Sermons and Biblical Studies

Topics: Aging; Assurance; Commitment; Confidence; Example; Faith; Fathers; Fruitfulness; Hope; Optimism; Persistence; Promises; Waiting on God References: Psalm 85:12; Isaiah 27:2–3; 44:4; Jeremiah 32:6–15; 48:47; Romans 5:3–5; 1 Corinthians 13:13; 1 Peter 1:3 In the darkest days of the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem, God asked Jeremiah to go out and buy a piece of real … Continue reading “TREES
OF HOPE”

Topics: Church; Cooperation; Ministry; Sacrifice; Spiritual Gifts; Teamwork References: Acts 2:42–47; Galatians 6:1–2; James 5:19–20; 1 John 3:16–18 Soviet sport parachutist Yuri Belenko realized he was in trouble when he was three thousand feet above the ground. His main chute had malfunctioned, and his reserve chute was “barber poling” around the main, rendering them both … Continue reading “PROVIDING
A SAFETY MAT”

Topics: Mercy; Neighbors; Sacrifice Reference: Luke 10:25–37 My wife, Gail, and I were flying to Boston. We were seated near the back of the airliner in the two aisle seats across from each other. As the plane loaded up, a woman with two small children took the row of seats in front of us. Another … Continue reading “STEP-IN
NEIGHBOR”

Topics: Body of Christ; Disabilities; Love; Teamwork Reference: 1 Corinthians 12:21–27 Witts Springs, Arkansas, population one hundred, has a hard time producing athletes from a student body of forty-one in grades seven to twelve. But its athletes take team play to a new level. In a basketball game with Leslie School, Witts Springs trailed by … Continue reading “GETTING
THE BALL TO SCOTTY”

Topics: Courage; Freedom; Rescue; Risk References: Joshua 1:9; Philippians 4:13 After Harriet Tubman escaped from slavery in 1849, she immediately became involved in the abolitionist movement, organizing meetings and speaking against slavery. But that wasn’t enough; she returned to the South to help other slaves find freedom. If she had been caught, she would have … Continue reading “HELPING
SLAVES TO FREEDOM”

Topics: Compassion; Decisions; Generosity; Love; Mercy; Mistakes; Regret Reference: Luke 10:25–37 Years ago I flew to Minneapolis to speak at a conference at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Near downtown Minneapolis my taxi stopped at a red light four cars back from the crosswalk. I noticed a homeless man lurching between the cars in the middle … Continue reading “HELPING
MY DUMB NEIGHBOR”

Topics: Kindness; Power; Retribution; Revenge Reference: Luke 11:30–37 Lewis and Clark’s famous expedition to the Pacific Northwest in 1804 almost came to an untimely and deadly end. Half starved and almost frozen, the men staggered out of Idaho’s snowy Bitterroot Mountains into the camp of the Nez Perce Indians. A chief named Twisted Hair had … Continue reading “REPAYING
KINDNESS”

Topics: Commitment; Hospitality; Kindness; Time References: Isaiah 58:6–7; Matthew 25:34–46 In an era when many of us feel that time is our scarcest resource, hospitality falters.… “In a fast-food culture, you have to remind yourself that some things cannot be done quickly,” said a wise Benedictine monk. “Hospitality takes time.” —Dorothy C. Bass, Receiving the … Continue reading “TAKING
TIME FOR HOSPITALITY”

Topics: Attitudes; Compassion; Empathy; Patience; Tolerance References: Matthew 7:12; Galatians 6:7–10 How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in life you will have been all of these. —George Washington Carver, in … Continue reading “HELPED
IN THE HELPING”

Topics: Heaven; Humility; Love; Ministry; Servanthood References: Matthew 25:31–40; John 13:1–17 In a small Jewish town in Russia, a rabbi disappeared each Friday morning for several hours. His devoted disciples boasted that during those hours their rabbi went to heaven and talked to God. A stranger who moved into town was skeptical, so he decided … Continue reading “THE
RABBI’S DISCIPLE”