Zion’s Birth Story

Introduction

Since shops are already putting up Christmas lights and radio stations are playing Christmas music, I thought it would be appropriate to consider ...

God's Dwelling Place

Introduction

During the summer of 2014, the eyes of billions of spectators were glued to their television screens as they watched the most popular sporting ...

Your New Identity

Introduction

At age 95, Rabbi Hershel Schachter died in the Bronx, New York. A name that doesn't mean much to most of you, but a few of you will remember ...

What's Your Story?

Introduction

Have you heard of Storycorps? Storycorps is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to celebrate the lives of everyday Americans by inviting ...

Jesus Christ: His Resurrection from the Dead

"The gospel of God … regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendent of David according to the flesh, and who was declared to be ...

Heart Burn

The man's name was Toby. He was the youngest son of a lawyer from Cleveland who'd struck it rich and moved his family to the upscale community of Rancho ...

Heart Attack

If I asked you to take your finger and point to yourself, where would you point? Most of us, I imagine, would not point to our heads. That's interesting ...

Heart Scan

I'm going to talk today about the most important thing there is about you or me or anyone else we are ever going to meet. To get there, I want to take ...

Heart Ache

More than 3,000 years ago, near the city of Shechem, in the land we know today as Israel, an unknown seeker began digging a hole in the crusty soil where ...

Doubters Anyonymous

Introduction

"He is risen": it's the heartbeat of the message of the Christian church. These three English words are translated from one Greek word, egeirō, ...

A New Philadelphia

Introduction

There is something in a name. My name is Mike. Actually, Michael's not my first name; my first name is Jerry. I'm Jerry Michael Breaux. On ...

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 ...

Same Old, Same Old

From the editor

After 15 years at Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philip Ryken accepted the call to become the next president ...

Extreme Makeover

From the editor:

Looking for an example of how a sermon can speak into the energy of the New Year? This is the one to check out. One of the more powerful ...

Total Freedom

From the editor:

Here's another great sermon from one of our featured preachers, John Ortberg. This is actually John's message from Palm Sunday (2009). ...

Blessed Are the Pure in Heart

Introduction

Through the centuries there have been some people who have wanted to view Jesus' teaching in the Beatitudes as a kind of ladder that can carry ...

The Long Tomorrow

Introduction

An 85-year-old couple died in a car crash after having been married almost 60 years. They had been in good health the last ten years mainly ...

A Brand New You

Introduction

I've got hundreds of things around the house that I would like to see made new—sofa cushions that have begun to sag, kitchen cabinets ...

Welcome to the Pearly-Gated Community

Introduction

In the first sermon in our series, I talked about the primary person we will get to see in heaven: Jesus, face to face. Now I want to talk ...

Jesus Face to Face

Introduction

If you had the opportunity, who would you like to meet face to face? Is it someone living? Someone who has already died? A celebrity? Nobility? ...

Focus

Introduction

There's good news and bad news about our gospel passage. First the bad news: this is one of the most difficult, disturbing, and surprising ...

What Child Is This Who Came Not to Bring Peace?

From the editor

One of the more popular texts in the Advent and Christmas season is Isaiah 9:1–7. Preachers love to explore the beauty of our having ...

God Is Big Enough to Comfort My Suffering

A New Name for Philadelphia

Text: Revelation 3:7–13
Topic: We have a new name, and we're going to live in a new city that cannot be shaken.

From the editor

Like Dave Stone of Southeast ...

What Do Christians Think About the Holy Spirit?

From the editor

Tim Peck acknowledges that any discussion of the Holy Spirit has a certain mystery to it. After all, Jesus himself compared the Spirit ...

Doubters Anonymous

Text: John 20:19–29
Topic: Dealing with doubt

Introduction

"He is risen": it's the heartbeat of the message of the Christian church. These three English ...

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 ...

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 ...

A Win-Win Situation

Introduction

Every so often we find ourselves in a win-win situation. No matter which way it goes, we come out ahead.

For example, at school we decide to ...

The Grieving Heart of God

Introduction

On the first day teaching his class for 250 college freshmen, R. C. Sproul carefully explained the assignment of three term papers. Each paper ...

You Don't Have to Be Good to Come to Christ

Introduction

The description of the early church that is found in the opening chapters of the Book of Acts almost sounds like paradise revisited. Two events ...

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 ...

Check Your Bags

Introduction

In his best-selling book Halftime, Bob Buford tells a story that is reminiscent of the encounter we read about in our text from Matthew's ...

Complete the Circle

Introduction

In his book Bono in Conversation, author Michka Assayas recounts a remarkable discussion he had with the lead singer and songwriter of the ...

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 ...

What the World Needs Now

Introduction

In his book Telling the Truth, author Frederick Buechner describes a scene that could be unfolding on any given Sunday in any given church, ...

Like a Living Stone

Introduction

"How does it feel," Bob Dylan asks. "How does it feel to be on your own, with no direction home, a complete unknown, like a rolling stone?" ...

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 ...

A House on Hope Street

For many years John Cox and his wife, Wendy, did their best to provide a home for themselves and their three daughters. He was an itinerant youth minister, ...

Anakin's Choice

The TV makeover craze began a few years ago with a couple of shows that promised to transform ordinary looking people into beauty queens and chick-magnets. ...

Setting Sail

You know, I really don't understand myself sometimes. I want to do what's right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do the very thing I hate. I know perfectly ...

The Great Reveal

It's the most dramatic moment in any makeover show. It's the reason the participants endure 3 months of surgery, workouts, coaching, and separation from ...

Should We Move On with Our Lives?

Within days of the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington D.C. the President (as well as NY Mayor Rudy Giuliani) urged American citizens ...

Radical Mercy

When I played football in high school, I realized that my size and ability would limit my chances of earning a "letter", so I decided to try out for ...

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 ...

Living in the Zone

There's a phrase that has become popular in pop culture today, specifically in the areas of business and sports: Being in "the zone." The zone refers ...

Freedom From the Past

I suppose most every one here today has heard of Alice Cooper. For those of you who are saying, "Oh yes. Alice Cooper. She's one of my favorites," well—you're ...

Winning the War On Sin

Today we are beginning a new series called "How Can I Be Good?" Now, if you were to ask yourself that question, which word would you emphasize? I ask ...