Search for sermons - 1 Corinthians 15
Acorns to Oak Trees: How Are the Dead Raised? - 1 Corinthians 15:35-58 - Jul 2, 2000 - 218
No question is more fundamental to the human race than this: What happens when we die? Since death comes to all of us sooner or later, we are all forced to face this question and to come up with some kind of answer. There are a number of opinions in current circulation: Some say that nothing happens ... More
What If - 1 Corinthians 15:12-20 - Mar 24, 2008 - 819
What difference does Easter make? It’s a well known fact that from the beginning there were those who doubted. On Easter Sunday when the chief priests heard that the tomb was empty, they called the men who had been guarding the tomb and offered them money to say that the disciples of Jes ... More
Does Jesus Know My Name? - Dec 5, 2007
A few months ago we opened the ... More
The Death of Death - II Timothy 1:10 - Apr 4, 1999 - 178
"Christ Jesus … has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” II Timothy 1:10bOf all the fears that grip the hearts of modern men and women, no fear is greater than the fear of death. It is an evidence of our technological progress that on this ... More
He Ascended Into Heaven: Why It Still Matters Today - Acts 1:9 - Mar 29, 1998 - 634
"After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight." Acts 1:9This is one of the most remarkable statements in Holy Scripture. We call it the ascension of Christ into heaven. All the major creeds mention it and every Christian group believes it. There ... More
The Four Freshmen: How the World Tries to Seduce the Church - Daniel 1:1-7 - Nov 7, 1999 - 155
This morning we begin a brand-new series called Daniel: Courageous Living in Turbulent Times. With Y2K only 55 days away, and with the recent Newsweek cover story on Bible prophecy called “The Way the World Ends,” this seems like the right time to investigate this ancient book.Why study ... More
Portrait of a Godly Pastor - Romans 15:14-21 - Aug 19, 2007 - 741
In 1978 Michael Hart wrote a book called “The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential People in History.” In it he ranked the most important people in the history of the world, taking into account the people they influenced, they movements they started, the impact they made, and the legac ... More
25 Years Ago - Oct 31, 1999
I do not remember much about the day itself. A few days earlier we had flown from Dallas to Birmingham to see my father one last time. The three weeks before that are a blur in my mind, starting with the late-night phone call from my mother saying that my father had suddenly become very ill. That in ... More
A Visit to the Funeral Home - Apr 16, 2000
This week a friend visited a funeral home and then sent me a few thoughts afterwards: ... More
Praying for the Sick–Part 2 - James 5:14-16 - Aug 28, 2009 - 1211
A few days ago I received an email from a friend whose daughter has recently been diagnosed with a very serious brain tumor that will, unless something unusual happens, take her life in the next 12-24 months. She and her husband are missionaries with a very effective outreach to the men and women se ... More
God's Altar Call - Romans 12:1 - Oct 5, 2006 - 728
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1).I must have been about eight or nine years old when I first responded to an altar call. For those who don& ... More
Heavenly Rewards - 1 Thessalonians 2:17-20 - Sep 15, 1996 - 321
Not long ago I received the following letter. It came as a total surprise from a person living in another state: Dear Pastor Ray,I don’t think you would expect a message from me, but I felt God directing me to. It is kind of hard to find my words and I feel a bit awkward, but here it goes a ... More
Death of a Princess - Genesis 23 - Jul 7, 1996 - 28
Some years ago an artist painted a picture showing a mountain of skulls. At first glance all the skulls seem to be the same, but when you look closely you notice some writing on each skull. One said, “doctor,” another “teacher,” another “secretary,” another &ldq ... More
The Easter Conspiracy - Matthew 28:11-15 - Apr 7, 1996 - 179
"The resurrection of Christ is either the greatest miracle or the greatest delusion which history records." Philip SchaffIt’s been a good week for Jesus if you count cover stories as good news. For the first time in my memory Jesus is on the cover of the three major newsmagazines in the same w ... More
The Supreme Question of Easter - John 11:25-26 - Mar 23, 1997 - 167
Because this is Easter season, the major newsmagazines have been running cover stories on religious themes. Last week Time magazine did one entitled “Does Heaven Exist?” Newsweek chimed in with “The Mystery of Prayer: Does God Play Favorites?” Even TV Guide got in the act ... More
How to Have Joy All Year Long - Philippians 4:1-9 - Dec 27, 1998 - 368
As we come to the end of another year, once again we find ourselves in a world filled with problems, doubts, worries, and fears. We sing “Joy to the world,” but there is not as much joy as we would like. Too many unhappy people walk our city streets. People today aren’t as cheerful ... More
What Happens When We Die? - Hebrews 9:27 - Sep 28, 1997 - 532
We live in a time when there is great fascination about life after death.• A few years ago Raymond Moody wrote a best-seller called Life After Life, which purported to detail the near-death experiences of men and women who “died” and then came back to tell remarkably similar storie ... More
Dice in the Prayer Meeting: Making Tough Decisions with God's Help - Acts 1:21-26 - May 3, 1998 - 640
4 … 9 … 30 … 34 … 48 … 8. Do you know what those numbers mean? Frank and Shirley Capaci of Streamwood know because those numbers won them $104 million this week in the largest lottery in American history. On Tuesday and Wednesday millions of people in 20 states ... More
A Tale of Two Men - Acts 2:24-32 - Mar 27, 2005 - 168
“Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of ... More
Serving to the End - Malachi 3:13-18 - Jun 8, 2003 - 1263
A man stopped by a house with a sign out front that said, “Talking Dog For Sale.” The owner directed him to the backyard to see the dog. He was pretty skeptical and called out, “You talk?” “Yep,” the mutt replied. The man then said, “So, what’s your st ... More
Leading Others Upward - Malachi 2:1-9 - May 11, 2003 - 1259
There are some things that only a mom can teach… My mother taught me about anticipation: “Just wait until your father gets home!” My mother taught me about medical science: “If you don’t stop crossing your eyes, they’re going to stay that way.” My mother ... More
Death Defeated - Revelation 1:18 - Apr 3, 2010 - 1243
“Since 1874.”When I saw that on a sign, I knew I had to stop and take a second look.It happened the other day when I went for a bike ride. I had gone south on Chesterville Road and then turned left on a road that would take me through a stretch of forest and around a bend that leads ... More
What Christ Does With Failure - John 21 - Jul 1, 2009 - 1197
Let’s begin with a poem called “And God Said If” that helps set the scene:If you never felt pain,Then how would you know that I’m a Healer?If you never went through difficulty,How would you know that I’m a Deliverer?If you never had a trial,How could you call yourself a ... More
Why I Am Not a Pessimist - Ephesians 5:15-17 - Mar 18, 2009 - 1194
My text today is very short, only three verses. And the verses themselves are short. They are often overlooked because they are sandwiched between two passages that are very well known. As is often the case in the Bible, little verses say a lot. The question posed in the title comes from the middle ... More
Going All In: “The Third Day He Rose from the Dead” - I Corinthians 15:17-19 - Apr 11, 2004 - 652
Dr. Billy Graham once told Time magazine, “If I were an enemy of Christianity, I would aim right at the Resurrection, because that is the heart of Christianity.” The founder of the Jesus seminar, Dr. Robert Funk, offers a perfect example of what Billy Graham was talking about. This ... More
The Hardest Doctrine to Believe: “The Resurrection of the Body” - I Corinthians 15 - Jun 27, 2004 - 660
Thirteen years ago I traveled to Russia with John and Helen Sergey. For 17 days we traveled from Leningrad to Moscow to the Volga River. While we were in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), I met Art DeKruyter, the founding pastor of Christ Church of Oak Brook, a Chicago suburb a few miles west of Oak P ... More
Three Questions for Christmas - Revelation 1:5 - Dec 8, 2010 - 1268
“Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth” (Revelation 1:5). You never know how a baby will turn out. I feel like more of an expert on this subject than I was a year ago. Over Thanksgiving our new grandson Knox came ... More
