Search for sermons - Isaiah 53
The Man Who Killed Jesus: “Suffered Under Pontius Pilate” - Isaiah 53 - Feb 29, 2004 - 649
This has been a week unlike any other in my lifetime. Last Wednesday the new movie by Mel Gibson, “The Passion of the Christ,” premiered around the country. For various reasons the film has stirred up enormous controversy. That morning I turned on the news to see what was happening in th ... More
Liar, Lord or Lunatic: Why I Believe in Jesus Christ - Various - Oct 22, 1995 - 792
Several years ago someone wrote a book called The Many Faces of Jesus. It happened to be the book Elvis Presley was reading when he died in Memphis, Tennessee. That title stands as a fitting symbol of the confusion surrounding Jesus in our time. Last month several thousand people filled Moody Mem ... More
Barabbas or Jesus? - Matthew 27:15-26 - Apr 21, 2011 - 1283
“It isn’t right.” That’s what Roger said after he watched The Passion of the Christ with a group from our church. Roger was in the 7th grade when he saw the movie. He gripped my hand, his eyes filled with tears, his lips quivering. For a long time he couldn’t say anythi ... More
What Angels Wish They Knew - 1 Peter 1:10-12 - Aug 29, 2004 - 610
“Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories th ... More
How God Uses Bad People to Do His Will: Another Look at God's Providence - Acts 1:15-26 - May 3, 1998 - 641
Two questions confront us as we consider the story of Judas: 1. Why did he do it? 2. Why did God allow it?Last week’s sermon dealt with the first question. We concluded that the Bible doesn’t give us a final answer regarding why Judas betrayed Jesus Christ. This week we’re looking ... More
Who is Jesus Christ? - Matthew 16:13-16 - Oct 11, 2009 - 1215
Who is Jesus Christ? Before you answer that question, let me set the scene. It’s a few minutes past noon in downtown New York City. You’ve walking with a few friends to a favorite lunch spot when a camera crew stops you for a spontaneous interview. To your surprise, their questions have ... More
Out On A Limb With Shirley MacLaine: Is Reincarnation True? - Various - Jun 4, 2000 - 216
This is a sermon about reincarnation, which means that I have a serious problem right off the bat. It is also a sermon about Shirley MacLaine, which poses a second problem. My first challenge is to convince you that reincarnation matters enough to warrant a full sermon. Perhaps this will help. Over ... More
The Man Who Would Be King: Christ Speaks to the Problem of Frivolous Curiosity - Luke 23:1-12 - Apr 8, 2001 - 126
This is the story of a man who had a chance but didn’t take it and was never offered another one. The man’s name is Herod Antipas. On Good Friday morning Jesus stood on trial before him. What happened on that fateful day led directly to the crucifixion of Christ. It also sealed Herod&rsq ... More
Father, Forgive Them - Mar 30, 2007
Here is part of an email from a friend:Do you have any suggestions for getting rid of bitterness? What do you do when you are dealing with a situation where you cannot go to the person and discuss the issue with them? Of course, we both know that that is the ideal way to handle a situation, but we a ... More
Don't You Believe in Miracles? - 1 Kings 17:17-24 - Nov 23, 2006 - 166
In the current issue of Dallas Connection, the alumni publication from Dallas Theological Seminary, Greg Hatteberg reflects on his wife’s struggle with Multiple Sclerosis. I first met Greg and Lisa when I spoke at the DTS conference at Mt. Hermon Conference Center in California several years a ... More
The Truth About Same-Sex Marriage - Genesis 1:26-28; Revelation 22:17 - Sep 26, 2004 - 267
My story today begins a long way from Oak Park, and a long way from our current controversies. In order to get the proper perspective, let’s go all the way back to the beginning of the Bible. To quote a line from The Sound of Music: “Let’s start at the very beginning, that’s ... More
Christ-Like Love in a World of Hate - Luke 15:1-7 - Oct 10, 2004 - 263
This is the final message in the God Speaks Today series. As I look back on all that has happened, I am amazed at what God has done. In ways we could not have imagined, God opened doors for us to speak to millions of people across Chicagoland. And as a result, we have seen an enormous influx of new ... More
Calvary in the Park: Faith/Hope/Love - Various - Sep 2, 2001 - 435
"Before I Was Afflicted I Went Astray": Why Your Troubles are a Gift from God - Psalm 119:67, 71, 75 - Jan 20, 2002 - 397
These three verses all use the verb “afflicted,” which comes from the noun “affliction,” an old word that means any difficult or painful circumstance. Afflictions come in all shapes and sizes. An affliction can be as small as an aggravating head cold or as large as a major il ... More
Who Sinned? - John 9 - Mar 27, 2010 - 1242
“As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’” (John 9:1-2)It’s a natural question, isn’t it? When a disaster happens, we want to know why. We’ve asked that ques ... More
The Day God Died: “Crucified, Died” - Hebrews 9-10 - Mar 21, 2004 - 650
The Apostles’ Creed contains four phrases that refer to the death of Jesus Christ:Crucified,Died,Buried,Descended into Hell. If you think about it, this seems redundant, especially in a Creed where the entire Christian faith is presented in approximately 110 words. Why are six words used ... More
Stop, Thief! - Exodus 20:15 - Jul 19, 1992 - 720
Although it is not a matter of any particular importance, this is not the first time I have preached on the Ten Commandments. About 12 years ago I preached through the Ten Commandments at the church I pastored in Downey, California. After I finished that series of messages, I put my sermon notes i ... More
Christ B.C. Part II: Lamb of God - Exodus 12; John 1:29 - Dec 10, 1995 - 66
Christians everywhere recognize the lamb as a familiar biblical image. It is often connected with both Christmas and Easter. Though lambs aren’t specifically mentioned in the Christmas story, they are implied by the presence of shepherds and also by the fact that Jesus was born in a stable. ... More
A Place to Share - Acts 4:32-37 - Feb 7, 1999 - 6
This is the third sermon in the four-part series “A Place to Belong.” In this series we are examining the incredible dynamic that made the early church reach so many people so quickly. As I noted in the first sermon, the first Christians had none of the advantages we consider necessary t ... More
The Text That Changed the World - Romans 1:16-17 - Jan 26, 1992 - 276
Certain texts of the Bible are so familiar to the Christian that they require almost no introduction. They are the texts we learned from our very first days in Sunday School. We know them, we love them, their words are etched on our hearts. They are the “Great Texts” of the Bible. John 3 ... More
God’s Scapegoat: “Buried” - Leviticus 16 - Mar 28, 2004 - 651
“I believe in Jesus Christ ¼ who suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.” The Apostles’ Creed This is a sermon based on a word that doesn’t seem necessary. We know Jesus died. We know he rose from the dead. If we know what happened on F ... More
Did Mickey Mantle Go to Heaven? Why I Believe in the Forgiveness of Sin - Various - Nov 12, 1995 - 795
Like many others of my generation, Mickey Mantle was a household when I grew up. Back then, in the late fifties and early sixties, he was one of the most famous sports figures in America. Schoolboys by the millions imitated his swing and dreamed of the day when they could make it to the big league ... More
Thanksgiving 365 - Proverbs 15:16-17 - Nov 24, 2012 - 1471
I am writing these words the day after Thanksgiving. Yesterday Marlene and I traveled to Oxford, Mississippi to spend time with my brother Andy, his wife Betty, and their daughter Megan. My brother Alan and his wife Donna brought a fried turkey. Marlene had prepared several dishes for the grand cele ... More
In His Steps - 1 Peter 2:21-25 - Jan 30, 2005 - 588
In the Christian life, there are only two ways to grow. One is through people, the other is through pain. It would be hard to find a more important principle than this. Sometimes we grow through the influence of others. We sit at the feet of teachers, friends, mentors, disciplers, pastors, and gifte ... More
When You Are Unfairly Accused - Matthew 5:11 - Aug 4, 2010 - 1254
Why Christ Came - Luke 19:10 - Oct 2, 2011 - 1294
There is no more pressing question today than this: Why did Christ come to the earth? It is not enough to know who Jesus is. By and large the world knows what Christians believe about Jesus. But what the world wants to know is this: Why did he come and what difference does it make? Many answers have ... More
The Blessing No One Wants - Matthew 5:4 - May 12, 2012 - 1309
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4). This is one of the strangest statements in the Bible. It is a paradox and a mystery. “Blessed are those who mourn,” said Jesus. Happy are the sad! What do these strange words mean? Who are the mourners, ... More
The ABC’s of Wisdom: Building Character with Solomon - Gentleness - Jul 30, 2012
Serving God in an Unbelieving World - 1 Peter 2:13-17 - Dec 5, 2004 - 595
Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence th ... More
Loving the Unseen Christ - 1 Peter 1:8-9 - Aug 22, 2004 - 609
“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (I Peter 1:8-9). My text is a lovely passage that ... More
He Became Sin for Us: What the Cross Meant to Christ - 2 Corinthians 5:21 - Feb 28, 1999 - 672
“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). This is one of the most magnificent verses in the all the Bible. Spurgeon called it the heart of the gospel. It is the gospel in one verse. Everything you need to k ... More
When You Are Misunderstood - 2 Corinthians 1:12-2:4 - Dec 7, 2009 - 1232
Are you guilty of assumicide? That’s a word I discovered this week. It’s what happens when you make false assumptions about others so that you can portray them in the worst possible light. Michael Andrus says we do this all the time: We are so prone to be suspicious. When we become offen ... More
Always Dying, Always Living - 2 Corinthians 4:10-12 - May 18, 2010 - 1248
“What a privilege to live for our Lord and to die for Him as well.” That’s what Mehdi Dibaj wrote to his son from his Iranian jail. Raised in a Muslim family, Mehdi Dibaj became a Christian in the 1950s, later becoming a pastor. In 1983 he was arrested and charged with apostasy for ... More
Midnight Miracle - Luke 22:49-51 - Jun 18, 2009 - 818
When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?” And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and heale ... More
The Final Difference Between the Church and the World - Hebrews 11:29 - Oct 13, 2008 - 1168
“By faith the people passed through the Red Sea? as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned” (Hebrews 11:29).My aim in this sermon is to show you the final difference between the church and the world. The key word is “final,” by which I mean the ... More
