In Sermon Illustrations: "17 19"

I Really Don't Like Christmas Shopping. But ...

Contributed by Terry Cavanaugh on Dec 18, 2004

I really don’t like Christmas Shopping. But this week I discovered I am not alone. As of December 17, forty-six percent of shoppers had not finished their Christmas Shopping. While the majority of Americans say Christmas is their favorite holiday, only 20% like Christmas Shopping. This next ...read more

Tags: Christmas, Alone

Denomination: Methodist

Victor Frankel Once Said, "The More One Forgets ...

Contributed by Richard Tow on Sep 22, 2005

Victor Frankel once said, “The more one forgets himself—by giving himself to a cause to serve or another person to love—the more human he is and the more he actualizes himself. Logotherapy deviates from psychoanalysis insofar as it considers a man a being whose main concern consists in fulfilling ...read more

Tags: Christian Disciplines, Love Of The Disciples

Denomination: Charismatic

1no Religious Affiliation: 1 Out Of Every 9 ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 9, 2006

1No Religious Affiliation: 1 out of every 9 Americans do not belong to any organized religion. Among young people its 17% compared with only 7% of people over 65. William J. Murray, a D.C. based religious activist, reports, young people “identify with angels, say they believe in a superior being, ...read more

Tags: World Religions

Girls & Stress: According To A Recent Survey By ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 10, 2006

Girls & Stress: According to a recent survey by Teen magazine and Sears, 74% of 12-17 year-old girls believe their lives are more stressful today than when their parents were young. Not surprisingly, girls with close parental relationships are less stressed about guys and dating (33% vs. 48%) but ...read more

Tags: Children

Need A Break? A Recent Quill Corporation Survey ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2006

Need A Break? A recent Quill Corporation survey of business people finds only 20% feel thinking about work while on vacation ruins their fun or relaxation, but it jumps to 50% when asked about actually doing work on vacation. 40% take work with them on vacation. 60% report it takes anywhere from ...read more

Tags: Workplace

Women Are More Likely To Work During Pregnancy ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 10, 2008

Women are more likely to work during pregnancy than they were 30 to 40 years ago. They also are returning to work more rapidly after having their first child; 64% are back at work within a year vs. 17% in the 60s. 66% of women who had their first child between ’01 and ’03 worked during their ...read more

Tags: Workplace Balance

Older Addicts

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 13, 2009

OLDER ADDICTS In 2005, 184,400 Americans who were admitted to drug treatment programs (roughly 10% of the total) were over 50, up from 143,000, (8%) in 2001. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration foresees 4.4 million older substance abusers by 2020 vs. 1.7 million in 2001. ...read more

Tags: Addiction

Internet Porn And ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 16, 2009

INTERNET PORN AND YOUTH Exposure to Internet porn can lead teens to have sex at a younger age, finds a study published in CyberPsychology and Behavior. Researchers found 12-17 year-old boys who regularly viewed porn became sexually active as much as 4 years earlier than their peers. Girls in that ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 101:3-4

Tags: Pornography

Long-Term Care

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 16, 2009

LONG-TERM CARE A survey by Genworth Financial, a long-term care insurer, reports the cost of a private room in a nursing home for a year averages more than $76,000 (up 17% since ’04), an assisted-living facility $36,000 annually and $38 an hour for a Medicare-certified home health aide. Genworth ...read more

Tags: Aging

Divorce Aftershocks

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 14, 2009

DIVORCE AFTERSHOCKS The National Child Development Study in the U.K. tracks 17,000 people born in Britain during the same week in 1958. Comparing those individuals with those born years later, the study revealed those in both generations with divorced parents were more likely to suffer from ...read more

Scripture: Malachi 2:16

Tags: Divorce

No Christianity Without The Cross  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 10, 2009

NO CHRISTIANITY WITHOUT THE CROSS Dr. H. Richard Neibuhr condemns cross-less Christianity, or the evangelical "feel good" seeker-sensitive churches, who refuse to display or talk about the cross. With biting criticism he writes, "Such beliefs as a God without wrath, bringing men without sin into a ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 2:20

Tags: Cross

Spiritual Leadership Begins At Home

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 6, 2010

SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP BEGINS AT HOME I like the way Paul Carlson put it in Leadership Journal years ago. He said, "Your spiritual leadership begins at home. In dealing with the family, remember that you have been blessed by the Lord, not beatified. Don’t expect your wife to stop asking you to carry ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:1-4

Tags: Father's Day

What Not To Believe

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 22, 2011

WHAT NOT TO BELIEVE Ben Patterson, campus pastor of Westmont College, tells the story of a retired pastor who began noticing that his former congregation was sliding away from orthodoxy. The pastor saw this as his fault and stated, in two sentences, his great failure as a pastor: "I always told ...read more

Scripture: Romans 16:17-19

Tags: Doctrine

Why Einstein Was So Brilliant

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on May 19, 2016

WHY EINSTEIN WAS SO BRILLIANT "As a child I received instruction both in the Bible and in the Talmud. I am a Jew, but I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene.... ..No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No ...read more

Scripture: John 1:1-17

Tags: Jesus, Wisdom, Atheism, History

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Moses And Elijah

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Nov 6, 2022

Lessons to learn about the appearance of Moses & Elijah and departed loved ones: They lived on even though they had left earth hundreds of years before. They could be identified without any formal introduction. They could speak to each other. Their intelligence was not ...read more

Tags: Elijah, Glory, Jesus, Moses, Heaven, Cross, Miracles, Transfiguration  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

D L Moody, An American Evangelist Of The Last ...  PRO

Contributed by Owen Bourgaize on Oct 18, 2000

D L Moody, an American evangelist of the last century, would quote St Paul’s words, "My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (Phil 4:19): Here is a bank cheque. The firm, "My God"; the promise, "shall supply"; the amount, "all you need"; the capital, ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:19

Tags: Faith General

Denomination: Baptist

Henry Ward Beecher Was One Of The Great ...  PRO

Contributed by Dan Erickson on Nov 20, 2000

Henry Ward Beecher was one of the great preachers of the 19th Century. He was ill one Sunday, so a substitute pastor walked up to the pulpit as the worship service began. Seeing that Dr. Beecher would not be speaking that day, a number of people got up and headed for the door. The substitute ...read more

Tags: Church Practices, Messenger, Idolatry, Preaching, Pride, Spiritual Warfare, Story, Warfare  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

A Group Of Academics And Historians Has Compiled ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 19, 2002

A group of academics and historians has compiled this startling information: Since 3600 BC, the world has known only 292 years of peace! LESS THAN 1% (.08) OF THIS TIME WAS IN PEACE. During this period there have been 14,351 wars large and small, in which 3.64 billion people have been killed. The ...read more

Tags: Second Coming

The Movie Clip You Just Saw Is From The Life Of ...

Contributed by Tim Richards on Jun 2, 2005

The movie clip you just saw is from the life of Frank Abigale Jr. is based on the true story of his life as told in the movie, "Catch Me If You Can." Did you notice that he successfully pretended to be an airline pilot, doctor and lawyer. Before he was caught he cashed over $4 million of bad checks ...read more

Tags: Sin Deceptive, Sin Exposed

Denomination: Baptist

Where Are The Young Clergy? The Numbers Of Young ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

Where Are The Young Clergy? The numbers of young pastors have been steadily declining in recent years. In ’75, about 24% of Presbyterian ministers were under 35—today its just 7%. Episcopal priests under 35 have dropped from 19% to 4% over the same period. For Roman Catholic priests the rate has ...read more

Tags: Church General