Sermons on Extra Effort:

Sermon On A Mother's Special Day

Contributed by William Meakin on Feb 24, 2023

Mothering Sunday, more commonly known as Mother’s Day is a day when most offspring will give thanks and show appreciation for all the efforts and love given over many years from a very special person.

William Makepeace Thackeray, a British journalist and novelist once remarked: “Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children.” Proverbs 31:25-29 confirms: Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 20:12, Isaiah 66:13, Psalm 127:3, Isaiah 49:15

What To Do When Your Culture Is Destroying Itself [2nd Copy]

Contributed by Michael Stark on Apr 25, 2024

When this message was planned this past winter, services were cancelled due to a blizzard. This is a second effort that has been revised and brought up to date. How shall Christians respond as our contemporary culture self-destructs?

“Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Favour Beyond Your Expectations

Contributed by Rev. Samuel Arimoro on Feb 15, 2025

God’s favour is not limited to what we expect—it goes beyond what we can imagine. When God’s favour is upon a person, they receive promotions, breakthroughs, and blessings far beyond their efforts.

FAVOUR BEYOND YOUR EXPECTATIONS By Rev. Samuel Arimoro Main Text: Ephesians 3:20 "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us." Supporting Texts: Genesis 6:8 Esther 2:17 Luke 1:30 Psalm 5:12 Proverbs ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 3:20, Genesis 6:8, Esther 2:17, Luke 1:30, Psalm 5:12, Proverbs 3:3-4  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Desperation That Breaks Through Resistance

Contributed by Rev. Samuel Arimoro on Jun 18, 2025

Desperation is often seen as a last resort, but in the life of a believer, it can be the catalyst for divine breakthrough. When we reach a point where all human efforts fail, desperation drives us to seek God with intensity and faith.

DESPERATION THAT BREAKS THROUGH RESISTANCE By Rev. Samuel Arimoro Main Text: Genesis 32:24-30 Supporting Texts: Mark 10:46-52, Luke 18:1-7, Matthew 15:21-28, Psalm 34:6 INTRODUCTION: Desperation is often seen as a last resort, but in the life of a believer, it can be the catalyst for divine ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 32:24-30

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Rowing The Growing Machine Series

Contributed by Joseph Stapleton on Feb 12, 2009

A six part series on building better church body

BETTER BODY BUILDING Part 5 all my illustrations come from Sermon Central unless otherwse noted scripture is NIV unless noted ROWING THE GROWING MACHINE I hope that you have enjoyed this series of sermons as much as I have enjoyed writing them. Building a Better Body is the theme of ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:19-20

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Cheap Sunglasses

Contributed by Joseph Stapleton on Sep 21, 2011

Wouldn't it be great to see things through the eyes of Jesus? Perhaps if we accept the Cheap Songlasses that come with Grace, we could see others differently.

CHEAP SUNGLASSES (ALL my sermons use illustration found on www.sermoncentral.com and all scripture in NIV unless otherwise noted) This morning the puppets performed a song by Brandon Heath called “Give Me Your Eyes” to have the eyes of Jesus. “Give me your eyes for just one ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Healing For The Wounded; Forgiveness For The Those Who Wound Series

Contributed by Mike Fogerson on Jul 8, 2013

An honest/mature Christian honestly evaluates him/herself & strives to do better. When we evaluate ourselves we tend to err in two directions: judge ourselves better than we are or worse than we are.

Bullying: Far From Harmless Healing for the Wounded; Forgiveness for the Those Who Wound 3/10/2013 Chester First Baptist Church, Chester, IL Dr. Mike Fogerson Introduction: 13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 3:13-14

Denomination: Baptist

Free From The Law: The First Question Of Romans 7 Series

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Jun 21, 2004

Our sanctification (being set apart for God as holy) does not occur through human efforts to keep the law, but through the power of the Spirit animating, motivating, and empowering us to do God’s will. It is a matter of motives and means.

Free from the Law: The First Question of Romans 7 (Romans 7:1-6) 1. Sally was married to Bill for many years. Then one evening Bill had a heart attack and died. Several years latter Sally remarried a man named Jack. Jack was in many ways different than Bill. Bill didn’t like to eat breakfast (he ...read more

Scripture: Romans 7:1-6

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Minimalism

Contributed by Jon Mackinney on May 14, 2003

We often try to get away with putting forth the least effort possible in order to achieve the greatest results. But this is far from a Biblical concept. God has a better idea in mind, as he has already shown in Christ.

Passage: 1 Peter 1:13-21 Intro: One of the most prevalent tendencies among human beings is our desire expend as little effort as possible to achieve our goals. 1. weight loss without diet or exercise, pill. 2. destroy Iraqi regime in a week. 3. “what do I need to do to pass this course” 4. ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 1:13-21

Denomination: Evangelical Free

The Longest Day

Contributed by William Yates on Feb 13, 2004

In this text we see the story of how the Israelites faced the armies of five kingdoms in their efforts to defend the Gibeonites. We can learn from this text to trust in a God who would stop the rotation of the world if He needed to.

The Longest Day Joshua 10 The Sun Stands Still 1 Now it came to pass when Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem heard how Joshua had taken Ai and had utterly destroyed it--as he had done to Jericho and its king, so he had done to Ai and its king--and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with ...read more

Scripture: Joshua 10:1-15

Work Till Christ Comes

Contributed by Jason Spangler on Jul 4, 2006

Your work reflects who your are, so put forth the greatest effort to make the most impact in your work by following Paul’s example to the Thessalonians; remember, vocation is ministry more so that ministry is vocation

2 Thessalonians 3: 6-15 Title: Work till Christ comes: “do what is right” Introduction: How does Eschatology, the theology concerning the second coming, the Parousia (pah-ro̅o̅-seeʹuh), affect our behavior? • Talk of the end of the world tend to make people behave strangely; we ...read more

Scripture: 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Key To Fruit-Bearing Series

Contributed by Ajai Prakash on Sep 19, 2008

The parable of the Vine and the branches gives us the assurance that however weak and frail we are, God the Trinity can and will produce beautiful fruit in our lives. It is not a question of will power or any kind of self effort. All that is needed is con

Opening illustration: Suppose you walked into your kitchen one morning and found Jesus sitting at the table. What would you do? Would you say: "Jesus! I’m thrilled to see You! I just wish I had time to talk, but right now I’m running late for work. When I get home tonight, we’ll have a nice visit"? ...read more

Scripture: John 15:1-8

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

What You See May Not Be The Truth

Contributed by Paul George on Jun 9, 2006

Because of our tendency to pass quick and critical judgment on others, our Lord has chosen to address this issue. Chapter 7 verses 1-12 addresses an issue plaguing the religion of Jesus’ day and of ours, that of misdirected effort.

What You See May Not Be The Truth Matthew 7:1-12 A while back, I read the very distressing account of an incident in the life of a young bachelor. He worked in an office where every year the boss gave each employee a turkey as a bonus for the holiday season. Of course, the bachelor could never ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:1-12

Denomination: Holiness

The Only Means Of Revival

Contributed by Thomas Lanthrip on Nov 4, 2006

Are you weary from the daily struggles of life? Do you long for a brighter more spiritually uplifting life? There has been and currently is a lot of effort being placed on “Revival”, but the problem is in our methodology; “Revival” cannot be structured by

Quote: Lord, revive the church—beginning with me. SAMUEL M. SHOEMAKER First things first, Revival is not an evangelistic campaign, neither is it about what I can receive from Jehovah. It can be stated this way by an old statement from Teddy Roosevelt: “Ask not what my country can do for me ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 57:10-15

Denomination: Baptist

Never Give Up On The Lost

Contributed by Christian Cheong on Aug 26, 2006

This is the second part of a two-part message. The two things needed to reach the lost is (1) compassion, and (2) persistent effort. We cannot remain passive and expect the lost to return. We need to make connections with the lost constantly.

The sinners flock to Jesus, not because He preaches a compromising message but for the way they were treated – Jesus loves them. • The first thing needed for reaching the lost is compassion. • We need to show more compassion to those we need to bring to Christ. • Love makes the different. It ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:1-10

Denomination: Independent/Bible