Sermons on Spiritual Growth (Page 15)
Hope
Everyone has some sort of hope, I suppose . . . or at least almost everyone looks to something for security. For some it might be a job (i.e., “If I can accomplish this or that, then I’ll feel secure”). For others it might be money, or power, or relationships. When we hope in something, we turn to it for feelings of accomplishment, security, or identity. It gives us something to aim for, some reason to get up in the…
Running the Race
The Christian life is difficult, at times–something we all can relate to. It involves sacrifices and sometimes persecutions, and occasionally we get discouraged. We might even want to quit. The writer of Hebrews compares it to a race, and I suspect he’s thinking of a long-distance run, not a sprint. When you’re running a marathon, for example, the adrenaline runs out in the first part of the race, and you have to tough it out in order to finish. The…
Jacob’s Ladder
Jesus Christ meets our most basic human needs. We need companionship (we don’t want to be alone), we crave security (we don’t want to feel vulnerable), and we want a home–somewhere to belong (we don’t want to be rootless). When God comes to Jacob, the patriarch is a fugitive who is alone and vulnerable. He’s been told by his parents to leave home–to leave the land of Canaan–and go about 450 miles to the northeast to find a wife. On…
It Cost Everything
This chapter is an odd and interesting conclusion to the book of Samuel. Chronologically, it almost certainly belongs to an earlier period in David’s life, so the author probably intended for it to be a kind of summary of David’s life. In a similar way to last week’s text (Psalm 51), David shows an attitude of remorse–probably the reason why God blessed him with a kingdom that would survive his death. But the focus here is on God, who does…
How is Our Culture Affecting Us? “That We May Be Like All the Nations”
We’re about to send six high school graduates off as they begin the next phase of life. Their lives will change significantly as they experience the world without being watched as closely by their parents. So I planned this sermon with them in mind. As the sermon developed, though, I became more convicted that it is a message that everyone in our congregation needs to hear. The temptation that affected Israel in Samuel’s day–to allow the spirit of the age…