Sermons and Biblical Studies

The labor of self-love is a heavy one indeed. Think for yourself whether much of your sorrow has not arisen from someone speaking slightingly of you. As long as you set yourself up as a little god to which you must be loyal there will be those who will delight to offer affront to your … Continue reading “PRIDE:
HUMAN; SELF-LOVE; CRITICISM”

I think that we ought to be mature enough to confess that many have been converted to Christ and have come into the church without wrestling with that basic human desire for honor and praise. As a result, some have actually spent a lifetime in religious work doing little more than getting glory for themselves! … Continue reading “PRIDE:
HUMAN; SELF-INTEREST”

Boasting is particularly offensive when it is heard among the children of God, the one place above all others where it should never be found. Yet it is quite common among Christians, though disguised somewhat by the use of the stock expression, “I say this to the glory of God.”… Another habit not quite so … Continue reading “PRIDE:
HUMAN; SELF”

Yet in their pride men assert their will and claim ownership of the earth. Well, for a time it is true, this is man’s world. God is admitted only by man’s sufferance. He is treated as visiting royalty in a democratic country. Everyone takes His name upon his lips and (especially at certain seasons) He … Continue reading “PRIDE:
HUMAN; GOD: HIS SOVEREIGNTY; MAN: REBELLION AGAINST GOD”

Humans try to ignore God, continuing to make their own ambitious, selfish plans. In the years before World War I, German’s Kaiser Wilhelm, largely blamed for the beginning of that first world conflict, was exceedingly headstrong. At a chapel service attended by the kaiser, a faithful German minister preached on the coming again of Jesus … Continue reading “PRIDE:
HUMAN”

Kierkegaard wisely said that there is nothing in the Holy Scriptures about loving man in the mass, only about loving our neighbor as ourself. Yet there is among us much evidence of love for mankind and little evidence of love for the individual. The idea of love for our brother is a beautiful thing as … Continue reading “PRETENSE;
LOVE: GENUINE; EVANGELISM: CONCERN FOR LOST”

I preach to my congregation week after week. And I pray that I may be able to preach with such convicting power that my people will sweat! I do not want them to leave my services feeling good. The last thing I want to do is to give them some kind of religious tranquilizer—and let … Continue reading “PREACHING:
WITH AUTHORITY; PASTORS: PROPHETIC MINISTRY”

To escape the snare of artificiality it is necessary that a man enjoy a satisfying personal experience with God. He must be totally committed to Christ and deeply anointed with the Holy Spirit. Further, he must be delivered from the fear of man. The focus of his attention must be God and not men. He … Continue reading “PREACHING:
WITH AUTHORITY; BOLDNESS; PASTORS: COMMITMENT”

I was not brought up in a Christian home and so was not accustomed to the conventional language of religion, and when I chanced occasionally to hear a sermon I listened with an ear undulled by familiarity. How strange the preachers sounded to me, how artificial their tones and how unnatural their demeanor. They were … Continue reading “PREACHING:
WITH AUTHORITY; BOLDNESS”

You will notice that throughout the four Gospels the disciples were asking questions—while in the book of Acts and after Pentecost they were answering questions. That is the difference between the man who is Spirit-filled and the man who is not. The preacher who is not filled with the Spirit uses many phrases like, “And … Continue reading “PREACHING:
WITH AUTHORITY”