Mike Riley Sermon Outlines, Articles, Lessons, etc.

If we could hear a recording of our conversations for a single day, we might be amazed (and surprised) at how much we grumble and complain.

What we do with the Bible depends on what we do with the first sentence in Genesis Chapter 1. The sentence begins with this simple statement: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). If we believe that statement, we can believe everything else that follows. If we reject that statement, […]

Becoming rich and famous does not guarantee contentment. If it did, multimillionaire athletes and Hollywood celebrities would not jeopardize their careers by using illicit drugs.

The story is told of a man who once got in trouble for helping someone. Because he had been raised in a rural area, he was in the habit of stopping to assist troubled motorists.

The saying, “Money is power,” is the principle that drives most societies of the world (including our own). People scramble for wealth, often at the price of personal integrity, in

All of us hopefully have at least one or more close friends. A small boy once defined a friend as “someone who knows all about you and likes you just the same.” American poet, Ralph Waldo Emerson, once wrote: “A friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of nature.” Author Henry Durbanville made

When we love others, we listen to them. When we take the time and effort to focus on individuals and hear what they are saying, it shows genuine concern and respect.

On July 20, 1969, I was watching TV as the Apollo 11 astronauts landed on the moon. It was a thrilling event as well as an unprecedented human achievement. Millions

A querist asks, “Do you believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus?” Yes, because the inspired Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21) declare the

A querist asks, “In Genesis 2:15 – KJV, the text reads: ‘And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.’ What does the

It was a summer morning, and the first rays of sun were falling across my garden. The prior evening the leaves on the tender okra were drooping from intense heat and lack of

As we watch the news on television, we often hear news of despair. For example, there was a recent news story regarding a man who shot and killed his 19-year-old grandson.

The story is told of a noncommissioned officer who was directing the repairs of a military building during the American Revolution. He was barking orders to the soldiers under his command, trying to get them to raise a heavy wooden beam.

We’ve all known of folks who were seriously ill and near death, but then recovered. Recalling their experience, some say that recovering from the surgery that saved their life was extremely painful. But then they jokingly remark, “Think of the alternative!”

“My great-grandfather owned this fiddle,” my friend said proudly. In his hand was a mint-condition fiddle from the days when the pioneers were moving across the American West. As I admired its beautiful finish and

We don’t have to live very long in this world before it becomes painfully clear that nothing lasts forever. The new car we were so proud of when we purchased it is now spending

In Deuteronomy 3:23-29, we read that Moses encouraged Joshua as he was about to assume leadership of the nation of Israel. No doubt Joshua was filled with fear and a

Some online dictionary sites report at the end of every year as to what words were looked up the most on their site. Because of worldwide catastrophic events in 2005, some of the

Leonardo da Vinci’s contributions to art, science, and engineering established him as one of the great geniuses in history. Whether it be designing a flying machine or painting the Mona Lisa, his

The book of Malachi begins with this wholehearted word from the Lord to His halfhearted worshipers, “I have loved you” (Malachi 1:2). Though Israel had long been