There was a couple who were having serious issues in their marriage, mostly because of financial difficulties. After a stewardship sermon at church, they went home and had a huge discussion. They decided to sell their house and buy a smaller one. They did just that, and saved their marriage. In fact, their whole lives were changed.

That experience reminded me of how important preaching is, because what happens if people really believe what we are saying and begin to order their lives around it? Imagine if they do that with sermons about money.

The name Eckhart Tolle is hardly a household name—at least, yet. Earlier this year, his book The New Earth, was chosen by Oprah Winfrey as the choice of her Book Club and has sold 3.5 million copies so far. (And to think I was excited that my Narnia book has sold almost 1,000!) He has [...]

The image of God we carry around in our head is one of the most important things about us. Accurate and inaccurate images of God can lead to very different conclusions. For instance, many people have the image of God as very religious. But, from the teaching of Jesus at least, that is a pretty [...]

What’s wrong with amazing grace? The first and most important answer is: Nothing. You need to know I believe in grace, and it is indeed amazing. Whether you consider yourself a follower of Jesus or not, you are here because of grace, you are alive because of grace. If you wake up tomorrow morning and [...]

Stories are amazing things. Some of them crop up in every culture in every century.  Sometimes they turn up in different forms, but still with a recognizable family likeness.  There seems to be something about certain stories that appeals very deeply to the human race.
I think this is probably one reason we love the Grinch. [...]

Movies are a place where the spiritual concerns of our culture often intersect with the Gospel. John van Sloten has become well-known in Calgary and around the world for “preaching from the culture.” Here he offers a sermon which analyses a popular current movie in the light of the Christian message.
The 2006 Academy Award winning [...]

Baptisms are frequently a time when people come to church who do not normally do so. How can one preach in such a way that their attention is caught by the explanation of what is going on, and they want to come back to learn more? This sermon uses the image of the Christian life [...]

I don’t know if this strikes you as a funny title for a religious article. Isn’t it rather like the National Smokers Alliance (there is such a thing) sponsoring a lecture on How Smoking Can Damage Your Health—a lecture to be given by a long-term addict? Why would they do it?
If religious people know that [...]