Inspirational Church Quotes & Sayings

A sad man, is man with the lights turned off. — Arsenie Boca

The end product of the successful preacher's input is transformation. — Christian Michael

Don't ask God to show you the way if you're not willing to get moving. — Kellen Roggenbuck

It's not just on specific days or times to be conscious of God's presence, but all the time. I can feel holiness inside a mosque, church, synagogue, or temple, yet I can equally sense God in nature or a chocolate shop. I am a wonderful human being because the content of my heart is wonderful, not because I belong to a specific religion or follow society's "wonderful human being person" recipe. — Sadiqua Hamdan

Religion and spirituality can easily be intertwined; however, there is a very distinct separation between the two. — Ricky Maye

Man is, that he may have Joy. — The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints

Well, I'm going to church. But i've got to tell you that it's full of hypocrites.
My friend, if you keep your eyes on Christians, you will be disappointed every day of your life. Your hope is to keep your eyes on Christ. — Jan Karon

Just as a father hates cancer, because of what it does to his child, so God hates divorce, because of what it does to His children. — Kyle Idleman

And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost."
"And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things." - Moroni — Joseph Smith Jr.

Why does it seem that the church is more interested in people involvement rather than people engagement. — Todd Stocker

The Church is both organism and organization - Woven together in a beautifully messy dance that stumbles across the stage of a fallen world. — Todd Stocker

I have not learned a single lesson, been inspired or impacted by another person's life void of negative experiences. — John Paul Warren

If she were Catholic, she could kneel, kneel and bow her head inside a church with brilliant stained-glass windows and streaks of golden light falling over her. Yes, oh yes, she would kneel and stretch out her arms, holding to her Amy and Dottie and Bev. — Elizabeth Strout

One of my young married students has suffered all her life because she was taught in her Church that she was born so sinful that the only way the wrath of God the Father could be appeased enough for him to forgive all her horrible sinfulness was for God the Son to die in agony on the cross. Without his suffering, the Father would remain angry forever with all his Creation.
Many of us have had a least part of that horror thrust on us at one time or other inour childhood. For many reasons I never went to Sunday School, so I was spared having a lot of peculiar teaching to unlearn. It's only lately that I've discovered that it was no less a person than St. Anselm who saw the atonement in terms of appeasement of an angry God, from which follows immediately the heresy that Jesus came to save us from God the Father. — Madeleine L'Engle

The real architect of a life is the hard and almost impossible circumstances one faces. — John Paul Warren

Of course we're Christian. The very name of the church declares that. The more people see us and come to know us, the more I believe they will come to realize that we are trying to exemplify in our lives and in our living the great ideals which (Jesus Christ) taught. — Gordon B. Hinckley

People who say we are just preaching "extreme grace" must not understand how extremely gracious our Father is. — D.R. Silva

I don't think that we should waste our time criticizing other people. Self-criticism allows us to be the best version of ourselves. — Braden Pedersen

The future of the Church is in the hands of wisdom — Sunday Adelaja

Your trials equal the power of God that works in you. If your battles are intense, then what God has deposited in you is deep. — Paul Gitwaza

Unless a person can give reasons, there is, literally, no reason why anyone else should take that person seriously. But without reasons, all we are left with is emotional blackmail. We sometimes call it 'moral blackmail,' but it has nothing to do with morals, only with the implied juvenile threat of having a tantrum unless everyone else gives in. — N. T. Wright

Even though we live in a world that people are much more conscience about being politically correct. The truth is if all children were taught from young (at home, church and school) that in our short existence on this planet, that we are all here to help humanity and to not hurt it and that hands are not for hurting but for trying to help all ... our world would be a much better place to live in. — Timothy Pina

The Word that will change a man must first show the man who he really is. — Christian Michael

You go to church to respect God, not the priest. By not going to church, you disrespect God, not the priest.
- Don Camillo — Giovannino Guareschi

We were so created to worship God that it is probably embedded in our spiritual DNA itself! — Gangai Victor

Your religion is not what you do on Sunday. It is how you live Monday through Saturday. — Shannon L. Alder

Man is the head of the family, just as Christ is the Head of the Church. — Lailah Gifty Akita

One should not seek among others the truth that can be easily gotten from the Church. For in her, as in a rich treasury, the apostles have placed all that pertains to truth, so that everyone can drink this beverage of life. She is the door of life. — Irenaeus Of Lyons

Coming to the END of MYSELF and all SELF effort ... seems to be the very point that God steps in and shows HIMSELF to be more than ENOUGH. — John Paul Warren

There has never been a meaningful life built on easy street. — John Paul Warren

My people? Who are they?
I went into the church where the congregation
Worshiped my God. Were they my people?
I felt no kinship to them as they knelt there.
My people! Where are they?
I went into the land where I was born,
Where men spoke my language.
I was a stranger there.
"My people," my soul cried. "Who are my people?"
Last night in the rain I met an old man
Who spoke a language I do not speak,
Which marked him as one who does not know my God.
With apologetic smile he offered me
The shelter of his patched umbrella.
I met his eyes ... And then I knew ... — Rosa Zagnoni Marinoni

I have concluded that the more we seek the Lord, with a passion for His worthiness, the more we are gripped with our neediness. Adoration cultivates desperation. — Daniel Henderson

. Well, Teclan, wanna know something? Your government may have shut down my church. They may have closed the doors of our building and made us all go home. But no matter where true believers are, you can't shut down their soul. — Bernadette Allen

The church is the gym of the soul. — Sylvester Stallone

What I think we as the church lack, though, is a place to talk about how things really are right now. In our desire to be an inspiration to one another we often veil what is true, because what is true is not always inspirational. It's not easy to watch or personally experience a marriage on the verge of divorce, or a child battling cancer, or a betrayal of the worst kind, or dreams lost in the dust, or overwhelming feelings of despair or emptiness. But these things are real. And hurting believers whose lives are in tatters need real help. If we were able to put aside our need for approval long enough to be authentic, then, surely, we would be living as the church. — Sheila Walsh

Growing up, in church we had the homily; at home it's what I call the 'momily' - the inspirational and instructive mom-isms that every family has. — Christine Pelosi

We think being a Christian means to go to church on Sunday and trying to be good through the week. Now I see it means suffering, being willing to let the hard things happen to you, so that God can use us to do His work on this earth! — Kimberly L. Smith

Yesterday is the last day of the past. Tomorrow is brimming with hope, so today is meant to lived large. Enjoy your moments! — David Grachek

Faith can be stirred within the walls of church buildings, but faith is formed and nourished in the waiting rooms of hospitals, helplessly witnessing a thirty-one-year-old sister suffer, holding kids affected by the AIDS epidemic, and being stretched outside of our own social makeup. — Josh Ross

The Lord speaks to each one of us in different ways. He may use your mother, your sister, your child, or even your boss. He might even use an unbeliever. God never said his messages would come in nicely wrapped packages from your pastor," the pastor could be heard saying from inside the packed church. "God doesn't do things the way WE want them done. He does things the way we NEED them done, so he can get out of us what holds us back, what keeps us from him. He wants to help us reach the next level. He sends us what we need, when we need it, in HIS time. We are on his schedule, not the other way around. — Kiexiza Rodriquez

The truth is, God has redeems the world across cultures, countries, world powers, systems, religious orders, trends, movements, and human heart since the beginning of time. His ways are entirely outside of our understanding. Sure, I know and love God and my contacts, because it is the only one I know; and I am grateful he found me here. But he has rescued people in and out of church, in and out of religions, and in and out of traditions since the beginning. He operates and truly mysterious ways we won't know until heaven. And we will probably be shocked. — Jen Hatmaker

In my prayer journey I've been motived by many lesser aspirations like guilt, approval before others and even a ego-driven desire for church growth. Of course, a passion for revival can even trigger more prayers. Yet, in the long run, we must remember that there is a difference between seeking revival from God vs. seeking God for revival. — Daniel Henderson

All Christians are in ministry. Sometimes, they're in church work. — Todd Stocker

Life seems to be fashioned and formed best out of the obstacles that seem unbearable. — John Paul Warren

If you want to attain salvation, learn and keep in your heart all that the holy Church teaches and, receiving heavenly power from the mysteries of the Church, walk the path of Christ's commandments, under the direction of lawful pastors, and you will undoubtedly attain the Heavenly Kingdom and be saved. All of this is naturally necessary in the matter of salvation, necessary in it entirety and for all. Whoever rejects or neglects any part of it has no salvation. — Theophan The Recluse

Hiding had been effortless in New York City. Getting lost in a sea of people was as easy as stepping onto a crowded Subway car. Sweet Laurel Cove would be very different. Generations of families filled its church pews, ran its farms, and schooled its children. Anonymity was as rare as lightning bugs in wintertime - as her grandmother would say. — Teresa Tysinger

Do you treat strangers as good as you do your friends or church family? (Acts 10:34) — Amanda Penland

The contemporary church is so often a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. It is so often the arch supporter of the status quo. — Martin Luther King Jr.

You don't have to go to church and sit in a pew to find faith. Look into the eyes of a newborn baby or watch a sunset. Listen to children laughing. Like when a dog licks your palm or when you can smell the rain steaming the asphalt on a hot summer day. There is God ... there is love, and there is evidence of your faith. Live, breathe, love ... the rest will come easily. — Greever Williams

Speak it till you reach it! — Michelle Cook-Hall

Many believe that the Vatican withheld important parts of the Third Secret, perhaps because its contents were too dangerous to reveal... — Peter J. Tanous

There's a wonderful old Italian joke about a poor man who goes to church every day and prays before the statue of a great saint,'Dear saint-please, please, please ... give me the grace to win the lottery.' This lament goes on for months. Finally the exasperated statue come to life, looks down at the begging man and says in weary disgust,'My son-please, please, please ... buy a ticket. — Elizabeth Gilbert

Surely you know that if a man can't be cured of churchgoing, the next best thing is to send him all over the neighbourhood looking for the church that "suits" him until he becomes a taster or connoisseur of churches. — C.S. Lewis

The operation of the Church is entirely set up for the sinner; which creates much misunderstanding among the smug.
(August 9, 1955) — Flannery O'Connor

Take no stock in saying, "never", because it carries no guarantee. — Anita R. Sneed-Carter

We can never achieve and succeed without first making excellence second nature. — Jolene Church

The Real Self is dangerous: dangerous to the established church, dangerous to the state, dangerous to the crowd, dangerous to tradition, because once a man knows his real self, he becomes an individual. — Osho

What we see taking place in the church today is the reduction of God to an idol. — Peter Rollins

When Jesus was wrapping up his days on earth, he didn't tell us to go to church. He didn't tell us to engage in a spiritualized version of channel surfing, as we hop from place to place in search of just the right programming to entertain us. He told us to get out and actually do the stuff he'd already been doing, painting the hope of God's reign on the canvas of God's world. He told us we're artists. — Richard Dahlstrom

With so much effort being poured into church growth, so much press being given to the benefits of faith, and so much flexing of religious muscle in the public square, the poor in spirit have no one but Jesus to call them blessed anymore. — Barbara Brown Taylor

The whore or the saint: these seemed to be the prototypes set up by the Church's historic misogyny. But was there no alternative model to follow?

Yes, for Anne had seen for herself that it was possible to be an independent thinker, set free from the pattern of sinful Eve or patient Griselda. She had been in the company of clever, strong-willed women like the Regent Margaret of Austria and Margaret of Navarre. The influence of evangelism had enabled women of character to take an alternative path, one that offered Anne Boleyn a different future. — Joanna Denny

The world can no longer be left to mere diplomats, politicians, and business leaders. They have done the best they could, no doubt. But this is an age for spiritual heroes- a time for men and women to be heroic in their faith and in spiritual character and power. The greatest danger to the Christian church today is that of pitching its message too low. — Dallas Willard

God often uses failure to make us useful. When Jesus called the disciples, He did not go out and find the most qualified and successful people. He found the most willing, and He found them in the workplace. He found a fisherman, a tax collector, and a farmer. The Hebrews knew that failure was a part of maturing in God. The Greeks used failure as a reason for disqualification. Sadly, in the Church, we often treat one another in this way. This is not God's way. We need to understand that failing does not make us failures. It makes us experienced. It makes us more prepared to be useful in God's Kingdom -- if we have learned from it. And that is the most important ingredient for what God wants in His children. — Os Hillman

There are conversations going on about the Church constantly. Those conversations will continue whether or not we choose to participate in them. But we cannot stand on the sidelines while others, including our critics, attempt to define what our Church teaches ... We are living in a world saturated with all kinds of voices. Perhaps now, more than ever, we have a major responsibility as Latter-day Saints to define ourselves, instead of letting others define us. — M. Russell Ballard

I was asked by a concerned church-goer: "Is your relationship with God okay?" and I answered "My relationship with God is far better than yours. You have to be in a certain place, with a certain group of people, pray at certain days of the week, read the Bible at certain times of the day; all in order to have a relationship with God. But I am with God from the moment I wake up, to the moment I fall asleep at night, I am with God wherever on this earth that I wander to, and whosoever I may be with! I may be sitting on the subway, and I am with God. I can assure you that I am closer to God than you are. — C. JoyBell C.

Then the singing enveloped me. It was furry and resonant, coming from everyone's very heart. There was no sense of performance or judgment, only that the music was breath and food. — Anne Lamott

A lot of churches and church people give God a bad name. There's a scripture in the Bible that says the traditions of men make the word of God of none effect. That's so true. All our religious rituals dilute the reality of who God is and make a lot of people not want to have anything to do with Him. I had to learn to reject 'Churchianity' and not Christianity. — Sherri L. Lewis

What God declares the believing heart confesses without the need of further proof. Indeed, to seek proof is to admit doubt, and to obtain proof is to render faith superfluous. Everyone who possesses the gift of faith will recognize the wisdom of those daring words of one of the early Church fathers: I believe that Christ died for me because it is incredible; I believe that He rose from the dead because it is impossible. — A.W. Tozer

I am accountable.
I am correctable.
I am transformable.
Presenting myself a living sacrifice to God.
By the love of God.
By the word of God.
Completely supplied in Christ Jesus.
Unto all good works. — Carlton T. Brown

Living life ONCE is enough ... if you live life RIGHT. — John Paul Warren

I remember when I was growing up and there would be sick people in the church. I was always so sensitive to them sitting in the pews alone, and I would not pass by without saying hello. But even at those tender ages of 5 through 14, I felt like they carried the plague, and after seeing them I would turn around praying really hard to never experience sickness like that, ever. I'd pray that I wouldn't make God angry enough to curse me like that with really awful things, but I didn't think about grace. I did not understand that it does not work that way, that God's grace is so much bigger than our sin because of Jesus - but I do get it now. We go through what we do so that we can fulfill God's glory in our lives. — Jacquelyn Nicole Davis

He had forgotten that God saw through the silk robes to the sinful heart, that the only wealth worth having was treasure in heaven, and that even the king had to kneel down in church. Feeling that everyone else was so much more powerful and sophisticated than he was, he had lost sight of his true values, suspended his critical faculties, and placed his trust in his superiors. His reward had been treachery. — Ken Follett

God seeks us as eagerly as we seek God. — Forrest Church

We are weak Christians simply because we have refused to be bondservants of Christ — Paul Gitwaza

Leaders in OVER their heads is the mere result of getting ahead of their intended SEASON. — John Paul Warren

Singing is my pleasure, but not in church, for the parson said the gargoyles must remain on the outside, not seek room in the choir stalls. So I sing inside the mountain of my flesh, and my voice is as slender as a reed and my voice has no lard in it. When I sing the dogs sit quiet and people who pass in the night stop their jabbering and discontent and think of other times, when they were happy. And I sing of other times, when I was happy, though I know that these are figments of my mind and nowhere I have been. But does it matter if the place cannot be mapped as long as I can still describe it? — Jeanette Winterson

Life of any real value or substance is not formed during good times merely enjoyed. — John Paul Warren

Be strong and kill yourself with the sword of hate and love, then you will not hear the insults and abuse which the enemies of the Church throw at you. Your eyes will not see anything which seems impossible, or the sufferings which may follow, but only the light of faith, and in that light everything is possible; and remember God never lays greater burdens on us than we can bear. — Catherine Of Siena

The nearer to the church, the further from God. — John Heywood

Our real beliefs are generally not to be found at the level of ego. — Peter Rollins

Spiritual maturity is not measured by the years that you have spent in church, rather by your attitude before people different from you. — Paul Gitwaza

If the church of today does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authentic ring, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century. — Martin Luther King Jr.

If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be one nation gone under. — Ronald Reagan

It's tucked away in a quiet corner, shadowed and obscured, no part of the Nightside's usual bright gaudy neon noir. It doesn't advertise and it doesn't care if you habitually pass by on the other side. It's just there for when you need it. Dedicated to the patron saint of lost causes, St. Jude's is an old old place ... St. Jude's isn't a place for comfort for frills and fancies and the trappings of religion. just a place where you can talk to your god and sometimes get an answer. — Simon R. Green

You don't need a Master's in Theology to love people. — D.R. Silva

[R]eal prayer is not an excuse for laziness but, in fact, is one of the most arduous engagements I know of in ministry. Prayer is not a replacement for hard work but, in most cases, empowerment for even more fruitful work. — Daniel Henderson

We were the church. As the New Testament instructed. When it was time for Sunday morning meeting, we convened in private homes. To raise a structure and call it a church was the worldly way. A church made of hands was soon cluttered with altars and crucifixes, and was thereupon idolatrous. These false churches, they were not walking in Truth. They were whistling off to Hades. This was a shame, because I knew some real nice Lutherans. — Michael Perry

I never lost my faith ... But like all modern Catholics, I felt for a time that I had outgrown the church. Now it is a bone of contention in my soul that I did not share my faith with my kids, as my parents did with me. It was a source of grace when I needed it. I have been greatly nurtured and inspired by my faith. — Martin Sheen

Jesus didn't just give hugs; He also gave a hammer. Paul didn't just pass on holy kisses; he also tirelessly dealt out swift and holy kicks to the rear end of the ancient church. The Bible has the manly stuff intact, and that is why it is such a great mystery how it got lost in the modern church. — Eric Ludy

Hundreds of young barefoot, long-haired, newly converted believers flocked to the church, and they brought their guitars with them. — Robert J. Morgan

The culture of women in the church today is crippled by some very pervasive lies. "To be spiritual is to be busy. To be spiritual is to be disciplined. To be spiritual is to be dutiful." No, to be spiritual is to be in Romance with God. The desire to be romanced lies deep in the heart of every women. It is for such that you were made. Are you ARE romanced, and ever will be. — John Eldredge

Abraham Lincoln was asked by an aide about the church service he had attended. Lincoln responded that the minister was inspired, interesting, well-prepared, eloquent and the topic relevant. The aide said, "Then it was a good service?"
Lincoln responded, "No." The aide protested,
"But, Mr. President, you said that the minister was inspired, interesting, well-prepared, eloquent, and that the topic was relevant."
"Yes," replied Lincoln, "but he didn't challenge us to do any great thing. — Abraham Lincoln

I love you, my brother, whoever you are - whether you worship in a church, kneel in your temple, or pray in your mosque. You and I are children of one faith, for the diverse paths of religion are fingers of the loving hand of the one supreme being, a hand extended to all, offering completeness of spirit to all, eager to receive all. — Kahlil Gibran

The women of the Church are the hope of the world precisely because it is not possible to limit the influence of a woman of God who is filled with the pure love of Christ. For that matter, the same is true of men. It is not possible to limit the influence of a man of God who bears the holy priesthood and who is filled with the pure love of Christ.
Satan knows this, and he hates followers of Christ for it. We are among his greatest nightmares because he knows he cannot limit our influence unless he can neutralize our respective natures. So, if he can get us to break the law of chastity, or develop an addiction, or become consumed with or blinded by the world, he laughs. When he seduces a man or a woman of God, he not only neutralizes those individuals but is poised to infiltrate their families. — Sheri Dew

I grew up in a very spiritual home in a Liberty City neighborhood of Miami, FL. I was raised in the church, and my mother was a very inspirational person in my life. — Robert Battle

If any lesson may be learned from the academic breakthroughs achieved by Pineapple and Jeremy, it is not that we should celebrate exceptionality of opportunity but that the public schools themselves in neighborhoods of widespread destitution ought to have the rich resources, small classes, and well-prepared and well-rewarded teachers that would enable us to give to every child the feast of learning that is now available to children of the poor only on the basis of a careful selectivity or by catching the attention of empathetic people like the pastor of a church or another grown-up whom they meet by chance. Charity and chance and narrow selectivity are not the way to educate children of a genuine democracy. — Jonathan Kozol

I was astonished to learn in one of these best-selling books (on church life) that the size of my church parking lot had far more to do with how things fared in my congregation than my choice of texts in preaching. I was being lied to and I knew it. — Eugene H. Peterson

Whatcha doing, Lieu?" she asked cautiously. "Praying," he muttered. "I suck at it."
"Your doing it wrong," she said flatly. "I'm not big on church, but I'm pretty sure you're supposed to do it with a friend. — Amy Lane

Classically, there are three ways in which humans try to find transcendence
religious meaning
apart from God as revealed through the cross of Jesus: through the ecstasy of alcohol and drugs, through the ecstasy of recreational sex, through the ecstasy of crowds. Church leaders frequently warn against the drugs and the sex, but at least, in America, almost never against the crowds. — Eugene H. Peterson

If you buy an egg thinking it's a goose's egg, and when it hatches it is actually a bird of paradise; no manner of convincing and reproach will turn the bird of paradise into a goose. Even if you make it go to goose church and goose school and eat goose feeds and only hang out with geese! In the end, it will still belong to paradise. — C. JoyBell C.