Sermons on Humility
Philippians 2:1-11
SERIES: Philippians: Cheerful Sounds from a Jail Cell The Great Exchange SPEAKER: Michael P. Andrus Introduction: A number of years ago the Chicago Daily News reported an unusual incident. It happened in the comfortable first-class compartment of a crowded London-bound train when a tall young man rose from his seat and pushed his way into the corridor and through the door into the next compartment. There he spoke to an obviously weary woman whom he had seen standing and swaying to the motion…
Philippians 2:1-11
SERIES: Philippians: Cheerful Sounds from a Jail Cell The Great Exchange Applied SPEAKER: Michael P. Andrus Introduction: Wasn’t it Charlie Brown who said, “I love mankind. It’s people I can’t stand”? I think so. He put his finger on a problem for a lot of us, didn’t he? There are some other versions of his profound insight that we might want to consider: “I love the family; it’s my wife and kids I can’t stand.” “I love the Church; it’s the pastor, the elders and the other…
Psalm 99
SERIES: Psalms: The Cry of the Heart The Cry of Worship SPEAKER: Paul T. Stolwyk The Psalms contain the cries of God’s people to their God. As we have seen over the last few weeks, God’s people cry out to God for all sorts of reasons. Injustice prompts us to cry out to God in confusion. Pain causes us to cry out in faith. Sin causes us to cry out in confession. At different times in its history, Israel had leaders who firmly understood…
John 1:6-9, 19-34
SERIES: The Gospel of John A Voice in the Desert, or John the Baptist Was No TV Preacher SPEAKER: Michael P. Andrus Introduction: On this day of the first Presidential debate of 1992, I am reminded of one of the most electric moments in the 1988 presidential campaign. It came during the debate between Senators Dan Quayle and Lloyd Benson, the Republican and Democrat nominees for Vice-President. When Quayle quoted Jack Kennedy approvingly, Benson retorted with the line that has become a classic…
John 12:1-11
SERIES: The Gospel of John Unbounded Love SPEAKER: Michael P. Andrus Introduction: One of America’s finest short stories, written by one of the great masters of the art, O Henry, was a moving story called, “The Gift of the Magi.” A young couple, Della and Jim, were very poor, but very much in love. Each had one unique possession. Della’s was her hair, which served almost as a robe when she let it down. Jim, on the other hand, had a pocket watch, given…
John 13:1-17
SERIES: The Gospel of John Who Needs a Bath? SPEAKER: Michael P. Andrus Introduction: I’d like to begin with a question this morning: “How many of you took a bath or a shower last night or this morning?” Good! That’s encouraging, but some of you are probably thinking, “that’s an awfully personal question to be asking in church.” Well, I guess it is, but bear with me if you will. If you took a bath last night, did you take another one this morning? I doubt…
Exodus 15:22-27
The Desert Experience SPEAKER: Michael P. Andrus Introduction: We lived for nearly ten years in Wichita, Kansas. During that decade we made perhaps two dozen trips across western Kansas and through eastern Colorado to the Rocky Mountains. We either took highway 54 through Pratt, Dodge City, Garden City (a place seriously misnamed), Lamar, and Rocky Ford, or we drove north to Salina to pick up I-70 and traveled through Russell, Hays, Oakley, Colby, Goodland (another serious misnomer), and Limon. There’s not a lot to…
2 Kings 5
Elisha, Naaman: “Wash and Be Cleansed!” Introduction: We are currently engaged in a series of messages on the kings and prophets of Israel. The last few Sundays we have been studying the life of the prophet Elijah, an amazing miracle-worker but also a person just like us. We understand that better after last Sunday, don’t we? Because today is Family Worship, we are skipping ahead a few chapters in our series to the life of Elisha, who was Elijah’s successor, and to a…
1 Peter 5:1-14
Living Together as God’s Flock Now to the final chapter of 1 Peter. The relational rules of the world are characterized by competition, division and individualism. The Church of Jesus Christ is called to live by a different set of relational rules, not only with the world but with each other. That’s why I have entitled this chapter as “Living Together as God’s Flock.” We’re going to see a variety of topics here, but most fit somewhere under this title. We start with instructions…
1 Cor. 4:1-7
Pastoral Evaluation Introduction: When I was in college a generation or two ago, students had the privilege of filling out teacher evaluations at the end of each semester. I really enjoyed that. When I taught in college a few years later I didn’t enjoy it as much. The fact is, it is human nature to want to offer criticism and it is also human nature to resist it when it comes our way. In 1 Cor. 4 the apostle Paul gives us some advice…
Daniel 4
God Humbles the Proud Introduction: I heard a dumb joke the other day: “What do Atila the Hun, Catherine the Great, and Jack the Ripper have in common.” Answer: they all have the same middle name. Now don’t groan; I warned you it was dumb. The fact is all these individuals also share a much more important common characteristic: they were all cruel beyond imagination. Had you been alive when they were, these individuals would have been the last people on earth you would have expected to…
Colossians 3:12-17
The Well-Dressed Christian, Part 2: Choosing an Appropriate Outfit SCRIPTURE: Colossians 3:12-17 SPEAKER: Michael P. Andrus Introduction: Last Wednesday I took three bags of clothes down to the World Impact Thrift Store—a start at spring cleaning. It was hard to part with some of those things, but I felt good as I drove away because those clothes weren’t doing us any good—just taking up space. I also gave some attention this week to getting rid of some garments that were cluttering up my spiritual closet. That…
- 1
- 2