Sermons found for the topic God

The First Law: He's God and We're Not

This is the first sermon in a new series called "The Seven Laws of the Spiritual Life." For the last few years I have been thinking about putting together a short list of the basic principles of the Christian life. Wh More

God's Freedom - Romans 9:6-18

While studying Romans 9, I was struck by Paul's question in verse 14: "Is God unjust?" In our hearts we already know the answer. God is not unjust. But oftentimes he seems inconsistent. The very examples Paul chooses More

Don't You Believe in Miracles? - 1 Kings 17:17-24

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 More

Our Awesome God - Romans 11:33-36

It's not often that a book title tells the whole story. Usually titles are chosen because they are catchy, not because they are informative. But occasionally you stumble on a title that both catches your attention and More

Sense and Nonsense About God's Will

"What Happened, Lord?"It's a common question, isn't it? You set out to get a new job, you work hard for it, you go through the interview process, you do your very best, and in your heart you believe this is the job Go More

The Hardest Prayer You Will Ever Pray - Matthew 6:10

Some prayers are harder to pray than others. I learned that thirty-three years ago when my father died. One October day he felt a pain in his shoulder. The doctors later said it was transferred pain from a bacterial i More

Get Your Mind in Gear - I Peter 1:13-16

"Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you More

What Is Your Isaac? - Hebrews 11:17-19

From the story of Abraham offering Isaac, we learn that God calls us to yield our dearest treasures to him. Anything good can become an idol when it becomes too important to us. What is your Isaac? Are you willing to lay it down for Jesus’ sake? More

The Most Important Ingredient - Acts 16:6-10

When was the last time you played with modeling clay? It may have been a while unless you have a house full of preschoolers. As all parents know, children love modeling clay because they can make almost anything with More

The Second Law: God Doesn't Need Us But We Desperately Need Him

Last Sunday we started a new sermon series called The Seven Laws of the Spiritual Life. In this series we are discovering the basic principles of the Christian life that meet us where we are and take us all the way to More

God Is So Good! - Psalm 107:1

"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good." 1 Chronicles 16:34a "The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made." Psalm 145:9 "Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in More

Is Marriage Really Made in Heaven? - Genesis 2:18-25; Hebrews 13:4

Since this is the first sermon in the God Speaks Today series, I thought we should answer a few key questions up front: More

"In the Beginning": The Most Important Verse in the Bible - Genesis 1:1

Today we are beginning a new sermon series entitled "First Things: The Amazing True Story of How the World Came to Be." Over the next few months we'll be looking in detail at the opening chapters of the Bible, Genesis More

God's Mountain Man - 1 Kings 17:1

Last December right after the tsunami disaster, my friend Ramesh Richard, a professor at Dallas Seminary, sent an email that contained a simple, one-sentence prayer. He called it a "dangerous prayer." The moment I saw More

The Truth About Same-Sex Marriage - Genesis 1:26-28; Revelation 22:17

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 More

We Shall Be Like Him: The Purifying Hope of Christ's Return - I John 3:1-3

Shortly before his recent death, ex-Beatle George Harrison was asked about his spiritual journey. The question was apt since it was Harrison who introduced the Beatles to Eastern religion in the 60s and (after the gro More

The Seventh Law: What God Starts, He Finishes

We begin with the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German pastor whose opposition to Adolph Hitler during World War II finally landed him in jail. Shortly before the end of the war, the Nazis put him to death. His be More

God Unchanging - Romans 11:28-29

When I was a teenager in Alabama, I spent a week at a Methodist church camp. This was during the revolutionary days of the 60s when the talk was of LSD, the Beatles, hippies, the Vietnam War and protest in the street More

What About Those Who Never Hear The Gospel? - Romans 1:18-20

The subject for this morning is perhaps the most troubling question that Christians can face. The fate of those who never hear the gospel is both difficult and emotional. It's a tough question to think about because More

Straight Talk About Predestination - Romans 9:19-29

In the history of the Christian church, few doctrines have been so hotly debated as the doctrine of predestination. Since predestination is a biblical concept, we must face this doctrine squarely whether we like it or not. It’s in the Bible, therefore we must first seek to understand it and then to ask what difference it makes. More

Sinners in the Hands of a Merciful God - Romans 11:30-32

Earlier this week I received a copy of John Ensor's book The Great Work of the Gospel. In the first chapter, he examines the question, What motivates God to make the astonishing offer to forgive all our sins? Taking h More

God's Word Has Not Failed - Romans 9:6-18

For many people no question seems as puzzling as the problem of unanswered prayer. Why is it that some things we pray about are never answered? We could all spend hours remembering times when we prayed and prayed, o 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 go More

Sense and Nonsense about God's Guidance - Exodus 13:21-22; Psalm 48:14

In 1988 something new happened in the American political process. That year, for the first time in a long time, an avowedly evangelical candidate ran for the presidency of the United States.We all remember that Georg More

Praying for the Lost - I Timothy 2:1-6

"Prayer is the lifeline of New Testament evangelism, the oxygen for its holy fire. The New Testament was born in prayer. It knows no evangelism without prayer, and no prayer which does not lead to evangelism." Those a More

I Will Pour Out My Spirit On All People - Joel 2:28-32; Acts 2:14-21

A few days ago I happened to see my son Mark intently reading a paperback book. When I asked him what he was reading, he named a title I recognized as being very popular with Christians in their 20's and early 30's. I More

Forever and Ever, Amen! - Matthew 19:6

Let's begin with a little quiz. What well-known television actor said the following? "To me the greatest Latin lover in the world was may Dad, who married my mother and was faithful to her until the day he died 55 y More

A Forgotten Doctrine: The Wrath of God - Romans 1:18-20

Sometimes the title tells the whole story. My sermon today is about the wrath of God. It is truly a forgotten doctrine, even in the evangelical church. I'll dare say that many of you have never heard a sermon on God's More

Why God Chooses Splendid Sinners and Lovable Losers - 1 Corinthians 1:26-31

When God chooses people for his family, he picks those the world considers losers. This means that imperfect people make excellent candidates for the grace of God. Since we are all imperfect, when we boast, let us boast only in the Lord. More

Where Grace and Wrath Meet: What the Cross Meant to God - Romans 3:24-26

Easter comes in just six weeks. In order to prepare our hearts we are going to take the five weeks leading up to Palm Sunday to focus on the cross of Christ. I do not intend to repeat the details of what happened on G More

It’s the Faith, Brother - Hebrews 11:3-7

There are those who have faith and those who don’t. And if you don’t have faith, you cannot please God. True faith, faith that rests on God and his Word and believes all that he has said, true faith sees the unseen and say, “Yes, it is true.” More

Chariots of Fire - 2 Kings 2

What would you do if you knew that you were going to die today? What if you knew with absolute certainty that today was going to be your last day on earth? Suppose you had less than 24 hours to live. What would you do More

But God Remembered Noah: Hope for Those Who Feel Forgotten - Genesis 8:1

The story of Noah is very exciting until you get to Genesis 7. At that point, the story seems to get bogged down in details. There is information about the various animals brought on board, and also a very specific ac More

Love is Blind but Marriage is a Can Opener

Ray: It was a hot night when we got married. Late August in Phoenix, Arizona is always hot but by the time our wedding started, the temperature outside had cooled down to a balmy 97 degrees. Marlene: There weren&rsquo More

Overcoming Lingering Bitterness - Genesis 45

On Thursday morning, November 21, as the sun was peeking over the horizon in the port city of Sidon in southern Lebanon, Bonnie Penner Witherall was up early. On this day she was going to work at the prenatal clinic t More

Sense and Nonsense About God's Love - 1 John 4:8

I'd like to begin my message with a simple observation. No attribute of God is so widely believed as the love of God. This observation is quite easily testable. Take a microphone to the streets of Chicago and ask them More

Snake Eyes - Genesis 3:1-7

"The literal Genesis record of supernatural creation is the foundation of the true gospel, the true doctrine of Christ, true evangelism, genuine saving faith, and of all the key aspects of biblical Christianity." "All More

Image is Everything: Highly Valued, Deeply Fallen, Greatly Loved - Genesis 1:26-28

Upon reading these verses, the thought comes to mind that we're not in Eden anymore. Whatever else you can say about the first chapter of the Bible, the world of the 21st century is far removed from the world of Genes More

God Finishes What He Starts - 1 Thessalonians 5:23-28

"May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do i More

Out of Egypt

Sometimes you're reading along when suddenly a phrase pops out and you say, "Whoa! Where did that come from?" That happened to me this week as I was reading the Biblical Illustrator in preparation for this message. I More

Dry Brook University - 1 Kings 17:2-7

Several generations ago British Bible teacher F. B. Meyer wrote a short book called Elijah and the Secret of His Power. In his introduction he notes that some people may think it rash to study Elijah's life because he More

Living in the Fear of God - I Peter 1:17-21

After a six-week break, we are returning to our study of I Peter. I want to begin by reminding you that Peter wrote this letter to believers scattered across ancient Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). Widely separated an More

What About Those Who Never Hear The Gospel? - Romans 1:18-20

The subject for this morning is perhaps the most troubling question that Christians can face. The fate of those who never hear the gospel is both difficult and emotional. It's a tough question to think about because a More

How God Revealed the Ingratitude of My Own Heart - Romans 1

"Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused.” (R More

The Third Law: What God Demands, He Supplies

In this sermon series we're looking at the basic laws of the spiritual life that apply to all Christians everywhere. These are the principles that every Christian needs to know because they meet you right where you ar More

The Heart of A Champion - I Samuel 16:1-13

We are beginning a brand-new series of sermons called Journey to the Throne: Meeting God in the Turning Points of Life. Over the next few weeks we will follow the early years of David as he rises from obscurity to bec More

God Guarantees Our Salvation - I Peter 1:3-5

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that More

Will Everyone Eventually Be Saved? - II Peter 3:9

I can think of only four ways to answer the question raised in the title of this sermon:1) Everyone will eventually be saved.2) No one will eventually be saved.3) Some will be saved and some will be lost.4) There is n More

How We Know What We Know - I Corinthians 2:10-13

"But God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows More