He responded with a series of parables about ...

Rejoicing in Our Suffering

If you make the ultimate goal in your life to become successful in business, what do you do when you reach a certain level of success? If you make a goal ...

Salt and Light

Alienation was originally a Marxist word and Karl Marx meant by it the alienation of the worker from the product of his labors. When what he produces ...

As for Me

I stood in that old church in Richmond where long ago Patrick Henry fired a verbal shot that was heard around the world. It was on March 20, 1775, a day ...

God's Training Program

Once again I want to look with you at what I have called one of the great texts of the Bible: "If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you ...

Lord of the Ten Cities

Can you believe? They're interested in me now. Two days ago, they would not have noticed a slave, but now they're interested. You see, I rule their city. ...

Rejoicing in Our Suffering

Rejoicing in Our Suffering

by Ron Lee Davis

If you make the ultimate goal in your life to become successful in business, what do you do when you reach a ...

Encounter: The Vision of Witnessing

Introduction

Several years ago, I was enjoying a day of recreation on a ski slope in central Wisconsin. While other friends from the church had gone ...

Finding Significance in Obscurity

I would expect 99 percent of the people in our society feel very obscure; the kind of feeling that whatever I do doesn't really matter. Nobody ...

Through the Valley

It was near the twilight of his life, and quite possibly he sat on one of the curvaceous slopes of the hills of Judea, looked out into one of the valleys, ...