Comparison: The Thief of Joy

Introduction

Whenever I have preached on John 21 I have tended to speak about the kindness of God shown through how gently the Lord restores Peter, ...

Forgiveness

Introduction

We know that we can't live in this world very long without being hurt. If I were to ask who here has been hurt, every hand would go up, ...

Free!

I used to think I needed a personal trainer, someone who'd get me to the gym and make sure I exercised regularly, someone who would put me through ...

Seeking Truth and Reconciliation

Behind the Scenes with Ken Shigematsu

As a Japanese Canadian, and by temperament, I prefer to steer clear of controversial subjects in my preaching. So ...

Growing Together

Introduction

Today, we're going to continue with our series called "Forever Luke." I know that for some of you, it feels like we've been ...

R-Rated: Eating with God

Introduction

Read (Leviticus 3:1-17)

I'm going to go way out on a limb here and guess that not many of you are thinking at this point, Not another ...

Two Graves, Two Gardens

Introduction

Read Genesis 3:8-22 and John 19:38-20:18

There were no streetlights, headlights, or even flashlights. There was just darkness, and some women ...

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 ...

Broken and Conflicted

Introduction

Today, we are finishing our series on David. Scripture talks about David a lot. The New Testament says God chose David because he was a man ...

Liberation

Introduction

Richard Stearns, the president of World Vision, has a book called The Hole in Our Gospel. In this book he tells a remarkable story about a ...

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. ...

Decision

Introduction

For the last couple of weeks we have opened the front door wide open to the topic of reconciliation. Each week we've gone to the foot of the ...

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 ...

The Ultimate Community

Introduction

The story is told of three men, all in the New Testament, who were born blind but who had been healed miraculously by Jesus. These men heard ...

The Forgiveness Factor

Introduction

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us all of our sins." What do you do when you forgive someone? What really happens ...

When Love Fails

From the editor

Given that Valentine's Day is this coming Sunday, many of you will probably be addressing themes like love, relationships, dating, and ...

The Peace Jesus Brings

Introduction

In this Advent season, we are looking at the theme of God's promise of better days for our lives. That is the hope of Advent and Christmas, ...

Two Bad Examples

Click here to listen to the audio.

The story behind the sermon (from Mark Buchanan)

This sermon came near the end of a 10-week series on the letter to the ...

The Peace Keeper

Introduction

A man is shipwrecked. He spends months alone on a desert island. Finally, a passing ship sees him and sends a boat in to rescue him. When ...

Blessed Are the Peacemakers

Introduction

The troops the United Nations deployed to the war-torn Darfur region of Sudan look like they could be soldiers from just about any nation. ...

Moving Towards Reconciliation

Introduction

Victor Hugo's novel, Les Miserables, is a story about Jean Valjean, who was sentenced to a nineteen-year prison term for stealing a loaf of ...

Trusting in God's Process

Introduction

Coco was a pit bull mix, just barely one year old. As a puppy she was dumped on the freeway and rescued by a teenager who handed her off to ...

Brokers of Truth and Love

From the editor

We would probably all agree that conflict resolution is necessary, but incredibly tricky. Emotions trump reason, stubborn loyalties trump ...

The Real Scoop on the Lord's Supper

Text: 1 Corinthians 11:17–34
Topic: How to approach the Lord's Supper in a worthy manner

From the editor

When was the last time you preached about the ...

Wait for the Morning

Introduction

Right after the Virginia Tech University massacre, the worship leader at a community worship service turned to this text. On behalf of those ...

It's About the People

Introduction

Recently our church softball thoroughly trounced our opponents. The game ended with what's called the mercy rule: when one team is ahead ...

A Man Like Us and a God Who Lives

Introduction

Elijah is one of the Bible's most dramatic characters, because he experienced the light of God's presence even when everything around him ...

Self in the Dirt: A Picture of Repentance

Text: 2 Corinthians 7:8–11
Topic: How repentance leads to revival

Introduction

The Bible teaches that God wants to revive us. But what is revival? Our ...

Taming the Beast

Text: Genesis 4:1–16
Topic: How to battle envy

Introduction

A few years ago, two high school girls in California—well liked, talented and ambitious—attended ...

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 ...

The Shadow of Jesus

Introduction

Well over a hundred years ago, Robert Robinson wrote a hymn that resonates with many of us. One line reads like this: "Prone to wander, ...

The Promise of Better Days

Introduction

As a 5th grader at Cornelia Elementary School in Edina, Minnesota, I always felt sorry for a fellow student named Gary. With his high squeaky ...

Cravings and Conflicts

Text: James 4:1–2
Topic: Identifying and addressing the source of conflict

Introduction

There is a relational conflict in your immediate future. You ...

When Life Crowds You Out

Introduction

On the wall of a subway in New York City was an advertising poster that depicted a dignified older gentleman recommending a particular product. ...

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 ...

The Christian Subculture: Righteous or Rubbish?

Introduction

As believers, we sometimes feel pressured to act in certain ways, fit in with certain norms, or participate in certain activities. The pressure ...

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 ...

Battered into Submission

Introduction

Not long ago, someone said to me, "I've never heard a sermon about violence in the home. I've never heard the preacher pray about it. I've ...

Weighing Others Heavy

Text: Exodus 20:13; Matthew 5:21–24; Romans 12:14–21; Romans 13:8–10
Topic: How to apply the sixth commandment

Introduction

The sixth commandment ...

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. ...

It's Not Thinking Less of Yourself; It's Thinking of Yourself Less

Introduction

A few years ago, one of my students was speaking to our class about his denominational background. He told the class that the average church ...

Releasing Resentment

Text: John 21:15–22; 1 Corinthians 13:5
Topic: How we forgive those who hurt us

Introduction

It may have been King David's lowest moment: His son Absalom ...

Where Are You?

Introduction

When I was a kid growing up in Minnesota, my family had a summer tradition. Every Sunday night, all seven kids and my parents would cram into ...

Showing Grace

Introduction

We are taking four Sundays to consider the subject of loyalty and what it takes to keep faith in a broken world. Our particular emphasis in ...

Follow Me

Introduction

Of all the things that Jesus ever said, one of my absolute favorites is the thing he says in John 21:12. Maybe you noticed it. The text reads: ...

My Favorite Heroes: Joseph

Introduction

We are in a series looking at different heroes of the faith, and today we'll be looking at Joseph. You can turn in your Bibles to Genesis ...

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 ...

Being a Bridge-Builder

Introduction:

Recently, I read about a retired executive from Decatur, named Richard Reeves. Ten years ago, Richard became captivated by the dream of Africa ...

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 ...