Enduring Hardship Faithfully

Introduction

Life is hard and full of uncertainties. You don't always know what will get you. You just know something will: coronavirus, unemployment, ...

The Crook in the Lot

Introduction

One of the first people that I hope to meet in heaven is the Scottish theologian Thomas Boston, who was the subject of my doctoral research ...

The Good Life

Introduction

People may not sing it much anymore, but the following Herb Magidson song was popular in its day:

You're gonna take that ocean trip, no matter, ...

The Joy You've Always Wanted

The topic today is joy. And the chief question is: how do we get it? How do we have more joy more often? How can we be happy?

We are looking at Paul's ...

Satan Strikes Out

From the editor:

In the second half of Mark's sermon, he shares that C. S. Lewis once wrote that we often fall prey to two equal yet opposite errors concerning ...

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 ...

A Christian's Happiness

Introduction

If you're a Christian, you know that Christianity is supposed to be about joy. You probably also know that you're supposed to experience ...

Heaven, Our Real Home

Why don't we talk much about heaven? Maybe it's because all the biblical imagery sounds a bit off—streets of gold, gates of pearl, rainbow thrones, ...

Yet Will I Praise Thee

Introduction

Have you ever asked God questions and felt you haven't received a good answer? I heard about a little boy once who said to his father, "How ...

The World's Greatest Step

The story behind the sermon (from John Ortberg):

For Easter I wanted to present some of N. T. Wright's material on the Resurrection. I love his work on ...

It's All in Your Head

Story behind the sermon (from Mark Buchanan)

When I first came to New Life Church, I established the practice that every January I would preach a month-long ...

The Eyes of a Doctor

From the editor:

Here's a sermon from Donald Sunukjian on what we ought to do when we encounter someone who has yet to know God. We've mentioned before ...

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 ...

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 ...

The Last Enemy

From the editor:

This week we continue to roll out great Easter resources to help inspire ideas for your own preaching. Below is a sermon by Donald Sunukjian ...

Easter: The Benefits Package

From the editor:

This week we are featuring Leith Anderson's Easter sermon from 2009 to help inspire ideas for your own sermon for Easter 2010. As you ...

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 ...

Coming to Grips with the Authority of Christ

From the editor

Donald Sunukjian is a master at making a text come alive for a congregation, carefully and memorably pointing out all the details that ...

The Christmas Plunge

From the editor:

Who doesn't love reflecting on the amazing story of Mary, a teenage girl swept up in something so unexpected, so epic? The Incarnation ...

Worship and Love

Text: Malachi 1:1-5
Topic: The first steps toward restoring right worship

Click here to listen to the audio.

The Story Behind the Sermon (from Steve Mathewson)

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 ...

Journey Mercies

Introduction

Unless you go to the theater regularly, you may not be used to thinking of stories in terms of acts. But most of the stories you read, or ...

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 ...

Facing North When the Market Goes South

Text: 1 Kings 17:7–16
Topic: Claiming God's promises in the midst of hard times

From the editor:

Though many experts believe we've entered an economic ...

Desperate for God

Introductory remarks from John Ortberg:

I remember reading that when baseball great Ty Cobb was in a slump, he would battle it by resorting to bunting. ...

Do You Like Where You Live?

From the editor

Here's a sermon from the old Preaching Today Audio archives that we've never put on our site until today. What is striking is how relevant ...

God Is Big Enough to Comfort My Suffering

What Would Jesus Say When the Dow Drops 700 Points?

From the editor

What would Jesus have us do in the midst of economic crisis? Mike Woodruff offers answers to that question that push us to gain new perspectives ...

The Christian's Happiness

Text: Romans 8:28–30
Topic: Our joy can be constant no matter our life circumstances.

From the editor

Romans 8 is such a beloved, oft-quoted section ...

The Unseen Footprints

From the editor:

Timothy George packs a lot into this sermon. Besides showing us an effective way to preach an individual psalm—paying careful attention ...

Your Whole Life Matters to God

Introduction

I once read an article in the New York Times entitled "How the Worm Turns." The article focused on a group of scientists who spend ...

Remember Who You Are

Introduction

The Woodley family has a number of family picture albums. Each picture album contains an assortment of photos of people that matter to our ...

The Miracle of Christmas

Introduction

In Luke 11:33–35, Jesus says, "Your eye is a lamp, lighting up your whole body. If you live in wide-eyed wonder and belief, your body ...

Secrets of Financial Contentment

Introduction

When I was a kid, my dad told me two stories all the time.

In the first one, a couple goes to Harvard University and asks to see the president, ...

Beyond Comfort

Introduction

Where do you turn for comfort when you encounter loss, pain, or disappointment? Some people turn to food. For some reason, certain foods—like ...

Unbreakable?

Introduction

M. Night Shyamalan's film Unbreakable begins with a train wreck. Everyone on board is killed—over a hundred people—except for ...

Doubts in Belief

Introduction

I once participated in a very interesting conversation. A group of sixteen evangelical pastors, who believed the Bible and had good ministries, ...

Sense Out of Nonsense

Text: Luke 24:1–11
Topic: How to make sense of chaos and suffering

Introduction

Ancient sailors puzzled over why some of their colleagues who sailed ...

Peace in the Church

Introduction

When I was a pastor in Arizona, there were two men in the church who were greatly admired. They were both successful businessmen who desired ...