Sermons on Death
Philippians 1:20-26
SERIES: Philippians: Cheerful Sounds from a Jail Cell The Christian Perspective on Life and Death SPEAKER: Michael P. Andrus Introduction: Today is not only Father’s Day. It is also Juneteenth. How many of you have heard of Juneteenth? Not too many apparently. I know one thing about those who didn’t raise their hands—you’ve never lived in Texas. Juneteenth is what African Americans in the Deep South, particularly Texas, call June the 19th. That is the day Union Troops arrived in Galveston in 1865, officially freeing Texas’ black…
2 Samuel 1
SERIES: David: A Person After God’s Own Heart How the Mighty Have Fallen SPEAKER: Phil Thengvall Introduction: When I began working on this sermon several weeks ago, I had already decided the primary focus would be the different ways people respond to death. What I did not know then was that today, January 2, 2005, the focus of the whole world would be on death, thousands, even tens of thousands of deaths. The tsunami of 2004 will probably go down in history…
Psalm 90
SERIES: Psalms, Cries of the Heart The Cry of Futility SPEAKER: Michael P. Andrus Introduction: I heard on the radio last week that of the top ten most frequently prescribed drugs in the United States, three are anti-depressants. They are prescribed for a wide variety of ailments, but the most common is depression. Obviously, there are millions and millions of Americans who are confronted regularly with a sense of the futility of life. Even those who are not subject to depression are often…
2 Timothy 4:6-18
SERIES: 2 Timothy Final Instructions for Paul’s Progeny SPEAKER: Michael P. Andrus Note: This sermon is both a conclusion to a series on the Book of Acts and an exposition of 2 Timothy 4:6-18. Introduction: I’ve enjoyed our study of Acts so much that this week I had withdrawal pains. So, I decided to preach a postscript to the Book today. We noted last Lord’s Day that Acts is an unfinished book and intentionally so, because every generation of the church has a chapter to…
John 5:16-30
SERIES: The Gospel of John He’s His Father’s Son SPEAKER: Michael P. Andrus Note to David: I have changed the title of this sermon but not the sermon itself. Introduction: Have you ever heard anyone say of a boy, “My, he’s sure his father’s son, isn’t he?” When someone says that about one of my sons, Eddie or Andy, I always cringe a bit until I find out whether the trait which they are comparing in us is a good one or a…
Romans 5:12-21
Ruin and Rescue Introduction: We come this morning to a very profound and difficult portion of Romans. That’s one of the reasons I enjoyed so much last week’s passage. The theme was so clear, the concept so simple—all we had to do was to drink in the truths that … God’s love is without cause. God’s love is without measure. God’s love is without end. Today we are faced with a very different kind of text. Its theme is difficult to understand and perhaps…
1 Corinthians 15:12‑34
The Logic of the Resurrection SCRIPTURE: 1 Corinthians 15:12‑34 Introduction: How many of you here today have changed careers at some point? Believe it or not, I also had a former life before I became a pastor. After finishing graduate school at Southern Methodist University in 1969, I taught philosophy and logic for five years on the college level. I often used the Scripture passage before us this morning, 1 Corinthians 15:12-34, as a textbook example of logical reasoning. You see, the Apostle Paul…
1 Corinthians 15:50‑58
Some Will Never Die SCRIPTURE: 1 Corinthians 15:50‑58 Introduction: For the past two weeks we have been watching the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. I’m just glad NBC had the broadcasting rights this year so ABC couldn’t show that pour guy who went off the side of the ski jump and nearly obliterated himself 30 or more years ago. If ABC paid him royalties for every time they showed that over the years, he’d be a rich man. It’s so much…
Acts 29, 2 Tim. 4:6-18
Postscript on Acts Introduction: I’ve enjoyed our study of Acts so much that this week I had withdrawal pains. So, I decided to preach a postscript to the Book today. We noted last Lord’s Day that Acts is an unfinished book and intentionally so, because every generation of the church has a chapter to write concerning the acts of the Holy Spirit in their day. What I didn’t say, however, is that the NT itself gives us further information about what happened to the…
Hebrews 11:8-22
God’s Hall of Faith: The Gallery of the Patriarchs I have always loved to visit the great museums of the world. I once spent an entire week just going from one museum to another in Europe. It’s probably because I have always loved history, and it’s in museums that history has been preserved for posterity. In a sense Hebrews 11 is a museum of faith, or perhaps better, a Hall of Faith, which the believer is invited to explore. There are a number…
Ecclesiastes 7-11
Sharp Goads and Hard Nails Note: This sermon is a summary of Ecclesiastes 7-11. Please turn in your Bible to Ecclesiastes 12. I want us to begin reading at verse 9: Not only was the Teacher wise, but also he imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs. The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true. The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like…
Ecclesiastes 11:7-12:14
Live It Up Without Messing Up! The Westminster Shorter Catechism asks the question, “What is the chief end of man?” The answer? “The chief end of man is to love God and enjoy Him forever.” But you wouldn’t know it by looking around. It seems to me that many Christians just endure life rather than really enjoy it. There is relatively little laughter in their lives, only occasional excitement, and almost no ecstasy. It doesn’t have to be that way. Jesus said, “I have come that they might have life and might have…