Sermons on Religious Hypocrisy:

"Woe To You": Avoiding The Pharisees’ Mistakes About Faith Series

Contributed by Jim Butcher on Nov 4, 2025

Jesus' criticism of the religious leaders provides several insights into what genuine faith is supposed to look like.

WRONG WAY: Jesus rejected the Pharisees’ approach to faith. - Luke 11:37-38. - Jesus gets invited to dine with a Pharisee and He goes. That in itself is interesting: Jesus is engaging with those who are His most vociferous enemies. - Why did He do that? I think there are at least a couple ...read more

Scripture: Luke 11:37-54

Denomination: Baptist

The Spirit Of The Law, Part 3

Contributed by I. Grant Spong on Dec 4, 2023

What about spiritual show-offs? What about materialism and material worries? What did Jesus say about these things in Matthew 6?

As Jesus continued describing the Spirit of the law, He discussed spiritual show-offs, prayer and worry about material things. Let’s look at Matthew 6. Religious Show Offs What are our motives in doing good? Jesus taught that our motive should be to glorify God (Matthew 5:16) not to show ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Saved From Shallow Religion Youth Sermon

Contributed by Youth Sermons on Sep 4, 2023

Jesus saves us from sin and shallow religion. He teaches us to practice our faith in private, not for public approval, but to build a solid core of self-giving love.

Today we're going to talk about how Jesus saves us from sin and shallow religion. You know, the kind of religion that's all about showing off and not about what's really going on inside of us. Let's start with a little object lesson. I want you all to imagine a cup. Now, this cup looks super shiny ...read more

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

Topics: Spiritual Growth, Faith Journey, Religious Depth, Beyond Superficiality

Jesus Disrupts Dead Religion Youth Sermon

Contributed by Youth Sermons on Feb 21, 2024

Jesus disrupts the old system of death and sacrifice, bringing in a new system of love and mercy. He challenges corruption and exploitation, and disrupts our lives to remove anything that hinders us from living abundantly in His love.

Imagine you're at your favorite concert, but instead of enjoying the music, people are selling stuff and ripping you off. That's what Jesus walked into at the temple. People were supposed to be worshipping God, but instead, they were making a quick buck. Jesus was not cool with that. He flipped ...read more

Scripture: John 2:13-22

Topics: Spiritual Awakening, Religious Reformation, Faith Disruption, Sacred Transformation

Private Viewing

Contributed by Alison Bucklin on Jun 16, 2011

Piety should not be on public display; this doesn't mean that Christianity should be practiced in private.

An old joke says, people would be equally shocked if they saw Christianity doubted or saw it practiced. Of course nowadays lots more people openly doubt Christianity than they used to, but I don’t think many more people openly practice Christianity than they used to. At least not in this ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:1-18

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Persecution: The Opening Salvoes

Contributed by Christopher Holdsworth on Dec 25, 2013

Religious opposition to the Gospel!

PERSECUTION: THE OPENING SALVOES. Acts 4:1-31; Acts 5:12-42. Soon after the early success of Pentecost, the fledgling New Testament church found herself facing persecution. This is not surprising, and quite in keeping with the pattern of the earlier ministry of Jesus. For example, Herod the ...read more

Scripture: Acts 4:1-31, Acts 5:12-42

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Herod And The Wise Men Series

Contributed by Scott Maze on Nov 9, 2021

The wise men were religious outsiders who traveled a good distance while the religious insiders were sitting on the front porch of Bethlehem but failed to take another step. The religious insiders watched the religious outsiders pass right by them.

Today, we begin a short Christmas series entitled The Characters of Christmas. All throughout the story of Christmas, there are major and minor characters who play an important role in making the story of Christmas great theatre. Now, I love to watch a good movie, and I imagine many of you are the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 2:1-23

Denomination: Baptist

The Human Heart (Mark 7)

Contributed by I. Grant Spong on Jul 7, 2024

Do we add human traditions that overshadow or even disobey Jesus? Let's look at Mark 7.

What did Jesus say about using man-made traditions to disobey God’s commandments? Do evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, and foolishness defile us? Does Jesus still make the deaf to hear and give ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Thou Gavest Me No Kiss

Contributed by Michael Martin on Feb 3, 2007

Jesus compares the worship of a religious leader, with the worship of a prostitute.

(Luke 7:36-47) "Thou gavest me no kiss" There are two people described in our text. First we have a Pharisee; a very refined gentleman; a man of dignity and respect. Then there is a prostitute; a woman of ill repute; an outcast of society; a sinner. Jesus is the guest of the Pharisee, and has ...read more

Scripture: Luke 7:36-47

Denomination: Baptist

Captured By The Compassion Of Christ

Contributed by Donnie Martin on Aug 24, 2009

In this beautiful account of the woman caught in adultery, we see the great compassion of Christ, which resulted in this woman’s conversion.

CAPTURED BY THE COMPASSION OF CHRIST Text: John 8: 11 Intro: The passage of scripture being dealt with today is a glowing illustration of the grace and compassion of Christ for sinners. It may seem a total contradiction to say that Christ had contempt for sin, while having compassion on the ...read more

Scripture: John 8:1-11

Denomination: Baptist

Self-Examination

Contributed by Rev. Samuel Arimoro on Apr 4, 2025

When believers examine themselves with humility and openness to the Holy Spirit, they position themselves for growth, restoration, and fruitfulness.

SELF-EXAMINATION By Rev. Samuel Arimoro Main Text: 2 Corinthians 13:5 Supporting Texts: Lamentations 3:40, Psalm 139:23-24, Galatians 6:4, 1 Corinthians 11:28 INTRODUCTION: Self-examination is a spiritual discipline that is often neglected in the life of many believers. In an age of comparison ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 13:5

Denomination: Assembly Of God

What Jesus Hates Series

Contributed by Darron Khan on May 30, 2002

This message was designed to direct the audience’s attention to one of the things Jesus hates most in man’s character - hypocrisy

What Jesus Hates? Part 2 in the series, The Journey To Jerusalem March 17, 2002 Last week we discussed “Who Matters To Jesus”. Despite how the world gives value to the attractive, outspoken & impressive people, Jesus seemed to have a different value system. As we watched Him move throughout Luke ...read more

Scripture: Luke 11:42-54, Matthew 23:29-30

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Loving God

Contributed by C. Philip Green on Jan 28, 2014

True love for God demonstrates itself when we exalt the savior (not ourselves) and give everything we have.

In the Broadway play My Fair Lady, Eliza is courted by a man named Freddy, who writes her love letters every day. But that’s not enough for Eliza. Take a look (show video clip from My Fair Lady, “Show Me” song). Eliza's cries out in frustration: “Words! Words! I'm so sick ...read more

Scripture: Mark 12:35-44

Denomination: Evangelical Free

Humble Servants PRO Sermon

Contributed by Sermon Research Assistant on Sep 28, 2023

The importance of living lives that reflect God's justice and truth, resisting hypocrisy, and honoring God through our actions.

Good morning, family. Today, we're gonna dive into an important discussion that's as relevant today as it was during the times of the prophets, Jesus, and Paul. Our focus will be on three key passages: Matthew 23:1-12, Micah 3:5-12, and 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13. These Scriptures teach us about ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 23:1-12, Micah 3:5-12, 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13

Topics: Humble Servants

A Dynamic Church Worships Joyfully Series

Contributed by Glenn Durham on Aug 5, 2008

God renews our hearts so we feel what is true.

Scripture Introduction If you hang around churches for awhile, you will likely find that our emotions do not always match our profession. Creeds containing truths which thrilled a previous generation are mumbled like a 9-year old boy explaining why he was playing baseball inside the house. ...read more

Scripture: Mark 7:1-8

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed