Sermon Resources on God's Acceptance

illustration

The Origin of Acceptance

Author

Keywords

Scripture

1 John 4:18, Genesis 1:27, Psalm 139:13-14

The word “acceptance” has an interesting origin. It comes from the Latin ad capere, which means to “take to oneself.” What does that mean? It’s a paradoxical truth, but in order for us to accept other...

Quote

Author

Burk Parsons

Keywords

The Word of God is clear, it is not that we have accepted God; rather He has accepted us… [Yet many Christians] actually think that they accepted God, and therefore it is only natural for them to thin...

Quote

Author

Bryan Chapell

Keywords

Grace frees us from having to earn God’s acceptance by meeting others’ expectations, and it also frees us from the unholy pride and prejudice of determining others’ acceptance by God on the basis of o...

illustration

The Significance of Jesus Eating With Sinners

Author

Albert Nolan

Keywords

Scripture

John 13:25, Luke 7:38-39, Luke 15:1-2, Luke 19:5-7, Revelation 3:20

It would be impossible to overestimate the impact these meals must have had upon the poor and the sinners. By accepting them as friends and equals Jesus had taken away their shame, humiliation, and gu...

illustration

Can we Accept Ourselves?

Author

C. G. Jung

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 32:22–31, Leviticus 19:18, 1 Kings 19:1–13, Romans 7:14–25, Psalm 139:23–24, Luke 15:11–32

Carl Jung, one of the early pioneers of modern psychology, wrote this from his years of experience as a therapist: The acceptance of oneself is the essence of the moral problem and the epitome of ...

liturgy

O people, return to the Holy One your God

Author

Steve Garnaas Holmes

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 51:

Pastor: O people, return to the Holy One your God, who is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. All: Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world. ...

illustration

Does God Accept Us as We Are?

Author

N. T. Wright

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 6:1-14

Romans 6 shines a bright spotlight on the dangerous half-truth, currently fashionable, that ‘God accepts us as we are.’ Will ‘God’s acceptance’ do as a complete grounding of Christian ethics? Emphatic...

liturgy

Accepting Divine Love Over Desires

Author

Laura B. Murray

Keywords

Scripture

Hosea 11:1-4, Deuteronomy 7:7-9, Romans 8:38-39, John 3:16, Psalm 51:10-13

Our God, you love us unconditionally and with great sacrifice, yet we reject your love in search of another love other desires. We have make harmful decisions while on this search rather than acceptin...

Quote

Author

N. T. Wright

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 6:null, Acts 9:1-19, Ephesians 2:10, 2 Corinthians 5:17, John 8:1-11

Romans 6 shines a bright spotlight on the dangerous half-truth, currently fashionable, that ‘God accepts us as we are.’ Will ‘God’s acceptance’ do as a complete grounding of Christian ethics? Emphatic...

Quote

Author

Anne Lamott

Keywords

The secret is that God loves us exactly the way we are... and that he loves us too much to let us stay like this.

illustration

Love Motivates More Than Fear

Author

Paul Tillich

Keywords

Scripture

1 John 4:18, Romans 2:4, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Hosea 3:, Titus 3:4-5

One saint used to say that she was the type of woman who advances more rapidly when she is drawn by love than when driven by fear. She was perceptive enough to know that we are all that type of person...

illustration

Excluding Sinners is Excluding God

Author

Brennan Manning

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 19:7, Matthew 21:31, John 1:11, Luke 7:34, Mark 2:17

There is a story of a public sinner who was excommunicated and forbidden from entering the church, He took his woes to God. "They won't let me in, Lord, because I am a sinner." "W...

illustration

Grace is the Secret to Self-Forgiveness

Author

John R. Claypool

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 1:18, Hebrews 4:15-16, Psalm 130:3-4, 1 John 1:7, Isaiah 43:25

We all have shadows and skeletons in our backgrounds. But listen, there is something bigger in this world than we are, and that something bigger is full of grace and mercy, patience and ingenuity. The...

liturgy

A hundred welcomes to Thee, O Blessed Body

Keywords

Adapted Version A hundred welcomes to You, O Blessed Body, A hundred welcomes to you Body that was crucified. A hundred welcomes to your Body, O Lord. O Son of God, to you all hail, O T...

Quote

Author

Anthony Hoekema

Keywords

We may say that in the possession of the Spirit we who are in Christ have a foretaste of the blessings of the age to come, and a pledge and guarantee of the resurrection of the body. Yet we have only ...

Quote

Author

Sam Allberry

Keywords

The day of Jesus’s return will be a wedding feast—and Christians are invited to it not as guests, but as a bride. None of us will have to sneak into heaven through the back door—we’ll be walking up th...

Quote

Author

Brennan Manning

Keywords

I have a word for you. I know your whole life story. I know every skeleton in your closet. I know every moment of sin, shame, dishonesty and degraded love that has darkened your past. Right now I know...

liturgy

Pastor: Who are you? Ministers: We are

Keywords

Pastor: Who are you? Ministers: We are God’s people, called by God’s love in Jesus the Christ, not because we are adequate or worthy, but because of God’s acceptance of us. Pastor: Why have you c...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Mark 10:17-31

Author

Jonathan Cornell

Keywords

Scripture

Mark 10:17-31

Discipleship on the Road Mark 10 is set along Jesus’ journey through Judea, on his way to Jerusalem. Along the way Jesus has a series of encounters with people who present very earthy and urgent issu...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Mark 2:23-3:6

Author

Gabe Fung

Keywords

Scripture

Mark 2:23-28, Mark 3:1-6, Acts 12:12, Acts 12:25, Acts 15:37-39, Colossians 4:10, 2 Timothy 4:11, Philemon 1:24, 1 Peter 5:13, Mark 1:14-15, Mark 2:1-22, Exodus 20:8-11, Deuteronomy 5:12-15, Exodus 34:21, 1 Samuel 21:1-6, Luke 11:37-54, Mark 2:1-17, Genesis 1:26-31, Genesis 2:1-2, Genesis 3:null, John 19:30

Context Authorship of Mark Mark’s account of the story of Jesus is commonly held to be the earliest of the four canonical Gospels. Early church tradition identifies the author as Mark (or John Mark)...

lectionary

21st Sunday after Pentecost

Author

Jonathan Cornell

Keywords

Scripture

Mark 10:17-31

Discipleship on the Road Mark 10 is set along Jesus’ journey through Judea, on his way to Jerusalem. Along the way Jesus has a series of encounters with people who present very earthy and urgent issu...

lectionary

Second Sunday after Pentecost

Author

Gabe Fung

Keywords

Scripture

Mark 2:23-28, 3:1-6, Mark 2:23-28, Mark 3:1-6, Acts 12:12, Acts 12:25, Acts 15:37-39, Colossians 4:10, 2 Timothy 4:11, Philemon 1:24, 1 Peter 5:13, Mark 1:14-15, Mark 2:1-22, Exodus 20:8-11, Deuteronomy 5:12-15, Exodus 34:21, 1 Samuel 21:1-6, Luke 11:37-54, Mark 2:1-17, Genesis 1:26-31, Genesis 2:1-2, Genesis 3:null, John 19:30

Preaching Commentary Context Authorship of Mark Mark’s account of the story of Jesus is commonly held to be the earliest of the four canonical Gospels. Early church tradition identifies the author...

illustration

Grace and the Spiritual Disciplines

Author

Dallas Willard

Keywords

What is the relationship between spiritual diciplines and grace? Does participation in the spiritual disciplines mean that we are not resting in God’s grace? Dallas Willard shares the analogy of a bas...

Quote

Author

Yves Conger

Keywords

The revelation of Jesus is not contained in his teaching alone; it is also, and perhaps we ought to say mainly, in what he did. The coming of the Word into our flesh, God’s acceptance of the status of...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Psalm 32:1-7

Author

Dustin Ray

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 32:1-7, Psalm 1:1, Psalm 32:1, Genesis 3:8-13, Psalm 32:5, Romans 8:1

Penitential Psalms When discussing the forgiveness of sins offered in Christ, John Calvin refers to Psalm 32:1 and says, “It is certain that David is not speaking concerning the ungodly but of believ...

lectionary

21st Sunday after Pentecost

Author

Dustin Ray

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 32:1-7, Psalm 1:1, Psalm 32:1, Genesis 3:8-13, Psalm 32:5, Romans 8:1

Preaching Commentary Penitential Psalms When discussing the forgiveness of sins offered in Christ, John Calvin refers to Psalm 32:1 and says, “It is certain that David is not speaking concerning th...

Quote

Author

Lloyd John Ogilvie

Keywords

To be a blessed person is to know; feel, and relish God’s affirmation and assurance, acceptance, and approval. It is the experience of being chosen and cherished, valued and enjoyed.

Quote

Author

Rick Warren

Keywords

One of the ways we reflect God's love and bring him glory is to accept each other just as he accepts us. This means we accept others' quirks and look past their faults in order to see a person...

Quote

Author

Cornelius Plantinga, Jr.

Keywords

The Trinity

The persons within God exalt each other, commune with each other, and defer to one another. . . . Each divine person harbors the others at the center of his being. In constant movement of overture and...

Quote

Author

Thomas à Kempis

Keywords

Acceptance

If God were our one and only desire we would not be so easily upset when our opinions do not find outside acceptance.

Sermon Resources on god's acceptance

illustration

illustration

illustration

liturgy

illustration

liturgy

illustration

illustration

illustration

liturgy

liturgy

scripture guide

scripture guide

lectionary

lectionary

illustration

scripture guide

lectionary

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

Genesis

Exodus

Leviticus

Numbers

Deuteronomy

Joshua

Judges

Ruth

1 Samuel

2 Samuel

1 Kings

2 Kings

1 Chronicles

2 Chronicles

Ezra

Nehemiah

Esther

Job

Psalm

Proverbs

Ecclesiastes

Song of Solomon

Isaiah

Jeremiah

Lamentations

Ezekiel

Daniel

Hosea

Joel

Amos

Obadiah

Jonah

Micah

Nahum

Habakkuk

Zephaniah

Haggai

Zechariah