Mike Riley Sermon Outlines, Articles, Lessons, etc.

As Christ is our godly example for us to follow (1 Peter 2:21; 1 John 2:6; cf. Acts 10:38), we too should be godly examples to our children and grandchildren.

As people, we sometimes have funny concepts about growing old. We don’t want to become old, but neither do we want to die young. Douglas MacArthur is quoted as saying, “Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years. People grow old only by deserting their ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to […]

A crew of workmen labor for several months to build a house. When completed, it houses not only a family, but

I stood beside the river….. It was quiet and calm and still, When someone cast a stone into the water….as folks will;

Ahithophel (his name means “brother of folly”) was a statesman and counselor of kings, who enjoyed such great fame and popularity that his counsel “was as if a man inquired at the oracle of God” (2 Samuel 16:23).

The way we view life makes all the difference in the world. We carve out for ourselves incentives and motivation from the structure of our conduct and existence. The apostle Paul cogently reminds us:

Well, another birthday has rolled around for this writer. It seems as though they roll around more often as each successive year goes by. For example, the last ten years have really speeded by, seemingly in a two year period of time! A lot of water has run under the bridge during this past year, […]

The story is told of a Christian employee  who was approached by a fellow employee, asking him if he wanted to put a dollar in a football pot that was

A querist asks, In 2 Corinthians 4:16, Paul mentions the “inward man.” My question is, What is the “inward man” that Paul is referring to in this passage? The text in 2 Corinthians 4:16 states: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed […]

The inspired penman Paul stated in Romans 12:2 ASV, “And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.“

The phrase, “It’s not fair,” is commonly heard among siblings when one perceives that an inequality has occurred. Why? Because we live in a society where life is often assessed in terms of fairness. Many folks are raised from childhood with the notion that things need to be “fair.” If you

The story is told of a kindergarten teacher who once gave her students a piece of paper and told them to draw on it whatever picture they pleased. As she passed around the room, she

The following barbs of wisdom come from The Sword and Staff publication, 2012, Volume 50, Number 3; pg. 13 (appropriate Scriptures and related articles have been added):

Recently, my wife and I stopped at a local fast-food restaurant for hamburgers. As we ate in their outside eating area, I noticed that a beautiful blackbird, having midnight black body feathers, coal black tail, and wing feathers, landed in the empty space beside our car. Standing very patiently, I knew that all he wanted […]

The following barbs of wisdom come from The Sword and Staff publication, 2010, Volume 48, Number 2; pg. 13 (appropriate Scriptures and related articles have been added):

Comedian Henny Youngman once stated: “I’ve got two wonderful children — and two out of five isn’t bad.”

As every serious Bible student knows, simply “reading” the Bible is not sufficient to guarantee that one will understand what the Bible teaches. It is not even enough for one to have memorized the entire Bible. The Bible student must know: 1) What the Bible says. 2) What the Bible means. The Use Of Correct […]

The Greek philosopher, Plato once stated: “When men speak ill of thee, live so as nobody may believe them” (source). Similarly, the inspired writer Peter tells us:

2 Samuel 24 records the sin of David in numbering the fighting men of Israel and Judah. The “counting” itself was not wrong because earlier in Israel’s

Herbert Spencer (1820-1903, British philosopher, sociologist, and evolutionist, announced before his death that there are only five “manifestations of the unknowable” in existence — time, force, action, space, and matter. This was hailed as a great announcement and