Articles
Let There Be Light: Darkness Gone, Glory Revealed [sermon 1 of 4 in series]
Sermon Manuscript: If you hate being in the dark, then being in London in 1939 would not have been fun for you. Before World War Two began, London was preparing the people to stand against Germany. As things seemed to go from bad to worse, the small but powerful country of England knew they were putting their population at risk...
10 Bible Verses to Support Your New Year’s Resolutions
A New Year is seen as a fresh beginning, a time for resolutions and promises on habits and behaviors we’d like to incorporate into this new start. Here are 10 Scriptures to support and encourage you in your New Year’s New Beginning. All verses from the ESV translation. Psalm 5:3 "O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare...
Top 10 Bible Verses to Use at the Hospital
Walking into a person’s crisis is an intimate experience. The pain of suffering is exasperated when met with the unknown. Fear increases when we do not have answers. Some environments are prone to more waiting and questioning and therefore fear. A hospital is a place of questions, waiting, hoping, and longing for comfort. As we minister to people in the...
4 Main Types of Life Trials
"Somehow this has become routine. The reporting is routine. My response here at this podium ends up being routine, the conversation in the aftermath of it ... We have become numb to this." President Obama said this statement Thursday night after the shooting in Oregon. Once again lives of innocent students were taken from us—all of which where young...
How I Format My Sermon Outline
For over a decade I have tried to find the best way to format my sermon notes. I've asked some of the greatest living known preachers how they do it and if I could see theirs. I research and read about others notes (of which Josh Harris has one of the best blogs on this topic). Although I have...
Thank God: Practical Ways to Show Gratitude to the Almighty
One of my favorite movies of all time is The Count of Monte Christo. It’s a story about a man named Edmond Dontez escapes from the Cheteau D’if, which is like the Alcatraz of France. Exhausted and wave-battered from his getaway he wakes up on the beach of a far off island to find that he has been discovered by...
Meet John, Son of Zebedee—The Disciple Jesus Loved.
I want to introduce you to a friend…well, probably, more like an acquaintance, but someone that I love and appreciate very much. He is not here today, but if he were, I am sure you would love him and he would love you. He is an average looking man, has a manly beard, and wears the rugged outdoorsman-look very well...
The Essential Elements of a Transformed Life [Sermon]
1 John 5:1-12 So far John has spoken a lot about love and obedience, but now he is going to combine the idea of faith and its necessity in our life. In chapter 5 we learn that the road to love is paved with faith in Christ. Sermon Outline: The essential elements of a transformed life: 1. New Faith (vv. 1a, 6-10) Have an insatiable...
How To Highlight and Color Your Bible Effectively
This is a guest post from Jenna Marie Belcher Have you ever thought you knew an entire song and the meaning by merely listening to it a few times? I can remember one Friday night, while out with my friends, I got up to sing karaoke thinking I KNEW the words backwards and forwards- to “My Heart Will Go On”. ...
How to Encourage Yourself in the Midst of Discouraging Circumstances
This is a guest post by Daniel Henderson at www.strategicrenewal.com David, the great Old Testament figure, was no stranger to fatigue, fear, confusion, doubt, bad decisions, and second chances. Like refreshing rain on parched ground, his raw humanity, disarming transparency, and persevering pursuit of God give us encouragement in the occasional, even frequent, messes of our own lives. In one of the...
Great Opener for Sermon to Teens
A Friend of mine asked me if had any good "Openers" for a sermon he was going to give at the local Lutheran High School chapel. After giving a little thought, I told him that I had one I've used many times, and it pulls the teen right in-without fail. I told him that you could speak on just...
Understanding Why God Is Silent
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? I just needed to get away. The stress of ministry life, family life, and just life seemed to be overwhelming to me. I described my life as a stereo turned up all the way and the volume control was broken off. I didn’t need to just turn down the noise--I needed to turn it...