Sermons on Church Development:

The Inherited Church Series

Contributed by Michael Stark on Nov 16, 2018

To accomplish the task of evangelising our world, we must work as though our congregation was new. New churches have a vibrancy that can be lost as we grow older. In time, if we don't take care, we will have an "inherited church" rather than a vibrant, living congregation.

“To the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. “‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 3:1-6

Denomination: Baptist

The Language Of The Church

Contributed by William Mouser on Aug 2, 2006

Scripture -- all of it, read copiously over a long time -- shapes our minds and brings us light, far more than the narrow sectarian vocabularies of our cradle faith.

Psalm 47, Exodus 28:1-4,9-12, 15-21, 29-30, 1 John 5:9-15, John 17:11b-19 The Language of the Church I read a lot of blogs focused on Bible and theology. Something I read this week dovetails nice with our Lord’s words in the gospel lesson appointed for today. There is an online version of a ...read more

Scripture: John 17:11-19

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

The Divided Church Series

Contributed by D Marion Clark on Aug 27, 2012

The effect of divisions in the church and how they arise.

Introduction Clicks, they are the bane of high schools! It seems to be the fate of teenagers to get caught up in them, either eager to get into some or eager to avoid others. But clicks are not unique to teenagers and high schools. As we are about to learn, adults are also prone to them even in ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:10-17

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Nature Of The Church Series

Contributed by Mark Schaeufele on Jan 30, 2014

The church consists of all those who committed to and dependent upon Christ in all things.

The Nature Of The Church Text: Phil. 1:1-2 Introduction 1. Illustration: Three pastors got together for coffee one day and found all their churches had bat-infestation problems. "I got so mad," said one, "I took a shotgun and fired at them. It made holes in the ceiling, but did nothing to the ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 1:1-2

Denomination: Methodist

Order In The Church! Series

Contributed by Glenn Durham on Oct 26, 2010

God so loves the church that he brings order from chaos.

Scripture Introduction Most of you have seen, either in a movie, or TV show, or maybe in person, a judge slam down his gavel and gruffly demand, “Order in the Court! Order in the Court!” Judges know that the success of the legal process depends, in part, on maintaining control in their ...read more

Scripture: Titus 1:1-9, 2 Thessalonians 5:12, 1 Corinthians 3:1-4

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Maturity Of The Church Series

Contributed by Mark Schaeufele on Jan 19, 2022

It is necessary for us to grow in our faith so that we can fight the battle against Satan.

The Maturity of the Church Text: Eph. 4:7-16 Introduction 1. Illustration: There are no short cuts to maturity. It takes years for us to grow to adulthood, and it takes a full season for fruit to mature and ripen. The same is true for the fruit of the Spirit. The development of Christlike ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:7-16

Denomination: Methodist

Facing Life's Problems Together Series

Contributed by Darrell Stetler Ii on Nov 17, 2004

You don’t find this kind of closeness and support in every church today -- but in the early church, everyone was serious about doing life together, no matter what. How can we develop that in our church? *HANDOUT INCLUDED*

*NOTE: I am indebted to Rick Warren for the outline containing the "Fortify Your Faith" , etc. in this sermon. Please see "The Purpose Driven Church" (Zondervan, 1995) for more info. Acts 2:41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were ...read more

Scripture: Acts 2:41-47

Denomination: Holiness

A Failed Church?

Contributed by Alan Perkins on Mar 17, 2003

God’s view of "failure" vs. the world’s view.

This morning, I’d like to offer some thoughts on where we’ve been, where we are now, and where we go from here. I don’t claim that this is a comprehensive summary of our history as a church; nor do I present this as the final, authoritative word on what we’ve suffered and accomplished. For one ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 3:5-9

Denomination: Baptist

Homosexuality And The Church Series

Contributed by Paul Wallace on Aug 24, 2004

The Church must redemptively address the homosexual community.

Homosexuality and the Church Hot Potatoes the Church Wonft Touch #1 After I made the statement about the church not touching the issue, I realized some had. The Episcopalians voted a practicing homosexual as bishop, and others have dealt with it on a denominational level. However, I was thinking ...read more

Scripture: Romans 1:26-27

Denomination: Wesleyan

A Church Is Born Series

Contributed by David Owens on Feb 28, 2012

In this introductory sermon, we learn about the beginning of the church at Thessalonica.

Introduction: A. The story is told of two preachers who were standing by the side of a highway holding up two signs. One read, “The end is near!” The other held a sign that said, “Turn around before it’s too late!” 1. As a car approached, they lifted their signs, ...read more

Scripture: Acts 17:1-9

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Prayer For The Church

Contributed by Ajai Prakash on Jan 21, 2015

The church and our nation don't seem to be in a good spot and need much prayer. The church in Ephesus was in a similar spot and Paul knew that they needed prayer desperately. Have we been focusing on praying for the church in our nation?

Opening illustration: A friend told me about a neighbor who years ago spent most of his spare time planting trees. The man seldom watered the young trees because he thought that too much watering spoiled them. (He came from the “no pain, no gain” school of plant care.) Pampered trees, ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 3:14-19

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Rapture Of The Church

Contributed by Jedidiah Jedidiah on Jul 9, 2025

The Rapture verse or the real verse that teaches the truth about the Rapture is found in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

The Rapture of the Church Before we discuss the concept of the Rapture, it is imperative to dive deeply and examine different facts about the Rapture. We need to research the issue that surrounds the Rapture, for the word “Rapture” is indeed not found in the Bible, just as the word “Trinity” is ...read more

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

The Mission Of The Church

Contributed by Norman Lawrence on Oct 20, 2008

So often we say that we have a great work to do, but yet are unsure of what we as the church are supposed to be doing... Jesus would never send us forth before giving us a job description to center our efforts around...

E-Mail support@churchletters.net for the Powerpoint to go with this message. Fred Somebody, Thomas Everybody, Peter Anybody, and Joe Nobody were neighbors, but they were not like you and me. They were odd people and most difficult to understand. The way they lived was a shame. All four ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 16:18

Denomination: Assembly Of God

A Model Church Series

Contributed by David Owens on Feb 28, 2012

In this sermon, we work through the first chapter and learn the characteristics that made the church of the Thessalonians a model church.

Introduction: A. No doubt you have heard a preacher say, “If you ever find the perfect church, please don’t join it. If you do, it won’t be perfect anymore!” Right? B. I came across a poem based on that statement. It goes like this: “If you should find the ...read more

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Church Is Worthy Series

Contributed by Chuck Sligh on Jun 23, 2013

The church (universal & local) is worthy because of the PERSON who is its head; the PURPOSE for which it was founded and the PRICE paid for it. Therefore it is worthy of our 1. being united with it; 2. our faithfulness; 3. our service; 4. our support.

The Church Is Worthy Sermon 1 in the series “Church Matters" Chuck Sligh June 23, 2013 NOTE: A PowerPoint presentation of this sermon is available upon request by emailing me at chucksligh@hotmail.com. TEXT: 1 Timothy 3:15 – “But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 3:15

Denomination: Baptist