Sermons on Closed To Others:

Stop Pretending

Contributed by Paul Fritz on Jul 27, 2003

Some people are looking for masks to be able to hide their inner sense of inadequacies. Others are looking for masks that can make them into the cultural image of someone great. Still others are looking for identities that will make themselves acceptable

Stop Pretending ``We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.’’ (2 Cor. 10:5) Some people are looking for masks to be able to hide their inner sense of inadequacies. Others are ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 10:5

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Love Promises

Contributed by Roger Haugen on May 14, 2002

Paul has caught the vision of how relationships work best ... always showing concern for that other person’s needs and wants ... loving that other person enough to listen and perhaps change to make things better

Love Promises Ephesians 5:21-22, 25 As we gather here today for this festive occasion, Paul has some very good advice for you, Mark and Ronalda, as you prepare to begin their life together. Paul writes: Submit yourselves to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit yourselves to ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:21-25

Denomination: Lutheran

Jesus Will Wreck Your Life Series

Contributed by Mark Eberly on Oct 15, 2007

The hardest thing that we will ever have to do is live out a life of loving others treating them as we would want to be treated. If we love others the way Jesus did, it will wreck our lives.

Series on the Mount Jesus Will Wreck Your Life October 14, 2007 Matthew 7:12 What might be your greatest fear? What do you dread the most? What possibility scares you the most? I think the greatest fear for humans is God. Here’s a being that is greater than we can comprehend. More holy than our ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:12

Denomination: Church Of God

Nowhere To Rest! (Luke 9:57-62)

Contributed by David Smith on Oct 27, 2007

It hurts when we lose someone we love, and it hurts because we love them. Love and pain are never far from each other. You can’t have one without the other.

Q: Why did the Palestinian cross the road? A: We don’t know either, but if he wont’ tell us what he was doing, crossing a road without a permit, we will detain him until we find out! I was looking for a joke with a jarring ending to introduce what I consider to be a particularly jarring Gospel ...read more

Scripture: Luke 9:57-62

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

Cast Down, Scattered Down, Sent Down

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 8, 2009

World Hunger Sunday: God’s judgment will come on a people whose consumption habits oppress others and whose patriotism masks greed. But God will continue to send blessings on a people who will invest more in others.

The laws of physics say that what goes up must come down. You pitch a rock into the air and right away it comes down with a thud. Hendricks throws a football in a long arc out over the New York Giant defenders and knows that it will come down, he hopes into the hands of Monk or Clark or Sanders who ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 147:1-20

Denomination: Baptist

Manipulation By Guilt Vs. Straightforward Requests Series

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Sep 26, 2016

Manipulation is a dishonest method to control others, get our way, or make others think an idea was theirs; it stands in contrast to making honest straightforward requests. Manipulation by guilt is perhaps the most common form of manipulation.

Manipulation by Guilt Vs. Straightforward Requests (topical) 1. A lot of persuasion — even in church — can be based upon emotion and a lack of logic. “Pastor Smith was winding up his sermon about the dangers of alcohol and the need for temperance. He shouted, 'If I had all the ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 2:11-13

Denomination: Independent/Bible

The Transformation Of Zacchaeus, And Us Too If We Would Listen And Believe.

Contributed by Gordon Mcculloch on Nov 1, 2016

What others think of us is irrelevant to the Lord. It is what he see in us that is important. Zacchaeus show us how the power of God is used to free us from the influence of others, and free us to be ourselves.

This sermon was delivered to Holy Trinity in Ayr, Ayrshire, Scotland on the 30th October 2016; Holy Trinity is a Scottish Episcopal Church in the Dioceses of Glasgow and Dumfries. The readings for today are: Habakkuk 1.1-4; 2.1-4 Ps 119.137-144 2 Thessalonians 1.1-4, 11-12 Luke 19.1-10 Luke ...read more

Scripture: Luke 19:1-10

Denomination: Episcopal

Will It Be Milk Or Meat?

Contributed by J Jeffrey Smead on Feb 12, 2014

Paul is clear to the Corinthians that there are two levels of Christian living. Some believers are living in the flesh, the carnal and others are living in the spiritual. This is still true today. Some believers are still on milk while others eat meat.

For those not familiar with an Anglican Service, there are four readings prior to the Message. Today's lessons are Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Psalm 119:1-8; 1 Corinthians 3:1-9 and Matthew 5:21-37. Paul begins the 3rd chapter of his letter by telling the Corinthians that there are two levels of ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 6:1-2, 1 Corinthians 3:5-7, 1 Corinthians 3:7-9, 1 Corinthians 3:1-9

Denomination: Anglican

The God Who Waits

Contributed by Arthur Miller on Dec 14, 2013

In a marriage relationship each person enters into a covenant with the other. For better or worse, richer or poorer. We commit ourselves to each other and it requires changes in our lives to uphold the covenant made. The same is true with God.

The God Who Waits Hosea Chapter 3 As we continue our series on the book of Hosea we will continue looking at the tumultuous relationship between Hosea and Gomer. In chapter 2 we witnessed a faithful husband who came to the point where he could no longer provide for his unfaithful wife who refused ...read more

Scripture: Hosea 3:1-5

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Planning Ahead Series

Contributed by Perry Greene on Jan 29, 2013

Life is more than just what we get (even more than just getting heaven). There is a place in our lives to do for others -- even others whom we will never meet in future generations.

1. Base Camp When people are climbing Mount Everest, there are at least 4 camps that people stop at on the way up. They have to stop because of the physical limitations of their bodies. They need time to rest. They need time to acclimatize to the atmosphere. They need time to be prepared to move up ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 21:33-34

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Balancing Act

Contributed by Perry Greene on Jan 29, 2013

We think of how important serving others and "convertng" others is, but we must be balanced. The process does not end in baptism it continues after. This is why Jesus told us to make "disciples" not merely "converts."

1. Communication (strange sport sayings—selected) • “You guys line up alphabetically by height.” said by Bill Peterson, a Florida State football coach. • When Shaquille O’Neal was asked whether he had visited the Parthenon during his visit to Greece, he replied, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:16-20

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Go! And Spur One Another On Series

Contributed by Dean Courtier on Aug 15, 2025

The Christian life is not meant to be lived in isolation. We are called to live in community, to stir one another up, to encourage one another, and to keep each other’s faith burning bright until Christ returns.

Go! And Spur One Another On Introduction: There’s a story told about a coal left on its own. A group of men were sitting around a fire one evening when one man, who had stopped attending church, was visited by his pastor. The pastor didn’t say a word. He simply picked up a glowing coal with the ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 10:24-25, 1 Thessalonians 5:11, Acts 2:46-47, Romans 13:11, Acts 3:19  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Pentecostal

Sermon On The Grass Is Not Always Greener...

Contributed by William Meakin on Sep 10, 2024

The Grass Is Always Greener On The Other Side is a singular, speculative, but focused idiom that suggests the indeterminable fallacy that other people or places in one’s imagination always appear to be in a better, or more acceptable cachet than oneself.

Kasper Schmeichel, a Danish football goalkeeper once remarked: “The grass is not always greener on the other side. It is about recognizing what you do have and being grateful for what you do have.” Philippians 4:11-12 reminds us: “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 58:11, Jeremiah 17:7-8, Ezekiel 17:24, Genesis 3:22

The Love Triangle Series

Contributed by Glenn Pease on Mar 28, 2021

Some need to learn to love themselves before they can love God. Others need to love God to escape a perverted self-love. Still others need to love their neighbor to balance out an inadequate love.

One of the great tragic plays of all time is Shakespeare's Othello. Othello was a general in the Venetian army. He secretly married Desdemona the daughter of a Venetian senator. Desdemona was the most lovely of all Shakespeare's characters. She was a beautiful and ideal wife. Othello was ...read more

Scripture: Mark 12:28-34

Called To Serve

Contributed by Michael Bates on Sep 14, 2023

Every Christian is called to serve in the ministry. Only a select few are called into full-time pastoral ministry, but many others are called to serve God in other capacities. This short sermon explores that calling a little further.

The Bible says in 1 Peter 4:10-11: Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 4:10-11, Luke 10:12

Denomination: Independent/Bible