Are You Awake?

Introduction

Typically, sermons begin with a prayer for illumination and end with a prayer of application. The preacher starts by asking God to open their ...

God's Solution for Our Temptation

Introduction

You probably heard about the now famous Stanford Marshmallow Test (1972). Walter Mischel put 32 young children in the study. He reported over ...

Family Matters

Introduction

Colin Smith suggests a number of common, but faulty, metaphors for the church. He says the church can be viewed as a gas station—a place ...

The Rebel in All of Us

Introduction

Why are you the way you are? Have you ever asked yourself that question? Why aren't you like somebody else? Is it your genes? In ...

Let the Blames Begin

Introduction

In this series we're going to be talking about taking responsibility. Each week I want you to ask yourself, "Am I taking responsibility for ...

The Disproportionate Life

Introduction

Last week we started this series on responsibility, and we discovered a few things from the Scripture. Number one: you were created to be ...

This Is No Time to Pray

Introduction

In this series we have discovered some things about responsibility and irresponsibility. First, you were created to manage and carry responsibility. ...

Embrace Your Reponse Ability

Introduction

Each week in this series we've asked this question: Am I taking responsibility for my life—really? The reason we've been asking this ...

Heart Murmur

In our lesson from Matthew 25 today, Jesus tells us a parable that is likely to be a bit disturbing to most of us if we really examine our lives in light ...

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 Use of Money

From the editor

From time to time, we like to feature a classic sermon from a celebrated preacher of old. Bill White, a frequent contributor to PreachingToday.com, ...

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 ...

Who's the Boss?

Story behind the sermon (from Lee Eclov)

I wonder if people aren't a little suspicious when we preach about work. When we say that all work is a calling, ...

Wisdom for Work

From the editor:

One of the more popular shows on TV right now is NBC's The Office. Though its comedy is often over-the-top, the audience still feels ...

The Discipline of Communal Examination

From the editor

Next week we start to roll out all of our new Easter sermons, but seeing as many congregations have just begun observing the Lenten season, ...

Learning from Tiger Woods

From the editor

In late November 2009, a series of events led to a bevy of stories about infidelities on the part of golf's greatest player, Tiger ...

A Disciple's Approach to Drinking

From the editor:

Few topics are more controversial than alcohol. Should a follower of Christ imbibe or abstain? In this sermon from regular contributor ...

And Grace Will Lead Me Home

Introduction

What would you say if you knew you were going to die and had a chance to sum up everything that was most important to you? That's how the ...

You Can Count on Me

Introduction

On Dec 5, 1914, Ernest Shackleton embarked on what he called "the last great polar expedition." His goal was to cross Antarctica by dogsled—an ...

Our Fathers Who Are on Earth

From the editor

Father's Day is just around the corner (June 21), and should you decide to offer a message for the occasion, Mark Mitchell's look at a ...

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. ...

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 ...

Take the Risk

From the editor:

As the country sinks further and further into a time of recession, financial issues will be weighing heavily on the minds of listeners. ...

Big God/Little God

Introduction

When our first child was quite small, we used to ask her, "Laura, how big are you?" She wasn't even a year old—couldn't even hardly ...

Intercepting Entropy

From the editor

John Ortberg is a master communicator, whether through preaching or through writing. Preaching Today is blessed to have him as an editorial ...

Solomon's Wish

Introduction

If you could wish for anything in the world, what would it be? Some people wish they had different abilities. Others wish for a change in ...

Putting the Kingdom First

Introduction

In an article entitled "A new kind of urban Christian," Tim Keller argues that "Christians should be a dynamic counterculture. It is not enough ...

David's Last Words

Introduction

A life is a terrible thing to waste. In his life saving book, Don't Waste Your Life, John Piper recounts a story his father often told in ...

Long Live the King!

Introduction

According to ancient custom, the death of a ruler is greeted with the following words: "The king is dead; long live the king!" This may seem ...

A Royal Conspiracy

Introduction

The right to rule as king has been the occasion of many bitter conflicts. Often brother has fought against brother to wear the crown, forcing ...

Stop Witnessing, Start Working

Introduction

A few months ago, I came across an article in The Boston Globe about religion in the workplace. The columnist, who is one of the few Jewish ...

Good to Great

Introduction

Suppose someone were to show up at your workplace tomorrow, shove a microphone in your face, and ask, "How do you think your work affects ...

The Job

Introduction

One of the most talked-about shows on television today is called, The Office. The Office gives us a glimpse into the cubicles and consciousness ...

Free and Focused

From the editor

Bev Savage's sermon on Philippians 3 has a few "twists" here and there. We're used to focusing on the biblical mandate to remember; Savage ...

Cross Talk

Introduction

There are times when the greatest power to change the world proceeds not from an act of forceful self-assertion, but from an act of gracious ...

Cross Bow

Introduction

I recently turned on the news and found myself confronted with another one of those stories that have become so common; my great fear is that ...

Cross Over

Introduction

It was an ordinary day of commuting Cameron Hollopeter. The 20-year-old film student made his way down the steps into a New York City subway ...

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 ...

Older People: The Future of Our Church

Introduction

On October 29, 1998, the space shuttle Discovery launched with a seven-member crew. One of them, John Glenn, was 77 years old. John Glenn ...

Warriors on Their Couches

Introduction

The account of David and Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 11 begins this way:

In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David ...

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 ...

A Lifestyle Inventory

Introduction

I want to tell you exactly how to live your life and spend your money. I know I have your attention now, because when we talk about money, ...

Costly, Messy, Beautiful Obedience

Introduction

The key word in the title of this message is "obedience." When I did a Google search on obedience, the most popular sites fell into two categories: ...

Cain-R-Us

Introduction

I was reading an article in the New York Times about the abundance of new wealth in Khartoum, Sudan. The article featured pictures of well-dressed, ...

Follow the Leader

Introduction

A church fails for one of two reasons.

The first reason is poor leadership—the failure of those whom God has called to lead, to lead well, ...

What God Wants from You More Than Anything Else

Introduction

What does God want from you? What does he expect? Do you know?

That's a question that every person has to answer. Because if there is a God—and ...

Reactions to Evil

Introduction

John Roth tells what happened to him late one night on a commuter train in Hamburg, Germany. John says:

The train car was completely empty ...

My Favorite Heroes: Esther

Introduction

Some time ago I went on a retreat, and one of the topics at this retreat was how we're all created for a mission; everybody was made for a ...

Keep the Change

A few years ago, Richard Simmons introduced a man named Michael on a weight-loss infomercial. Michael had an amazing story to tell. After a lifetime of ...

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 ...