The Counterintuitive Life

Introduction

I'm going to say something you can't argue with, and in fact, if you try to argue with it, you will simply prove my point. You ...

The Family Silver

Introduction

When I was twenty-six, a package arrived at my home accompanied by a note from my grandmother that simply read, "Take good care of this. It's ...

The Gift of Celibacy

The Story behind the sermon (an interview with Stewart Ruch III)

Preaching Today.com: Why did you choose to preach on "celibacy" and not "singleness"?

Stewart ...

The Lasting Marriage

Introduction

In 25 years of pastoral ministry I've done close to 200 weddings. I always spend several hours with these couples trying to prepare them not ...

God Is Self-sacrificing

Introduction: Recovering a knowledge of God

As wonderful as life is in so many respects, many of us look at our world today and wonder how we are ever ...

As Good As It Gets

Introduction

In 1969, Malcolm Muggeridge, a British journalist, broadcaster, and the editor of Punch, a satirical magazine, went to Calcutta to make a ...

Why the Biggest Loser Wins

Introduction

In Mark 10:17-27, we meet a man who is a lot like us. For one thing, he has clearly been through the part of the spiritual journey where a ...

If Jesus Lived in My Neighborhood

Introduction

Mark 10:35–45 offers several reasons why we should be servants in our community, in our work environment, and in the neighborhood in ...

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, ...

Jesus and John - Together to Trust

Introduction

The year was 155 AD and the place was Smyrna, in the Roman province of Asia. There was a new wave of persecution that was sweeping against ...

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 ...

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, ...

The Wise Men Cry Glory

From the editor:

Here's a great sermon from one of our featured preachers—Mark Buchanan—that explores the story of the Magi and Herod through ...

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 ...

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 ...

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. ...

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 ...

Jesus and John—Together to Trust

Text: Assorted texts from the Gospel of John
Topic: A probing question for Christ-followers

From the editor:

John is one of the more intriguing people ...

Cross Here

Introduction

One of the great ironies of history is that those who took Jesus to Calvary believed they were forcing him to his dead-end; in reality, Jesus ...

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 ...

Cross Out

Introduction

In August of 2003, the Church of the Holy Cross in New York City was broken into twice. In the first break-in, thieves made away with a metal ...

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 ...

We Don't Have Men Like That

Introduction

[Editorial comment: Sunukjian delivers this sermon as a first-person narrative. References to props or stage directions will appear in italics.] ...

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. ...

Down the Ladder to the Highest Place

Introduction

Editorial note: Sunukjian uses a six-foot stepladder as a prop throughout this sermon. References to the prop will be noted in the text in ...

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 ...

The Self-giving Servant Father

I invite you now to come with me into the very center of the Christian faith. And I invite you to do so through a text of Scripture with which you are, ...

Letters from Dad

Introduction

I'd like to talk on this Father's Day to the men. There will be obvious relevance to women as well, but my express purpose today is to speak ...

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 ...

A Day in the Life of Simon of Cyrene

Text: Mark 15:21
Topic: What it might have been like for Simon of Cyrene to take up Jesus' cross.

Introduction

My time on the road of history was brief. ...

Insiders and Outsiders

Introduction

It was all going well. The worshippers at these special services rated them as the best ever. Suddenly, a motorcycle gang drove up with a ...

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 ...

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 ...

The Love Connection

Text: 1 John 2:1–11
Topic: How to walk as Jesus walked

Introduction

First John is a book of assurances. It tells us what God wants his people to know. ...

Call Me at Midnight

Introduction

Whether our "family" is a group of close friends, a bunch of kids running around the house, or a husband and wife alone, I think it is fair ...

A Breath of Fresh Air

Focus: Sometimes the best way to build God's kingdom is to brace up his workers.

Introduction: I want to read three brief passages, first from 2 Corinthians ...

A Model For Greatness

Introduction

Our text for the morning, concerning who is greatest in the kingdom, reminds me of the story of a bus driver and a clergyman who were standing ...

Triumph of the Self-giving One: Meditations for Holy Week from the Book of Isaiah

Triumph of the Self-giving One:Meditations for Holy Week from the Book of Isaiah

by Kevin Conrad

Introduction: God responds to suffering.

As long as humans ...

The Ultimate Sacrifice

In the Gospels there are a handful of Jesus' sayings that seem to be so completely out of character for him—and seem to contradict things he said ...

Loving Jesus

Today we're beginning the final phase of the Gospel of the Matthew. This is the last week of Jesus' life—the passion, the crucifixion, the resurrection. ...

Great People Do for Others

In the recent NCAA basketball Final Four playoffs here at Dallas, I was interested in the statement made by one of the coaches prior to the game. He was ...

Loving God With All Your Heart

I'd like to read from the Scriptures a very familiar story. Sometimes when we hear familiar stories, we get a little disappointed. We think the speaker ...