Sermons categorized under Bible Characters

The Blessing

God blesses those who get excited about his plan to bless the world through Jesus.

Asa: The King with Bad Feet

God is still looking for men and women whose hearts are fully committed to him.

Good News for Poor Performers and Splendid Sinners

This afternoon I read a bit from Faithfulness and Holiness by J. I. Packer. The book consists of Packer’s short biography of J. C. Ryle, the 19t5h-century Anglican bishop, and a reprint of Ryle’s justly-famous book called, simply, “Holiness.” I happened across this quote from Ryle’s chapter on “Sanctification” where he means to show that […]

His Kingdom Will Never End

“He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:33). “I’m gonna be famous.” That’s what Robert Hawkins wrote in his suicide note before going to the mall in Omaha last Wednesday where he murdered eight people and then took his own life. But he […]

When Was Jesus Born?

Let me begin by saying right up front that no one knows exactly when Jesus was born because the Bible does not clearly answer this question. That doesn’t mean the question is unimportant, only that it is not essential to our Christian faith. As we approach Christmas this year, it is good to remind ourselves […]

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 ran across a statement by W. P. Balfern regarding my text, which has Matthew quoting Hosea 11:1 […]

Will We See Our Loved Ones Again?

My subject is one that we don’t often talk about. In the nearly 30 years I have served in pastoral ministry, I have had very few conversations on this topic. The reasons are not hard to understand. Death in the best of circumstances is not easy to discuss. Even as an academic topic, most of […]

If I Believe, Why Do I Doubt?

This is a sermon about a topic we rarely discuss in church. This is a sermon about doubt. As such, it is an unfamiliar topic to most people, even though there are whole books of the Bible that deal with the issue of doubt in various ways — Job, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, and Habakkuk. Many of […]

How Can I Discover God’s Will For My Life?

Have you ever wished you could have lunch with Jesus? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you got a phone call from heaven saying that the Lord Jesus Christ would like to meet you for lunch next Thursday? Suppose that happened. What would you talk to Jesus about? I imagine that your first impulse would be […]

The Hardest Prayer You Will Ever Pray

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 infection elsewhere in his body. It did not seem serious at first, but he got no […]