Sermons on Hospitality
2 John
Truth and Love: They Go Together Like Hand in Glove SPEAKER: Michael P. Andrus PLACE: Beacon Church in Goddard, KS. Introduction: It’s good to be back with you this morning. I gave Pastor Eric a list of possible passages for these two weeks he has asked me to fill in while he and his family are on vacation. Among the list I gave him were what I call the NT Postcards, the one-chapter books of the New Testament, of which there are four—Philemon, 2 and…
Acts 2:42-47
SERIES: Three Keys to Growing Healthy Churches Fostering Fellowship SPEAKER: Michael P. Andrus Introduction: I got a phone call Friday from David and Judy Constance, former members of our church who moved to Detroit six months ago. In the course of our conversation, I asked them how things were going. The boys were fine, David’s job was fine, the house was fine, the neighbors were fine, even the weather wasn’t bad. But church was another matter. They said they had attended 13 or 14 churches…
Romans 12:9-21
Love Without Wax Introduction: Ray Stedman shares the story of a man who was passing a used bookstore when he spotted a volume in the window which caught his attention. The book was entitled, How to Hug. Feeling kind of lonely, he stepped inside to purchase the book. To his chagrin he discovered that it was Vol. 13 of a set of encyclopedias and covered the alphabet from H-O-W to H-U-G, “How to Hug.”[i] Could it be there’s an analogy to the Church in that…
1 Peter 4:7-19
First Priorities in the Last Days If you knew a great disaster was coming how would you prepare for it? Our passage today talks about a coming disaster and tells us how to prepare: (1 Peter 4:7‑11) “The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self‑controlled so that you can pray. {8} Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. {9} Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. {10} Each one should…
1 Corinthians 16:5-24
Parting Shots SPEAKER: Michael P. Andrus Introduction: I preached my first message as pastor of this church (First Free in St. Louis) a year ago today (November 10, 1985). We began our study of 1 Corinthians that morning by looking at the founding of the church at Corinth, as recorded in Acts 18. Today we come to the last passage, verses 5-24 of chapter 16. If some who have been with us just the past few months wonder what happened to chapter 15…
1 Corinthians 16:10-24
Marks of a Community of Contagious Christians SCRIPTURE: 1 Corinthians 16:10-24 Introduction: After an 18-month journey, we have arrived at the final section of the NT book of 1 Corinthians, where we find the Apostle Paul offering (as he almost always does at the end of his letters) personal encouragement to some real people he knew on a first name basis. We too readily forget that 1 Corinthians is primarily a letter, and only secondarily a theological treatise. Paul is writing to his…
Luke 14:1-24
Table Talk: Parables about Banquet Invitations Suppose you invite a couple hundred guests to a sit-down reception at your daughter’s wedding. In the middle of the meal one of them does something really offensive to everyone else, but instead of apologizing he begins to criticize the other guests, then he turns and rebukes you as the host for not inviting the right kind of guests. And suppose he goes even further and tells a story that implies that you and most of your friends are…
Hebrews 13:1-6
Marks of Authentic Christianity Our time is brief today, so allow me to jump right into our text in Hebrews 13. Up through chapter 12 the emphasis in our study of Hebrews has been largely doctrinal, focusing upon the person and work of Jesus Christ. Scattered throughout have been severe warnings for those who neglect or turn their backs on Him. As we come to the last chapter we find a major shift—a shift from doctrine to duty, from principle to practice. In…