Don’t Fall Away!

Introduction

A survey from Barna shows a large percentage of churchgoers have “stopped engaging.”[1] One leader here in Manchester told me ...

Sloth? Seriously?

Introduction

Of all the deadly sins, surely sloth is the lightweight. I mean, sloth? Seriously—a deadly sin? When it comes to the other six, we get ...

Our Faith: Romance or Business?

Introduction

Longing and yearning—each one of us has his or her history of longing felt, longing muted and the decisions we make about how to proceed ...

Affections Matter

Introduction

This December will mark my ten years as pastor of the Village Church. In my first few weeks, I just felt it out. I just keep thinking, Okay, ...

The Christian's First Love

Introduction

This message is a fitting introduction to a series on the nature of the church. In these verses, the Lord Jesus Christ is speaking to the ...

More

Introduction

As we continue in our series in the book of Exodus, today we are in chapter 33, and in chapter 33 we encounter Moses at prayer. And I think ...

God Only

Introduction

This morning we're beginning a series on the Ten Commandments. These are familiar to just about everybody. Well, sort of. I heard about a ...

An Empowering Presence

Introduction

Some years ago I had a conversation with a guest after one of our services. It was her first or second time at our church, and she offered ...

What Your Spouse Wants You to Figure Out

From the editor:

Few preachers make better use of humor than Dave Stone. He's especially gifted at knowing exactly the right point to insert a funny line ...

Looking in the Mirror

From the editor

Mother's Day is this Sunday (May 10), and should you decide to offer a message for the occasion, you might get a few general ideas from ...

Strong Grace, Hard Word, Good Memories

Introduction

Be strong. Suffer hardship. Remember Jesus Christ. These are Paul's words of counsel to Timothy in a fallen world and imperfect church. Timothy ...

Jesus and John - Together to Trust

Introduction

The year was 155 AD and the place was Smyrna, in the Roman province of Asia. There was a new wave of persecution that was sweeping against ...

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, ...

Return to Power

Introduction

We talk a lot here at New Life about the kingdom of God. The reality is that the kingdom of God comes first in the lives of God's people. ...

Let's Get This Straight

Introduction

The first thing I noticed about our story today was the stories on either side of it. When we last saw Jacob, he finally had been reconciled ...

The Blessed Limp

Introduction

A blessing is a mysterious thing. In her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Gilead, Marilynne Robinson's narrator is an elderly pastor named John ...

Your Arm's Too Short to Box with God

Introduction

Jacob was facing the biggest crisis of his life. Esau, the twin brother he had conned out of both birthright and blessing, was coming his ...

Good Riddance

Introduction

"Isn't there somewhere else you're supposed to be?" Has God ever said that to you? God seems to be saying that a lot around here lately. He ...

The Really Good Shepherd

Introduction

According to the United States Social Security Administration, Jacob was the number one male baby name for the year 2007. In the Bible the ...

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 ...

A Fine Mess

Introduction

What a great promise from God: "I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go." We talked about this great promise in the last sermon—a ...

The Voice from the Top of the Stairs

Introduction

There's a story oft-told on the Internet—true or not, I don't know—about Susan, a 34-year-old woman who lost her sight due to ...

Odd Man Out

Introduction

Some wedding requests pose a dilemma for pastors. Most of us will not officiate at a wedding between a believer and an unbeliever, believing ...

The Strange Blessing of God

Introduction

Do you live a blessed life? I did a Google search on the phrase, "I live a blessed life." I stumbled upon one guy who wrote, "I live a blessed ...

The Stew Is Divine

Introduction

Jacob, at 130 years of age, stood before Pharaoh, the great ruler of Egypt. Jacob was the grandson of Abraham and the son of Isaac. He was ...

You Can Count on Me

Introduction

On Dec 5, 1914, Ernest Shackleton embarked on what he called "the last great polar expedition." His goal was to cross Antarctica by dogsled—an ...

Living with Jesus

From the editor:

Just below, you'll find a few introductory remarks from Francis Chan about his sermon. We want to encourage you to go ahead and watch ...

The World's Greatest Talk: Choices

From the Editor:

Just below, you'll find a few introductory remarks from Ortberg about his sermon. With that in mind, there really doesn't need to be much ...

Jesus and John—Together to Trust

Text: Assorted texts from the Gospel of John
Topic: A probing question for Christ-followers

From the editor:

John is one of the more intriguing people ...

Jesus Uncensored

From the editor:

Here's a sermon Michael Quicke preached at Wheaton College that tenders the meek and mild Jesus with the mean and wild Jesus. Few passages ...

Strong Grace, Hard Work, Good Memories

Text: 2 Timothy 2:1–9
Topic: A sobering look at what the Christian life entails

From the editor:

Every once in a while a sermon comes along that is ...

To Live Is Christ

From the editor

In this sermon Ed Rowell looks to tackle the tricky issue of joy and happiness. Most would agree that the two words have become synonymous, ...

Gone Fishin'

From the editor

John 21 is a powerful story of a fallen disciple, Peter, being restored by Christ. Many a sermon has been preached on the varying uses ...

Trust Me

From the editor

As Marshall indicates in his introduction, few people ever rummage around in the final few chapters of Genesis. But the final events recorded ...

Cross Here

Introduction

One of the great ironies of history is that those who took Jesus to Calvary believed they were forcing him to his dead-end; in reality, Jesus ...

Cross Out

Introduction

In August of 2003, the Church of the Holy Cross in New York City was broken into twice. In the first break-in, thieves made away with a metal ...

Fighting Well

Introduction

The movie Cinderella Man is based on the true story of a boxer named James J. Braddock. Braddock was a good boxer who lost his passion and ...

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.] ...

The Blazing Fastball That Gives Us Confidence

Introduction

On July 15, 1986, Roger Clemens came to bat in his first Major League Baseball All-Star game. Roger was the sizzling right-handed pitcher ...

The Glory and the Muck

Introduction

A few months ago, I officiated my father-in-law's funeral. We arrived in Fresno and prepared for the first official gathering—the viewing. ...

What God Wants from You More Than Anything Else

Introduction

What does God want from you? What does he expect? Do you know?

That's a question that every person has to answer. Because if there is a God—and ...

Seeing Life God's Way

Introduction

Not too long ago, a friend of mine was at the doctor's office for his annual checkup. As part of the exam, the doctor looked in his eyes. ...

A Personal Relationship

Introduction

I want to share with you something that had a decisive impact on my life; it was a turning point for me. And ever since, it's been an anchor ...

Call Me at Midnight

Introduction

Whether our "family" is a group of close friends, a bunch of kids running around the house, or a husband and wife alone, I think it is fair ...

Can Jesus Trust Us?

Introduction

The year was A.D. 155, and persecution against Christians had swept across the Roman Empire and come to the city of Smyrna. The proconsul ...

Fourth Man in the Furnace

Illustration: Last August, you might remember 118 crewmen dying when a series of explosions caused the Russian submarine Kursk to sink. Twenty-three of ...