In Sermon Illustrations: "Ephesians 1:1-5:28"

It Shocks Us When We Realize That Great Men And ...  PRO

Contributed by David Yarbrough on Jul 22, 2002

It shocks us when we realize that great men and women go through periods of deep, dark depression. For instance, Winston Churchill said, "Depression followed me around like a black dog all of my life." A young lawyer in the 1800’s suffered such a deep depression that his friends did everything they ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:22-23, Ephesians 5:20

Tags: Emotions

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

A Man Decided To Join A Monastery And One Of The ...  PRO

Contributed by David Dewitt on Aug 25, 2002

A man decided to join a monastery and one of the rules of the group was that you were only allowed to speak two words every ten years. At the end of ten years he said, "Bad food!" Ten more years went by and he said, "Hard bed!" Finally, on his 30th anniversary with the brothers, he ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:29

Tags: Communication General, Disappointment, Love Of The Disciples

Denomination: Church Of God

An Old Sin, A New Word  PRO

Contributed by James Botts on Aug 29, 2002

AN OLD SIN, A NEW WORD Have you noticed that people are more and more angry then ever before? Consider the following… One anger management firm stated that “one out of every five Americans has an anger management problem.” According to FBI statistics, there were 23,305 homicides in 1994 and the ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 37:8, Proverbs 22:24, Proverbs 29:11, Ecclesiastes 7:9, Ephesians 4:26-27, James 1:20  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Christian Disciplines, Anger, Violence, Rage, Sin, Murder  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Haddon Robinson Says It Best, "With Him The Calf ...  PRO

Contributed by Lisa Degrenia on Oct 7, 2002

Haddon Robinson says it best, "With Him the calf is always the fatted calf; the robe is always the best robe; the joy is always unspeakable; and the peace passes understanding. There is no grudging in God’s goodness. He does not measure His goodness by drops like a druggist filling a ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 1:7, Psalm 31:19, Luke 11:13

Tags: Parable Prodigal Son

Denomination: Methodist

Filling Up With The Spirit  PRO

Contributed by Paul Fritz on Oct 11, 2002

FILLING UP WITH THE SPIRIT Speaking to a large audience, D.L. Moody held up a glass and asked, "How can I get the air out of this glass?" One man shouted, "Suck it out with a pump!" Moody replied, "That would create a vacuum and shatter the glass." After numerous other suggestions Moody smiled, ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:18

Tags: Faith, Holy Spirit In Believers

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Sodium Is An Extremely Active Element Found ...  PRO

Contributed by Steven Platt on Nov 1, 2002

Sodium is an extremely active element found naturally only in combined form; it always links itself to another element. Chlorine, on the other hand, is the poisonous gas that gives bleach its offensive odor. When sodium and chlorine are combined, the result is sodium chloride - common table salt ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 3:15, Ephesians 4:15

Tags: Apologetics General, Christian Values, Truth

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

A Judge Was Interviewing A Woman Regarding Her ...  PRO

Contributed by Michael Semon on Nov 1, 2002

A judge was interviewing a woman regarding her pending divorce, and asked, "What are the grounds for your divorce?" She replied, "About four acres and a nice little home in the middle of the property with a stream running by." "No," he said, "I mean what is the foundation of this case?" "It is ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:22-33, Mark 10:2-12, Matthew 19:4-6, Genesis 2:18-24

Tags: Marriage General, Communication General, Communication

Denomination: Baptist

May Your Saturday Mornings Be Special  PRO

Contributed by Tim Zingale on Nov 11, 2002

May your Saturday mornings be special. The author is unknown. The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday mornings. Perhaps it’s the quiet solitude that comes with being the first to rise, or maybe it’s the unbounded joy of not having to be at work. Either way, the first few hours of a Saturday ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 90:10-12, Ephesians 5:15-17, Colossians 4:5

Tags: Finding Fulfillment, Giving Yourself, Priorities

Denomination: Lutheran

Gratitude—a Necessary Attitude  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 17, 2002

GRATITUDE- A NECESSARY ATTITUDE A few years ago Dr. Nick Stinnett of the University of Nebraska conducted a group of studies called the "Family Strengths Research Project" Stinnett and his researchers identified six qualities that make for strong families. The first quality and one of the ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:8, Ephesians 4:8

Tags: Joy, Thanksgiving Holiday

Malcolm, A Man With A Terrible Temper, Was ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 1, 2002

Malcolm, a man with a terrible temper, was playing a round of golf with his pastor. After leaving three straight putts on the edge of the cup, Malcolm exploded. "I missed!" he screamed. "How could I miss?" With that he heaved his putter into a nearby lake, kicked a wheel on the golf cart and drove ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 1:26-27, Ephesians 4:26-27, Ephesians 3:19

Tags: Adoption, God's Omniscience, God's Judgment

A Present  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 2, 2002

Jeff Calendar’s three year old daugh- ter along with the rest of her family was observed opening Christmas packages. As is often the case, Jeff’s wife had recycled some bows from previous times, and their daughter grabbed one and then placed it on top of her head. The old tape left on it caused it ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 127:1-5, Ephesians 1:3-5, John 17:6

Tags: Christmas Advent

Unity  PRO

Contributed by Tony Dicostanzo on Dec 4, 2002

Unity Illustration: There can be union without unity: tie two cats together by their tails and throw them over a clothesline. There you will have union, but certainly ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:4-6

Tags: Unity

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Wall Separating Church And Economics Is Being ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 20, 2006

The Wall Separating Church And Economics is being breached. “More and more scholars have been using conventional economic methods to understand the way in which religion relates to the rest of society, and to the economy in particular,” says George Mason University professor Laurence R. Iannaccone. ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:15-16

Tags: Christian Values

Church Tech: 9 Out Of 10 Protestant Pastors Have ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2006

Church Tech: 9 out of 10 Protestant pastors have Internet access, and about half of all Protestant churches maintain a church Web site, according to a recent Ellison Research study. While 90% of ministers are online, only a third of those use a content filter on their church office computer. 88% ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 3:12-14, Philippians 4:13, Nehemiah 8:13-18, 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12, John 10:1-30, Mark 10:45-52, James 3:1-20, James 3:1-18, Ephesians 4:1, 1 John 1:1-10, Luke 6:19-31, Joshua 1:1-30, 2 Timothy 3:10-17  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Church General

Not Only Do We Know God By Jesus Christ Alone, ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 10, 2006

“Not only do we know God by Jesus Christ alone, but we know ourselves only by Jesus Christ. We know life and death only through Jesus Christ. Apart from Jesus Christ, we do not know what is our ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 1:17-23

Tags: God's Provision

Never Give Up  PRO

Contributed by David Parks on Sep 18, 2006

NEVER GIVE UP Haddon Robinson tells the following story. I hope you appreciate it as I did. It was New Year’s Day, 1929, and Georgia Tech. and UCLA were battling it out in the Rose Bowl. Georgia Tech. fumbled the football late in the first half. Roy Riggles recovered for California. Picking up the ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 3:13-14

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Yates Pool Is A Famous Oil Field In West Texas. ...

Contributed by Steven Angus on Sep 26, 2006

Yates Pool is a famous oil field in West Texas. During the Great Depression of the 1930’s, this field was a sheep ranch owned by a man named Ira Yates. Because of Yates’ inability to make enough money on his ranching operation to make his mortgage payment, he was in danger of losing his ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 1:3, 2 Peter 1:3

Denomination: United Methodist

Revival Prayer Exalts God, Because It Puts Things ...

Contributed by Daniel Devilder on Oct 24, 2006

Revival Prayer Exalts God, because it puts things in perspective: God is high and lifted up— It’s like flying up in a plane and everything is so small. It’s not that our problems disappear, but we realize from God’s perspective, it is nothing he can’t handle. I remember how honored and humbled I ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:29

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

A Seminary Professor Was Vacationing With His ...  PRO

Contributed by Bob Soulliere on Nov 2, 2006

A seminary professor was vacationing with his wife in Gatlinburg, TN. One morning, they were eating breakfast at a little restaurant, hoping to enjoy a quiet, family meal. While they were waiting for their food, they noticed a distinguished looking, white-haired man moving from table to table, ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 1:3-22, Romans 12:1-2

Tags: Discernment

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Way To Stay Free From Sin

Contributed by J. Brad Campbell on Nov 6, 2006

The way to stay free from sin Is to stay committed to God ...read more

Scripture: James 4:7-12, Matthew 6:10, Matthew 26:39, Romans 6:13, Ephesians 4:26-27, Ephesians 6:11, 1 Peter 5:8-9, Proverbs 1:10, Proverbs 4:14, 2 Peter 3:17, Luke 10:19, Luke 22:31-32, Romans 16:20, 1 Corinthians 10:13, Hebrews 2:18, 1 John 4:4, Revelation 3:10, Revelation 3:21  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational