Sermons on Matthew

Decisiveness matters. Make a firm decision and stick with it.

Forever is a difficult concept for time-bound humans, but the span has an eternal purpose.

The 6-year-old kids in their Sunday School class were re-enacting the story of the birth of Jesus. The teacher wanted them to stage it themselves based on their own made-up script, so it was certainly interesting. They had three Marys, two Josephs, six shepherds, two wise guys and one boy who played the cow. Another boy decided he would be the doctor who would deliver the baby. The teacher consented, so the little doctor went back behind the manger, picked up the doll and carefully wrapped him in...

Sermon: How to Forgive Your Enemies—and Your Friends: 5 Scriptural Steps to Total Forgiveness

Is religion relevant? Many people apparently do not think so. They don’t believe religion is necessary because they are convinced that all anyone really needs in life can be obtained through science and technology. For them, any attention given to spiritual matters is a waste of time.

Let's enter an imaginary time tunnel and journey back about 20 centuries. As we do, remember that in the place we find ourselves there is no United States of America. The modern civilizations of Europe, Australia and Canada, as well as other contemporary cultures do not exist. Even the nation of Israel looks completely different.

This ordeal left him blind in one eye so he could not take part in contact sports. Miraculously he suffered no brain damage and was fearfully aware that his abductor was still at large. He struggled with his appearance, but at the tender of age of 13 he began to change. He realized his injuries could have been much worse—he could have died. He also realized he could not stay angry forever. He decided to turn his back on animosity, revenge and self-pity forever.

When I served as pastor of a church in North Alabama during the early 1980s, there was an usher in our church named John. He was a sweet man who was always present in his regular spot to greet people and hand out bulletins, but John was a very troubled man. On several occasions, I met with him, and he began to weep as he told me that during World War II he had done something he thought was so evil that he was certain he had committed the unforgivable sin.

I am touched by the love of God. When I see the suffering of so many in this tortured world of ours, I am prone to ask myself, “Where is there even an iota of justice?” But I rarely ask myself, “Where is God?” I know God is there and He is in love with His world. He has promised his presence and that is adequate for me, but He has declared His love in the most simplistic and proverbial way. God loves sparrows. And if sparrows, why not us? Sparrows in Jesus’ day were sold for a penny, yet not one...

According to the Gospel of Matthew, Palm Sunday was the first time Jesus ever appeared in the great, bustling city of Jerusalem. Jesus knew that His ministry would not be complete and His mission would not be successful unless and until He took His gospel message from the small towns of Galilee in the northern part of Israel and declared it in the great Temple in Jerusalem.