Attitudes are like background music in our lives. Attitudes are ever present, ever influencing our lives, playing in the background during every moment of our lives. Attitude is a key to consistent Christian living. The attitude we should have is that of Christ (Phil. 2:5). When Christ’s attitude permeates our lives, we are unceasingly in …
Category Archives: Sunday
Sunday: Restoring God’s Priorities
Through the years, Christians have understood Sunday in various ways. In years past, even during my childhood, Sunday was a day of rest, and the majority of businesses were closed. In many parts of the world today, Sundays are so secularized that Sunday differs little from other days of the week. In the United States, …
Sunday: The Holy Spirit and Being Spiritual
“I love worship at that church–they are so spiritual….Those are such spiritual men….She is so spiritual.” We talk about it a lot. We think we know what it is. Spiritual–what do we mean? What makes worship or a person or a Bible class spiritual? The idea of being spiritual and the word spirituality are not …
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Sunday: Remembering with Hope
It’s Memorial Day weekend.In thinking about church and preaching, I always try to do something significant about remembering, sacrifice, and love.For many in today’s culture, Memorial Day has lost its meaning. It is too little about remembering and memorials. It is too much about the first long weekend of summer and going to the lake …
Sunday: Looking to Jesus
One advantage of Easter–the focus is almost always on the story of Jesus. By now many pulpits have returned to moralizing: we must/should/ought to…. This is “what to do” without the “why to do it.” The gospel is the story of Jesus. It is powerful—for salvation and for life. Tell the story of Jesus. Help …
Sunday: Honoring Mothers
Through my years in ministry, I often mentioned my mother in sermons and church bulletins. My sermons on Mother’s Day were peppered with personal memories. More recently, I have written about my mother in blogs, website posts, and Facebook posts. Through the years, some have commented that they would like to have known my mother. …
The Jesus Story (7): To Whom Is God Sending You with the Story of Jesus?
We have been rethinking Acts, the gospel, the good news of Jesus. This sermon is conclusion. This series is a summary of what I saw when I studied Acts. Here are the principles we have identified: the story of Jesus is a life and death story (a death and life story); the story of Jesus …
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The Jesus Story (6): Resurrection to Ascension, 40 Days of Getting Ready to Be Sent Forth with the Story
Luke, in Acts 1, writes about Jesus’ presence with his disciples for 40 days after his resurrection, “speaking to them about the kingdom of God.” Jesus had been preaching about the klingdom during his entire ministry (Mark. 1:14-15). The kingdom was a frequent subject, in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7), and in the …
Hopeful Sunday and Hopeless Monday
Yesterday Was Easter Sunday. Church buildings were filled–celebration, victory, joy, hope. But for many, after hopeful Sunday comes the return of a reality less hopeful, even hopeless! Sermons are heard on Sunday but are intended to make a difference in our lives and in our world Monday through Saturday. Sermons must touch daily life. Ideally, …
The Jesus Story (5): A Story That Changed the World–a Story That Changes Everything!
We are rethinking Acts, the gospel, the good news of Jesus. This series of lessons, shared during the weeks leading up to Easter, reflect what I learned, lessons I heard, applications I saw when I studied Acts. We know these stories—do we really know these stories? I see in this series a study to encourage …