Introduction: After the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, this book, the book of Acts, represents the pivot of God. In this book, we move from the world of the Jewish nation to the world of the Gentile church. We move from a largely agrarian world to an urban world. We move from God’s work …
Surveying the Text: Ruth
Introduction: The book of Ruth seems like a quaint little story, off by the side of the road, but it is actually a crucial part of the story of the coming Messiah. The fact that these events were recorded long before the arrival of David shows the sense of expectancy that attends this story. The …
State of the Church 2014
Introduction: One of the things that characterizes the writings of the apostle Paul is his regular practice of giving thanks to God for the saints of various churches he was writing to. Not only does he thank God for them, but he insists on telling them that he thanks God for them. The Text: “Cease …
Christmas Eve 2014
As Christmas, we celebrate the great occasion when the infinite Word became a finite baby. Not surprisingly, Christmas time is therefore a time to reflect on this staggering paradox—the one who spoke the galaxies into being is the same one who was held by a woman, cooing at her, not knowing how to speak at …
Born of the Virgin, Mary
Introduction: The doctrine of the virgin birth does not so much show us Mary’s absence of a relationship to a man—although it does do that. This doctrine centrally points to her Son’s relationship to God. Jesus was born the normal way, but He was not conceived the normal way. This tells us something of His …
Persevere In What?
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) The Basket Case Chronicles #175 “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, …
Preaching, Not Play-acting
“And always remember that you are not engaged in a tournament, but in a battle — that your great concern is not to keep within rules, but to conquer” (Broadus, Preparation and Delivery, p. 467).
The Light from Galilee of the Gentiles
Introduction: Sometimes familiar words run down well-worn grooves. The words from our text have graced countless Christmas cards, but at the same time it is important for us to realize that this doesn’t make them any less true. But, as the truth of Scripture, it is given in such a way that whenever we come …
Always and Everywhere
“Regardless of our text or theme, we must preach Jesus Christ” (Wiersbe, Preaching and Teaching With Imagination, p. 279)
Preaching and Gesture
“Action is true only when it is spontaneous, and for the moment almost unconscious” (Broadus, Preparation and Delivery, p. 465).