Live Like Who And What You Are! Philippians 1:12-21Back during the days of the French monarchy, the children of the royal family were always taught by hired tutors. Now given those circumstances, you can imagine that sometimes it was quite difficult for those tutors...

Providence Presbyterian Church
Divided Loyalties
Divided Loyalties Genesis 19:15-17, 24-26So one day I walked into a plant nursery, and hanging on the wall was a sign that stopped me in my tracks. The sign read “The best time to plant a tree was 25 years ago.” Just recently, I’ve been thinking about that... Also,...
The Most … Word #2: The Most Popular Word In The Bible
The Most Useful Word In The Bible The Most Popular Word In The Bible The Most Popular Word In The Bible Matthew 26:26-29It may surprise you to know that the word “bread” is what may be termed the most popular word in the Bible. I went to my Bible concordance recently...
The Most … Word #1: The Most Useful Word In The Bible
The Most Useful Word In The Bible The Most Popular Word In The Bible The Most Useful Word In The Bible Genesis 39:7-21The editor of a prominent literary magazine asked a group of authors to respond to three questions. He asked first: “What is the most beautiful word...
When Were You Converted?
When Were You Converted? Matthew 19:16-22 You know how it is, don’t you, that sometimes brief, apparently insignificant incidents in life actually turn out, upon deep reflection, to have much greater meaning ... That’s exactly what happened to me one day when a fellow...
The Gospel According to the Dead Sea
The Gospel According to the Dead Sea Acts 20:28-37 Pray with me, please. Now, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, Oh, God, for You are our rock, and You are our Redeemer. Amen. Many of you will be aware of the fact...
The Christian Faith In 25 Words Or Less
The Christian Faith In 25 Words Or Less John 3:16-21 Here, in 25 words or less, is the essence of the Christian Faith: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” Twenty-five...
Songs of Faith – Sermons of Grace #3: You Can Fail And Not Be A Failure
The Leadership Style Of Jesus Jesus Is Coming Soon-Look Busy! You Can Fail And Still Not Be A Failure The Cross: Stumbling Block Or Stepping Stone? Carpe Diem-Not A Fancy Name For A Fish Dish! Stop Stewing And Start Cooking Getting Back On Top When Life Gets You Down...
Lessons Learned From My Two Fathers
Lessons Learned From My Two Fathers Proverbs 2:1-8 Today I’d like to share with you some lessons I have learned from my two fathers. I refer, of course, to my earthly father and to my Heavenly Father. You see, so many times in my life, my Heavenly Father used my...
Some Things Never Change
Some Things Never Change Acts 2:43-47 My great friend, Dr. Leonard Sweet, recently reflected on some of the alarming changes which are happening in our world today. To document his concern, Dr. Sweet shared some statistics from a California Department of Education...
Tales With a Twist #7: Jesus And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Eyes Too Busy To See A Forgiving God In An Unforgiving World It's The Little Things That Count The Cost Of Not Loving Is Too Great To Pay Who Said Life Is Fair? Jesus And The Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day God Threw A Party But Nobody Came! E Unum Pluribus...
The Tomb Is Important Because The Tomb Is Not Important
The Tomb Is Important Because The Tomb Is Not Important Revelation 1:4-8, 22:12-13 If you were to visit the city of Jerusalem today, you would be shown two tombs both of which claim to be the tomb of Jesus. First, you would be shown what is called “The Garden Tomb.”...
Palm Sunday: Celebration Or Confrontation
Palm Sunday: Celebration Or Confrontation John 18:33-38When Jesus rode into the city of Jerusalem on that first Psalm Sunday, because of the way He entered the city and because of the response He received, He knew that He was signing His own death warrant. Let me...
A Mother’s Worst Nightmare
A Mother's Worst Nightmare John 19:23-27 It had to be a mother’s worst nightmare… The Bible says, “Near the cross of Jesus stood His mother...” Note that please. His mother was there. It was a ghastly, hideous, terrible thing for her to see. She had brought Him into...
The Sound Of Hammering
The Sound Of Hammering Acts 2:22-24 Whatever else is to be made of it, the cross of Jesus Christ is a dreadful fact—as black as a splash of ink upon the record of human history. How did it happen—this appalling act? What sudden orgy of insanity overwhelmed the usually...
Crossroads On The Cross Road
Crossroads On The Cross Road Luke 23:26-32 We call it the Via Dolorosa—the way of sorrows, the way of grief. I refer, of course, to the route which Jesus traveled through the streets of the city of Jerusalem on His way to the hill called Calvary. Today, I would like...
Eyes Cleansed By Tears See More Clearly
Believe It Or Not Eyes Cleansed By Tears See More Clearly Sticking Your Toe Into A Sea Of Joy Jesus Died Of A Broken Heart The Man Who Came Last The Day The King Cried An Easter Symphony In Four Movements Eyes Cleansed By Tears See More Clearly Isaiah 43:1-11When you...
You Can’t Lose
You Can't Lose Philippians 4:10-20His name was Cyprian. He is one of my great heroes in the faith. He was born in Carthage in North Africa... not converted until he was middle aged... lived so faithfully then that ultimately he was elected Bishop of Carthage......
The Best Loved Carol Of Them All
The Best Loved Carol Of Them All Matthew 2:7-12 Today, I wish to tell you the story of the best loved Christmas carol of them all, weaving in its sublime message and meaning. It is a story which will introduce to us seven people: a village priest, a substitute...
Keeping Christmas Holy And Wholly
Keeping Christmas Holy And Wholly Luke 2:1-14 Christmas is more than just a season. Christmas is a time to keep. The things that make Christmas Christmas ought to be true all year round. In the first place, Christmas gives us a new understanding of power. In King...
Christmas Is For Ordinary People
Christmas Is For Ordinary People Luke 1:26-38 Christmas has been, is now, and always will be for ordinary people. In other words, Christmas is for you and for me. When we stop to examine the Christmas story, what strikes home to us is its ordinariness. Christmas came...
What True Presbyterians Believe #6: Sola Ecclesia
Sola Christus Sola Scriptura Sola Fide Soli Deo Gloria Sola Gratia Sola Ecclesia What True Presbyterians Believe: Sola Ecclesia Matthew 16:13-20In recent years, many within the Presbyterian Church have begun to devalue and diminish the great beliefs upon which the...
What True Presbyterians Believe #5: Sola Gratia
Sola Christus Sola Scriptura Sola Fide Soli Deo Gloria Sola Gratia Sola Ecclesia What True Presbyterians Believe: Sola Gratia Acts 16:25-34For four generations now, members of my family have served in the ministry of the Presbyterian Church. For nearly forty years...
What True Presbyterians Believe #4: Soli Deo Gloria
Sola Christus Sola Scriptura Sola Fide Soli Deo Gloria Sola Gratia Sola Ecclesia What True Presbyterians Believe: Soli Deo Gloria November 19, 2006 | PROVIDENCE Presbyterian Church | Ephesians 1:3-10For four generations now, members of my family have served in the...
What True Presbyterians Believe #3: Sola Fide
Sola Christus Sola Scriptura Sola Fide Soli Deo Gloria Sola Gratia Sola Ecclesia What True Presbyterians Believe: Sola Fide Mark 11:11-26For four generations now, members of my family have served in the ministry of the Presbyterian Church. For nearly forty years now,...
What True Presbyterians Believe #2: Sola Scriptura
Sola Christus Sola Scriptura Sola Fide Soli Deo Gloria Sola Gratia Sola Ecclesia What True Presbyterians Believe: Sola Scriptura II Timothy 3:14-17For four generations now, members of my family have served in the ministry of the Presbyterian Church. For nearly forty...
What True Presbyterians Believe #1: Sola Christus
Sola Christus Sola Scriptura Sola Fide Soli Deo Gloria Sola Gratia Sola Ecclesia What True Presbyterians Believe: Sola Christus John 14:1-6For four generations now, members of my family have served in the ministry of the Presbyterian Church. For nearly forty years...
The Table That Turned The World Upside Down
The Table That Turned The World Upside Down Matthew 26:20-30 It was such a simple ordinary event, and yet it wound up having earth-shaking, world-changing implications. .. I am referring to the meal shared one evening by a little-known, traveling preacher and a small...
The Shortest Verse in the Bible
The Shortest Verse in the Bible John 11:17-35Pray with me, please. Lord, nothing in my hand I bring. Simply to Thy cross I cling. Amen. Now here's a bit of trivia for you. 455 years ago, a French printer named Robert Estienne sat down and, for the very first time,...
Red Sea Moments
Red Sea Moments August 20, 2006 | Providence Presbyterian Church | Exodus 14:10-22Pray with me, please.Lord, nothing in my hand I bring. Simply to Thy cross, I cling. Amen. Without any doubt, one of the best known, most loved stories in all of the Bible is the great...
No ‘Mulligans’ In Life
No "Mulligans" In Life Matthew 7:13-14 You can tell that I am just back from some vacation time because my mind today turns to the subject of golf—that most divine and most devilish—that most heavenly and most hellish of all our earthly pursuits. Just recently I came...
Home Improvement #14: Making Your Home Work By Doing Your Homework
The Commandment You Can't Always Obey What Adam Should Have Learned About Eve What Eve Should Have Learned About Adam Teenagers: The People God Didn’t Create Growing Old Without Getting Old Lessons Learned From Two Adoptive Dads The Gripes Of Wrath: Love's Number One...
Home Improvement #13: A Letter To My Grandchildren
The Commandment You Can't Always Obey What Adam Should Have Learned About Eve What Eve Should Have Learned About Adam Teenagers: The People God Didn’t Create Growing Old Without Getting Old Lessons Learned From Two Adoptive Dads The Gripes Of Wrath: Love's Number One...
Home Improvement #12: Change Your Duet Into A Trio
The Commandment You Can't Always Obey What Adam Should Have Learned About Eve What Eve Should Have Learned About Adam Teenagers: The People God Didn’t Create Growing Old Without Getting Old Lessons Learned From Two Adoptive Dads The Gripes Of Wrath: Love's Number One...
Home Improvement #11: Dark Tunnel Of Divorce – And Light At The End Of It
The Commandment You Can't Always Obey What Adam Should Have Learned About Eve What Eve Should Have Learned About Adam Teenagers: The People God Didn’t Create Growing Old Without Getting Old Lessons Learned From Two Adoptive Dads The Gripes Of Wrath: Love's Number One...
Home Improvement #10: Encouraging Words For Parents And Children
The Commandment You Can't Always Obey What Adam Should Have Learned About Eve What Eve Should Have Learned About Adam Teenagers: The People God Didn’t Create Growing Old Without Getting Old Lessons Learned From Two Adoptive Dads The Gripes Of Wrath: Love's Number One...
Home Improvement #9: Mistakes Mothers Must Not Make
The Commandment You Can't Always Obey What Adam Should Have Learned About Eve What Eve Should Have Learned About Adam Teenagers: The People God Didn’t Create Growing Old Without Getting Old Lessons Learned From Two Adoptive Dads The Gripes Of Wrath: Love's Number One...
Home Improvement #8: A House is Not a Home
The Commandment You Can't Always Obey What Adam Should Have Learned About Eve What Eve Should Have Learned About Adam Teenagers: The People God Didn’t Create Growing Old Without Getting Old Lessons Learned From Two Adoptive Dads The Gripes Of Wrath: Love's Number One...
Breakfast By The Sea: The Rest Of The Story
Breakfast By The Sea: The Rest Of The Story John 21:1-19Paul Aurandt is one of the best known, most admired figures of our time. Most people know his face. Everyone knows his voice. Now you may be thinking to yourself, “What in the world is he talking about? I have...
The Story I Never … #2: The Story I Never Tire Of Telling
The Story I Never Tire Of Hearing The Story I Never Tire Of Telling The Story I Never Tire Of Telling John 20:1-18Easter is a lot like Christmas. It is not a time for learned discourses or complex theology. Rather it is time to tell a story—a story that is so simple,...
The Story I Never … #1: The Story I Never Tire Of Hearing
The Story I Never Tire Of Hearing The Story I Never Tire Of Telling The Story I Never Tire Of Hearing Luke 19:29-44I wish to read these few verses from Paul's letter to the Philippians. A handful of words, really. But these words are nothing less than the Word of God:...
24: The Longest Day of Jesus’ Life #3: Golgotha: 1 Cross + 3 Nails + 4Gvn
Gethsemane: Where God Broke His Heart And His Son Sanhedrin - Blind Justice In A Kangaroo Court Golgotha: 1 Cross + 3 Nails + 4Gvn 24: The Longest Day of Jesus' Life: Golgotha: 1 Cross + 3 Nails + 4Gvn Mark 15:25-39 Like the wildly popular television series entitled...
24: The Longest Day of Jesus’ Life #2: Sanhedrin – Blind Justice In A Kangaroo Court
Gethsemane: Where God Broke His Heart And His Son Sanhedrin - Blind Justice In A Kangaroo Court Golgotha: 1 Cross + 3 Nails + 4Gvn 24: The Longest Day of Jesus' Life: Sanhedrin - Blind Justice In A Kangaroo Court Mark 14:53-65Like the wildly popular television series...
24: The Longest Day of Jesus’ Life #1: Gethsemane: Where God Broke His Heart And His Son
Gethsemane: Where God Broke His Heart And His Son Sanhedrin - Blind Justice In A Kangaroo Court Golgotha: 1 Cross + 3 Nails + 4Gvn 24: The Longest Day of Jesus' Life: Gethsemane: Where God Broke His Heart And His Son Mark 14:32-42Like the wildly popular television...
To Know Christ And To Make Him Known
To Know Christ And To Make Him Known Acts 1:15-26 Maybe I can get away with this joke. I mean, after all, I’ve been here for several years now and you haven’t run me off yet. So maybe I’ll take a chance... It’s the story of a little boy who was pulling a wagon along...
The Transforming Touch #5: What Jesus Wrote In Sand, He Also Wrote In Blood
Taking People Where They Are And Loving Them Into Life O.J. Simpson, Jesus Christ, And Us Nobody's Born A Bigot! Chained By A String What Jesus Wrote In The Sand, He Also Wrote In Blood The Heart Inflamed What Jesus Wrote In Sand, He Also Wrote In Blood John...
The … of Jesus #1: What Matters To You Matters To God
The Tenderness Of Jesus: What Matters To You Matters To God The Target Of Jesus: What You Fear Most, Christ Handles Best The Tactic Of Jesus: What You Count Lowly, Christ Counts Holy The Tears Of Jesus: What You Cry About Is What You Care About What Matters To You...
Nothing Ventured, Nothing Lost… Or Nothing Risked, Nothing Gained?
Nothing Ventured, Nothing Lost… Or Nothing Risked, Nothing Gained? II Kings 5:1-15 Today with the Super Bowl one week away, I want to recall for you one of the most colorful and fascinating football players ever to play in the National Football League. He was a...
A Short Word For The Long Haul
A Short Word For The Long Haul Numbers 22:31-35 Sometimes the funniest things appear on the signboards in front of churches. They aren’t intended to be funny, but they are. For example, I read about the signboard in front of a large ? downtown church which posted the...
Songs of Faith – Sermons of Grace #1: The Leadership Style Of Jesus
The Leadership Style Of Jesus Jesus Is Coming Soon-Look Busy! You Can Fail And Still Not Be A Failure The Cross: Stumbling Block Or Stepping Stone? Carpe Diem-Not A Fancy Name For A Fish Dish! Stop Stewing And Start Cooking Getting Back On Top When Life Gets You Down...
The First Family Of Our Faith
The First Family Of Our Faith Matthew 1:18-25 Once upon a time ... in a little town called Nazareth, there lived a young woman named Mary and a young man named Joseph… Interesting that for all the impact Mary and Joseph ultimately made upon the world, we know so...
Simeon And Anna: No Songs Like The Old Songs
Make Your Heart Christ’s Home The Best Christmas Presents Are Wrapped In Heaven No Songs Like The Old Songs When It Is More Blessed To Receive Some Christmas Memories Simeon And Anna: No Songs Like The Old Songs Luke 2:25-38You know what they say—“There are no songs...
Mary: A Faith Too Important Not To Share
Mary: A Faith Too Important Not To Share Luke 1:26-35Once in a while, there are lines in television commercials which I can’t seem to get out of my mind…Once in a while, there are lines in television commercials which I can’t seem to get out of my mind… For example,...
Joseph: A Star On The Christmas Stage
Joseph: A Star On The Christmas Stage December 4, 2005 | PROVIDENCE Presbyterian Church | Matthew 2:19-23A friend I know set out to try to make Christmas an especially significant faith experience for his family one year. So three weeks before Christmas, he bought a...
Innkeeper: When God Knocks, How Will You Answer?
Innkeeper: When God Knocks, How Will You Answer? Luke 3:1-7 The inn at Bethlehem has become the most famous of all inns—not because of what happened there, but because of something that might have happened, but didn’t. How does the Bible say it? You know the words by...
Do Something That Will Be Here After You’re Gone
Do Something That Will Be Here After You're Gone II Timothy 4:1-8 I want to ask you a very personal question: When your days on this earth are done, how will you be remembered? Of course, most of the time people are kind, gracious, and thoughtful in their remembering...
God Is Up To Something So Good!
God Is Up To Something So Good! Mark 14:17-25 A story. A song. A symbol. Now, let’s see if I can weave them into a sermon. A story. A famous lawyer was being honored by his colleagues at the American Trial Lawyers Convention. He was asked to reflect on some of the...
1,500 Sermons Later
1,500 Sermons Later September 11, 2005 | PROVIDENCE Presbyterian Church | II Corinthians 4:1-6On September 8, 1968, I stood to preach my first sermon in my first church, the First Presbyterian Church of Kilgore, Texas. Ever since on the second Sunday of September each...
A Life Captured In Ten Words
A Life Captured In Ten Words II Timothy 4:9-18 If I were to ask you to name the person who wrote more of the New Testament than any other single writer, how would you answer? My guess is that you would answer Paul or perhaps John. You would be wrong. The fact is the...
Ten For Our Time #10: When Desire Turns Deadly
When God Is God When Tolerance Creates Trouble When Profanity Takes Precedence When The Sabbath Is Kept Wholly When Family Comes First When Pro-Life Becomes Principle When Marriage Is A Many-Splintered Thing When Robbery Seems Respectable When Honesty Takes A Holiday...
Ten For Our Time #9: When Honesty Takes A Holiday
When God Is God When Tolerance Creates Trouble When Profanity Takes Precedence When The Sabbath Is Kept Wholly When Family Comes First When Pro-Life Becomes Principle When Marriage Is A Many-Splintered Thing When Robbery Seems Respectable When Honesty Takes A Holiday...
A Song Of Faith In A Sermon Of Grace
A Song Of Faith In A Sermon Of Grace Philippians 2:5-11 A song of faith in a sermon of grace. Frances Ridley Havergal was born in 1836 in Worcestershire, England, and she was reared in a minister’s home. She had one goal in life and that was to be a true servant of...
It’s Never Easy To Be A Father
It's Never Easy To Be A Father Luke 2:41-52 No sermon is so bad that you can’t get one good thing out of it. No book is so bad that you can’t get one good idea from its pages. No movie is so bad that you can’t find one good line within it. Take, for example, the movie...
A Story That Begins And Ends In Grace
A Story That Begins And Ends In Grace Mark 14:26-31, 66-72 A few years back UCLA was playing Stanford University in a football game. UCLA killed them. The final score was 64 to 0. After the game, a reporter approached the Stanford coach and asked, “What was the...
Turning Our Nation Right Side Up!
Turning Our Nation Right Side Up! Proverbs 29:14-18 I want you to hear this... Don Shelby is a Methodist preacher out in Los Angeles. He tells of an interesting conversation he had with a young woman who wanted to get married in his church. She had called him up and...
Ten For Our Time #5: When Family Comes First
When God Is God When Tolerance Creates Trouble When Profanity Takes Precedence When The Sabbath Is Kept Wholly When Family Comes First When Pro-Life Becomes Principle When Marriage Is A Many-Splintered Thing When Robbery Seems Respectable When Honesty Takes A Holiday...
Ten For Our Time #7: When Marriage Is A Many-Splintered Thing
When God Is God When Tolerance Creates Trouble When Profanity Takes Precedence When The Sabbath Is Kept Wholly When Family Comes First When Pro-Life Becomes Principle When Marriage Is A Many-Splintered Thing When Robbery Seems Respectable When Honesty Takes A Holiday...
Turning The Other Cheek: Wise Or Otherwise?
Turning The Other Cheek: Wise Or Otherwise? Matthew 5:38-48 April 15, 1947. That day ought to be celebrated as a special day of remembrance in the history of this nation for on that day a black man and a white man together changed a game and a nation forever. April...
Cross Words #6: A Dying Word And A Living Faith
You Can't Step In The Same River Twice Thirsty Lips and A Thirsty Heart The Very First Christian God's Light In Dark Times A Staircase To Heaven A Dying Word And A Living Faith Cross Words: A Dying Word And A Living Faith Luke 23:44-49During these weeks leading up to...
Cross Words #5: A Staircase To Heaven
You Can't Step In The Same River Twice Thirsty Lips and A Thirsty Heart The Very First Christian God's Light In Dark Times A Staircase To Heaven A Dying Word And A Living Faith Cross Words: A Staircase To Heaven John 19:28-30Nothing—not even Calvary—could conquer...
Cross Words #4: God’s Light In Dark Times
You Can't Step In The Same River Twice Thirsty Lips and A Thirsty Heart The Very First Christian God's Light In Dark Times A Staircase To Heaven A Dying Word And A Living Faith Cross Words: God's Light In Dark Times Mark 15:33-39In the Cathedral at Dijon, France at...
Cross Words #3: The Very First Christian
You Can't Step In The Same River Twice Thirsty Lips and A Thirsty Heart The Very First Christian God's Light In Dark Times A Staircase To Heaven A Dying Word And A Living Faith Cross Words: The Very First Christian Luke 23:39-43Two thieves were crucified with Jesus....
Cross Words #2: Thirsty Lips and A Thirsty Heart
You Can't Step In The Same River Twice Thirsty Lips and A Thirsty Heart The Very First Christian God's Light In Dark Times A Staircase To Heaven A Dying Word And A Living Faith Cross Words: Thirsty Lips and A Thirsty Heart John 19:28-29I ask you to come with me now to...
Cross Words #1: You Can’t Step In The Same River Twice
You Can't Step In The Same River Twice Thirsty Lips and A Thirsty Heart The Very First Christian God's Light In Dark Times A Staircase To Heaven A Dying Word And A Living Faith Cross Words: You Can't Step In The Same River Twice Luke 23:26-34“No one can step into the...
Ten For Our Time #6: When Pro-Life Becomes Principle
When God Is God When Tolerance Creates Trouble When Profanity Takes Precedence When The Sabbath Is Kept Wholly When Family Comes First When Pro-Life Becomes Principle When Marriage Is A Many-Splintered Thing When Robbery Seems Respectable When Honesty Takes A Holiday...
Soul Tsumani: Changing Fear Into Faith
Soul Tsumani: Changing Fear Into Faith Mark 4:35-41 Tsunami. That word is now indelibly carved into all of our minds and hearts by the tragic events of recent days. On December the 26th, a massive earthquake, registering 9.0 on the Richter scale, occurred more than...
Christmas Eve: Communion And Reunion
Christmas Eve: Communion And Reunion Luke 2:8-14 I love Christmas . . . I love all that is so beautiful and inspiring about our annual observance of Christmas. I find it fascinating to note that even those who make no profession of faith or no practice of our...
The Story We Thought We Knew: Why Were the Wise Men Wise?
The Story We Thought We Knew: Why Were the Wise Men Wise? Matthew 2:4-12Why were the Wise Men Wise? Good question. The Wise Men have both fascinated and baffled Bible students for centuries. Precisely who they were we do not know. From whence they came we can only...
The Story We Thought We Knew: A Tale of a Terrorist
The Story We Thought We Knew: A Tale of a Terrorist Matthew 2:7-18 Today I wish to tell you a tale of a terrorist... The terrorist to whom I refer is not the odious, hideous Osama bin Laden but the equally odious and hideous King Herod of Biblical times. History...
Skeletons in God’s Closet
Skeletons in God's Closet Matthew 1:1-16 Call them “skeletons in God’s closet.” I am referring to that long list of hard to pronounce names with which Matthew begins his Gospel. You see Matthew dug way back into the history of Israel, and he put together the family...
When Your Heart Needs A Home
When Your Heart Needs A Home Luke 15:11-24Here is the greatest story ever told by the greatest storyteller who ever lived... Once upon a time, there was a man who had two sons. The younger of those two sons said to the father, “Father, give me the share of the...
Ten For Our Time #3: When Profanity Takes Precedence
When God Is God When Tolerance Creates Trouble When Profanity Takes Precedence When The Sabbath Is Kept Wholly When Family Comes First When Pro-Life Becomes Principle When Marriage Is A Many-Splintered Thing When Robbery Seems Respectable When Honesty Takes A Holiday...
For President, I Am Voting For…
For President, I Am Voting For… Daniel 6:1-4 This coming Tuesday, November 2, we shall elect the President of the United States. It is without any question the most powerful office on the face of the earth. That office has been occupied by some saints, some sinners,...
Ten For Our Time #2: When Tolerance Creates Trouble
When God Is God When Tolerance Creates Trouble When Profanity Takes Precedence When The Sabbath Is Kept Wholly When Family Comes First When Pro-Life Becomes Principle When Marriage Is A Many-Splintered Thing When Robbery Seems Respectable When Honesty Takes A Holiday...
Ten For Our Time #1: When God Is God
When God Is God When Tolerance Creates Trouble When Profanity Takes Precedence When The Sabbath Is Kept Wholly When Family Comes First When Pro-Life Becomes Principle When Marriage Is A Many-Splintered Thing When Robbery Seems Respectable When Honesty Takes A Holiday...
The Sublimity Of Simplicity
The Sublimity Of Simplicity Luke 22:14-20 I am a simple man. I have a simple faith. I simply believe in Jesus Christ. Consequently, I have a hard time with our tendency to complicate anything and everything these days. I remember what Alfred Lord Tennyson had to say...
To God Alone Be The Glory
To God Alone Be The Glory September 12, 2004 | Providence Presbyterian Church | Romans 1:8-17On the second Sunday of September 1968, I stood for my first time to preach my first sermon in my first church, The First Presbyterian Church of Kilgore, Texas. Consequently,...
Ten For Our Time #4: When The Sabbath Is Kept Wholly
When God Is God When Tolerance Creates Trouble When Profanity Takes Precedence When The Sabbath Is Kept Wholly When Family Comes First When Pro-Life Becomes Principle When Marriage Is A Many-Splintered Thing When Robbery Seems Respectable When Honesty Takes A Holiday...
The Most Beautiful Song In The World
The Most Beautiful Song In The World Psalm 23 Two men were arguing over which one knew the most about the Bible. One man said to the other, “I’ll bet you don’t even know the 23rd Psalm.” The other man replied, “I’ve got ten dollars that says I do.” The first man said,...
Citius! Altius! Fortius!
Citius! Altius! Fortius! Philippians 3:12-14 The title of today’s sermon is “Citius! Altius! Fortius!” The three Latin words are actually the motto of the Olympic Games: “citius, altius, fortius—faster, higher, stronger.” Since we are now immersed in all the glory and...
Why I Believe #12: Why I Believe In The Trinity
Why I Believe In The Incarnation Why I Believe In Angels Why I Believe In The Virgin Birth Why I Believe In Jesus Christ Why I Believe In God Why I Believe The Bible Why I Believe In The Church Why I Believe In Heaven Why I Believe In The Atonement Why I Believe In...
The Christ Of No-Man’s Land
The Christ Of No-Man’s Land May 30, 2004 | Providence Presbyterian Church | Romans 13:1-7I was planning on preaching another sermon to you today, but with what is transpiring in our world this Memorial Day weekend, I have made the decision to lay aside that other...
Why I Believe #11: Why I Believe In The Holy Spirit
Why I Believe In The Incarnation Why I Believe In Angels Why I Believe In The Virgin Birth Why I Believe In Jesus Christ Why I Believe In God Why I Believe The Bible Why I Believe In The Church Why I Believe In Heaven Why I Believe In The Atonement Why I Believe In...
A Day Of Pain And Gain
A Day Of Pain And Gain Mark 3:31-35 Tuck this away in your memory bank. The first Mother’s Day service was held in Grafton, West Virginia on May 10, 1908. It was the brainchild of a woman named Anna Jarvis as a tribute to her own mother. One year earlier in 1907, Anna...
All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Sunday School
All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Sunday School Matthew 25:1-13 Some years ago Robert Fulghum had a best selling book entitled, “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.” Well, indeed he may have learned all he needed to know in Kindergarten, but I...
Walking A Lonely Road
Walking A Lonely Road Luke 24:13-35 Have you ever been to Emmaus? I do not mean literally, of course. I do not mean the specific village, which we are told in Scripture, was seven miles from the city of Jerusalem. In fact, you cannot go to the literal Emmaus. It has...
Why I Believe #10: Why I Believe In The Resurrection
Why I Believe In The Incarnation Why I Believe In Angels Why I Believe In The Virgin Birth Why I Believe In Jesus Christ Why I Believe In God Why I Believe The Bible Why I Believe In The Church Why I Believe In Heaven Why I Believe In The Atonement Why I Believe In...
Was The Triumphal Entry A Triumph?
Was The Triumphal Entry A Triumph? Mark 11:1-10 I stand before you today rather like the blindfolded discus thrower—he didn’t set any records, but he sure kept the crowd alert! Well, I’m not planning on setting any records today, but I sure would like to keep you...
Human Cruelty And The Gentleness Of God
Agony In A Garden Blind Justice In The Fox’s Den No Exit Human Cruelty And The Gentleness Of God Human Cruelty And The Gentleness Of God Matthew 27:27-31It is a rare thing, I suppose, for a preacher to spend much time describing the pains and the privations which...
Why I Believe #9: Why I Believe In The Atonement
Why I Believe In The Incarnation Why I Believe In Angels Why I Believe In The Virgin Birth Why I Believe In Jesus Christ Why I Believe In God Why I Believe The Bible Why I Believe In The Church Why I Believe In Heaven Why I Believe In The Atonement Why I Believe In...