Sermons on Religious Ritual:

What Happened To Your Joy? Series

Contributed by David Dykes on Sep 5, 2013

There’s no joy in religious legalism. Joyless religion is like going into a nice restaurant and eating the paper menu instead of enjoying the food.

INTRODUCTION We’ve all seen special-occasion cakes that have a message spelled out in the frosting. There’s a collection of pictures of funny messages called Cake Wrecks. Apparently, some of these cake decorators had someone order a cake over the phone and they took their verbal ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 4:12-20

Denomination: Baptist

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

All Paths Lead To God... Not!

Contributed by Monty Newton on May 5, 2012

All religious paths do not converge at the same place, rather they diverge and end at different places... the only path that leads to salvation is the Jesus path.

Title: All Paths Lead to God… Not! Text: Acts 4:5-12 (John 14:6) Thesis: All religious paths do not converge at the same place, rather they diverge and end at different places… the only path that leads to salvation is the Jesus path. Introduction Imagine one of our staff of teachers ...read more

Scripture: Acts 4:5-12

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Herodians Series

Contributed by John Lowe on Mar 25, 2022

Known for their sensuality and corrupt living, the Herodians were supporters of the policies and government of the Herodian (Herod) family. They were a political rather than religious party.

Herodians Who Were The Herodians? Have you heard about the Herodians? Who were they, and why is it important to know about them? What was the Herodian? The Herodium is sometimes called Herodeion, and Israel knows it best as "Herodion." According to Josephus, the Jewish historian hired by ...read more

Scripture: Mark 3:6

Denomination: Baptist

Caught In The Act

Contributed by Alison Bucklin on Apr 8, 2023

If what Peter and John and the others claim is true, what will happen to the religious establishment? They'll have to kill the movement to survive themselves.

Good morning. This is Hannah Batyoel from Inside Jerusalem, reporting on a breaking story that began late yesterday afternoon when two Galileans were arrested for creating a disturbance in the temple precincts. But first, a backgrounder from our religion correspondent, Shlomo Yehudi. Good ...read more

Scripture: Acts 4:1-20, Acts 3:1-10

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Our Heavenly Father Series

Contributed by Dean Courtier on Aug 20, 2022

Jesus shocked the religious leaders of His day by claiming that He had a Father/Son relationship with the God whose name they feared even to pronounce.

Our Heavenly Father The Old Testament provides us with many names and titles for God, the New Testament reveals Him most fully. Jesus shocked the religious leaders of His day by claiming that He had a Father/Son relationship with the God whose name they feared even to pronounce. Jesus invited His ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:49, Mark 14:36

Denomination: Pentecostal

Preparing Your Heart For Jesus Series

Contributed by Dr. Bradford Reaves on Dec 17, 2020

What does true repentance look like? This message is based on John's ministry against a backdrop of political turmoil and religious oppression.

Introduction We’ve spent the last few months leading up to Christmas and the birth of Christ talking about how the world was being prepared by God religiously and geopolitically for the arrival of Christ. We saw prophetic fulfillment and covenantal fulfillment through the coming of Jesus Christ, ...read more

Scripture: Romans 6:4, Luke 15:7, John 1:12, Matthew 3:5, John 1:1, John 18:24-28, John 11:50, Matthew 14:1-13, Luke 1:75, Matthew 3:6, Luke 3:1-6  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Brethren

Simplicity Versus Complexity

Contributed by Glenn Pease on Mar 13, 2021

We need to see that the primary problem of the Pharisees was that they were too religious. Some people go bad because of their vices, and others because of their virtues.

Human nature loves to magnify the minute and give significance to the insignificant by the simple method of stretching the truth. An army cook, for example, feed a mob of men with scrambled eggs, and then he sat down and wrote to his girl friend: "Dearest, for two hours shells have been ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:33-37

A Biblical Warning For Evil And Wicked Priests. Series

Contributed by Shaila Touchton on Apr 8, 2024

Throughout history, the church has faced numerous challenges, including the threat of evil and wicked priests who have infiltrated the ranks of religious leadership.

The Bible warns us about these individuals, who masquerade as servants of God while perpetuating evil and leading the faithful astray. This will explore the biblical concept of evil and wicked priests, their characteristics, and the consequences of their actions. Unfortunately, many churches are ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 24:11, Acts 5:1-11, 1 Timothy 5:17-20, Jeremiah 23:1-2

Jesus With Authority

Contributed by Rev. Dr. Andrew B Natarajan on Mar 27, 2024

The authority of Jesus was questioned by the religious leaders. Jesus did not his source of authority to those wicked inquirers. But Bible reveals that his authority is unquestionable.

Text: Matthew 21:23-27 Theme: Challenge of Jesus’ Authority Introduction: The authority of Jesus was questioned while he was teaching in the Temple in Jerusalem, as reported in all three synoptic gospels: Matthew 21:23–27, Mark 11:27–33 and Luke 20:1–8. During the time of Jesus, chief priests, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 21:23-27

Denomination: Methodist

Lord Of The Sabbath ( Matthew 12:1-14)

Contributed by Donald Whitchard on Mar 23, 2025

In this chapter, Jesus teaches the true meaning of the “Sabbath” and how it is to bring glory to God, not to be used as a religious weapon. The hostility towards Jesus was starting to grow.

Before we undergo any further study of this chapter, it would be helpful to understand the concept of the “Sabbath”. According to the fourth commandment (Exodus 20:8), the Sabbath was set aside as one day in seven to cease from labor and take a rest from all unnecessary activity. Exodus 31:15 ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 31:15, Colossians 1:16-17, Hosea 6:6, Matthew 12:1-8

Denomination: Baptist

Easter - Security In Jesus Alone

Contributed by Pat Damiani on May 2, 2011

The response of the Roman guard to the resurrection of Jesus points out our need to find our security in Jesus Alone

We live in a world today where people are constantly seeking security in every area of their lives. So it is not surprising that enterprising people have capitalized on that desire for security by providing us with all kinds of products that promise to give us security. Just the other day as I was ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

The Pressures Off Series

Contributed by Steve Malone on May 7, 2008

2000 years ago a religious guy met Jesus and was told he was headed down the wrong road and needed to make a u-turn that led to a life where the pressure is off and was never the same again.

The Pressures Off Never The Same Again (8) I hope you are getting pumped up about taking the One Month To Live Challenge. NEXT WEEK – we will kick off the series with an Easter Message. AND THEN – things will really start to rock and roll the week of March 30th when we launch our One Month ...read more

Scripture: John 3:1-21

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

You Call This A Fast? Series

Contributed by Clyde Grimes on Oct 30, 2002

#1 of 4 sermons on biblical fasting.

You Call This A Fast? (Isaiah 58:1-9) I. False Fasting A. Objectives 1. Deceive God 2. Serve Self 3. Make a Fast Shekel B. Results 1. Exploitation of workers 2. Quarreling and strife 3. External humility 4. Unrepentant mourning II. True Fasting A. Objectives 1. Exercise justice a) Loose the chains ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 58:1-9

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Getting Fit: Values Series

Contributed by Brian Bill on Jan 23, 2011

If I say I value Christ, than I must value what He values. And Since Jesus values the most vulnerable, I must value the most vulnerable.

Getting Fit: Values James 1:26-27 Rev. Brian Bill 1/23/11 Since there was no school on Monday and Mondays are my day off, our family went ice skating in Bloomington. I’m still sore almost one week later. When we arrived we quickly realized that hundreds of others had the same idea as the ...read more

Scripture: James 1:26-27

Denomination: Baptist