Sermons on Purify Ourselves:

Practicing Your Piety In Secret

Contributed by Carla Powell on Jan 2, 2002

The life of faith is low-profile. We minimize ourselves so that God can be magnified and glorified. Contrasts showy piety and quiet faith actions.

Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day in Lent, the season of the church year during which we focus our attention on our devotion to God before Easter. Ash Wednesday gives us an unusual opportunity to focus on our mortality and our sin. These are not popular topics, nor issues that we like to ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:1-6, Matthew 6:16-21

Denomination: Lutheran

Let's Build An Altar

Contributed by Norm Beckett on Aug 14, 2001

Let’s make a space for ourselves as well as a place for God, to mark the realisation of God’s very presence and the recognition of God’s voice.

LET’S BUILD AN ALTAR “Abram built an altar there to the Lord” (Genesis 12: 8). Abram was asked of God to leave behind all that he had known, his country, his relatives and his home (Genesis 12: 1). Abram was asked by God to become a immigrant and a nomad. There are many who have left behind ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 12:1-9

Denomination: Holiness

As If You Were Series

Contributed by Charles Mallory on Nov 1, 2001

An encouraging message that we are to "put ourselves in their place" when we remember all our fellow Christians who are suffering and imprisoned for their faith in Christ.

AN ELDERLY WOMAN WAS GIVEN A STACK OF PAPERS TO FILL OUT WHEN SHE ENTERED THE ADMITTING OFFICE OF A HOSPITAL. SHE PATIENTLY WAITED HER TURN FOR A HOSPITAL OFFICIAL TO SEE HER. WHEN ASKED, SHE HANDED THE OFFICIAL HER INSURANCE CARD AND ALL OF THE ADMITTING PAPER WORK. WHEN SHE WAS ASKED TO GIVE ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 13:3

Denomination: Free Methodist

Total Death

Contributed by Bob Ashcraft on Nov 19, 2001

One big problem with Christianity today - everyone wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die. True Christianity call for a total death to ourselves.

Total Death  One big problem with Christianity today…  Everyone wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die.  Physically and Soulically Col 2:6 – 3:17 6 As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 rooted and built up in Him and established in ...read more

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Seeing What You Want To See.

Contributed by Rick Gillespie- Mobley on Jul 6, 2001

This is an Easter Sermon and deals with how we can willingly blind ourselves to the truth of God’s word. My wife and I preached it together.

Seeing What You Want To See! 9:30 Easter 4/11/93 Text Matt 28:11-18 Matt. 27:57-28:11 RICK We all have tremendous power to see what we want to see even though everyone else around else may see something differently. We all know ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:1-18

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Traitor Series

Contributed by Doug Johnston on Jul 11, 2001

As a traitor truly serves only himself, we serve only ourselves if we refuse to take a stand with Christ against Satan and his influences

We must stand firm in the fight for God in our world today. I. Stand Up for God and Ourselves (10-12) A. As salt and light in the world around us B. As we daily check in with the enemy around us 1. Fight God’s fight, not just our own battles 2. We are not so much a hospital as a barracks II. ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-12

Denomination: Baptist

I Have A Friend Who Thinks That All Religions Are The Same

Contributed by Steve Malone on Mar 4, 2003

In this message we try to arm ourselves with answers that will both show why all religions are not the same and how Christianity is far above them all.

I Have A Friend Who… Thinks All Religions Are The Same In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory. For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 3:15

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Value Of Failure

Contributed by John Raulerson on Nov 7, 2007

God uses failures to teach us valuable lessons about Him, ourselves and life. Whether or not we learn from these lessons is up to us.

FAILURE Deuteronomy 8:1-3, 15-16 All of us have experienced failure. This failure can cause us to live in bondage. However, if we begin to look at our failure as God sees it, then we can be set free. God does not excuse our failure, but He uses it. God takes things we would never dream ...read more

Scripture: Deuteronomy 8:1-16

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Man Vs. Wild Series

Contributed by Ryan Akers on Oct 8, 2007

Man vs. Wild looks at how to overcome ourselves in order to discover how God gives us what we need to survive in the wild.

Man versus Wild Part 1- Intro Pastor Ryan Akers Me- Have you ever seen the TV show Man vs. Wild? It is a show about surviving extreme conditions with only a knife and survival knowledge. Bear gets tired, exhausted, wants to quit a lot. He would say, "I could go for a steak." Or, "I could go for a ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:16-26

Denomination: Wesleyan

How To Change The Church

Contributed by John Gullick on Oct 8, 2007

A sermon that suggests we can change the church by understanding how we belong to the body of christ and how we need to change ourselves first.

How to change the church "Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:19-22

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

When They Look On Whom They Have Pierced

Contributed by Charles Scott on Oct 16, 2006

We look on him who was pierced and we see the heart of God; we also see ourselves and are moved to tears of repentance and amendment of life.

TRINITY 2 ZECHARIAH 12__8-10 AND 13__1 WHEN THEY LOOK ON WHOM THEY HAVE PIERCED The 3 year lectionary has been a great gift to us. Today’s conjunction of Zechariah and Luke 9__18 gives marvelous insight into Jesus’ understanding of Himself and the way in which he taught his disciples ...read more

Scripture: Zechariah 12:8-10

Denomination: Anglican

Why Praise God For His Forgiveness?

Contributed by Efren V. Narido on Oct 24, 2006

Do we also praise God for forgiving our sins? Do we regard ourselves “blessed” for the forgiveness we received from Him?

“Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits -- who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 103:1-5

Denomination: Baptist

Hospitality Toward One Another

Contributed by Daniel Sorensen on Oct 26, 2006

Service to others as a reflection of Christ’s love, even as we ourselves become tired of service and look forward to being served and desire attention.

When you were a child, perhaps you were part of a large family, there may have been many people who needed to use the bathroom, many mouths to feed, and never, ever, any private space. In families such as those, there are often a lot of rules. Don’t pester the adults. Do your chores, help out ...read more

Scripture: Mark 9:30-37

Denomination: Lutheran

Making Necessary Adjustments For The New Year

Contributed by Marilyn Murphree on Apr 6, 2007

There are some adjustments we can make in order to have a more productive New Year. Are we willing to discipline ourselves in order to see it happen?

January, 2007 “Making Necessary Adjustments for the New Year” Matthew 2:13-23 INTRODUCTION: STORY: A supermarket in the Midwest could not understand why at a certain time every winter there sales plummeted. They studied their product line and interviewed customers. They did everything ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 2:13-23

Denomination: Methodist

The Open Hand Of God

Contributed by Marilyn Murphree on Apr 13, 2007

What things open the hand of God in our lives? How can we position ourselves to receive what He promised to give us?

April, 2007 The Open Hand of God Psalm 107:9 Psalm 104:21-28 Psalm 68:9 INTRODUCTION: Many people today are living as if God is not interested in their life or in how they are living it. As a result, their life has become one struggle after another with seemingly no one to turn to. Not only ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 107:9

Denomination: Methodist