Sermons on Shaped Like Clay:

Treasure In Fragile Vessels Series

Contributed by Dean Courtier on Sep 3, 2023

How God uses our human frailty to display His divine glory. Great power is from God, not from ourselves.

"Treasure in Fragile Vessels" Introduction: Begin by welcoming the congregation and reading the key passage: 2 Corinthians 4:7-10 (NLT) - "We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:7-10

Denomination: Pentecostal

Sailing To A New Harbor / Funeral (Short Homily)

Contributed by J Jeffrey Smead on Aug 19, 2013

A Funeral Message (Short Homily) -Updated November 2016-

On behalf of ______, ... _______, ... _______ and the whole extended _______ family. We thank you for your prayerful support ... and for taking time this day ....to celebrate the life .... of ... _______ _______ _______. _______ had a gift ... she had the ability ... to make every person feel ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:4-5, John 11:25-26, Philippians 1:21-23, 2 Timothy 4:6-8

Denomination: Anglican

"as The Spirit Of The Lord Works Within Us..."

Contributed by Melvin Newland on May 29, 2015

An old hymn says, “To be like Jesus is my song; To be like Jesus in the throng; To be like Jesus all day long. I want to be like Jesus!” And that is what God wants, too – for us to be like Jesus.

MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK (REVISED - 2016) TEXT: Romans 8:29 (Msg); 2 Corinthians 3:18b (NLT) A few years ago thousands of congregations participated in Rick Warren’s “40 Days of Purpose”. In the churches that participated, for 6 weeks the Sunday morning sermons, ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:29, 2 Corinthians 3:18

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

R.s.v.p.

Contributed by Jonathan Campbell on Jun 3, 2008

A message preached at the wedding of Ross McClay and Lynette Snodgrass on Saturday 31 May 2008.

1. THE INVITATION "a certain king...sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding". a) A royal invitation - "a certain king". The King of kings invites us to the marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19). b) A repeated invitation - "Again". Only one invitation is sent out ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 22:1-14

Lessons From Oz: Living Like A Scarecrow Series

Contributed by James Chandler on Aug 4, 2014

The second message in this series looks at the scarecrow. The scarecrow represents the need for absolute truth in life as he longed for a brain. Powerpoint is also available for this message. Just send me an email!

Lessons from Oz: Living like a scarecrow John 8:32, 36 John 8:32-36 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?” Jesus ...read more

Scripture: John 8:32-36

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

You Were Created To Become Like Christ

Contributed by Alan Perkins on Nov 4, 2002

The third purpose of our lives is to become like Christ.

Note: This message draws heavily on the outline and ideas in Rick Warren’s sermon of the same name, in the Purpose Driven Life series. This morning, we continue our series of messages on "The Purpose Driven Life". We began by establishing that God made us for a reason, every one of us. No one here ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:29

Denomination: Baptist

The Spiritual Discipline Of Worship Series

Contributed by Mike Wilkins on Jan 15, 2007

Worship shapes our soul

Tilling The Soil of The Soul July 9, 2006 The Spiritual Discipline of Worship Isaiah 6:1-8 As we’ve been looking at the classic spiritual disciplines over the last year, I’ve talked about how the disciplines help us “till the soil of our soul” so that the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 6:1-8

Denomination: *other

I'm Just Not Feeling It #3 Series

Contributed by Robert Butler on Nov 25, 2019

Serving others shapes us.

I had an interesting week here in God’s shop. It just so turned out that I was called for jury service in Will County. Now, if you have never had to do this. It’s a wacky deal. You check in the night before your week of service, either by phone or email, to discover if you are to report for duty ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 3:7-11

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

God Says We Are All Like Sheep Series

Contributed by Robert Irvine on Jul 2, 2024

God here is liking each of us to sheep. We are all like sheep, there are no exceptions. Even the most intelligent person is likened to a sheep.

In verses one to five, the focus was on the suffering servant, but here in verse six, the focus shifts ever so temporarily to all mankind. In verses 1 to 5 we see the prophet uses the word “He” referring to the Suffering Servant, but in the first half of verse 6 the word changes to “We all” and ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 53:6

Denomination: Baptist

"God In 3-D"

Contributed by Ken Sauer on Jul 22, 2009

Filling the God-Shaped Void.

Ephesians 3:14-21 “God in 3-D” By: Rev. Ken Sauer, Pastor of East Ridge UMC, Chattanooga, TN A number of years ago, the band Crosby, Stills and Nash wrote these lyrics for a song: “There’s something happening here What it is ain’t exactly clear There’s a man with a gun over there Telling me ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 3:14-21

Denomination: United Methodist

What Does A Spiritual Person Look Like? Series

Contributed by Jason Pettibone on Aug 28, 2009

What does a Spiritual Person look like? For you, who models what a spiritual person is: Mother Theresa? Billy Graham? Your grandma? Joel Osteen? Bono? This pastor? All kidding aside, each of these people - including yours truly - illustrates a type of

This week I read a story about a profoundly disabled little girl named Danielle and Bernie and Diane, the middle-aged couple who adopted her. Dani spent the first 7 years of her life in miserable squalor, surrounded by roaches and maggots. She has no mental or physical disabilities but she is very ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:1-2

Denomination: Assembly Of God

40 Days Of Purpose: Week 5: Ministry: You Were Shaped For Serving God

Contributed by Elmer Towns on Aug 30, 2004

“You were put on earth to make a contribution. You weren’t created just to consume resources – to eat, breathe, and take up space. God designed you to make a difference with your life” -Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life

Review: Week one: Why am I on earth? Existence. Week two: What has God planned for me? Significance. Week three: How must I get along with others? Sharing. Week four: What is God doing in my life? Character. Week five: What does God want me to do? Serve. MEMORY VERSE “Each one should use whatever ...read more

Scripture: Luke 10:30-37

Denomination: Baptist

Part 10 - Jesus' First Miracle Series

Contributed by Rev. Bruce A. Shields on Jul 7, 2007

A look at Jesus’ first miracle, why water to wine? Why six clay pots? This sermon explains that He is the potter, and we are the clay, and the water (Holy Spirit) that is placed in us by His Word (command to the servants) will also turn to Wine at His W

The Commission Part 10 – Jesus’ First Miracle Pastor Bruce A. Shields House of Faith – www.PS127.org WELCOME INTRODUCTION TO SERMON † Jesus is Baptized in Jordan by John the Baptist † Jesus receives the Holy Spirit † Jesus is tempted in the wilderness † Jesus calls His Disciples, Andrew, Simon ...read more

Scripture: John 2:1-11

Denomination: Bible Church

Knowing The Unknowable.

Contributed by Christopher Holdsworth on Dec 28, 2013

The Cross-shaped love of Christ.

KNOWING THE UNKNOWABLE. Ephesians 3:14-21. The “For this reason” of Ephesians 3:14 echoes Ephesians 3:1, and picks up the thread of thought that was left there. This follows Paul’s contemplation of the reconciliation accomplished by our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:11-22). Jesus, by His own ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 3:14-21

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Perils Of Contentment

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Aug 14, 2014

Contentment is a trap, because it keeps us from growing in ability and interior commitment.

Recently we were viewing one of the original episodes of the Twilight Zone. A successful but elderly actor was ruminating over his long career, and his multiple marriages, and told his butler a secret. He said that in his whole life, he had only one length of time in which he had felt true ...read more

Scripture: Mark 7:32-35

Denomination: Catholic