Sermons and Biblical Studies

Topics: Christians; Commitment; Dedication; Faith; Faithfulness; Loyalty; Self-denial; Submission; Surrender; Tenacity References: Matthew 10:37–39; 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23 If you were inside the cockpit of an airplane just before liftoff, you would hear the copilot or captain call out, “V1,” which means the “point of no return.” As the airplane accelerates toward the end … Continue reading “OUR
POINT OF NO RETURN”

Topics: Adversity; Crisis; Family; Hardship; Knowledge; Overcoming; Parents; Problems; Security; Significance; Suffering; Tragedy; Trials; Values; Worth References: Genesis 1:26–27; Psalm 8:3–5; 23:4; 139:13–16; 2 Corinthians 1:3–4 Early in 2006, our daughter, Holly, eighteen, pulled in front of a Chevy Tahoe on a rainy, windswept night and got “T-boned” on the driver’s side at about fifty … Continue reading “CHERISHING
LIFE”

Topics: Evangelism; Example; Testimony Reference: Matthew 28:19–20 I was touring China on a bus when the bus in front of us hit a patch of ice, skidded off the road, and tipped over on its side in a rice field. I quickly jumped off my bus, ran to the overturned bus, and jumped on top. … Continue reading “BLOCKING
RESCUE”

Topics: Betrayal; Lying; Preaching; Tongue; Truth References: Proverbs 18:21; Ephesians 4:29; James 3:1–12 When a friend describes a beautiful sunset, a picture is created in your mind. The words enable you to make meaning. When a parent reacts to a child’s artwork, meaning is created between child and parent, which can affect the child’s self-concept … Continue reading “SHAPING
WITH WORDS”

Topics: Arguments; Example References: 2 Timothy 1:13; 1 Peter 5:1–4 One example is worth a thousand arguments. —Thomas Carlyle, Scottish essayist (1795–1881)

Topics: Evangelism; Influence; Salt Reference: Matthew 5:13 A man walked into a little grocery store and asked, “Do you sell salt?” “Ha!” said Pop, the proprietor. “Do we sell salt? Just look!” Pop showed the customer an entire wall of shelves stocked with nothing but salt: Morton salt, iodized salt, kosher salt, sea salt, rock … Continue reading “STOCKPILING
SALT”

Topics: Christians; Church; Community; Example; Kindness; Lifestyle; Love; Testimony References: John 8:47; 13:35 Dennis, from Katy, Texas, needed some same-day dry cleaning before he left on a trip. He remembered a store with a huge sign, “One-Hour Dry Cleaners,” on the other side of town, so he drove there to drop off a suit. After … Continue reading “LIVING
UP TO THE NAME”

Topics: Apologetics; Conversion; Example; Salvation; Witnessing Reference: Acts 1:8 Blaise Pascal, one of history’s greatest scientists, was not converted through his scientific queries. Rather, when the scientist’s carriage was once suspended on a bridge and the man was hanging between life and death, the only thing Pascal could think of was the Christian conviction of … Continue reading “HIS
SISTER’S FAITH”

Topics: Boldness; Evangelism; Holy Spirit; Testimony References: John 16:8–11; 1 Thessalonians 1:5 When doing sound tests, the audio engineer for the Republican Convention in July 2000 discovered that the noise the gavel actually made was not impressive enough to fill the huge hall in Philadelphia. So he recorded an “ideal gavel sound” that was played … Continue reading “OUR
LOUDSPEAKER”

Topics: Christmas; Humility; Incarnation; Jesus Christ; Missions; Sacrifice References: John 1:14; Philippians 2:5–8 Several years ago, I was visiting Manila and was taken, of all places, to the Manila garbage dump. Tens of thousands of people make their homes on that dump site. They have constructed shacks out of the things other people have thrown … Continue reading “JOURNEY
TO A GARBAGE DUMP”