Sermons on Unhelpful Tradition:

A Perfect Wedding Sermon

Contributed by Luke Vasicek on Feb 26, 2024

I've written several wedding sermons--this one is the best. I received too many compliments on it to remember.

Marriage is a sacred relationship of mutual submission–the wife serves the husband and the husband serves the wife. Men and women are both made in God’s image and loved equally by Him, but they are also sometimes very different. Just as men are physically stronger and produce within themselves the ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:22-32

Denomination: Bible Church

The Time Has Come For Bi-Vocational Ministers And Staff

Contributed by Dr. Ronald Shultz on Jun 3, 2001

We are all ministers so we need to rethink some traditional vocational concepts.

The Time Has Come For Bi-vocational Ministers and Staff I have served in many churches over the last twenty-five years in a bi-vocational capacity. Only at the time I had not heard the terminology nor realized that it was what was needed in the churches. I had been saved and mentored under the ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 11:7-9, Acts 20:33-34

Denomination: Baptist

Wedding

Contributed by Jimmy Davis on Apr 1, 2001

Traditional reaffirmation of wedding vows for 50th Wedding Anniversary in a Southern Baptist Church

Wedding.059 Thomas & Claudie Cooke, reaffirm 50th From the pulpit of Bayview Baptist Church, Columbia, SC PRELUDE: Organist THOMAS & CLAUDIE WALK DOWN ISLE TOGETHER. I WOULD LIKE TO WELCOME YOU TO THE REAFFIRMING OF THE WEDDING VOWS OF THOMAS AND CLAUDIE COOKE. THIS IS A JOYFUL TIME IN WHICH ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:1-8

Denomination: Baptist

#4: Acts Of Worship Series

Contributed by Timothy Archer on Jul 20, 2004

#4 of 7 on Worship. This looks at a traditional Church of Christ doctrine on the "Five Acts of Worship"

In Spirit and In Truth A Series on Worship #4: Acts of Worship We’re going to start off with a game: "Who Wants to be a Worshiper?" The first question reviews something we saw several weeks ago: Q. How many times does the Bible use one of the words for "worship" to describe a Christian ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:1

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

A Gracious Master / The Meaning Behind The Parable Of The Unjust Manager

Contributed by J Jeffrey Smead on Sep 22, 2013

This parable is deeply embedded in Middle Eastern tradition and culture, and it is to that culture that interpreters should turn.

By the fourth century the parable of the unjust manager ..... which we read today ...... and the parable of the prodigal son were separated by ..... a chapter division. If the monks who established those divisions ...... had kept the two parables in the same chapter, ....... The entire history of ...read more

Scripture: Luke 16:13-19, Luke 16:1-13

Denomination: Anglican

Wedding Ceremony Series

Contributed by Tom Shepard on Nov 27, 2006

This is the wedding ceremony I have used for many years. It is very traditional and Biblically based.

Message Dearly beloved, we are here in the presence of God to unite ----- and ----- in marriage. Marriage involves mutual commitment and responsibility. You as a couple will share together in the responsibilities and commitments of building a home. You will share also in the joys and sorrows of ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Christ Or Culture

Contributed by Brian Matherlee on Dec 5, 2006

In exalting Christ we resist the leavening influence of cultural traditions upon Christian truth.

CHRIST OR CULTURE Sunday, November 26, 2006 Pastor Brian Matherlee The Bible tells us to be prepared to give a defense in all things so I searched for some Scriptures that could help in some touch situations you might encounter over the next several weeks: When your wife asks you to help with the ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 2:8

Denomination: Wesleyan

Fourfold Not Fivefold Ministry

Contributed by Dr. Ronald Shultz on Sep 18, 2020

Sometimes we need to take a fresh look at long held or cherished traditions and teachings.

Having been raised somewhat in the Methodist church and my wife in a Lutheran background being saved was not in our vernacular as neither one of us ever heard that concept. Both of us thought being baptized as a child was all we needed. That is sad since I learned about both Wesley and ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:11-16, 1 Corinthians 12:28, 2 Timothy 4:5, 1 Timothy 5:17, 1 Timothy 3:1-7  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

The Covenant Of Baptism

Contributed by Charles Mallory on Jul 23, 2021

The sacrament of Baptism not only as a command of Jesus, but as a covenant with God as understood from the Wesleyan tradition.

BAPTISM IS KNOWN TO US AS “THE OUTWARD SIGN OF AN INWARD GRACE.” BAPTISM IS A SACRAMENT OF THE CHURCH AND IS A COMMAND GIVEN TO US BY JESUS CHRIST. BAPTISM, ACCORDING TO THE FREE METHODIST CHURCH IS A “MEANS OF GRACE THROUGH FAITH, [A] TOKEN OF OUR PROFESSION OF CHRISTIAN FAITH, AND SIGNS OF GOD’S ...read more

Scripture: Acts 2:38-41, Ephesians 2:19

Denomination: Free Methodist

The Twelve Stones (Joshua 4)

Contributed by I. Grant Spong on Feb 5, 2025

Are traditions and memorials in violation of scriptural principles? Let's begin in Joshua 4.

Is it good to create memorials of important events? May the church create traditions that remember important Christian events or are we restricted to the scriptures alone? Let’s begin in Joshua 4. Did Israel set up a pile of stones, a cairn as a memorial? After Israel had crossed the Jordan, the ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Absolute Essentials Of Christianity - Part 2 Series

Contributed by Dr. Craig Nelson on Jul 20, 2023

The Bible - The Foundation of the Church - The Sufficiency and Authority of Scripture Vs Traditions of Man and Experiential Revelation

The Bible The foundation of Christianity is the Bible. It is the only dependable source for humankind to know God's voice. It has the answers to all eternal questions. The focus of all Scripture is ultimately on Jesus. It is the blueprint of Heaven and the only reliable source of truth for all ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:14-17, 1 Thessalonians 2:13, 2 Peter 3:15, Hebrews 1:1-3, 2 Thessalonians 2:14-15, John 1:1  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Heart Matters Most - Lessons From Matthew 15 Series

Contributed by William Akehurst on Jun 12, 2025

GOD cares more about the condition of your heart than the traditions you keep. GOD desires genuine inner purity and authentic faith, not religious performance. True righteousness comes from a transformed heart, not outward tradition.

2025.06.15.Sermon Notes. The Heart Matters Most – Lessons from Matthew 15 When Religion Misses the Point William Akehurst, HSWC Reminder: It’s Father’s Day Scripture: Matthew 15:1-39, Isaiah 29:13, Psalms 51:10, Psalms 139:23-24 INTRODUCTION: JESUS confronts the religious leaders for honoring ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 15:1-39, Isaiah 29:13, Psalm 51:10, Psalm 139:23-24

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Let Us Go To Bethlehem And Find The Faith Of Christmas Series

Contributed by Mark Roper on Dec 17, 2008

Today our Christmas traditions have evolved from the different ways Christmas is celebrated around the world. Immigrants have brought their customs with them, and as a result we have a great diversity of customs, traditions, and fantasy’s that obscures t

Let Us Go to Bethlehem and Find the Faith of Christmas Luke 2:15-20 It is hard to imagine not celebrating Christmas, yet during the infancy of America Christmas was banned and for a time, and even illegal. How did we get to where we are now? Christmas evolved out of the old Roman festival of ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:1-15

Denomination: Church Of God

Get Right, Church

Contributed by Riley Turner on Jan 25, 2001

We must break down the walls of racial, cultural, and traditional division in the Lord’s Church.

The following is an excerpt from a sermon preached by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1956, entitled: PAUL’S LETTER TO AMERICAN CHRISTIANS. In this sermon, Dr. King reads a fictitious letter written by himself, but he presents it as if it were a lost letter of the Apostle Paul to the ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:13-22

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Do You Hear The Voices?

Contributed by Ricky Johnson on Sep 12, 2009

A Grandparents Day sermon calling us to listen to the voices of Wisdom, as she reveals experience and tradition.

Voices, soft, loud, sultry, or brash, they are all around us. Whose voices capture our attention? Do those strange little voices which roam around within our heads lure us? Or are we more captivated by the voices of those in positions of authority? Maybe the voices we really listen to are from ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 1:20-33

Denomination: United Methodist