Sermons on Self Effort:

The Harvest Of The Broken Seed: The Paradox Of A Fruitful Life

Contributed by Paul Dayao on Sep 11, 2025

This sermon unpacks the powerful paradox of John 12:24-25, teaching that like a seed that must die to bear fruit, we must surrender our lives to find true fruitfulness and life eternal.

Introduction: The Unexpected King Let us transport ourselves to a moment thick with expectation. The city of Jerusalem is trembling with energy. Dust fills the air, mingling with the shouts of a jubilant crowd. The scent of crushed palm leaves is underfoot. It is the week of the Passover, and ...read more

Scripture: John 12:24-25

Denomination: Baptist

Making The New Year Shine: Simple Steps For Improvement SermonCentral

Contributed by SermonCentral on Sep 8, 2023

Here’s some straightforward advice for making the new year better. 1- The new year - Be careful 2- The new year - Be thoughtful 3- The new year - Be thankful

Introduction: At a New Year’s party, Pete asks his friend Ken for a cigarette, despite having made a resolution to quit smoking. Pete jokes that he is in the process of quitting and is currently in phase one, which involves not buying cigarettes. This humorous anecdote highlights how many people ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:15-20

Topics: New Year's Day, Self-Improvement

Father Forgive Them Premium Sermon

Contributed by PRO Premium on Oct 9, 2023

The sermon explores the self-giving love and forgiveness of Jesus, demonstrated through his response to mockery and persecution during his crucifixion, as depicted in Luke 23:33-43, Psalm 22:7-8, 15, 18, 24, and Matthew 5:39, 44.

Welcome church! Today we’re going to look at a passage from the Gospel of Luke involving the crucifixion. We talk a lot about crucifixion as Christians because the cross is a central part of our faith. In 2004, the movie The Passion of the Christ was released. It’s a movie about the final hours of ...read more

Scripture: Luke 23:33-43

Topics: Forgiveness, Self-Giving Love, Crucifixion

God Values Humility Premium Sermon

Contributed by PRO Premium on Oct 9, 2023

This sermon will explore the importance of humility in God's eyes, the dangers of self-righteousness, and how we can strive to embody God's humble nature in our own lives.

Welcome church! I am excited about today’s message because we are going to learn something important about God and his eternal nature. The word “gospel” means good news, and today we’re going to discover some news that’s actually mind-blowing. To begin, I’d like to ask you a question. Some of you ...read more

Scripture: Luke 18:9-14

Topics: Humility, Self-Righteousness, God's Character

Take Up Your Cross Premium Sermon

Contributed by PRO Premium on Oct 9, 2023

This sermon explores the concept of metaphorically taking up our cross as Jesus did, understanding that it signifies enduring difficulties in life, and seeking strength from God to persevere.

Good morning church, it’s great to see you all again as we continue in our series ALL-IN. Last week we kicked things off talking about the first of Jesus’ 3 commandments in our main passage from Matthew 16:24. To “deny yourselves” is the first command. And today, we’re going to take it one step ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 16:24, John 16:33

Topics: Cross Bearing, Perseverance, Self-Denial

Sermon Series: All In

Confession Youth Sermon

Contributed by Youth Sermons on Sep 5, 2023

When we confess our sins to God, we will be forgiven and experience freedom and joy. Confession is more than just saying sorry; it’s letting go of our sins and giving them to God.

Imagine you're carrying a backpack. Every time you mess up or do something wrong, a rock gets added to your backpack. Over time, that backpack gets pretty heavy, right? That's what sin does to us. But when we confess, it's like taking those rocks out of our backpack. We feel lighter, freer. ...read more

Scripture: Nehemiah 9:1-3, James 5:16

Topics: Healing, Freedom, Self-Reflection, Forgiveness

Fall Youth Sermon

Contributed by Youth Sermons on Sep 5, 2023

Pride is the root of our problems, leading us to disobey God and believe Satan's lies. But God offers a solution through Jesus.

Picture this: I was in high school, and I totally bombed a test. Instead of owning up to it, I lied to my parents about my grade. I know, not cool, right? It got me thinking, "What's up with that?" Ever had a moment like that? You do something wrong and you're like, "What's my deal?" Today, we're ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 3:1-6

Topics: Egoism, Self-Importance, Arrogance, Humility

Perilous Times Shall Come

Contributed by Thomas Andrufski on Oct 1, 2025

This sermon explores Paul’s warning about the moral and spiritual decline in the last days and concludes with a call to Spirit-filled living, urging believers not only to hold the form of godliness but to walk in its power through the Holy Spirit.

Perilous Times Shall Come Text: 2 Timothy 3:1-5 (KJV) “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:1-5, Luke 12:16-21, Matthew 24:12

Denomination: Church Of God

Servant Leadership Part 9 - Awareness Series

Contributed by Dr. Madana Kumar, Phd on Jan 29, 2011

Servant Leaders are high on self awareness. They use this self awareness to grow closer to God

Servant Leadership Part 9: Awareness I am happy to be back here talking about my favourite subject. Servant Leadership. In the past sermons on the topic, we have established that all of us have a claim to “leadership” since we all have been called to “influence” others as Christians. If we do not ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:3, Romans 12:3-6

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Experiencing The Word Of God Series

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Feb 2, 2003

1. Being a student of the Word takes effort. 2. Being a student of the Word turns effort into joy. 3. Being a student of the Word turns the written Word into the Living Word.

Ravi Zacharias, a Christian intellectual who travels around the world lecturing in secular settings on spiritual themes, tells of an experience he had in Columbus, Ohio. He writes, “A few weeks ago, I did a lectureship at Ohio State University. As I was being driven to the lecture, we passed the ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 119:9-16

Denomination: Methodist

Remove The Roots Of Bitterness

Contributed by Dennis King on Feb 25, 2018

Most people think they are totally and unequivocally free of bitterness. However, that’s not necessarily the truth. You see, bitterness creeps in, slowly and is easier seen in other people rather than in yourself.

Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, and slander, along with every form of malice. That statement comes from Ephesians 4, verse 31. The Greek word for bitterness is “Pikria” which translates to “Sticky.” No matter what has been done to you, how bad, how often, or who from, bitterness ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 12:14-16

Denomination: Baptist

Jehovah-M'kaddesh "The Eternally Self-Existent One Who Sanctifies" Series

Contributed by David Scudder on Jul 25, 2011

Have you tried and tried to be holy only to fail time and time again? If so, then the liberating truth that you need is found in God's Name Jehovah-M’Kaddesh (Jehovah Who Sanctifies).

Purpose: To define holiness and its importance. Aim: I want the listener to pursue holiness. INTRODUCTION: One Sunday on their way home from church, a little girl turned to her mother and said, "Mommy, the preacher's sermon this morning confused me." The mother said, "Oh? Why is that?" The little ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 31:12-18

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Anger Is A Threat To Self-Control (12th Sunday After Pentecost 2024)

Contributed by John Williams Iii on Aug 8, 2024

One of those weapons that Satan has used very well through all generations is “fits of anger” (see Galatians 5:20 ESV). I once read a sentence sermon that went like this: "He who angers you controls you".

ANGER IS A THREAT TO SELF-CONTROL Text: Ephesians 4:25-5:2 Ephesians 4:25-32  So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another.  (26)  Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:25-32, Ephesians 5:1-2

Denomination: United Methodist

The Last Three 'fruit Of The Spirit': Faithfulness, Gentleness And Self-Control

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Aug 5, 2023

How can we be more like God? By demonstrating God's character. We look at three more wonderful qualities of God that the Holy Spirit wants to produce in us.

INTRODUCTION Today, we’re having the last in our series on the Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5. We’re going to look at the last three fruit in Paul’s list: faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. I thought I’d do something a bit different to usual today. I’m going to look at three true ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:22-23

Denomination: Baptist

Healthy And Unhealthy Fear Youth Sermon

Contributed by Youth Sermons on Sep 5, 2023

God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-discipline. We can overcome unhealthy fear by relying on the Holy Spirit's power, focusing on God's love, and developing self-discipline.

Ever been scared out of your wits? Like, heart-pounding, palms-sweating scared? Did you know the phrase 'fear not' pops up 365 times in the Bible? That's one for every day of the year! God doesn't want us living in fear, so let's figure out how to kick it to the curb. Let's start with this: In 2 ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 1:7

Topics: Overcoming Fear, Power, Self-Discipline, Love