Sermons by Michael Andrus
Exodus 1:1-22
The Gathering Storm SPEAKER: Michael P. Andrus Introduction: Kitty Kelley has raised our consciousness level regarding the private lives of famous people of our day, and she has focused attention upon a curious fact—the more you learn about them, the less you like them, even given the fact that half of what is written may be false or exaggerated. And that’s not just true of Ronald and Nancy Reagan. Consider Lyndon Johnson, John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and Dwight Eisenhower. The…
Exodus 3:1-4:20
All Excuses Set Apart SPEAKER: Michael P. Andrus Introduction: Queen Elizabeth visited the colonies this week. She was treated with respect and enthusiasm, but the fact is Americans don’t respond to royalty quite like the British do. The few among us old enough to recall the Queen’s coronation nearly forty years ago will remember the pomp, pageantry and ceremony that accompanied that incredible event from start to finish. Just prior to the coronation invitations were sent to friends and celebrities…
Exodus 4:18-6:12
A Long Obedience SPEAKER: Michael P. Andrus Introduction: Friedrich Nietzsche was not the kind of philosopher with whom Christians find much in common, but even radical unbelievers sometimes have good things to say. In his book, Beyond Good and Evil he wrote, “The essential thing in heaven and earth is that there should be long obedience in the same direction; there thereby results, and has always resulted in the long run, something which has made life worth living.” Eugene H. Peterson borrowed Nietzsche’s phrase for…
Exodus 7-11
God’s Megaphone SPEAKER: Michael P. Andrus Introduction: “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains. It is His megaphone to arouse a deaf world…. No doubt Pain as God’s megaphone is a terrible instrument; it may lead to final and unrepented rebellion. But it gives the only opportunity the bad man can have for amendment.”[i] Thus wrote C.S. Lewis, and I suspect there are a number of individuals here who could testify that God’s megaphone of pain…
Exodus 11-12
The Night Nobody Slept[i] SPEAKER: Michael P. Andrus Introduction: Imagine you’re an Egyptian mother living about 1400 years before Christ. You retire one night not too long after the sun goes down, as Middle Eastern families generally do, but you’re awakened suddenly in the middle of the night by the sound of your ten-year-old son struggling for breath. It’s not hard to hear since your house has only one room, and you rush to his side only to hear a gut-wrenching last gasp…
Exodus 16:1-17:7, 1 Cor. 10:1-13
Privilege Does Not Equal Success, or A Heavenly Diet for an Earthly Appetite SPEAKER: Michael P. Andrus Introduction: All of us have known of individuals who started out with nothing and became great successes. On the other hand, we have also known people who had everything—family, friends, wealth, intelligence, social privilege, you name it—and yet turned out to be miserable failures. The ancient Israelites, whom we have been studying for several months, are a poignant illustration of the latter, particularly in the spiritual realm. Last Lord’s…
Exodus 17:8-16
The Power of Persistent Prayer SPEAKER: Michael P. Andrus Introduction: Let’s begin today by reading Exodus 17:8-16. The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. 9 Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.” 10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up…
Exodus 18
Burned Out or Poured Out? Turning the Rat Race into a Relay SPEAKER: Michael P. Andrus Introduction: Please turn to Exodus 18. May I remind you that what we are about to read is not a myth spawned by an ancient people; it is not just great literature; nor is it the product of human ingenuity. This is the word of the Lord, and it is given to us that we might be taught, rebuked, corrected, and trained in righteousness. May it be so today…
Exodus 19
The Meeting on the Mountain SPEAKER: Michael P. Andrus Introduction: Please listen to the Word of the Lord, as found in Exodus 19:1-19: On the first day of the third month after the Israelites left Egypt—on that very day—they came to the Desert of Sinai. 2 After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain. 3 Then Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain and said, “This…
Nehemiah 2
Do You Have a Plan? Introduction: I want to talk to you today about broken-down walls. The particular broken walls that generated this message are the walls of Jerusalem, but each of us has walls in our own lives that need repair. They may be walls in our emotional life or family or career or finances or personal habits or ministry. These walls are structures needed to support, protect, defend, and strengthen our character and relationships. If you are hurting today because of some…
Nehemiah 3, 4
Trust in God, and Keep Your Powder Dry! Introduction: When my wife heard my sermon title yesterday, she responded, “A 4th of July sermon, huh?” I was surprised at the question because I hadn’t even thought of this message in those terms, but perhaps it could be related. Please listen to the Word of God as found in Ezra 4. When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel, 2 they came to Zerubbabel…
Nehemiah 5
The Scylla and Charybdis of Christian Leadership Introduction: You’re probably shaking your head at the strange title of today’s sermon. Well, it’s an allusion to Greek mythology. Between the toe of the boot of Italy and the island of Sicily is a narrow passageway of water known as the Straits of Messina. Though this constituted by far the shortest route between Rome and Athens, it was also very dangerous for ancient sailors because of Scylla and Charybdis. Scylla was a dangerous rock formation, which, according…