Sermons found for the topic Apologetics

We Cannot Fail - Matthew 28:16-20

You’ll never know if Jesus is with you until you decide to go somewhere in his name. More

The Tragedy of Open-Minded Christianity - Revelation 2:12-17

Christians are narrow-minded about God’s truth. We believe something the chattering classes find incredible. We believe that God has spoken in his Word and that his Word is to be obeyed, not debated. More

Sleeping With the Enemy - Revelation 2:18-29

You can have the cheap thrills of the world and feel sick to your stomach the next morning. Or you can have Jesus now, a new life now, forgiveness now, real pleasure now, and you will one day rise to shine like the Morning Star. More

Church of the Living Dead - Revelation 3:1-6

The Sardis spirit overtakes us whenever we begin to take God’s gifts for granted. How quickly we can become the Church of the Living Dead and not even know it. More

The Church Christ Prefers - Revelation 3:7-13

Jesus wants his churches to be motivated by love, founded on the truth, strong under pressure, and unashamed of his name. More

How God Views Children - Psalm 127-128

God bless those who love the children God loves. More

Always Dying, Always Living - 2 Corinthians 4:10-12

We can live in such a way that others see Christ in us. But for that to happen we must be broken so that the light of Christ can come shining through us. More

Is Jesus Really the Only Way to Heaven? - John 14:6

There are many good things to be learned from the religions of the world, but there is only one way to God. Jesus is the way. More

Are We All Hindus Now? - Exodus 20:1

Christians must reassert the supernatural basis of the Christian faith. We must not stutter where God has spoken clearly. And we must make clear the utterly exclusive claims of Jesus Christ. More

Bestseller and More

I submit to you that the Bible will stand the toughest test and the hardest scrutiny because it is indeed the Word of God. That’s why after 2000 years it is still the best-selling book in the world. No other book contains the plan of salvation. No other book can tell you how to get to heaven. More

Why I Believe in God - Genesis 1:1

I believe in God because nothing in the universe makes sense without him. After all the arguments on both sides are finished, you still have to decide for yourself. You still have to choose. What choice have you made? More

Who is Jesus Christ? - Matthew 16:13-16

Who is Jesus Christ? A good man? A great teacher? A revolutionary leader? Or is he the Christ, the Son of the Living God? Your eternal destiny hangs on your answer. More

What If - 1 Corinthians 15:12-20

This sermon reveals the four disastrous consequnces if the resurrection is not true. If Christ did not rise from the dead, our preaching has no purpose, our faith has no forgiveness, our death has no deliverance, and our service has no significance. More

Unspeakable Evil and the Goodness of God

Unspeakable Evil and the Goodness of God by Ray Pritchard The story filled us with horror. How could a father murder his own daughter and her best friend? It happened in Zion, Illinois, a quiet community north of Chicago, not far from the Wisconsin border. It doesn’t really help to ask why because there is no answer that wo… More

What Happens to Those Who Never Heard About Jesus? - Romans 2:12

No question is more central to the missionary enterprise than the state of those without Christ. Are they really lost? Are those who never hear also lost? And that raises an important question. How can God send people to hell for not believing in Jesus, if they never even heard of him in the first place? More

From Athens to Oak Park: Why God Put Us Here - Acts 17:16-17

Let me imagine a situation for a moment and ask how you would respond. Let’s suppose that you are a missionary arriving for service in a country you have never visited. Although you didn’t plan to visit the capital city, your itinerary was suddenly changed and now you find yourself alone in a place filled with people whose education and intelligence equals your own—and in many cases surpasses it. The city is filled More

Ready to Give an Answer - I Peter 3:15

"But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord; always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you the reason for the hope that you have” (I Peter 3:15). Peter says to be ready to give an answer. Are you ready to give an answer for what you believe? Are you ready to answer the really hard questions?This morning we are beginning a new sermon series called Why I Believe, subtitled Equipping You to Share your Faith. Fo More

The ABC’s of Wisdom: Building Character with Solomon - Insight

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Something New Under the Sun: Ancient Wisdom for Contemporary Living - Introduction

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Why Good People Won't Go to Heaven - Romans 10:1-4

I’d like to talk to you about who goes to heaven. We all know that the Bible teaches the reality of heaven and the reality of hell. Jesus himself spoke of both places many times. All of us, I’m sure, would like to go to heaven if we could. Even if you are not a Christian, I’m sure if given a choice, you would choose heaven, whatever it is and wherever it is. I begin with a very simple observation. Not everyone More

Are You Prepared to Suffer for Christ? - 1 Peter 3:13-17

Are you prepared to suffer for Christ? For most of us, the answer is no. For most of the Christians in the world, the answer is yes. “Christianity was born in a world of totalitarianism … it was not strange to be persecuted. What is strange historically, is that we are not” (John Piper). For the first 300 years, Christians had no legal protection in the Roman Empire. To become a follower of Jesus meant risking ever More

Martin Luther’s Advice

Many years ago I took a course on Advanced Apologetics taught by Dr. John Warwick Montgomery. One day he talked to us about Martin Luther’s theology, which Dr. Montgomery summed up as law and grace. All the details of that discussion have long been forgotten–all save one. I remember this point because our teacher brought it home with great, repeated force: Preach law to the proud; preach grace to the humble. More

The Case for Christ

It isn't often that I use this space for a book review but in this case I am happy to make an exception. Recently a friend gave me a copy of The Case For Christ by Lee Strobel, the former newspaperman who now teaches at Willowcreek Community Church. The books subtitle tells the heart of the story: "A Journalists Personal In… More

If Archimedes Came to Oak Park

Many years ago (almost 20, to be exact) I took a night course called "Advanced Apologetics" from Dr. John Warwick Montgomery at a place called Melodyland School of Theology. I'm not making up that name. The school met in a big church building located right across the street from Disneyland. At that time I was pastoring a sm… More

The Adventure Begins: How Jesus Works Through Ordinary People - Acts 1:1

Today we are beginning a brand-new sermon series from the book of Acts. I find myself excited as I think about this series because Acts is one of the most exciting books in the New Testament. It is also aptly named because Acts is preeminently the book of action. It is the story of how the Christian faith moved from a tiny beginning in Jerusalem with a handful of people gathered in an upper room to the most important city in the w More

This Must Be the Place: - Various

Seven times in nine years I have given a State of the Church address to Calvary Memorial Church. In my first message I quoted the famous words of Daniel Burnham, architect and author of The Chicago City Plan: “Make no small plans. They have no power to stir men’s blood.”I have tried to follow that advice from the very first day. Over these nine years together we have seen God do some amazing things in our midst. The More

A Place to Begin - Genesis 1:1; John 17:3

"True and substantial wisdom principally consists of two parts; the knowledge of God, and the knowledge of ourselves.” With this sentence John Calvin begins his famous book, Institutes of the Christian Religion. He goes on to note that it is hard to say which should come first—the knowledge of God or the knowledge of ourselves. If we don’t know who we are, how will we know who God is? But if we don’t know who More