Mike Riley Sermon Outlines, Articles, Lessons, etc.

A querist asks, “Could someone please explain to me what I Corinthians 3:10-15 means, especially vss. 14,15?”

I received the following thoughts by an unknown author via email this morning from one of my Christian friends and wanted to share them with my blog readers. These thoughts could very well be my thoughts, as I’m entering the latter years of my life. The thoughts expressed are something to seriously think about this […]

Some in the church have a denominational view of Ephesians 2:8-9. This writer does not question their sincerity, but their understanding and knowledge. A clear statement of their position is, “We do not contribute one whit to our salvation” (Rubel Shelly, quoted in Yokefellow, vol. 18, no. 4, p. 3). They take the phrase, “not […]

The story is told of a Christian high school senior who was honored as one of the best and brightest in his community because he provided a forceful demonstration of integrity.

A Native American and his friend were in downtown New York City, walking near Times Square. It was during the noon lunch hour and the streets were filled with people. Cars

After being warned by the prophet Daniel about his sinful pride (Proverbs 6:16-17; Psalm 101:5; cf. Proverbs 16:18), the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar was struck with insanity. The Lord restored his mind, but only after he spent a long period of time in a field thinking he was a wild animal (Daniel 4:28-37).

During a terrible storm on the ocean, a small passenger ship rolled precariously in the roaring tempest. The furniture and anything else that could move was tied down, and the

In today’s digital world, it’s sometimes difficult to keep up with the abbreviated terminology that accompanies today’s fast-paced, youth-oriented electronic communication. For example, in the “Instant Messaging” (IM) world, the text-message language, “laughing out loud” becomes “lol.” The phrase, “By the way” becomes “btw.” And regrettably, some people are using “omg” for “Oh, my God!”

In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, Paul encourages us, “In every thing give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Regarding church attendance, this writer questions why any faithful child of God would ever ask such a question as “Do I have to be there?” in the first place. Unless there is a compelling reason that prohibits attendance, where else and with whom else would a child of

The disciples in Acts 11:26, were first called “Christians” at Antioch somewhere about A.D. 43. They were known to each other as, and were among themselves called, (1) brethren (Acts 15:1,23; 1 Corinthians 7:12); (2) disciples (Acts 9:26; Acts 11:29); (3) believers (Acts 5:14); (4) saints (Romans 8:27; Romans 15:25). Let us ask ourselves this […]

The following bulletin article was written by Brother Morris Thurman, former preacher for the Memorial Road congregation, on June 26, 1977. It’s a great human interest story about sacrifice that bears repeating

The story is told of a thrifty man who one day decided to save money on donkey feed. Every day, he would add increasing amounts of sawdust into the donkey’s feed. Because the process was gradual, the donkey did not notice any difference as he cleaned up his

Practice what you preach! Christ as the master teacher (John 3:2) taught his disciples not only by word but by example (John 13:15). He demonstrated by His living how they should live before their heavenly Father. After washing the disciples’ feet (John 13:3-5), Christ explained to them the spiritual “benefits” of serving others (John 13:14-17). […]

In looking at history, we see that great events have occurred around some person of great influence, i.e., Harry Truman, Douglas MacArthur, Winston Churchill, Dwight D. Eisenhower. In times of great national distress, it is nothing short of providential that certain people have been placed in certain places with certain qualifications, i.e., George W. Bush […]

Christianity differs from all other religions of the world in that it is the only religion that has a savior. According to Matthew 1:21, this savior’s name is Jesus, “for he shall save his people from their sins.”

On a recent beautiful warm Saturday morning, a Christian friend and I were having breakfast at a local restaurant. At a nearby table, we noticed a young woman sitting quietly reading her Bible. She was

The following barbs of wisdom come from The Sword and Staff publication, 2009, Volume 47, Number 1; pg. 17 (appropriate Scriptures and related articles have been added):

When a person has a prejudiced mind, that person is literally cursed because prejudice never saved a soul nor settled any question in the light of truth. Pertaining to religion, prejudice prevents a person from openly investigating the teachings of the Bible to see if what he is practicing corresponds with those teachings (Acts 17:10-11).

Christianity differs from all other religions of the world in that it is the only religion that has a savior. According to Matthew 1:21, this savior’s name is Jesus, “for he shall save his people from their sins.” In referring to Jesus, Peter declared, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no […]