My Name Is Nicodemus

Introduction (Framing the sermon)

This morning I will be doing something different in the sermon. I will retell the gospel story from John 3 through the ...

Personal Transformation

Introduction

Today we are asking the question what does it mean to be whole people in the presence of others. What does it mean to be shaped into wholeness, ...

The Priest

Introduction

The year is almost over, and 2015 is almost here. Before we move on, let's take a moment to reflect on 2014. Looking back on the year, there ...

The Most Shocking Madonna Song Ever

Introduction

Flipping through the radio dial you hear all kinds of Christmas music right now, and one of the songs that seems to be on the loop for most ...

What Child Is This?

Introduction

I want to wish you a very blessed and Merry Christmas.

We just finished singing "What Child Is This?" and I think it's an appropriate ...

What's the Big Deal with "John 3:16"?

The story behind the sermon (Craig Brian Larson)

The background of my approach to this sermon: As I began work on this sermon, I realized that it has been ...

Christmas in the City of Jerusalem

Introduction

We're going to do something a little different this year in December. We want to focus on a "Hometown Christmas." Typically we tend to think ...

Easter Means Hope

Introduction

There is a way in which Easter holds attraction for everyone—I think it is because Easter translates into hope. There's a sense of hopelessness ...

Show Me the Way

Text: Romans 6:23
Topic: Why we need to accept Jesus' offer of salvation

From the editor:

Bill Hybels has long been known for his ability to interact with ...

God's Cure for Heart Trouble

From the editor

Greg Laurie is known for his straightforward, down-to-earth teaching style. This sermon showcases that ability in spades. Watch closely ...

Why Would a Good God Send People to Hell?

Introduction

I thought long and hard about a clever, lighthearted way to introduce this morning's message. I thought about praying for a really hot day ...

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 ...

When Life Crowds You Out

Introduction

On the wall of a subway in New York City was an advertising poster that depicted a dignified older gentleman recommending a particular product. ...

Wrestling with God

Introduction

Soon after my wife and I married, we began decorating our house by putting things on the walls. When we came to the kitchen, I came up with ...

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 ...

Follow Me

Introduction

Of all the things that Jesus ever said, one of my absolute favorites is the thing he says in John 21:12. Maybe you noticed it. The text reads: ...

Come Die with Me

Introduction

Matthew's gospel says that, toward the end of his three years of public ministry, "Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go ...

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 ...

Christ's Birth and Your Birth

Introduction

On the wall in my church study, I have a precious photograph that was taken in a hospital room a couple of years ago. It's a picture of a ...

A Life Worth Saving

Introduction:

There’s a story of a man who risked his life to save a boy trapped in a burning building. The doorway was blocked, the room was filled with ...

The Gospel According to Jesus

Introduction:

Have you ever found yourself completely confused by the multitude of religious ideologies being sold in the marketplace? I'm not just ...

The I Am: Serve Him or Stone Him

Every now and then someone comes along and captures our attention with an outrageous claim. I'm thinking of Muhammad Ali, once known as Cassius Clay, ...

The Good Shepherd: Counting Sheep

A couple of years ago an article in the Sunday paper caught my eye. I found it so interesting that I shared it with some small group leaders at the time, ...

The Bread of Life

Most of Christ's claims are outrageous because they are so grand and compelling: "Before Abraham was, I AM." "I am the Light of the World." "I am in the ...

The Resurrection and the Life: Tears at the Wall

Introduction

They call it, "The Wall," a great, v-shaped slab of black granite, set into the grassy expanse between the Capitol Building and the Lincoln ...

One Wonderful Way

This morning we are concluding our series on "The Outrageous Claims of Christ." We began three weeks ago with the most intriguing claim—"Before Abraham ...

The Great Reversal

Introduction

I don't know about you, but I have always been amused by oxymorons. For those of you who have never heard that term, an oxymoron is a combination ...

Make Room

Introduction

There is a wonderful story that comes out of the treasury of Jewish humor about a family from the lower east side of New York City. The ...

A Declaration of Faith

In today's story, Jesus has taken his disciples into a remote area to spend time alone with them. They have been together, at this point, for about ...

What Determines Your Future?

When the Jewish leaders challenged Jesus authority he responded with three parables: the parable of the two sons; the parable of the tenants; and the ...

Don't Miss Out On a Miracle!

The greatest event in the history of the Christian church—in fact, in the history of the world—was the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and many ...

Right From the Start

Do you know what a "mulligan" is? It's a term used in golfing. It means "Do over." When a golfer makes a bad shot and wants to redo it without adding ...

Missed Opportunities

As we close out this section of Matthew's Gospel, today we'll look at another of the "danger zones" that people must face as they pursue a life of freedom ...

A Thief in Paradise

A Thief In Paradise

D. James Kennedy

"The day had just dawned," said Krummacher. "The most momentous, the most decisive, the most eventful ...

What About Sudden Conversion?

I am very intrigued by the new invention that is now being foisted upon some parts of the American people, whereby on closed-circuit television they ...

A Day of Surprises

I remember the day that John Kennedy died. I remember the day when Martin Luther King, Jr. died. I remember the day when Robert Kennedy died. I remember ...

Playing with Fire

When we talk about hell, we can go to two extremes. One is that we can get into lurid descriptions of the flames of hell and the torments of the doomed ...