Sermons and Biblical Studies

Topics: Choices; Direction; Discernment; Family; Guidance; Perspective; Priorities; Relationships; Self-discipline; Spiritual Disciplines; Testing; Time References: Psalm 90:12; Matthew 6:19–21; 16:26; Luke 16:13; Ephesians 5:15 Tim Sanders, former chief solutions officer at Yahoo! and author of Love Is the Killer App, says the following about establishing priorities: Take your life and all the things that you … Continue reading “RUBBER,
METAL, AND GLASS”

Topics: Bitterness; Conflict; Enemies; Perspective; Priorities; Reconciliation; Relationships; Revenge; Values References: Matthew 5:39; Luke 6:28–29; Romans 15:1; 1 Corinthians 6:7; Colossians 3:13; 1 Thessalonians 5:14–15 While Tom Wiles was university chaplain at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona, he picked up Leonard Sweet at the airport in his new Ford pickup to take him to … Continue reading “MORE
THAN A TRUCK”

Topics: Commitment; Friends; Loyalty References: Psalm 16:8; Proverbs 3:5–6; John 16:13; 2 Corinthians 3:17–18 Recently I was shopping at our local grocery store. After picking up some staples, I headed to the all-important potato chip aisle. Unlike my usual routine, I had already decided what kind of chips to buy. With my eyes set like … Continue reading “POTATO
CHIP LOYALTY”

Topics: Boldness; Friendship; God; Receiving References: Matthew 7:7–11; James 4:2 In 1962, Robert White, fourteen, wrote to President John F. Kennedy’s personal secretary requesting the president’s autograph. Within a few weeks Evelyn Lincoln sent the boy a signature. That began a thirty-three-year relationship of correspondence. Impressed with White’s passion for presidential history, the president’s secretary … Continue reading “JUST
ASK”

Topics: Affirmation; Communion; Discipleship; Encouragement; Failure; Kindness; Mentoring References: Romans 12:6–8; Ephesians 4:29; 1 Thessalonians 5:11; Hebrews 3:13 Young men in his church were expected to pray aloud in Communion services. So the young Larry Crabb felt pressured to pray, even though he had a problem with stuttering. He remembers offering a terribly confused prayer … Continue reading “PRAYING
IN FRONT OF A GROUP”

Topics: Cross; Easter; Jesus Christ; Salvation References: Matthew 26:36–46; Mark 14:32–42; Luke 22:39–46 When Jesus prayed to the one who could save him from death, he did not get that salvation; he got instead the salvation of the world. —Philip Yancey, “Jesus’ Unanswered Prayers,” Christianity Today (February 9, 1998)

Topics: Children; Community; Disabilities; Humility; Intercession; Self-image; Self-worth Reference: Colossians 4:2–4 The late Mister Rogers once visited a teenager with cerebral palsy. At first the boy was so nervous about the visit that he began hitting himself. His mother had to take him to another room. Mister Rogers waited patiently, and when the boy came … Continue reading “PRAYING
FOR MISTER ROGERS”

Topics: Church; Community; Lord’s Prayer References: Matthew 6:9–13; Luke 11:2–4; Acts 2:42–47 I like to fly-fish, and when I do, I spend a lot of time alone. Even when I go on a trip with my son, we usually split up and take different parts of the river to fish. Later we come back and … Continue reading “TOGETHERNESS
IN PRAYER”

Topics: Contentment; Mothers; Thanksgiving Reference: Philippians 4:6 A mother and son lived in a forest. One day a tornado roared through. The mother clung to a tree and tried to hold her son, but the swirling winds carried him into the sky. The woman began to weep and pray: “Please, O Lord, bring back my … Continue reading “HE
HAD A HAT”

Topics: Example; Mothers References: Psalm 78:1–7; Ephesians 6:18; Philippians 4:6–7; 1 Thessalonians 5:17 A black woman remembered how her mother, a slave whose work schedule left little free room for anything else, nonetheless found time and strength to talk to God. “My mother, all the time she’d be praying to the Lord,” the woman said. … Continue reading “SHE’D
BE PRAYING”