Sermons on Religious Displays:

The Wicked Tenants (October 8, 2017).

Contributed by John Williams Iii on Aug 14, 2020

The text for today is almost a mirror image of how religious leaders who were so called qualified, failed miserably for those who relied on their leadership.

THE WICKED TENANTS Text: Matthew 21:33 - 46 Back in 2002 I was helping my oldest sister Teresa clean up her condo. She and her husband lived there while my brother-in-law was studying to be a doctor at the Medical University of South Carolina in Columbia. I had remembered what the place ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 21:33-46

Denomination: United Methodist

Go! And… Walk In The Good Works God Prepared For You - Ephesians 2:10 Series

Contributed by Dean Courtier on Aug 13, 2025

God has made us His masterpiece in Christ — not to hide us away, but to display His glory and for us to live out the good works He prepared for us before the foundation of the world.

Go! And… Walk in the Good Works God Prepared for You - Ephesians 2:10 Ephesians 2:10 — “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (NLT) Introduction – The Masterpiece and the Mission Imagine for a moment an ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:8-10, Genesis 1:27, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Titus 2:14, Matthew 5:16, 2 Corinthians 6:2, Acts 16:31, Ephesians 2:1, Romans 1:20  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Pentecostal

Beware Of The Scribes Series

Contributed by Freddy Fritz on Jan 30, 2016

Jesus' disapproval of the scribes and approval of the poor widow in Luke 20:45-21:4 warns us about the despotic authority of religious leadership.

Scripture Jesus was in the final week of his life. After his triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, Jesus returned to the temple on Monday and drove out the merchants who were selling their wares and obscuring the people’s access to God. This enraged the religious rulers, who then ...read more

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Do You See This Woman? Series

Contributed by Greg Nance on Feb 9, 2004

In order to truely see others as they are we must first see Jesus for who he is and ourselves for who we are. Blindness is prevelant among the religious.

Do You See This Woman? Luke 7:36-50 Jesus’ ministry is impacting many people. His reputation as a healer continues to spread just as his clash with the religious leadership grows. He has crossed the line by forgiving sins, healing on the Sabbath and spending time with the wrong kind of people. ...read more

Scripture: Luke 7:36-50

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

A Forgiving Heart Series

Contributed by David Owens on Oct 31, 2011

"To err is human, to forgive is divine," Alexander Pope. Being divine, Jesus displayed His forgiving heart. He can enable us to have a forgiving heart, just like His.

A. The story is told of a man who stood watching an old farmer plowing with his mule. 1. After a while, the stranger said to the farmer, “I don’t like to tell you how to do your job, but you could save yourself a lot of work by saying, ‘Gee’ and ‘Haw’ to that ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 3:13

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Close To The Kingdom

Contributed by Bernard Dawson on Nov 23, 2002

An examination of a biblical character demonstrating the need of a vital relationship with Jesus Christ and not just a respectable alignment with a popular religious understanding.

CLOSE TO THE KINGDOM Scripture: Mark 12:28-40 Jesus had skilfully answered the Pharisee’s questions and avoided their trap. (v.13) The scribe in today’s lesson was quite pleased with the answers and stepped forward with some questions of his own. Scribes were professionals whose occupation was to ...read more

Scripture: Mark 12:34, Mark 12:28-40

Denomination: Holiness

"A Church Member Gets Saved"

Contributed by Ray Scott on Aug 26, 2003

Nicodemus was religious, moral, and active in his "church" ... yet LOST. This message focuses on those in the church who might be lost.

“A Church Member Gets Saved” John 3:1-21 INTRODUCTION: I’m not known as a “Hell-Fire & Brimstone” preacher. If that’s what you want, I can recommend several churches in the area. In some churches, that’s what you’ll get … every Sunday. It gets old after awhile. Every now & then, someone will ...read more

Scripture: John 3:1-21

Denomination: Baptist

Why Worship Jesus?

Contributed by Matthew Rogers on Feb 20, 2002

With so many religious options available, why worship Jesus? Why look to Him only? A message for Palm Sunday.

Palm Sunday April 8, 2001 What a spectacle it must have been. A grown man on a donkey is treated to the reception of a king. That’s how Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Surrounded by a crowd who shouted Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. They wanted to ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 1:15-20

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Reflecting God's Holiness

Contributed by Howard Parnell on Sep 22, 2002

In a modern world of religious compromise, is the biblical concept of personal holiness even possible? It is...John tells us how.

REFLECTING GOD’S HOLINESS I Jn. 2:3-6 INTRO. We have been studying about the importance of having true fellowship with God. It is possible to be saved and still not have a personal, daily walk with Christ. It is also possible for someone to "say" they have fellowship but not really have it. ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 2:3-6

Denomination: Baptist

Stephen's Sermon Series

Contributed by A. Todd Coget on Apr 18, 2002

This sermon encourages us to let go of human tradtions and seek God only--just as Stephen said to the religious leaders.

Stephen’s Sermon Acts 7 April 21, 2001 Intro: A. [Seeing Yourself in a Sermon, Citation: From a cartoon by Lee Johnson, The Best Cartoons from Leadership Journal, Volume 1 (Broadman & Holman, 1999)] Following the Sunday morning service, the pastor stood at the back of the church, shaking hands ...read more

Scripture: Acts 7:1-60, Acts 7:55-60

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Faith's Foundation Series

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Sep 4, 2007

Without Faith, it’s impossible to please God... but how did such a religious community as Nazareth misplace its faith?

OPEN: A man named Gregory P. Elder told of growing up on the Atlantic Coast. And what he loved to do as a child was to spend his time down at the beach. For hours each day, he’d sit on the sand and build castles and intricate cities. But one year his joy in these creations was threatened by ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:53-58

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Do You Know God? Series

Contributed by Alan Mccann on Sep 10, 2007

The contrast between God’s love for us and the hypocrisy of the religious leaders. a grave warning against syncretism and coming judgment.

Hosea 3.1-4.12 How well do you know God? I remember seeing a programme on television once where an old man through tear stained eyes spoke of his love for his wife. What became apparent over time was that she had left him on many occasions and led a quite decadent and immoral life. Yet each time ...read more

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

Rejection! Series

Contributed by Jim Drake on Sep 7, 2009

Why would the religious leaders of Jesus’ day want to kill Him? For the same reasons that we reject Him today.

What a wonderful time of the year! The feel of fall is in the air. We often think of spring as the time of new beginnings—and it is. But so is fall. This morning we mark the beginning of a new Sunday school year. As part of that, many people moved up into new classes. That’s a new beginning. ...read more

Scripture: John 5:16-18

Denomination: Baptist

Assumptions & Accusations Series

Contributed by Carl Willis on Aug 5, 2008

Jesus was misunderstood by His family and accused by the religious leaders. Jesus was willing to endure it all to bring about the assurance of forgiveness.

Assumptions & Accusations Mark 3:20-30 Mark 3:20-21 (HCSB) Then He went home, and the crowd gathered again so that they were not even able to eat. When His family heard this, they set out to restrain Him, because they said, “He’s out of His mind.” Misunderstood * The truth * Jesus had gone ...read more

Scripture: Mark 3:20-30

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Real Deal Series

Contributed by Richard Tow on Sep 16, 2009

Sermon contrasts religious form with spiritual substance with reference made to decline and need for revival that occurred in Israel’s history.

The Real Deal James 1:25-27 5-25-08 Our story opens this morning in 2 Samuel 6:12-15 “Now it was told King David, saying, "The LORD has blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God." So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom ...read more

Scripture: James 1:25-27

Denomination: Charismatic