The Agony of Fatherhood A young father-to-be was pacing back and forth, wringing his hands in the hospital corridor while his wife was in labor. He was tied up in knots of fear and anxiety, and beads of perspiration dropping from his brow revealed the agony of his suffering. Finally, at 4 AM, a nurse…
Author: Alan Holden
Jeremiah 11
The Fourth Sermon of Jeremiah
Key Verse: “A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.” The Indictment, vv. 1-13 A. Scripture for the Sermon, Deuteronomy 27:15-26 B. Terms of the Covenant C. “Proclaim / Preach the Word” D. Spiritual Conspiracy in Judah E. Results of Spiritual Adultery The Injunction, vv. 14-17 A. “Pray not…
Church Fellowship
Acts 2:38-44; 4; 5; 6 Introduction A church will never grow beyond its fellowship. If the fellowship is right, the church will continue to minister, witness in love, and be built up in maturity and in number. But if the fellowship is not right, the church will decline and eventually die. If the fellowship is…
Church: Body of Christ
1 Corinthians 12 Introduction A friend asked Mrs. Smith, “What position does your son play on the football team?” “I’m not sure,” replied Mrs. Smith, “but I think he’s one of the drawbacks.” In the Body, there is Unity of Membership, vv. 12-14. A. The Body has One Head, Jesus Christ. B. There is power…
“Catty-Whompus!”
Ephesians 5:23-30 Introduction Grady Stanford said disgustingly, “Things down at the church are Catty-Whompus!” Etymology of Catty-Whompus: Catty, cats rarely walk straight; they walk in a cock-eyed manner. Whompus describes the result of whomping something hard, being lop-sided. What Mr. Stanford meant is: things at church are cock-eyed, not right, because the devil has whooped…
God’s Church Gifts
Romans 12:1-8 Introduction In the Detroit News, there was a humorous little story about an aged mother that illustrates how useless gifts are unless they are used. She had been raised in poverty, and the family had very little money as her children were growing up. As a result, she never had modern conveniences and…
Substance and Sexual Abuse
Galatians 5:13-26 Thesis: Christians live to magnify Christ, not to gratify sinful desires. Christians magnify Christ by crucifying sinful desires, vv. 24, 19-21. A. We must crucify sexually immoral desires. B. We must crucify idolatrous desires. C. We must crucify abusive desires. D. We must crucify intemperate desires. Those who gratify these sinful desires prove…
Evangelism
Spreading the Word The story is told of a small dog which had been struck by a car and was lying by the side of the road. A doctor, driving by, noticed that the dog was still alive, stopped his car, picked up the dog, and took him home with him. There he discovered that…
Excuses
The Story of Noah Retold And the Lord said unto Noah, “Where is the ark which I commanded thee to build?” And Noah said unto the Lord: “Verily, I have had three carpenters off ill. The gopherwood supplier hath let me down—yea, even though the gopherwood hath been on order for nigh upon twelve months….
Experience
Each Learns Anew Each generation has to find out for itself that the stove is hot. The Fine Print The difference between education and experience: Education is what you get from reading the small print. Experience is what you get from not reading it. Experience Only Once If at first you don’t succeed, so much…