SERMONS FOR LENT
Our sermon ideas on Lent will help you preach a powerful message on fasting, prayer, devotion, and sacrifice during the season of Lent. Prepare your messages on the preparatory season before Easter with sermon outlines or an entire sermon series.
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The Benefits of Consecration
by Lenny Ports
...He said look for the presence of God, and when you see it, follow it. God is moving. He is on the move and we are called to follow Him. Jesus' first command to His new disciples was FOLLOW ME. Christianity is not about doing your own thing and expecting God to bless it. It is pursuing God, finding His presence and following it wherever it takes you! God's presence is never stagnant. This passage speaks to our relationship with God. Jesus is not the kind of Husband that will just fall asleep on the couch and do nothing in the home and be apathetic about His relationship with His bride. NO! Jesus is the type of Husband that will take His wife on the adventure of her life, loving her intensely and revealing more and more of what He has for her (His kingdom) to her.
Give up for Lent
by M. Jolaine Szymkowiak
When I was in grade school, as the season of Lent would draw near each year, the children in my primarily Catholic community would start asking what others had ''given up for Lent.'' I always thought it such a strange custom. I had been raised in a protestant home and giving up something for Lent, especially since the family income was stretched for the necessities as it was, giving up something that would not be attainable anyway seemed so ridiculous. We had what we needed and sometimes not much more. Giving up chocolates or candy, ice cream, potato chips, soda pop, Saturday movies, seemed too...
First Sunday of Lent
by Kenneth C. Kroohs
Strap in!! This is one of those Sundays when the Scripture includes so many different themes and lessons that we have to run through them like an MTV video! And it becomes especially challenging because I intend to use the majority of this time to focus on another teaching. So at first, all I going to do is throw several thoughts at you. Any that seem to particularly "hit" you, spend some time thinking about. Call me if you would like to discuss them. In the Genesis reading, consider for a moment that the critical issues was not a piece of fruit, but obedience. That God from the very beginning gave human beings....
Going Beyond Repentance (4 of 5)
by Jeff Strite
APPLICATION: Salvation starts when we find ourselves dead in our sins, to the point where it suddenly becomes apparent that this is an unhealthy way to conduct our lives. Read a dictionary definition of ''repentance.'' What you'll usually find is a definition which usually includes big words like ''contrition,'' ''remorsefulness,'' etc. As you read the definition, note how flowery and impressive the definition is and how it so impresses you that you're tempted to look up the words they use in the definition...But Greek word for ''repentance was more basic and less flowery. The Greek word for repentance meant: TURN AROUND. You're going...
Doctrine of Repentance (6 of 13)
by Stan Coffey
Well, I am excited about this crowd tonight and about the subject I have for us. I have been talking on Sunday nights about the Biblical foundations of our faith. You know there are some things we can differ on, and we can still go to heaven. We can differ on the meaning of the seven horns and the seven crowns and the seven heads on the beast of Revelation. You may say that it is one thing, and I may say it is another, but that doesn't have anything to do with our salvation. Amen? I mean, we can differ on Biblical interpretations of many kinds. But we cannot differ on the foundations of our faith or our beliefs that...
The Last Week: Wednesday (4 of 8)
by Joe Alain
Because God has made us free, we have the ability to chose the path of light that leads to life, or the path of darkness that leads to death. How do we respond to Jesus and his message? Specifically, how do we respond to his death and resurrection? The chief priests and scribes on the one hand (vv.1-2) and Judas on the other (vv.10-11) were preparing for Jesus' death by planning to kill him. Between the two parts of this conspiracy account (vv.3-9) stands the story of a woman who pours ointment on Jesus' head at a dinner party. Mark brackets this story as a way of bringing to our attention the graphic contrast...
Fourth Sunday of Lent
by Kenneth C. Kroohs
The Scriptural theme for this week is very appropriate both for Lent and for our series on "What does it mean to be a Christian and an Episcopalian?" The theme is being anointed by God...appointed...assigned by God and seeing our lives in a new way. The anointment theme is clearest in the calling of David to be king of Israel. But notice also the strong theme of seeing in a new way. Everyone else saw David as the least of these. God saw David as the greatest of these. In the Gospel we hear about Jesus allowing the blind man to see. I always wondered about the...
What's So Special about Easter?
by Ken Trivette
A Sunday school teacher was teaching a group of four-year-olds. It was Easter Sunday and she asked, ''Does anyone know what today is?'' One little girl raised her hand and said, ''It's Easter.'' The teacher complimented her and then asked, ''Does anyone know what makes Easter so special?'' The same little girl raised her hand and said, ''Easter is special because Jesus rose from the dead...'' Before the teacher could compliment her, the little girl added, ''but if He sees His shadow, He has to go back in for seven weeks.'' Since the year 325, Easter has been observed on the first Sunday after the full moon following the...
Lord of the Dance (3 of 4)
by Kerry Shook
''It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for Him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved His own who were in the world, He now showed them the full extent of His love.'' John 13:1 (NIV) 1. DANCE BEFORE THE MUSIC STOPS Principle #1: Live Passionately ''Teach us to number our days and recognize how few they are; help us to spend them as we should.'' Psalm 90:12 (LB) Waiting for perfect circumstances ''To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to...
Jesus Preparing for Our Salvation
by Marvin D. Patterson
A young lady visited a computer dating service and requested, ''I'm looking for a spouse. Can you please help me to find a suitable one?'' The matchmaker said, ''What exactly are you looking for?'' ''Well, let me see. Needs to be good looking, polite, humorous, sporty, knowledgeable, good at singing and dancing. Willing to accompany me the whole day at home during my leisure hour if I don't go out. Be able to tell me interesting stories when I need a companion for conversation and be silent when I want to rest.'' The matchmaker entered the information into the computer and, in a matter of moments, handed the...
The Beginning of Lent
by Bob Wickizer
Philips Brooks the former rector of Trinity Church in Copley Square Boston and the author of ''O Little Town of Bethlehem'' preached on today's text in 1910. His sermon ran twelve pages. It was a good sermon even if it took him an hour to deliver it. Now you can be thankful that my sermons are only two pages.Have you ever watched one of those television programs where someone does something really stupid or even dangerous and the narrator tells you a moment later ''Kids don't try this at home.'' This section of our Gospel from Mark needs that kind of warning because today's reading is part of a series of...
Why Do I Have to Repent? (5 of 7)
by Dennis Marquardt
There is one constant in the universe ... IT IS GOD, not GUT! He never changes; He is the one constant you can count on. He is the one thing that gives us comfort, for if God changed we could never know from one generation to the next what He wanted or who He was. The fact that He does not change means that we can have each generation discover Him and pass along those great truths from one generation to another. Ironically, we both love change and fight it at the same time. We like it because it helps us grow, but we fight it because we like things to stay predictable.
What If Easter Didn't Exist?
by Jim Perdue
This morning would you take God's word and turn with me to I Corinthians 15. I Corinthians 15 and we're going to be thinking on this subject, What if Easter Didn’t Exist? *In just a minute I want to share with you from the word of God but before I share with you from the Bible I want to ask you a question, have you ever heard of a man named Harry Houdini? Many of you have. He died in October of 1926. But his claim to fame was that he was a magician that specialized in spectacular escapes. As a matter of fact, he was said to have laughed at locks, sneered at fetters. They said of Harry that he had the flexibility of an eel...
A Letter That Resulted in Repentance (14 of 26)
by Rick White
Message Truth: God desires that we learn to veiw life from His perspective. In order to teach us, He will often time reprove (rebuke) us. Our response to His rebuke determines what we learn about life from His perspective.8 For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it {for} I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while 9 I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to {the point of} repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to {the will of} God, in order that you might not suffer loss in anything through us....
The Night of Repentance (5 of 16)
by Clarence E. Macartney
Midnight on the Mount of Olives. The full Passover moon is shining in the Syrian sky, bathing mountain, valley, hillside, and plain, and the ancient city of David in its soft light. Below us is the valley of Kedron, and on the other side rise the huge walls of Jerusalem with their tremendous foundations and massive gates. Within the walls we can see the Temple of Herod, its great door of Corinthian brass-the Gate Beautiful plainly visible in the moonlight. Silence reigns everywhere-not a stir of life on this mountainside, not a light nor a sound of traffic from the distant city. But now the silence is broken. Walking down the...
7 Benefits of Fasting
by David Ireland
Let's Examine 7 Benefits of FASTING. 1st Benefit: Fasting UNLOCKS God's Blessings. A) Jesus taught and practiced a lifestyle of fasting. Matthew 6:16-18 (NIV)-16 When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 1. Jesus taught fasting as a discipline to be incorporated into a disciple's lifestyle. He said, "when you fast"; not if you fast. 2. Fasting is more than suspending eating food. It includes offering a specific prayer request. i. Your motive and motivation affects the quality of the fast. ii. You are not to draw attention to your actions in order to gain a sense of pride, importance, or spiritual superiority.
On the Ash Heap (1 of 5)
by Tony Nester
A little girl was riding along on her bike when she bumped her head on the low hanging branch of a tree. She ran into the house hollering, "Mom! Mom, Joey hurt me!" Mom looked up from what she was doing and said, "Sissy, Joey didn't hurt you. Joey's not even here. He went to the grocery store with your daddy." The little girl got this startled look on her face. Then in a bewildered sort of voice she said, "Whoa! You mean stuff like this can happen on its own? Bummer!" It's hard to face up to the fact that life doesn't always make sense. Bad things happen for no good reason. Some stuff just happens on its own. We might...
Love in Action
by Bob Wickizer
Imagine that you have a baptism with several members of large, wealthy, politically connected families. The church is packed. Instead of the regular preacher vested in a white alb, John the Baptist shows up dressed in camel skin with the fur turned against his skin. He has a bag full of locusts that he takes out and eats every now and then. We don't know if that is for the intimidating effect it has or whether John is really hungry. At the point where the usually polite phrase about ''The candidates for Holy Baptism will now be presented,'' John steps forward and there is electricity in the air. The front rows are filled with families wearing...
Zephaniah Part Five (5 of 5)
by Duane Bemis
''The Lord your God in your midst,?The Mighty One, will save;?He will rejoice over you with gladness,?He will quiet you with His love,?He will rejoice over you with singing.'' Using my holy imagination as I read this verse, I could see the Lord coming down out of Heaven and engulfing me in His essence. His essence was like fire but also like a cool summer breeze. His presence was like a fresh drink of cold water. His presence was laced with love, joy, warmth, and extreme peace. This drawing was the vision the Lord gave me from the inspiration of this verse. His presence was like Heaven too me....
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Sin, but Were Afraid to Ask
by Ronald H. Matthews
This first Sunday in Lent, we review the topic of sin. This is a subject we are presumably against, but one in which we are also heavily invested. It permeates our lives and our world. According to the Apostle Paul, there is one remedy for this otherwise incurable plague on humanity. Do you know the answer? You will be tested. An Early Grief In the process of going through my parents personal accumulations I have been amazed at some of the things they saved away in drawers and boxes. Old photos, cards and letters, most of which you examine just to be sure something of value doesn't get tossed out. Several items have...
