Our Great High Priest

Introduction

The overall message of Hebrews is to keep moving forward, don't turn back. The writer to the Hebrews is doing this by showing ...

A Better Blessing

Introduction

The theme of the Book of Hebrews is that we are to keep moving forward, we can't turn back. That we're to move forward in faith, constantly ...

Lose It All to Gain It All

Introduction

What are we willing to do to gain something of value? Well, you may respond that it depends on what it is. In so many realms of our lives, ...

A 7-11 Song

Introduction

Psalm 118 is a type of psalm this is what is known as an antiphonal psalm, which means it has echoes whereby God’s people respond to ...

The Gain of Sacrifice

Introduction

I returned from a two-week trip to Nairobi, Kenya, and Jos, Nigeria, where we were visiting some of our dear friends and ministry partners ...

From Circumference to Center

Introduction

I. Transgressions

II. A present judge

III. The price of inhumanity

IV. No neutral middlemen

Conclusion

Introduction

Amos’ words remind us ...

Anger Mis-Management

Introduction

If pride is the most subtle of the seven deadly sins, anger is the most obvious. For one thing, it's visible. The other sins are internal—lust, ...

R-Rated: What Really Happened at Sodom and Gomorrah?

Introduction

What happened at Sodom and Gomorrah? Whether you have been to church one time or 1,000 times you have probably heard something about ...

Be Afraid of Not Fearing

Introduction

You need to look the other way, pastor. This is business. You're not cut out for this. My friend had been pastoring this church for a few ...

Last One Standing

Introduction

I'll tell you the best news you will ever hear: "The righteous shall live by faith!" So why doesn't hearing that evoke the response of other ...

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; ...

Joy in Liberty over Legalism

The story behind the sermon (Jared Alcantara)

This sermon was the fourth of five messages in the series "The Joy Genome." The image of a genome ...

The Price of Pride

Introduction

You've probably heard the expression, "Into every life, a little rain must fall." I was reading an article about a movie star who was having ...

What's With All These Names?

When we were first married, my wife Susan worked for a bank in Deerfield. You could get your license plates there at the time. The bank was issued a stack ...

Danger! Worship in Progress

My hometown, Britton, South Dakota, celebrated its 125th anniversary last weekend on the 4th of July. The population sign on the edge of town says 1,328, ...

The Song of a Broom

Sunday school pictures of a ruddy faced lad in a lions' den have scant resemblance to the actual situation described in this sixth and last chapter of ...

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 Hunger that Satisfies

Introduction

We all want to be happy. And Jesus tells us how. In Matthew 5:6, Jesus says, "Blessed [or happy] are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, ...

How Christians Abandon God

Introduction

In the year 47 B.C.—14 years after the Romans had executed Jesus, thinking they were done with him, but God raised him from the dead ...

Recognizing Divine Interruptions

Matthew 1:18-25:

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, ...

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 ...

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 ...

Meditation

Introduction

I love in scripture. And I especially love Scripture when it gives me one of those really visual pictures. I'm a visual learner, so it's one ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Blessed Are the Merciful

Introduction

Prince Felix of Schwarzenberg entered the diplomatic service and was appointed foreign minister of Austria in November 1848. After the Hungarian ...

Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness

Introduction

A businessman decided to throw a party for some of his clients, and because he was doing so well, he spared no expense. He hired the most ...

Blessed Are the Meek

Introduction

Suppose the company you work for were to write a description of the ideal person to be its new CEO. Do you think meekness would be on the ...

Blessed Are Those Who Mourn

Introduction

"No one ever told me that grief felt so much like fear." That is how C. S. Lewis begins his book A Grief Observed, a compelling account of ...

Less is More, More or Less

Introduction

A few months ago my two teenage sons came to me and asked if they could go camping for a week … on Lower Wacker Drive in the city of ...

Fall

Introduction

My wife, Cheryl, and I had an opportunity in 2004 to spend a week in New Brunswick. We started in St. John, spent a couple of days in the ...

Because of Righteousness

Introduction

The movie Braveheart tells the story of how a 13th century Scottish commoner named William Wallace led his country to freedom from an oppressive ...

Our Hungry Hearts

Introduction

Have you ever used an image to help motivate you? To help you clarify what and who you want to become? An image can be an object or can come ...

It's No Mistake

From the editor:

One of the more important things you can do for your listeners—both believers and nonbelievers alike—is to find an appropriate ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Comfort for the Troubled Heart

Introduction

The Allies had planned Operation Overlord for years, amassing vast armies, an incredible navy, and enough arms to release Europe from the ...