Sermons on Religion As Ritual:

Am I Jew?

Contributed by Dr. Ronald Shultz on May 31, 2005

Are there one or two Gospels???? Do I witness to a Jew or not?

Am I A Jew? I have been somewhat amazed that in the last few years I have had several people ask if I were Jewish. This is somewhat unique since for most of my life people have teased me about being Sgt. Schultz from Hogan’s Heroes even though I spell my name without the “c”. I have been a SSGT ...read more

Scripture: Romans 1:14-16

Denomination: Baptist

What's In A Name?

Contributed by Frank Martin on Jan 10, 2008

What’s in a name?

What’s in a name? By f.martin I grew up in New Jersey. As a young fellow I was taken to Ebenezer Baptist Church in Englewood NJ for spiritual worship and fellowship. When you are young and part of the family I was in, there was not an option when the family went to church. You went happily ...read more

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

True Fasting Series

Contributed by Dennis Davidson on Sep 18, 2008

Though the people wanted the blessings of God, they were not interested in allowing God to change their heart, their attitude & their actions. They wanted their religion to gain them special favor with God so that they would win the dog eat dog struggle

ISAIAH 58:3-12 TRUE FASTING Job 32:17-20 / Matthew 23:13-36 Going through the motions of religion, even those of sacrifice and fasting, does not move God. A true and vital relationship with God does not come through external religion and ritual. What brings the response of God into life is a ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 58:1-12

Denomination: Baptist

The New Temple Series

Contributed by Sean Harder on Apr 12, 2013

Author and teacher Kay Arthur warns: "If you do not plan to live the Christian life totally committed to knowing your God and to walking in obedience to him, then don't begin, for this is what Christianity is all about. It is a change of citizenship, a c

There's an article on Time magazines website. It begins: "Religion can be a source of comfort that improves well-being. But some kinds of religiosity could be a sign of deeper mental health issues." The article quotes a clinical psychologist who states, "Religion is related to the child having a ...read more

Ark Baptism Series

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Jul 24, 2006

Baptism is a ritual that points in several directions.

Ark Baptism (I Peter 3:20b-22) 1. When it comes to church, some people cannot stay put. One balmy day in the South Pacific, a navy ship espied smoke coming from one of three huts on an uncharted island. ?Upon arriving at the shore they were met by a shipwreck survivor. He said, "I’m so glad ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 3:20-22

Denomination: Independent/Bible

The Christian God Is A Bit Unusual, Isn't He? Series

Contributed by Fr Mund Cargill Thompson on Oct 22, 2024

Crossing yourself may seem a bit weird to Christians who don't do it- a strange ancient (perhaps slightly superstitious) ritual. But at the heart of it are two great biblical truths - perhaps the two greatest truthes of all.

[This sermon was preached at St Barnabas Northolt Sunday 20th October 2024 - Trinity 21 Year B (Proper 24)] ………………………………………………........................................................................................................................ [Making the sign of the Cross] We meet in the name ...read more

Scripture: Daniel 7:13-14, Isaiah 53:4-12, Hebrews 5:1-10, Romans 3:22-23, Mark 10:25-45  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Anglican

What Doth The Lord Require Of Thee

Contributed by Grant Adams on Mar 13, 2021

God has brought a charge against His people, and the charge is the same that He brings to us today. Their religion and their worship had become nothing but emptiness and meaningless rituals. All of it had become unrelated to their character and unrelated to their daily life.

They were deeply religious. They were very faithful in performing the acts of worship, but they were empty and meaningless. They had no affect whatsoever on the character of those who worship and on their daily walk and activities. As we go through this life serving God, we need to be careful not ...read more

Scripture: Micah 6:6-8

Denomination: Baptist

Jesus Made Me Kosher

Contributed by Robert Leroe on Nov 25, 2007

Our access to God is not by ceremonial ritual but the sacrifice of Christ.

We have differing standards on what we consider “clean” and “unclean.” A lot depends on how meticulous we are. For some of us, when we drop a cookie, we follow the “5-second rule” (this was tested recently on Mythbusters). When I lived in Germany, everything was spotless--you could eat off the ...read more

Scripture: Mark 7:18-23

Denomination: Congregational

Traditions Series

Contributed by Kevin Ruffcorn on Dec 24, 2012

Rituals and traditions nurture of faith and prepare us for the coming of Jesus so that we can in turn prepare the world for Jesus' coming.

Luke 24:28-35 “Traditions” INTRODUCTION During this season of Advent, we continue to focus on how we prepare ourselves, for the coming of Jesus, so that we can prepare the world. We have talked about caring conversations, spiritual disciplines, and service. Today we are going to ...read more

Scripture: Luke 24:28-35

Denomination: Lutheran

Fasting

Contributed by Stephen Belokur on Jan 18, 2017

Fasting seems to be out of vogue today. What is Biblical fasting? Why should we fast? What should our attitude be when we fast? What should we expect?

Before we go over our memory Scriptures I want to go over a true example of a mistake versus sin as an example of what the difference is and why the Lord looks upon the two differently. Last week we introduced a new memory Scripture and I told you that the new memory Scripture was printed in your ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 58:1-9

Denomination: Nazarene

The Best Till Now Series

Contributed by Chuck Gohn on Jul 19, 2022

This sermon focuses on Jesus' first miracle at the wedding in Cana, and how it might apply to us today.

Good morning. If you have your Bibles, please open up to John 2:1. We have been looking at the book of John. We are actually trying to get through the entire book of John. We are actually succeeded in getting through chapter 1, so we only have about 20 more chapters to go and we will be ...read more

Scripture: John 2:1-12

Denomination: Christian Church

A New Covenant Series

Contributed by Michael Stark on Aug 2, 2008

A Communion meditation warning us against substituting ritual for relationship.

MATTHEW 26:26-29 A NEW COVENANT “As they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, ‘Take, eat; this is my body.’ And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 26:26-29

Denomination: Baptist

How To Save Your Life

Contributed by Zachariah King on Sep 19, 2013

Thoes who try to save their own lives will loose it , what a fearful warning from our lord and what did he mean?

Mark 8:34- 34 And when he had called the people[ unto him] with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the ...read more

Scripture: Mark 8:34-38

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Zombie Christianity

Contributed by Charles Newman on Mar 16, 2009

A church that is spiritually dead can still hold services, sing hymns, offer prayers, deliver sermons, and do works of ministry – they can go through the motions of “doing church” but they will never be the church without being alive in God’s Holy Spirit!

INTRODUCTION Modern Day Scene: A paramedic arrives on an accident scene with what seems like a lifeless body; no pulse, no breath – CPR begins and instead of taking the body to the morgue, they go to the ER. Jesus has pronounced the church at Sardis as dead. Yet there is hope. A church that is ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 3:1-6

Denomination: Methodist

The Danger Of Displacement Series

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Aug 4, 2014

Because we want others to approve of us, we feel a pressure to displace some of God’s commands with peer group rules or trends.

The Danger of Displacement (Mark 7:1-13) 1. One of my favorite Jewish jokes (I have told before) is the following: 2. A Jewish congregation was arguing over whether one should stand or sit during the Shema Yisrael. Half of the congregation said one should sit, the other half insisted one should ...read more

Scripture: Mark 7:1-13

Denomination: Independent/Bible