A Body You Have Prepared

Introduction

At Christmas we remember that Jesus came among us. The Second Person of the Trinity lowered himself, condescended, and became a man. That’s ...

A Bad Day

Introduction

As we walk thru life all of us are going to have some good days, some average days, and some bad days.

One of my bad days happened ...

A Tale of Two Basins

The entire story of Holy Week can be told with two basins. And maybe the entire story of your life, and my life, can be told with two basins.

Here is that ...

Our Suffering Servant

Introduction

With every step we have taken, the cross has slowly been coming into view. Certain death is looming over the Savior. As the tour continues, ...

An Upper Room Revelation

Overview of Sermon Series

Many years ago, my wife and I visited Alcatraz Prison in San Francisco, CA. Let me emphasize visited! We toured the prison via ...

A Tale of Two Trees

Introduction

This is the highest of holy days for the Christian church. This is the day where not only do we remember that Jesus died and he was buried, ...

I Did the Job No One Wants

You probably don’t know me. I guess I wouldn’t expect you to. I’m not exactly some big-name apostle who can fill up an amphitheater. ...

A Good Friday Intervention

Introduction

One of my favorite Chicago landmarks is the iconic breakfast destination known as Ann Sathers, on 909 West Belmont. Ann Sathers is a good ...

It Is Finished

Introduction

Michelangelo: the name brings to our mind great artistry, architecture, and sculpture. To say his name is to be reminded of the Sistine Chapel ...

God's Power in Unexpected Places

Introduction

Good Friday and Easter lie at the very heart and center of the Christian message. But there seems to be a lot of confusion in our culture ...

Jesus, Betrayed and Crucified

Introduction

If you have ever flown into Ireland, north or south, one thing will strike you. From the air, Ireland is remarkably green. What the tourist ...

The Perfect Meal for Sinners

Introduction

When our daughter Bonnie celebrated her first birthday we threw her a huge birthday party. We put on silly hats, blew on little horns, waved ...

Who Is God After I Sin?

Introduction

I once read a book called The Book of Failures. It was filled with all kinds of failures that people have made. For instance, the book introduces ...

Wisdom in the Cross

Introduction

In his book Once upon a Tree, Calvin Miller writes about an experience years ago when he went to a movie. This was in a day (that some of ...

Boasting in the Cross

Introduction

Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; ...

The Warrior Rises

Introduction

Do you ever watch wrestling? If you do, are you afraid to admit that you watch it? I recently read that you probably watch too much wrestling ...

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 ...

Violation

Introduction

In our series called Restoration Hardware, last week we learned that the Cross of Jesus Christ is the hardware or the instrument that God ...

Mediation

Introduction

There was once a couple who had been married for 60 years. Throughout their life they had shared everything. They loved each other deeply. ...

Getting Out

Introduction

I want us to look at the account of the crossing of the Red Sea. You might call it the climax or epitome of Exodus. It's hard to overstate ...

Jesus, Lord of the Cross

There are few more exciting units of the U.S. Military than the Combat Search and Rescue (or the CSAR). If you've seen the movie Black Hawk Down, ...

Encounter on Golgotha Road

From the editor:

We recently posted an Easter message by John Ortberg, because the themes like atonement, the Cross, resurrection, etc. are never out of ...

The Uncomfortable Truth of Easter

From the editor:

At the 2008 National Pastors Conference in San Diego, Preaching Today got to interview N. T. Wright about his book Surprised by Hope and ...

Forgiven, Forgotten

Introduction

Guilt runs rampant in the body of Christ. Though you already know you often feel guilty, it's important that we say it, because you would ...

A Day with Simon of Cyrene

Introduction

My time on the road of history was brief. I came suddenly and left just as suddenly. But it was an important time. It was that time. For you ...

The Centerpiece of the Gospel

Introduction

Anyone in marketing or sales knows how these games are played. Products and presentations are sculpted and crafted to tell listeners what ...

Death Is Life

From the editor:

Easter draws closer and closer (April 4), and we're here to help out with sermon ideas to inspire you in your own preaching. This week ...

Worth Your Attention

From the editor

More helpful resources for Easter! This week we're featuring a message from Mike Woodruff, pastor of Christ Church Lake Forest in Lake ...

If God Is Great, Where Is He in World of Suffering?

Introduction

Of all the reasons for rejecting the claims of Christianity, the one most frequently offered comes in the form of a question: "If God is so ...

If God Is Great, Where Is He in a World of Suffering?

Text: Matthew 27:27-46
Topic: Dealing with the reality of suffering

From the editor

Easter really isn't that far away—April 4, 2010—so we'll ...

When Sin Creeps In

From the editor

If you remove the first three chapters of Genesis, anything goes. So much foundational theology is packed into those seminal verses. One ...

Forgiven and Forgotten

Text: Hebrews 10:1-18
Topic: The effectiveness and scope of Christ's forgiveness of our sin

From the editor

As Brown points out at the very start of his ...

Regime Change

From the editor:

Here's a sermon by Kevin Miller that might inspire a few ideas for your own Palm Sunday sermon (April 5, 2009). As you read the sermon, ...

On the Cross

Introduction

A.D. abbreviates the Latin words "Anno Domini," which means "Year of Our Lord." Our calendars are all dated by the birth ...

The Greatest Trial Ever Held

Introduction

It was a long and difficult night. Jesus' best friends abandoned him. One of his closest colleagues committed suicide. Police arrested ...

The Purpose of the Passion

From the editor

By the close of this sermon, Mac Brunson has masterfully explained complex theological concepts like condemnation, salvation, and justification ...

Cover Or Be Covered

World War II was over. The Armistice had been signed in Europe and in Japan. Hostilities had ceased. But, under the leadership of General MacArthur, the ...

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 ...

A Day in the Life of Simon of Cyrene

Text: Mark 15:21
Topic: What it might have been like for Simon of Cyrene to take up Jesus' cross.

Introduction

My time on the road of history was brief. ...

The Cry of Mystery

Text: Matthew 27:39–49
Topic: The meaning of the fourth word of Jesus from the cross, "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?"

Introduction

The ...

The Rending of the Veil

Introduction

"Jesus cried with a loud voice and gave up the ghost, and the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom."

It ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Were You there?

The morning sun had been up for some hours over the city of David. Already pilgrims and visitors were pouring in through the gates, mingling with merchants ...

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 ...

Four Ironies of the Cross

We all know what irony is. Some of it is bitter. Some of it is vicious. Some of it is funny. But at its best, irony has the capacity to clarify an incident ...