Sermons on Self Willed Efforts:

Is The Yoke On You? Series

Contributed by Perry Greene on Nov 2, 2011

The walk with the Master requires great effort on our part. However, the load we bear is made easy by the one we serve.

Robert Kirkpatrick had some good news and some bad news. The good news: he had been extended a written invitation to a dinner with President Bush in Washington, DC. The invite and letter were signed by Vice President Cheney himself. It is not every day you receive an invitation like that. On the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 11:25-30

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Pitfalls Of Pride Series

Contributed by Christopher Benfield on Apr 11, 2018

Mankind has a tendency for pride and self-promotion. Pride results from our fallen state, revealing itself early in life. It has no conscience, seeking only self-satisfaction. Jesus reveals the remedy for pride.

The Pitfalls of Pride Mark 10: 35-45 Man by his very nature has a tendency toward pride and self-promotion. The attributes associated with pride are revealed at a very early age. Children don’t have to be taught to be selfish; this characteristic is within their nature. Left unchecked our pride ...read more

Scripture: Mark 10:35-45

Denomination: Baptist

Justification By Faith Apart From Works

Contributed by Glenn Robinson on Aug 5, 2002

This sermon show how Abraham, David, and all believers are made right in the sight of God based on their faith apart from any efforts of their own

The question of the ages is "How can sinful man be made right in the sight of a Holy God?" Can we work for it ? Ro. Ch 1-3 show that all are sinful. Paul asks the question "How were the Patriarchs justified?" I) ABRAHAM WAS JUSTIFIED WITHOUT WORKS Vss. 1-3 A) ABRAHAM’S WORKS Vs. 2 If ...read more

Scripture: Romans 4:1-8

Denomination: Pentecostal

Take The Plank Out Of Your Eye

Contributed by Bala Samson on Jan 27, 2014

Before we start speaking to an unbeliever, we need to pray, often in secret without saying a word to the person we are praying for in our prayer closet.

Take the plank out of your eye! Luke 6:41, 42 "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 42How can you say to your brother, ’Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the ...read more

Scripture: Luke 6:41-42

Denomination: Pentecostal

Gracious Blessings On The Platform Of God's Mercy

Contributed by Bishop Prof. Julius Soyinka on Aug 29, 2021

God is a faithful God and full of mercy. He is willing to show His mercy to those who will diligently seek Him wholeheartedly, and who are willing to turn to Him in righteousness.

GRACIOUS BLESSINGS ON THE PLATFORM OF GOD'S MERCY Study Text: Hebrews 4:16. Introduction - Man doesn’t always get what he requires, pursues or deserves, but what the mercy of God delivers to him: Romans 9:16. - Most certainly, it is not the strongest of the species that always ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 4:16

Denomination: Pentecostal

When What God Asks Seems To Be Too Much Series

Contributed by Jim Butcher on Mar 22, 2024

This passage challenges the self-centered "gospel of self-fulfillment" that is too often proclaimed today. What does it mean that God wants us to focus on the "gospel of kingdom fulfillment"?

A HARSH STORY: God gives Ezekiel a task that overwhelms him. - Ezekiel 3:14-15. - 2 Corinthians 1:8-11; 2 Corinthians 4:7-10, 16-18. - This is a tough story and it’s going to lead us in this sermon to some difficult points. - We’ve been talking for the first two sermons in this series about the ...read more

Scripture: Ezekiel 3:14-16

Denomination: Baptist

Being Properly Dressed PRO Sermon

Contributed by Sermon Research Assistant on Sep 25, 2025

Relying on God’s strength and prayer, not our own efforts, equips us to stand firm and face life’s battles with confidence and peace.

Friends, you made it here today—some with a spring in your step, some with a sigh in your chest, and some just barely holding it together. That’s okay. God loves honest hearts. Maybe you’ve been standing in a storm: the phone call you didn’t expect, the bill you can’t pay, the diagnosis you don’t ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-18

Topics: Armor, God

Getting Fit: Discipline Series

Contributed by Brian Bill on Jan 2, 2011

It takes discipline to be a disciple because spiritual growth is intentional, not automatic.

Getting Fit: Discipline 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 Rev. Brian Bill 1/2/11 This past week our family had the opportunity to spend time with our nephew Ashton, who has been in Army Basic Training for the past nine weeks. To say the least, he is a changed man. Before I go much further, if you have ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Denomination: Baptist

In Christ, You Aren't Who You Were

Contributed by Monty Newton on Nov 23, 2007

God makes it possible for us to know and do His will.

Title: In Christ, You Aren’t Who You Were… Text: Colossians 1:9-14 (19-22) Thesis: God makes it possible for us to know and do the will of God. Introduction: On Monday evening, November 19th at about 8 p.m., a grain bin measuring 100 feet in diameter and standing 90 feet high collapsed in ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 1:9-14

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Solemnity Of The Ascension Of The Lord And Mother's Day

Contributed by Paul Andrew on Apr 11, 2024

We are chasing a sense of enoughness. But it remains ever out of reach, and the effort and anxiety are burning us out. American "performancism."

Martha Campbell said of flunking her final exams and the resulting report card, and what her parents did: "I got a no TV for a week in math, a no dessert for a month in history, and a just wait 'til your father gets home in social studies." My seminary Bible teacher said, “The ...read more

Scripture: Mark 16:15-20, Acts 1:1-11

Denomination: Catholic

The Key To Confidence Series

Contributed by Brian Atwood on Aug 5, 2003

Self-help exercises for increasing your confidence, based on Daniel chapter three.

The story of the three Hebrew children being delivered from the fiery furnace is such a spectacular story we just might overlook the theme of this chapter. We might think it’s all about deliverance from trials. But don’t miss the real intent of the event. The story isn’t just about deliverance, ...read more

Scripture: Daniel 3:1-30

Denomination: Baptist

The Good, The Bad, & The Snuggly

Contributed by Jonathan Meyer on Nov 1, 2016

Jesus points to our salvation by the Father's grace alone, not by our works--first through a parable, and then in action as He welcomes children (even infants).

The Word of God that engages us today is our Gospel reading from Luke 18. And in our Gospel reading, Jesus challenges the presuppositions of those around Him. Our Gospel reading is really broken down into two sections—and quite often you’ll get a sermon on one or the other, as if ...read more

Scripture: Luke 18:9-17

Denomination: Lutheran

When God Wrestles With Family Tensions

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jan 16, 2009

We use avoidance, anger, anxiety, and aloneness to manage family tensions. We even use self-centered prayer. But when we let God wrestle with us, we are changed and we accept vulnerability in family life.

The most critical issue in family life is not anger or argument. It is avoidance. What plagues most families is not that they are embroiled in fighting or torn by argument. What destroys families is that people drift apart from one another; they avoid one another. You see, if you fight with ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

When Life Turns Sour Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Mar 15, 2009

When life turns sour, tell yourself the truth, complain to God, and He will deliver. Message focuses on Dylan Thomas’ poem, "Do not go gentle into that good night; rage, rage against the dying of the light."

On a warm spring evening in 1952, at his home in Swansea in Wales, David John Thomas lay on his deathbed. Once a soldier who had fought in the Second World War, later an English teacher, Thomas had become very frail in his later years. There was no doubt that he would die soon. There was no ...read more

Scripture: Job 10:1-22

Denomination: Baptist

The Ceo Of The Church Series

Contributed by K. Edward Skidmore on Jan 4, 2005

Jesus gave a different self-portrait to each of the 4 churches addressed in Revelation 2.

INTRODUCTION: On two occasions I have visited the White House and taken a tour of the downstairs rooms. One thing I remember is that the walls are lined with impressive portraits of all the Presidents. There have been 40 presidents in our 230-year history as a nation. But in the church’s ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 2:1-29

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ