Sermons on Culture
John 15:9-16:4
SERIES: The Gospel of John No Greater Love; No Greater Hate SPEAKER: Michael P. Andrus Introduction: I don’t know how long it has been since you purchased a diamond. For me it was over 29 years ago. But I remember well how the jeweler sold me on it. He pulled it out of a box, flipped it up in the air and slapped it on his wrist, saying, “How do you like that baby!” No, you know better. He did what every jeweler does. He picked it…
1 Peter 1:13-2:3
Cultural Advice for Ex-Patriots Whenever you go to a foreign country it is wise to read up on its customs and culture. A number of years ago I took a trip to Russia, unwisely in January! I discovered some very interesting things about Russian culture–some before I went and others after I arrived. Russians always remove their shoes when they come into a house or an apartment. Usually there is a basket of slippers to choose from; if not, you just walk around in your…
Acts 17:15-34
A Seedpicker Takes on the Eggheads Note: This sermon was edited considerably and preached again 13 years after the original series. It was delivered at First Free in St. Louis right after I returned from a trip to Athens in 1999. Introduction: I have decided to share a message related to the journey from which I just returned. I had a unique privilege over the past two weeks of visiting some of the amazing sites of antiquity in Greece, Turkey and Italy. Thirty-seven of…
Luke 6:17-26
The Counter-Culture of the Kingdom Introduction: Friends, if you were asked to name four categories of people whom God loves and blesses, and four categories of people whom God hates and condemns, what would your lists look like? I tried it. My list of the top four kinds of people God blesses includes: people who pray a lot, people who serve faithfully, people who demonstrate compassion to others, and people who are generous. Now if I worked at it, I could come up…