-
Cicadas: Spiritually Dead
Contributed by Richard Tow on Sep 16, 2009 (message contributor)
CICADAS: SPIRITUALLY DEAD
I grew up in West Texas and there were a lot of Cicada insects. They’re not technically locusts but we called them that. During the hot summer days the loud, shrill sound that the males made would fill the air. You would usually see them in the trees. At times you would come across the lifeless shell they had shed. It was just an empty form of the living creature that had once been there. If you put the slightest pressure on that empty form it would crumble. That’s what I think of when I hear the phrase "a form of godliness." It bears some resemblance to the real thing. But there’s no life in it.
Is there a chance that spiritual decline in Israel’s history could repeat itself in Christian churches? Is there a chance today, that people could be faithfully going through a form of religion that bears resemblance to the real thing; but in reality is dead and lifeless?
Related Sermon Illustrations
-
There Is No God. All Of The Wonders Around Us ...
Contributed by Charles R. Swindoll on Sep 28, 2004
There is no God. All of the wonders around us are accidental. No almighty hand made a thousand billion stars. They made themselves. No power keeps them on their steady course. The earth spins itself to keep the oceans from falling off toward the sun. Infants teach themselves to cry when they are ...read more
-
Quecreek Miners Kept Each Other Alive PRO
Contributed by Mark Hensley on Aug 8, 2002
Quecreek Miners Kept Each Other Alive In what the news called "The Miracle at Quecreek," nine miners trapped for three days 240 feet underground in a water-filled mine shaft "decided early on they were either going to live or die as a group." The 55 degree (Fahrenheit) water threatened to ...read more
-
Deep Within A Forest A Little Turtle Began To ... PRO
Contributed by Edwin Amundson on Aug 9, 2002
Deep within a forest a little turtle began to climb a tree. After hours of effort he reached the top, jumped into the air waving his front legs and crashed to the ground. After recovering, he slowly climbed the tree again, jumped, and fell to the ground. The turtle tried again and again while a ...read more
-
A Young Fellow Wanted To Be A Star Journalist But ... PRO
Contributed by Edwin Amundson on Aug 9, 2002
A young fellow wanted to be a star journalist but lived in a small town (not much possibility). One day the dam upstream broke and the town was flooded. He got in a rowboat and headed out to look for a story. Finding a lady sitting on her rooftop, he tied up the boat and told her what he was after. ...read more
-
Have You Ever Heard Of The Expression, "Your Name ...
Contributed by Bruce Howell on Aug 24, 2004
Have you ever heard of the expression, “Your name will be mud?” Do you know where it originated? Samuel Alexander Mudd was the doctor who set John Wilkes Booth’s leg after Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln in Ford’s Theater in 1865. Mudd claimed he didn’t recognize Booth–didn’t really know him. ...read more
Related Sermons
-
The Seven Churches Of Revelation Series
Contributed by Rich Anderson on Feb 17, 2011
What best describes our church today? Are we a church filled with brotherly love, faithfulness and a love for God through Jesus Christ?
-
Becoming A Missional Church
Contributed by Dr. Jerry N. Watts on Sep 21, 2009
Based on the Great Commission and reinforced with many sources, this speaks of returning the church body to pre-Constantine days!
-
The Objects Of Our Love Series
Contributed by Dennis Davidson on Feb 18, 2013
We are to respond to God's love by abiding in God’s love, as we do, He reproduces His love in us. This love is not in the abstract. We are to love God & His children through attitude & action. We love God & His children by keeping God's commandments.
-
The Complacent Church Series
Contributed by Dr. Jerry N. Watts on Sep 25, 2011
The Church at Laodicea is a church termed "Lukewarm" by our Lord - and obviously shows the signs of "Complacency". Many a congregation have fallen into this trap.
-
The Church’s Commitments Series
Contributed by C. Philip Green on Jan 6, 2011
The church grows when we devote ourselves to living out the truth of God’s Word, to sharing our lives together in genuine fellowship, and to joyful worship.