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Showing 226 to 250 of 2561 results

226. Habakkuk: The Problem of Evil

Habakkuk 1:1-4

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

A young business executive sent this letter to this pastor: “I see so many people around the church who have such strong faith that I feel like I don't fit in. I would like to feel confident. I wish I didn't have doubts, but I've got more questions than answers. Sometimes I wonder if I am really a Christian. Can you help me with any of this? [Signed] Bob" Could you have written this letter? Whoever said that we should not question things surely never read the Bible. The Bible is full of questions. I hope ...

227. Ezekiel: The Problem of Dry Bones

Ezekiel 37:1-10

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

On the day of Pentecost, Peter preached about daughters prophesying, young men seeing visions, and old men dreaming dreams. The Church was born not on what was, but what can be when the Holy Spirit fills the hearts of the faithful. Maybe it is still true that dreams and visions more than facts and functions shape the future of our faith. One of the most visionary prophets of the Old Testament was a priest named Ezekiel. He lived about 2,600 years ago. He witnessed the terrible siege of Jerusalem by the ...

228. From Laziness to Passion

Psalm 51:1-12

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

In Leo Tolstoy's novel War and Peace, which I did not read in preparation for this sermon, the main character, Pierre, is forced to face himself and make an honest analysis of his life. What he concludes is something I hear often from reluctant confessors. "Yes, Lord, I have sinned, but I have several excellent excuses." I plan to focus our attention this Lenten Season to something the Church calls "The Seven Deadly Sins" - Pride, Envy, Anger, Sloth, Greed, Gluttony, and Lust. Even a casual listener will ...

229. From Pride to Humility

Luke 18:9-14

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Our son Brad was a better-than-average high school football player. He played on a team that was always in contention for a state championship. His name or picture was often splashed on the Saturday morning sports page of the Lexington Leader. I've never believed kids learn much from fatherly lectures so, I always tried to communicate values through often repeated, pithy, little statements. Every Friday, before Brad went to his high school football game, I shared the words of Proverbs 16:18 — Pride goes ...

230. From Envy to Gratitude

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

The sun is shining and the sky is clear. As landowner Joe consumes his breakfast he knows he must, likewise, seize the day. My daddy called it “Making hay while the sun shines." Joe might refer to it as “Making wine before the grapes rot." Whatever the phrase, the focus is the same. Harvest won't wait. Joes finishes breakfast, climbs into his pickup truck and drives down Nolensville Road where day laborers assemble looking for work. Well, the time and place may be different, but the story is the same. And ...

231. The Power to Be Saved

Acts 4:5-12

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

In the church of my childhood, the opportunity to get saved came once a year at the annual Revival Meeting. Skilled evangelists came to the protracted meetings loaded with all kinds of bait to reel in the least and the lost. Being a sensitive teenager, I was always fair game, so I usually got saved about once a year. Over the years I've expressed my share of cynicism about such manipulative evangelism. But I have not come to criticize but to connect. It would be easy to strike up a strong debate right here ...

232. Serving the Poor—Compassionately

Matthew 25: 31-40

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

On August 31, 1997, Princess Diana and her boyfriend Dodi were trying to outrun the paparazzi through the streets of Paris when their driver, Henri Paul, hit a pillar in a tunnel, killing three of the four passengers in the car. The world was stunned. This princess, who could make the headlines by waving her hand or send sensations through the media by wearing a party dress, was dead. The queen of people's hearts was gone. Over one billion people watched her funeral as Elton John sang about a candle in the ...

233. Develop Leaders—Humbly

Colossians 3:12-17

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

The Lion King came roaring into Nashville a few weeks ago. This delightful Broadway musical about the circle of life tells the story of Simba, the shame-based, guilt-ridden, lion cub from Pride Rock who avoids becoming King of the Jungle because he doesn't think he's good enough. When I mention the word leader, what images dance in your head — a military officer barking orders, a politician seeking votes, the head of a company telling others what to do? How does ‘leader' strike you? A stranger called a ...

234. Pray

Matthew 6:5-13

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Did you hear about the five-year-old boy who announced to his parents that he never wanted to pray again? When his mother probed the kid's unbelief, she got this simple explanation. “I prayed and prayed, and prayed for a new puppy dog, and all I got was a new baby brother." Well, prayer does have its problems. We ask for guidance and all we hear is silence. We get what we want and wind up not wanting what we get. Unlike Garth Brooks, we don't always find it easy to thank God for unanswered prayers. Prayer ...

235. Lighting up Your Neighborhood

Acts 13:44-49

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Love your neighbor as you love yourself. The Bible is quite insistent about that. Eight times from Leviticus to First John the Bible comes right out and commands it. Numerous times it is mentioned as the foundation of all human relationships. Loving your neighbor is not a plaque to be posted in our court houses. It is a principle to apply in our lives. What part of neighbor don't we understand? I. NEIGHBORS ARE THOSE NEARBY The literal translation of neighbor is the “the person next to a person." Turn to ...

236. Be Silent

Luke 1:11-20

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Old Zechariah hit the jackpot. He won the lottery. His one in 20,000 chance paid off. He got a once in a lifetime opportunity to enter the Holy of Holies where God is so real you can touch, feel, and taste him. He gets the privilege to celebrate that high priestly function. There, while burning incense to kill the smell of sin, Old Zechariah slipped in another prayer—a prayer of the heart, the hunger of the soul—a haunting question of a lifetime. He'd prayed it thousands of times before. It was the prayer ...

237. Valuing Life Without Playing God

John 10:10-15

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

God likes life, He invented it. It is to the full-flowing, free life that He invites us. I have lived my life by that simple motto. Jesus put it even better in John 10:10 which is the text I want to linger on today. “I have come that you may have life, and have it abundantly," or to the full, to the maximum. In our quest for Christian values, we must do some serious thinking about this thing called life. Who gives it? What's it worth? Who has the right to end it? Those are some of the questions I would ...

238. Sexual Ethics for the 21st Century

John 8:1-11

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

When God made you and God made me, he made us male and female for each other. In our quest for Christian Values, I want to land today on the question of sexual ethics for the 21st century. Now for parents of young children, let me assure you, this sermon is rated G. Its intent is not to sizzle but to stimulate sound thinking. To stand in a pulpit and speak of God and sex in the same sentence for some, may seem like an oxymoron; an incongruent, contradictory connection of words like awfully pretty, barely ...

239. Keeping Company with the Weary

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Invitations: They grab our attention every day. Somebody is getting married, a friend is having a party, a business is hosting a luncheon and we are invited. What would our lives be like without invitations? The greatest invitation ever offered came from the heart of Jesus Christ addressed to pilgrims like you and me. It is printed in your bulletin. Will you read it with me because it is Jesus' invitation to you? “Come to me all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. ...

240. Making the Most of Small Beginnings

Matthew 13:31-35

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

How does one explain the unexplainable, describe the indescribable, or comprehend the incomprehensible? Such was the challenge facing Jesus as he attempted to paint a picture of the Kingdom of Heaven to us mere mortals. So Jesus resorted to telling parables, earthly stories with heavenly meanings. Instead of trying to tell it like it is, Jesus told it like it might be: the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, a little bit of leaven, a treasure hidden in the field, a pearl of great price, a dragnet of ...

241. Males or Females?

Acts 18:1-3, 18-19, 24-26

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Perhaps the battle of the sexes has been going on since the beginning of time. At least the jokes go all the way back to Adam and Eve. One joke says that when God finished the creation of Adam, He stepped back, scratched His head and said, “I can surely do better than that." Then He created Eve. Another joke says Adam became lonely after a few weeks in the Garden, so he asked the Lord for a companion. The Lord said, “Let me think it over and get back to you." So the next day the Lord said to Adam, “Here's ...

242. Greed or the Gospel?

Acts 8:9-13, 18-24

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

How do you spell success? Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Success is to laugh often and much, to win the respect of people and the affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better, and to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is success." Simon the Magician thought success was to get people’s attention, win their admiration, and ...

243. The Gentle Healer

John 9:1-11

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

The Gentle Healer came into our town today. He touched blind eyes and the darkness left to stay. More than the blindness, He took their sins away. The Gentle Healer came into our town today. The Gentle Healer of which Michael Card speaks is the Jesus I want to know. The 9th Chapter of John is a kind of showdown for Jesus. He heals a blind man and encounters the wrath of the powers that be. Come, let's listen in on this drama involving the disciples, an unnamed blind man, Jesus, the community, the parents, ...

244. The Resurrection and Life

John 11:32-44

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Once upon a time there was a man whose name was Lazarus. He owned a nice home in the little town of Bethany, a suburb of Jerusalem. Mary and Martha were his sisters. Jesus liked to spend his spare time with these three close friends. He who lamented that He had no place to lay His head found friendship and hospitality there. Martha was a great cook. Mary gave relaxing massages. Lazarus proved to be an insightful friend. What more could anyone want? Then one day Mary and Martha sent word to Jesus that ...

245. By Belonging

1 Peter 2:2-10

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

When I was out three years ago trying to raise eleven million dollars for building expansion and renovations, a member of this congregation gave me a brick. She didn't throw it at me even though she might have felt like it. She discreetly handed it to me after a meeting saying, "As we forge into the future let us not forget the past." You see, the brick came out of our old building on Church Street and she had kept it all of these years. I don't plan to keep it. I plan to put it in the archives being ...

246. Hot Air or the Holy Spirit?

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

There was a big spring festival in Jerusalem that day. It may have been similar to Dogwood Days in Atlanta, the Strawberry Festival in Dayton, or Mule Day in Columbia, Tennessee. This agricultural festival was called the “Feast of Weeks" and it took place every spring on Pentecost, 50 days after the Jewish Passover. Jews scattered throughout the world returned to Jerusalem for the celebration designed to emphasize the goodness of God. As people do at community festivals, everyone was having a good time — ...

247. The Broken Body of Christ

1 Corinthians 11:17-26

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall; All the king's horses and all the king's men, Couldn't put Humpty together again. Who is Humpty Dumpty anyway? He appears to be some egghead with scrambled brains, a nerd, a dork, a geek. But let's not be too quick to judge. Many think he was King Richard III, the hunchbacked monarch who rode a horse named Wall. In the Battle of Bosworth Field, King Richard fell from his horse and his body was hacked to pieces by the enemy. Maybe the resilience ...

248. Fanning the Flames of Family

Ephesians 5:8-10

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

“It only takes a spark to get the fires going and soon all those around can warm up to it glowing." Could the lyrics of that old camp song be true for the American family? What happens in your house may be more important than what happens in the White House! The greatest threat to America may not be terrorists abroad, or storms above; our greatest threat may be the disintegration of family to whom we normally turn in times of crisis. So today, let's think for a few moments about fanning the flames of ...

249. Barnabas and Saul Sent Off

Acts 13:1-3

Understanding Series

David J. Williams

Chapter 13 marks a most significant point in the history. Hitherto, Jerusalem and Judea have been the scene of the believers’ activities and Peter the most prominent figure. But now the base of operation moves (at least for Luke’s purposes, ignoring, perhaps, other spheres of activity) to Antioch in Syria, and Paul becomes the center of attention. The very phrase by which Luke refers to the church in Antioch—a quasitechnical term in the Greek—seems to indicate its new status. The Christians are no longer ...

250. A Marriage about to Break Up

Jeremiah 2:1-3:5

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

The Prophet's Sermons: Warning of Disaster (2:1–10:25): The prophet’s opening sermon, dated prior to Josiah’s reform in 621, is direct, even abrupt. The first scene (2:1–3) shows God with his people, who are like a new bride on a honeymoon. But almost at once there is trouble. The last scene (3:1–5) puts divorce talk squarely at the center. It is a case of a ruined marriage. God does not want a divorce. Through these verses rings the pathos of a hurt marriage partner. The strong feelings that accompany the ...

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