A Worship Service God Hates?

Introduction

(Read Amos 5:21-6:7)

Imagine that you move out of state. In that new place, you must find a new church, which can be challenging. Finally, ...

Ode to a Donkey

Introduction

Today is Palm Sunday, the day the church celebrates Jesus’ triumphant entry into the city of Jerusalem, only to be crucified by the ...

A Tale of Two Basins

The entire story of Holy Week can be told with two basins. And maybe the entire story of your life, and my life, can be told with two basins.

Here is that ...

Through Love, Serve One Another

Introduction

Have you ever been loved in a way that really astounded you? Have you ever been served in a way that, when you sat back and thought about ...

A Good Man in a Hard Place

Introduction

God's servants are found in some of the most surprising places. Elijah served in a very dark time in the history of God's people. King Ahab ...

God's Love Language

Introduction

Why does it take so long to learn how to love the important people in our life? Am I the only slow learner in this crowd? When our kids were ...

Looking Otherward

Introduction

Many years ago, I had dinner at a place called Windows on the World. The restaurant sat atop a skyscraper so high that the wait staff literally ...

For the Sake of Others

Introduction

One of the hardest-to-get, most-difficult-to-live-into, toughest-to-hold-onto ideas of the truly Jesus-like life is this: A Christian lives ...

The Blessing, the Curse, the Calling

Introduction

How many hours in a day? 24. Let's break a 24-hour day down. First off, the average human sleeps how many hours a night? Not counting ...

The Good of Our Work

Introduction

When you read the word, "job" what comes to mind? You might think, "I'm glad tomorrow's a holiday!" Still others think, "Boy, am I glad I ...

Joyful Service

Introduction

We are looking at John 13 and drawing out four themes—four pillars of a healthy community. The first week we looked at "Humble Leadership." ...

Personal Transformation

Introduction

Today we are asking the question what does it mean to be whole people in the presence of others. What does it mean to be shaped into wholeness, ...

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 ...

BFFs

Introduction

There's a famous speech in Shakespeare's play Henry V. It's the night before the battle of Agincourt. As a young king, Henry prepares to lead ...

Renewing Work: Cupcakes and the Glory of God

Introduction

We're in a series called (re)new and we're looking at how the gospel makes everything new again. How does the gospel change the way I look ...

Deep Love

I want to know what love is.

Sooner or later, it had to come around to love. For six weeks now, we have been considering tests of true faith—the ...

Brother, Interrupted

Introduction: A tale of two brothers

In 1989, two brothers from Boston started a T-shirt business. For five years Bert and John traveled the East Coast, ...

Consequential Strangers

Introduction: Everyday people

So who have you bumped into lately? Think for a minute about the multitude of people—strangers or acquaintances—whose ...

A Hard Saying

Introduction: A hard saying

This morning we come to one of the hard sayings of Jesus. There are quite a few of them, actually. I have a book on my shelf ...

No Strings Attached

Introduction

For the last several weeks, we've been sowing the seeds of a revolution around here. Being in Massachusetts, this area is familiar with ...

What Can One Person Do?

Introduction: What now?

For five weeks we have been teaching ourselves to see what Jesus sees and feel what Jesus feels, as we make our way through our ...

WWJS?

Introduction: Shouldn't we be saying something?

There are certain words or phrases that are almost guaranteed to make people really uncomfortable: root ...

What Christmas Love Always Does

From the editor:

Every year at Christmastime, news stations run video segments of crazy shoppers pushing and shoving each other to get their hands on the ...

How to Be a Redemptive Person

Introduction

Evangelism is like strong horseradish: people praise it with tears in their eyes.

There are other word associations we could make with the ...

A Heart for Service

Introduction

Once upon a time there was a wonderful church that suddenly found itself in trouble. After an exciting season of growth, things just didn't ...

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 ...

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, ...

The Sermon That Inspired Murder

From the editor:

We feel that this featured sermon from regular contributor Kevin Miller can inspire ideas for two different sermons: a sermon on the divinity ...

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, ...

Life After Victory

Introduction

Early in his career, the great American playwright Eugene O'Neill wrote an imaginative play called "Lazarus Laughed" about Lazarus's life ...

Brothers, Interrupted

The story behind the sermon (from Bryan Wilkerson):

This sermon was preached early in September to launch our ministry focus for the year, which we're ...

The Basic Need

From the editor:

Here's a great sermon from one of our featured preachers, Haddon Robinson.

Introduction

T. S. Elliott, in one of his poems, asked a penetrating ...

A Lesson Wise Moms and Other Influential People Can Teach the Next Generation

From the editor:

Mother's Day is just around the corner (May 9), and should you decide to offer a message for the occasion, Steve Mathewson's look ...

Halos, Wings, and Harps

Introduction

I want to explore another person you meet in heaven. I use the term "person" loosely because of who we're talking about today: Angels. When ...

Calling on Family Support

Introduction

A mother entered her daughter's bedroom one afternoon and saw a letter on the bed. With trembling hands, she read:

Dear Mom, It is with much ...

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 ...

The Flames of Heaven

Text: Revelation 21:1–3
Topic: What would happen if heaven crashed into earth

Introduction

In Revelation 21:1–3, John gives us a glimpse—a ...

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 ...

Body Life

Introduction

That the church is the "body of Christ" is more than simply a figure of speech. The church is the chief means by which Christ works today; ...

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 ...

The Problem of Growth

Introduction

The map of global Christianity our grandparents knew has been turned upside down. At the beginning of the twentieth century, only 10 percent ...

Don't Go To Church!

Introduction

D. L. Moody was visiting a prominent Chicago citizen when the idea of church membership and involvement came up.

"I believe I can be just as ...

Don't Just Do Something, Sit There

Introduction

Have you ever wondered how Jesus spent his evenings and his nights? Some of his disciples came to him early on to ask about the fringe benefits ...

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 ...

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, ...

The Problem of Discrimination

Introduction

The physician of the soul, as of the body, must be capable of doing three things. He must be able to diagnose the malady, to prescribe the ...

What God Wants From Us

It seems that there was once a clerk in a large candy store who always had people waiting in line, even when the other clerks were standing around with ...