Sermon Resources on Humility

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Romans 5:1-11

Author

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 5:1-11

Ancient Lens What can we learn from the historical context? In the Middle of a Greater Story “At just the right time” is a phrase that immediately throws the reader into the middle of a story. C...

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Learned Ignorance: De Docta Ignorancia

Author

A. J. Swoboda

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 1:5, Jeremiah 9:23-24, Matthew 11:25, James 1:21, Colossians 2:3, Matthew 18:3

Becoming a teachable person has two prerequisites: There must be a teacher and a person willing to be taught. Increasingly, Western culture has become an environment that celebrates and platforms the ...

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Searching for a Screwdriver

Author

A. J. Swoboda

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 3:7, Romans 10:11, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Psalm 34:5, Zephaniah 3:19

The following story by professor and author A. J. Swoboda is a vivid example of how shame works in our lives, often causing us to hide and run away from the pain and embarrassment: One of the greate...

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Lamblike Masculinity

Author

Derek Vreeland

Keywords

A few years ago I led a two-day retreat for some Christian men. …We agreed that we don’t want to be a bunch of dudes , allowing American cultural images of masculinity to shape our hearts. Nei...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Philippians 2:5-11

Author

Rachel Clark

Keywords

Scripture

Philippians 2:5-11, Acts 16:, Philippians 1:27-2:4, Isaiah 45:22-23, 2 Corinthians 12:9

Ancient Lens What can we learn from the historical context? A letter of friendship Paul’s letter to the Philippians is from Paul and his companions to the saints in Philippi. It is a letter fro...

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John Calvin: A Reformer's Humility

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

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Scripture

2 Corinthians 11:2, Acts 13:50, James 4:13-15, Philippians 2:3-4, Romans 12:17-19, 1 Peter 2:23, 2 Timothy 4:2, 1 Peter 5:2-3, John 21:15-17, 2 Corinthians 4:5, 1 Corinthians 2:1-5

The Protestant Reformer John Calvin (1509-1564) arrived in Geneva to lead the city’s church in 1536, but not, as we might imagine, to universal acceptance. Rather, there was significant resistance and...

Quote

Author

Eugene H. Peterson

Keywords

Scripture

Philippians 2:5-11

The servant role was completed in Jesus. Though there were auspicious sings that preceded and accompanied his birth, preparing the world for the majestic and kingly, the birth of Jesus itself was of t...

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The Nobodies of Nazareth

Author

Timothy Keller

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Scripture

John 1:46, 1 Corinthians 1:26-29, Matthew 20:16, Luke 1:51-53, James 2:1-9, Matthew 11:25, Isaiah 52:2-3, Philippians 2:5-8

The world has always despised people from the wrong places and with the wrong credentials. We are always trying to justify ourselves. We need desperately to feel superior to others. And everything abo...

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The Cross Was The Devil's Mousetrap

Author

Os Guinness

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Scripture

1 Corinthians 1:18, 1 Peter 2:24, Galatians 3:13, Revelation 5:9-10, Isaiah 53:

The cross, Martin Luther wrote, was the devil’s mousetrap. The devil smelled cheese, and wham, felt steel. Thus, we see a little baby lying defenseless in a crib at Bethlehem, and a tortured man hangi...

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Remember You are Only a Man

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 16:18, Psalm 103:14-16, Luke 14:11, Micah 6:8, 1 Peter 5:5-6, James 4:6-10, Jeremiah 9:23-24

If you were to travel back in time to the city of Rome (either during the Republic or the Empire), you may have had the opportunity to witness the Triumph, a colossal spectacle in which the greatest m...

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Brother Lawrence and Trusting God in Failure

Author

Ryan Bundrick

Keywords

Scripture

2 Corinthians 12:9, Isaiah 40:29, 2 Corinthians 3:5, Hebrews 4:16, James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:6-7

Brother Lawrence, a 16th-century Carmelite monk, spent his days scrubbing pots and mending shoes. Largely uneducated, he filled his free time writing letters and notes that, after his death, friends g...

Quote

Author

Dane C. Ortlund

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 51:17, Romans 7:18, Matthew 5:3, Romans 3:10

Feel your sinfulness. Let it humble you. Let it sober you. Beware of so filling your life with talk shows and phone calls that you don’t regularly stop and consider the ruinous condition of your life ...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Luke 17:1-10

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 14:1-10, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, John 15:15

Introduction Sometimes verses 1-4 are separated from 5-10 in preaching. N. T. Wright points out, however, that in both sections, the need for humility binds the passages together. A teacher must prac...

Quote

Author

A. W. Tozer

Keywords

Scripture

Colossians 3:2, Isaiah 26:3, Hebrews 12:1-3, Psalm 16:8, Hebrews 11:1, 2 Corinthians 5:7

Faith is a redirecting of our sight, a getting out of the focus of our own vision and getting God into focus.

Quote

Author

A. W. Tozer

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 25:15

Like the eye which sees everything in front of it and never sees itself, faith is occupied with the Object upon which it rests and pays no attention to itself at all. While we are looking at God we do...

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The “Dumb Ox” Becomes One of the Church’s Greatest Thinkers

Author

Ben Lansing and D. J.Marotta

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 50:19–20, Exodus 4:10–12, 1 Samuel 16:11–13, 1 Corinthians 1:27–29, 2 Corinthians 12:9–10, Psalm 119:97–100

Of the medieval church’s many intellectual leaders, none has had more influence than the philosophical theologian Thomas Aquinas. He was born to a noble family near Naples, Italy, and joined the Domin...

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Celebrities vs. Saints

Author

Ben Lansing and D. J.Marotta

Keywords

Scripture

Micah 6:8, 1 Samuel 16:6–7, Isaiah 42:1–3, Matthew 5:14–16, Philippians 2:3–8, Psalm 1:1–3

The saints of the church flicker like candles along a dark corridor. They are not 1400-watt LED floodlights to blind you with their brilliance; those are the celebrities. A celebrity is a flashbulb st...

lectionary

Maundy Thursday

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

John 13:1-17, 31b-35, Philippians 2:3-11

This Maundy Thursday guide combines and updates two previous guides. "Maundy" What? Maundy Thursday takes its name from the Latin version of John 13:34: "A new commandment I give to...

liturgy

O Lord, Accept Me in Repentance

Author

St John Chrysostom

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 55:6–7, Ezekiel 36:26–27, 2 Chronicles 7:14, Matthew 6:13, 1 John 1:9, Psalm 51:10–12

O Lord, accept me in repentance. O Lord, do not leave us. O Lord, lead us not into temptation. O Lord, grant us good thoughts. O Lord, grant us tears and remembrance of death and guilt for our sins. O...

Quote

Author

Augustine of Hippo

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 22:4, Exodus 3:11-12, Isaiah 53:3-5, Philippians 2:5-9, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Psalm 34:18-19

Where there’s humility there is majesty; where there’s weakness, there’s might; where there is death, there’s life. If you want to get these things don’t disdain those.

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Only Babies

Author

John C. Maxwell

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 2:1–10, 1 Samuel 16:11–13, Jeremiah 1:4–7, Luke 2:7, 40, 1 Corinthians 1:26–29, Psalm 139:13–16

British author Leonard Ravenhill told the story of a group of tourists visiting a picturesque village where they saw an old man sitting by a fence. In a rather patronizing way, one of the visitors ask...

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Looking for Recognition

Author

Max Lucado

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 25:3, 2 Corinthians 12:9–10, Luke 24:19–21, Jonah 4:1–4, 1 Samuel 16:6–7, Genesis 11:4–9

Speedy Morris is the basketball coach for LaSalle University. He was shaving when his wife told him he was wanted on the phone by Sports Illustrated. He got so excited over the prospect of national re...

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The Value of Discourse

Author

N. T. Wright

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 16:12–15, 1 Kings 3:9–12, Isaiah 6:6–7, Luke 7:15–16, Ephesians 2:8–9, Psalm 100:4

The point of discourse is to learn with and from one another. I used to tell my students that at least 20 percent of what I was telling them was wrong, but I didn't know which 20 percent it was: I...

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Honoring and Leaving

Author

A. J. Swoboda

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 20:12, Jeremiah 35:18–19, Proverbs 22:1, Philippians 2:3–4, Matthew 6:1, Psalm 37:5–6

The challenge each of these faced in their deconstruction—and what we may face—is walking the tightrope between becoming our own person and honoring our past. In The Homeless Mind , sociologist P...

scripture guide

Scripture Guide, Luke 14:1, 7-14

Author

Andrew Van Kirk

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 14:1, 7-14, Luke 18:14

Guests? Or Hosts? After picking up the first verse of the chapter in order to provide a setting for Jesus’ words, this week’s gospel reading contains two teachings. The first (v. 7-11) is addressed t...

liturgy

Eternal God of grace, host of banquets

Author

Andrew Van Kirk

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 14:1-23, Luke 22:2-14, Isaiah 25:6

Eternal God of grace, host of banquets who invites the lost, you have nourished us here with your grace. Send us now into the world in the power of your Spirit to preach the Good news, to do justice, ...

liturgy

Hear the words of our Lord Jesus Christ

Author

Andrew Van Kirk

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 14:11, Luke 18:14

Hear the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 14:11, ESV). When we humbly confess our sins before God, we ...

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The Gift of Tears

Author

Irene Hausherr

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 45:1–15 , 1 Samuel 1:9–18, Lamentations 2:18–19, Luke 7:36–50, 2 Corinthians 7:9–10, Psalm 56:8

The “gift of tears” written about by the desert elders and several centuries later by St. Ignatius of Loyola are not about finding meaning in our pain and suffering. They do not give answers but inste...

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Making the Smart Choice

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Philippians 2:3, 1 Peter 3:3-4, Proverbs 27:14, James 1:19, Joshua 1:9, 1 Kings 19:11-12

Angela Merkel breaks almost every stereotype we have about world leaders. Her appearances and actions are plain and modest. She's humble. She couldn't care less about showmanship or fancy dis...

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One Problem with Modern Life (Especially Social Media)

Author

Martin E. Marty

Keywords

Scripture

Micah 6:8 , 1 Kings 18:17–39, Proverbs 15:1, 2 Timothy 2:24–25, Ephesians 4:15 , Psalm 85:10

One of the real problems in modern life is that people who are good at being civil lack strong convictions and people who have strong convictions lack civility.

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