Sermons on Pride
1 Samuel 14
SERIES: Leadership in Hard Times When a Leader Misuses His Authority SPEAKER: Michael P. Andrus Introduction: We are in the middle of a trilogy of sermons on the failed leadership of Saul, the first king of Israel, as we set the stage for his successor David, a leader worth emulating. Leadership is a topic of great relevance to all of us, for we are all leaders, and we are all followers. We may be leaders in church or in industry or at school…
1 Samuel 15
SERIES: Leadership in Hard Times Partial Obedience Is Disobedience SCRIPTURE: 1 Samuel 15 SPEAKER: Michael P. Andrus Introduction: Let me paint a little word picture for you that will be readily identifiable to anyone with a toddler at home. “It’s almost supper time, Adam. Pick up the papers and crayons that are all over the floor and put them in your desk before supper.” “Oh, Daddy, do I have to?” “Yes, you have to.” The family gathers at the supper table, Adam…
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…
Galatians 3:1-5
THE SIN RELIGIOUS PEOPLE ARE PROUD OF Most people are not proud of sin in their lives. Oh, a star athlete may brag about the number of women he has conquered, and it’s not too difficult to find a fraternity brother who boasts of how often he gets drunk. But the average person doesn’t hang his or her dirty laundry out for everyone to see. Christians, I think, are especially reluctant to have their sin exposed–partly because they are embarrassed to have let…
Esther 5-6
The Tables Are Turned Introduction: Scripture tells us the same truth in countless ways: “Whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:7); “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18); “Let him who thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall” (1 Cor. 10:12). Nowhere can one find a clearer illustration of these truths than in the life of Haman, the Agagite–one of the key characters in the OT Book of Esther. Jeremy…