True Relationships

Introduction

As we wrap up our series on 1 and 2 Thessalonians, we are going to continue our focus on Christ's second coming.

I am a member at Sam's Club ...

Family Matters

Introduction

Colin Smith suggests a number of common, but faulty, metaphors for the church. He says the church can be viewed as a gas station—a place ...

The Bucket List

The Story Behind the Sermon (Dan Meyer)

This sermon was the third-to-last installment of a year-long survey of the Bible's great stories and themes that ...

Drafting Buddies

Introduction

Sam and Frodo find themselves on the final leg of their journey on the slopes of Mordor, but Frodo is losing heart. He's just about out of ...

Testing the Limits

Introduction

For the past couple of weeks we've been talking about friendship. And what we're learning is that our friendships play an important role in ...

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 ...

Think Hard, Stay Humble

Today I'm going to preach on humility. This is the topic assigned to me for this conference. Let's start by looking at 1 Corinthians 8:1-3:

Now concerning ...

Deborah, the Encourager of Manhood

Today we're looking at Deborah, the encourager of manhood. But before we look at the life of Deborah, you've probably seen church bulletin announcements ...

Feeling As God Feels

Introduction

The Minor Prophets are probably the portion of Scripture that you and I look at the least, because they're not fun to read. When you get to ...

Keep the Dust off the High Chairs

Introduction

A couple of months ago, a relative of mine passed away. The funeral service was at the church, and the burial service was at a cemetery next ...

The Kiss of Encouragement

Here's a great look at the life of Barnabas—with a few lessons on how we might be more encouraging in the way we interact with others. For another ...

God Is Strong—Am I?

From the editor:

Here's another great sermon from one of our featured preachers, Francis Chan. A few noteworthy items: Just below this editor's ...

Courage

Introductory remarks from Mark Buchanan:

"Courage" was the third week in a 10-week series on Philippians entitled I Can Do Everything: Paul, Jesus, the ...

Calling on Family Support

Introduction

A mother entered her daughter's bedroom one afternoon and saw a letter on the bed. With trembling hands, she read:

Dear Mom, It is with much ...

Summer

Introduction

I grew up in a small mining town in northern Canada, a place memorable for its hard, cruel winters. But on the first day of summer in 1975, ...

Spring

Introduction

I spent many early years in a northern mill town—a town with a heavy reputation. It's a place that made ice in winter and mud in summer, ...

When You Really Want to Quit

From the editor

We all struggle with the reality that sometimes bad things happen to good people. Adding to our inner turmoil is the reality that sometimes ...

A Better Peace Prize

Introduction

At the turn of the 20th century, a man named Alfred was one of the preeminent scientists and entrepreneurs of his day. He made his fortune ...

Balcony People

From the editor

John Ortberg points out that we are surrounded by basement people—folks who drain the life from us. This reality makes it all the ...

Older People: The Future of Our Church

Introduction

On October 29, 1998, the space shuttle Discovery launched with a seven-member crew. One of them, John Glenn, was 77 years old. John Glenn ...

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 ...

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.] ...

Working Out the Working In

Introduction.

Let's suppose that our music minister Daniel and I get together for lunch to talk over some of the special services we're planning this month. ...

Letters from Dad

Introduction

I'd like to talk on this Father's Day to the men. There will be obvious relevance to women as well, but my express purpose today is to speak ...

The Right Way to Handle Church Conflict

Introduction

I am by nature an idealist. I start almost everything in life by thinking about the best-case scenario. As a young man, I had a best-case ...

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 ...

What's Driving You

Introduction

I've always enjoyed reading the stories of successful people and finding out what it is that makes them tick. What I find completely amazing ...

A Breath of Fresh Air

Focus: Sometimes the best way to build God's kingdom is to brace up his workers.

Introduction: I want to read three brief passages, first from 2 Corinthians ...

Singing in the Cave

Introduction:

The psalmist is singing again. It's not exactly like singing in the rain, but it's kind of like singing in the rain, because he's in trouble ...

How to Keep It Going

This morning one of the daily news telecasts mentioned the New York marathon. I thought of the Boston Marathon and a woman by the name of Ruiz. You might ...