In Sermon Illustrations: "Ephesians 4:1-16" showing 21-40 of 59

Church Asks Non-Participants To Leave

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 21, 2011

CHURCH ASKS NON-PARTICIPANTS TO LEAVE Just a few years ago, Larknews.com carried the following fictional piece of satire on its website. In the form of a news release, it reported: Julie and Bob Clark were stunned to receive a letter from their church in July asking them to "participate in the ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:15-16

Tags: Church Growth

Three Bones In Church

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 23, 2011

THREE BONES IN CHURCH Church members may be divided into three classes in a mere skeleton outline: wishbones, jawbones, and backbones. The wishbones are always languidly hoping that their church will somehow grow without their effort. The jawbones talk their way out of doing things, and the ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:15-16

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Daniel Webster's Greatest Thought  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 5, 2011

DANIEL WEBSTER'S GREATEST THOUGHT At one time, Daniel Webster was considered the greatest of all living Americans. He was outstanding as a statesman, lawyer, orator, and leader of men. Twenty-five national leaders attended a select banquet in his honor. One man at the banquet asked Mr. Webster, ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:1

Tags: Obedience

Disunity Stories  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 26, 2011

DISUNITY STORIES A man was stranded on an island. Alone for a number of years. Finally he was located and some people came ashore to rescue him. Before they took him off the island, he wanted to show them around. He took them to his hut and said "This is the home I built with my own 2 hands." Then ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-6

Tags: Divisions

True Unity  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 26, 2011

TRUE UNITY Unity is not simply an intellectual exercise. We can believe the same things, recite the same creeds, belong to the same denomination, but that does not mean we have unity. In his book Soul Talk, Larry Crabb writes: "Which is worse? A church program to build community that doesn’t ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-16, Ephesians 4:1-22, 1 Samuel 25:14-35

Tags: Unity

Church As A Spectator Sport

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 5, 2011

CHURCH AS A SPECTATOR SPORT A British pastor and author made this observation a few years ago. I think it’s still accurate. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said, "Men and women no longer...exercise in sport as they used to. Instead, people tend to sit in crowds and just watch other people play. ...And I ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-16, 1 Corinthians 12:27

Tags: Church Practices

Statistics On Loneliness

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 7, 2011

STATISTICS ON LONELINESS This week I read an article by Medical News Today about the health effects of loneliness. Quoting the article, it states that "there is evidence that the risk of developing and dying from heart disease can depend on the strength of one's social network of friends and ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-16

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

The Damage Of Disunity

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 9, 2012

THE DAMAGE OF DISUNITY Dwight L. Moody once stated, "I have never yet known the Spirit of God to work where the Lord's people were divided." Notice what Phinehas said: "This day we perceive that the Lord is among us" (Jo 22:31). The Lord's presence was among His people, because they walked in His ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-6

Tags: Divisions

What Kind Of Example Are You?

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 11, 2012

WHAT KIND OF EXAMPLE ARE YOU? It is said that for many years Monterey, a California coast town, was a pelican’s paradise. As the fishermen cleaned their fish, they flung the innards to the pelicans. The birds grew fat, lazy, and contented. Eventually, however the innards were utilized, and there ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:11-16

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Playing In The Dirt

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 15, 2012

PLAYING IN THE DIRT If you see a baby playing in the dirt, the baby may be dirty but you pretty much don’t make a big deal about it because it’s understood that babies play in dirt. Babies try to eat dirt. Babies scrub themselves in dirt. Dirt is a toy to a baby. But if you see a ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:11-16

Tags: Growth In Christ

Downward Trends In U.s. Christianity

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 15, 2012

DOWNWARD TRENDS IN U.S. CHRISTIANITY In George Barna's new book on U.S. Christians called Futurecast, he tracks annual changes from 1991 to 2011 and shows that all the major trend lines of religious belief and behavior ran downward except two: More people claim they have accepted Jesus as their ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:11-16

Tags: Church Practices

We're On The Same Team  PRO

Contributed by Gaylon Clark on Dec 9, 2013

Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin had every reason as teammates to be friends, but they were not. Incognito harassed and bullied Martin. He called him a racial slur in a voicemail played by every media outlet in the country. He threatened to kill him and his family. Incognito claimed all of this ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-6, John 17:20-23, Colossians 3:12-17, Psalm 133:1-3

Tags: Teamwork, Christian Unity, Church Unity, Christian Friendship

Denomination: Baptist

United We Stand

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 16, 2014

Let me read one of Aesop’s Greek fables; In the forest, there lived four oxen. They were very good friends and always went together to graze in the fields. However, every time they went, a hungry lion tried to attack them. The lion longed for their meat. But they withstood his attack by fighting ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-6

Tags: Unity, Divisions

The Power Of Snowflakes  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 20, 2014

THE POWER OF SNOWFLAKES We can learn great lessons of unity and its power simply by observing the nature. For example a single snow flake that looks beautiful and innocent. If it remains on its own it can easily fly away or quickly melt away. On it's own it does no harm and poses no threat to any ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 11:1-9, Luke 10:38-42, Ephesians 4:13-14

Tags: Power, Unity, Power Of Unity

Team

Contributed by Suresh Manoharan on Jul 14, 2014

Remember the good ole’ definition of the word TEAM? T-OGETHER ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:11-15

Tags: Destination, Coordination

Denomination: *other

Grandfather And The Dog

Contributed by Dr. David Hallum on Sep 11, 2019

When my grandchildren were young, introduced them to my dog, Chuey. They were not well received by the old Chow. The dog would stalk around and shoot dirty looks when the kids were present. He finally got used to them and now pays them no attention. The other day, we were all in the back yard. ...read more

Scripture: James 3:6, Ephesians 4:14

Tags: Selfishness, Immaturity, Obedience

Denomination: Baptist

When Unity Comes

Contributed by Dr. Ronald Shultz on Dec 17, 2020

Psalms 133:1 A Song of degrees of David. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! Ephesians 4:3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 133:1, Ephesians 4:3, Ephesians 4:13

Tags: Unity, Maturity

Denomination: Baptist

Get Back In The Game!

Contributed by John Bright on Mar 19, 2021

What if God started telling your church to do something we had never done before? How hard would you work against it - unwilling to change? There is an old saying – do you know what they put on the tombstone in front of a closed church? “WE NEVER DID IT THAT WAY BEFORE” If that’s the case, we ...read more

Scripture: Luke 5:12-26, Ephesians 4:11-12

Tags: Sports, Pastor, Laity, Basketball

Denomination: Methodist

Honesty

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Feb 7, 2022

Blaise Pascal observed that human life is nothing but perpetual delusion; human relationships are based on mutual deception. Martin Buber wrote of the uncanny game of hide and seek we play - in which the soul seeks to hide from itself. Thomas Merton - our minds are deformed with a contempt for ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 20:16, Ephesians 4:15, Matthew 5:33-37

Tags: Truth, Misinformation, Integrity, Deception

Denomination: Pentecostal

Information Below Taken From J.c. Willke's Book ...

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Jan 22, 2008

Information below taken from J.C. Willke’s book ABORTION AND SLAVERY: Slavery: Dred Scott 1857 7-2 Decision The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that black people were not legal persons, therefore they had no legal rights. They were the property of the owner. They could choose to sell, buy or even ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:14-16

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational