Mike Riley Sermon Outlines, Articles, Lessons, etc.

“Bloom where you are planted,” I heard a quiet voice say: “But, Lord,” I protested, “I’m getting older, and beginning to get gray.

While scanning Twitter postings this morning, I read the above titled headline from Laura Hodges Poole. Ms. Poole is a freelance writer with almost three dozen articles, devotions, and short stories in publication. On her blog, “A Word of Encouragement,” Ms. Poole provides her readers with a review of an above titled book authored by […]

There’s no question in this writer’s mind that our world is a much smaller place because of the advances in technology over the past thirty years. We can now instantaneously contact individuals at one click of a computer mouse via email or one button on a cell phone.

In Psalm 55:8-14, David writes about his dire circumstances in the form of violence, oppression, and strife, stirred up by the disloyalty of a friend. Fear, terror, pain, anxiety and restlessness overwhelmed him (Psalm 55:4-5).

A few years ago, there was a commercial which asked, “It’s 10 o’clock: do you know where your children are?” This commercial has always seemed to stick in my mind. I could not tell you what was being advertised in the commercial, but I can tell you that it has a real application in lives […]

For the past few weeks, El Paso has experienced several sandstorms mixed with drops of rain, causing many cars to be in dire need of being washed. In fact, about a week ago, I washed my car three times in one day because clouds kept coming back and dropping raindrops on the car that was […]

The apostle Paul wrote three letters to the little church at Corinth. Only two have survived. He wrote more letters to that little congregation of Christians than any of the other churches.

In Romans 12:10 KJV, the Apostle Paul states the following regarding Christians, “Be kindly affectionate one to another with brotherly love, in honor preferring one another.”

In the 2012, volume 50, number 1 edition of The Sword and Staff publication, pg. 2, comes the following proverbs of wisdom (appropriate Scriptures and related articles have been added):

According to an online dictionary, one of the definitions of the term “trust” is, “firm reliance on the integrity, ability, or character of a person or thing.” In today’s selfish, “me first” society, trusting other people is becoming more and more, a character quality of past generations. Trust is based on past evidence that an […]

When I was a teenager, my father told my brothers and I that one day, he wouldn’t be around to help teach us how to get along with people different than ourselves, so we might as well start learning how to successfully live with others today. As I look back on that conversation, I realize […]

Well, it’s that time of year again when the wildlife starts coming out! By wildlife, we mean that time of year when both women and men start divesting themselves of their clothing, men wearing no shirts [bare chested], women wearing tight-fittingshort-shorts, halter tops, bikinis, and less.

We understand that true justice is properly rendered when the offender receives due punishment for a crime committed. However, love is far more comprehensive than mere justice alone. Love not only demands justice, but also demands the well-being of all concerned.

The story is told of a man who was painting the inside of an elderly lady’s house. In her house, she had a family Bible prominently displayed on the coffee table and remarked to the man that the Bible was 116 years old — a priceless heirloom. The man commented on how remarkable that was, […]

The following barbs of wisdom come from The Sword and Staff publication, 2011, Volume 50, Number 1; pg. 13 (appropriate Scriptures and related articles have been added):

Unless a man can control his passions, desires, and fears, he is not in possession of himself (Proverbs 16:32; Proverbs 25:28). No man is truly free who is not in command of himself. Since the Scriptures teach that a man’s worth is measured, not in terms of what he possesses (Luke 12:14-15), but by the […]

While death comes to us all (Hebrews 9:27), we need not feel that God has somehow perpetrated an injustice to those individuals who die prematurely — those individuals who we “think” have been deprived of that precious commodity called “time.”

Brother Michael Hite, VP of Bear Valley Bible Institute, has produced an excellent blog with tips, ideas, and insights on using technology in ministry called MinistryTech Online.

After getting stocked up on some groceries and putting them in the trunk of my car yesterday afternoon, I unlocked my car, opened the door, and heard a “ping, ping, ping, ping, ping” sound. That sound should have alerted me as to something not being quite right with my car, but it didn’t register in […]

Since my elementary school years, I have been a big fan of human interest stories, because in those stories, we can see folks who have overcome the many challenges that life throws their way. The following above titled video depicts such a story. This is a story about more than kindness; it’s about the essence […]