Sermons on Humility
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…
Matthew 18:1-9; 19:13-15
Too Small to Ignore Introduction: Today we are returning to the Life of Christ. We started studying the book of Matthew back in 2006 and completed the first eight chapters by June of ‘07. We picked it up again from Thanksgiving to this past Easter, covering chapters 9-17. Today we start in chapter 18 and, Lord willing, we will finish this amazing book by Easter, with a few planned interruptions along the way. We will not preach every single passage, because we have already studied…
Matthew 26:1-13
Broken and Spilled Out Introduction: One of America’s finest short stories, written by the great master of the art, O. Henry, is 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. For Della it was her hair, which served almost as a robe when she let it down. Jim, on the other hand, had a pocket watch, given to him by his father, which was his…
Luke 3:1-20
A Voice from the Wilderness Introduction: The last time we heard anything about John the Baptizer, he had just been born, named, and blessed. In the last verse of Luke 1 we are told, “And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the desert until he appeared publicly to Israel.” The last we heard about Jesus was his visit to the temple in Jerusalem when he was 12 years old, recorded for us in Luke 2. Twenty years have passed…
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