It’s Time for a Fresh Start

Introduction: The Story

(Read John 21:1-14)

It was an early morning on the North Shore of the Sea of Galilee. A light haze of fog hung over the water making ...

The God of the Left-handed

Introduction

Simon Birch is a funny and sad movie about two 12-year-old boys, Simon Birch, who is a little-person, and his friend Joe. Rejected and ignored ...

Hung Up: How Do I Forgive Myself?

Introduction

Hear the Word of God as it is recorded in Matthew 27:1-10:

Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people came to ...

The Strangest Gift

Introduction

In her book Tramp for the Lord, Corrie ten Boom tells the story of an old woman she met in Russia in the time of the Communist persecution ...

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," ...

Surviving D-Day: Divorce

Introduction:

When we launched this series called “Surviving Your Personal D-Day Invasion,” we said that each of the attacks we would discuss comes as ...

What's Holding You Back

Shortly after returning home from World War II, a fellow named Earl decided to buy a television set. He went to the store and asked for a demonstration. ...

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 ...

Investing Your Life

I will begin by saying today's sermon is not about money. It's about something much, much more important. This parable teaches four crucial principles ...

How to Attack Failure

One of the most devastating experiences in a believer's life occurs when he or she comes face-to-face with personal failure. Those of you who have experienced ...

Dealing with the Distractions of Day-to-Day Life

We're in the third week of a series called "24/7"; it's about practicing the presence of God in your life throughout the day, all day, every day, seven ...

Try Again

Today, as we conclude our series on the book of Proverbs, we will discuss a topic that is without a doubt the most important topic in the series. If ...

If at First You Don't Succeed

"If at first you don't succeed"—you know the rest—"try, try again." Now that's a maxim that we all grew up with. From time to time we are ...

The Often-Overlooked Benefits of Losing

In our society being called a loser is the ultimate indignity. You can almost hear someone say, "Call me a liar or a cheat, but please stop short of ever ...

Back from Failure

The cartoon was "Dennis the Menace. The scene is bedtime prayers. He's kneeling. He has his hands folded. He's looking heavenward. He has on his pajamas, ...

Prone to Wander

One spring day, two friends set out on a canoe trip in the wilderness of Ontario. After paddling all afternoon the first day, they came to a portage, ...