Sermon Resources on Life Of Purpose

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Author

Rick Warren

Keywords

Without a purpose, life is motion without meaning, activity without direction, and events without reason.

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Author

Craig Dykstra And Dorothy Bass

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We long to see our lives whole and to know that they matter. We wonder whether our many activities might ever come together in a way of life that is good for ourselves and others. Are we really living...

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I Once was Lost

Author

Travis Dickinson

Keywords

Scripture

Jonah 1:4, Genesis 3:8-19, Matthew 18:12-14, Luke 15:11-32, Psalm 23:

I once was significantly lost. When I was a college student in northern Wisconsin, my dad and I were hiking on a trail that was somewhat familiar to me. I had been on this trail just a few weeks befor...

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Author

Antiphon

Keywords

There are people who do not live their present life; it is as if they were preparing themselves, with all their zeal, to live some other life, but not this one. And while they do this, time goes by an...

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What Would You Do Differently?

Author

Mark Batterson

Keywords

I preached my first sermon at National Community Church on January 14, 1996. The only thing I remember about that message is my opening illustration. I can’t remember the original source, but I think ...

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Author

Horace Bushnell

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Scripture

Joshua 1:6-9, Nehemiah 2:11-20, 1 Kings 19:19-21, Luke 10:17-20, Psalm 122:122:1

Life is always dull and insipid to those who have no great works on their hands to do and no lofty ideals to elevate their spirits.

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Listen to your Life

Author

Frederick Buechner

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 118:24, Colossians 3:17, Matthew 6:34, 1 Corinthians 10:31, Proverbs 3:6, James 1:17

Listen to your life. All moments are key moments. I discovered that if you really keep your eye peeled to it and your ears open, if you really pay attention to it…Taking your children to school and ki...

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Older Adults Hunger for Purpose (And How You Can Help)

Author

Mark D. Roberts

Keywords

Last fall, I was asked to lead a workshop at a church by their men's ministry. The topic was so popular that the women in the church threatened to dress up like men to crash the course. The course...

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Give Life to your Sermons by Intentional Living

Author

Dave Peterson

Keywords

Your life is in the pulpit with you Fred Craddock said, “Not everything that’s in the Bible is in the Bible .” That’s why we have, among other things, commentaries . The most helpful ones throw o...

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Author

Gordon T. Smith

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 2:15, 1 Kings 19:11-13, Ecclesiastes 3:1, Matthew 25:14-30, Luke 16:10-12, Psalm 16:5-6

When we speak of being the steward of our life, something else must be stressed. We are called to be the steward not of some ideal life or even the life we wish we had; rather we are called to be stew...

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Author

Daniel Taylor

Keywords

One of the dearest indications of a flawed life story is its failure to give one the sense of purpose and conviction necessary to live life with an acceptable degree of optimism and resolve. A failed ...

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Pursuing a Version of Something

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Scripture

John 10:10, Psalm 16:11

There is a lovely book of advice for writers called Turning Pro by Steven Pressfield, which talks about how much easier it is to pursue a version of something than the real thing. Pressfield say...

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God of life, when life is broken

Author

Steve Garnaas Holmes

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 61:1-3, Ezekiel 37:1-14 , Lamentations 3:19-23, Luke 7:11-17 , 2 Corinthians 4:7-10, Psalm 34:18

Leader: God of life, when life is broken, All: we turn to you. Loving Christ, when hearts are broken, you come to us. Holy Spirit, this broken world needs us; flow through us to all the...

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Worldview Defined

Author

James N. Anderson

Keywords

Just as the word itself suggests, a worldview is an overall view of the world. It’s not a physical view of the world, like the sight of planet Earth you might get from an orbiting space station. Rathe...

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Author

Charles F. Stanley

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 16:11, Romans 8:35-39, John 10:10, Genesis 22:1-14 , Isaiah 1:1-3

What is the abundant life Jesus has for you? It is a life rooted in eternity—one that looks beyond your troubles today to a tomorrow full of hope, where Christ is your Leader, strength, joy, and peace...

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Given Everlasting Life Through Christ

Author

Trinity Lutheran Church, Lisle, Illinois

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 2:7, Ecclesiastes 3:19-20, Romans 6:23, 1 Corinthians 15:55-57, Psalm 90:3-4

Pastor: Almighty God, created us out of the dust of the earth. These ashes are a sign of our mortality and penitence. As they are placed on our foreheads in the sign of the cross, we remember that i...

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Forgiveness Brings Life and Salvation

Author

Trinity Lutheran Church, Lisle, Illinois

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 6:10-11, 18-19, Isaiah 55:11, Exodus 17:8-16, Luke 11:9-13, Psalm 119:9

Pastor: God not only provides us with armor to stand against the devil’s schemes, but once fitted for battle, He tells us to pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and request...

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Lucy's Advice

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Jeremiah 29:11, Proverbs 3:5-6, Psalm 119:105, Matthew 7:7-8, Isaiah 30:21, Matthew 16:24-26

In a “Peanuts” comic strip, Lucy sets up a small stand with a sign: “Advice—5 cents.” Charlie Brown approaches, looking for guidance. “Lucy, I need help,” he says. “What seems to be the trouble?” she ...

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Play to Your Strengths

Author

Ray Johnston

Keywords

Scripture

Exodus 31:1-6, Jeremiah 1:4-10, Proverbs 18:16 , Romans 12:6-8, Psalm 139:13-16, Matthew 25:14-30

In an old joke, people refer to seminary as cemetery. Attending one does feel like that at times, so the last thing I expected to discover in a dingy classroom in the basement of a Pasadena seminary s...

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Work with God's Purpose

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Scripture

Colossians 3:23-24, Proverbs 16:3 , Micah 6:8 , Ecclesiastes 3:13 , James 5:1-5, 1 Corinthians 15:58, Mark 10:42-45

O God, who gives to every man and woman their work, and through their labors does accomplish your purposes upon earth: Grant your blessing, we beg you, to those who are engaged in the work and busines...

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The Slowness is the Point

Author

Brian Zahnd

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 40:31, Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 , Matthew 11:28-30, Luke 10:38-42, Philippians 4:6-7, Psalm 131:1-2

[T]he old adage “it’s the journey, not the destination that matters most” is particularly true of modern pilgrimage. If the destination is the point, I can get to Santiago from anywhere in the world i...

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You are Named and Known

Author

Trevor Hudson

Keywords

The astonishing good news that the Bible gives… is that God has a personal will for each of us. Because we find this truth so hard to learn by heart, we need to hear it repeatedly. So let me repeat it...

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Benediction for the Sent and the Steadfast

Author

Drew Edward Jackson

Keywords

Scripture

John 20:21, Numbers 6:24-26, Philippians 4:9, Micah 6:8

May the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ go with you wherever he may send you. May the Spirit ground you in the truth that you were created with divine purpose. May you take up your God-given vocati...

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How Good to Center Down!

Author

Howard Thurman

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 46:10, Psalm 62:1, Isaiah 30:15, Psalm 25:4-5, Lamentations 3:40, Matthew 6:19-21

How good it is to center down! To sit quietly and see one’s self pass by! The streets of our minds seethe with endless traffic; Our spirits resound with clashing, with noisy silences, While some...

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A Saxophonist's Spiritual Revelation

Author

Ryan Bundrick

Scripture

Luke 2:1-35, 2 Timothy 4:6-7, Colossians 3:23-24, 1 Corinthians 10:31, Ephesians 2:10

John Coltrane stands out as one of the giants of 20th-century jazz. His legacy is a generation of hearts touched and the light of God shining through his songs. Yet, for years, his work was haunted by...

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Author

Timothy Keller

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 133:1, Romans 12:4-5 , John 17:20-23, Exodus 17:12, Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, Genesis 1:26-27

If this world was made by a triune God, a being of community, then relationships of love are what life is really all about.

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Author

Craig Groeschel

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 12:1 , Exodus 3:10-12, Daniel 3:17-18, Matthew 8:19-20 , Hebrews 11:24-26, Psalm 34:19

Jesus never asks us to do something he wouldn’t do himself. He calls us to a life of faith, not a life of comfort.

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The Control Drug

Author

Kate Bowler

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 22:1–14, Exodus 14:10–31, Job 1:20–22; 38–42, Luke 1:26–38 , 2 Corinthians 12:7–10, Psalm 131:1–2

Kate Bowler is a gifted scholar and writer who, as a young wife and mom, was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer—kept going six months at a time thanks to immunotherapy. She writes honestly about how ...

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Troubling Statistics about Mental Health in our Youth

Author

Max Lucado

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 41:10 , 1 Kings 19:4-8, Jeremiah 29:11, John 14:27, Philippians 4:6-7 , Psalm 34:17-18

Most alarming is the absence of peace among our youth. Research from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is showing an epidemic of mental health problems among eighteen- to twenty-four-year...

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The Gift of College Students

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

1 Samuel 3:1-10, Ecclesiastes 12:1 , Proverbs 2:1-11, Mark 10:17-22 , 1 Timothy 4:12 , Psalm 119:9-11

I have been moved to a different course of action, however, inspired largely by my daily exposure to college students in a great university during the course of a preaching and teaching ministry that ...

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