In Sermon Illustrations: "Barriers To Growth" showing 201-220 of 802

If You Want It Bad Enough

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 10, 2011

IF YOU WANT IT BAD ENOUGH When a person first comes to faith in Christ and gets a taste of His grace, they can’t get enough of the Bible. Pat Summerall, the well-known sports announcer, trusted Christ with his life and overcame alcohol in the late 60’s. As he describes his life with Christ, he ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 2:2-3

Tags: Growth In Christ

Junk-Food Addictions  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 10, 2011

JUNK-FOOD ADDICTIONS If we’re going to get our appetite back for the pure, spiritual milk of God’s Word, then we need to get rid of the junk food of broken relationships. We need to put away those wrong attitudes of the heart that keep us from loving each other. The five things listed here are ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 2:1-3

Tags: Growth In Christ

Stradivarius Mystery

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 11, 2011

STRADIVARIUS MYSTERY Perhaps the greatest of all Stradivarius mysteries is why no modern violinmaker has been able to replicate Stradivari’s work. The violins of Stradivari’s time were treated with a varnish made from the resinous material of any of a number of possible plants. We don’t know what ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 1:24-29

Tags: Growth In Christ

Dwarfish Christianity

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 24, 2011

DWARFISH CHRISTIANITY Charles Spurgeon, the famed pastor of the Metropolitan Baptist Tabernacle in London made this observation in the late 1800’s when he came in contact with a community of small framed men. "There was once in London a club of small men, whose qualification for membership lay in ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 3:10-20, 1 Timothy 3:10-12

Tags: Growth In Christ

There Is No Greater Priority Than This: To Enable ...

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Oct 8, 2011

There is no greater priority than this: to enable the people of our time once more to encounter God, the God who speaks to us and shares his love so that ...read more

Tags: Growth In Christ

Denomination: Catholic

Childhood Reminders

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Nov 7, 2011

CHILDHOOD REMINDERS When I first came to Wichita Falls, Joe and Eloise were living over on Hursh, and I remember going to call on them one day. The front door cradled a lovely stained-glass window. When I asked about it, Joe said, "It’s from the old church in Vernon." Every time he entered and ...read more

Tags: Growth In Christ

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Korean Cell Churches

Contributed by Dale Pilgrim on Nov 9, 2011

KOREAN CELL CHURCHES Assemblies of God Church in Seoul, Korea: It started in 1958 when Paul Yonggi Cho (later David) held a service in his friend’s home with her three children. Passionate desire to share Christ by inviting other people to their home church soon resulted in exponential growth. ...read more

Tags: Church Growth

Denomination: Salvation Army

A Humorous Birthday Card Read: "You Are Only ...

Contributed by Jerry Flury on Jan 2, 2012

A humorous birthday card read: "You are only young once, but you can be immature forever." The sad truth is too many Christians have made that their mantra. Paul said to the believers at Corinth, “I, brethren, could not speak to you as ...read more

Tags: Growth In Christ

Denomination: Baptist

Confined Christians

Contributed by Rodelio Mallari on Jan 10, 2012

CONFINED CHRISTIANS I met a young man not long ago who dives for exotic fish for aquariums. He told me that one of the most popular aquarium fish is the shark. He explained that if you catch a small shark and confine it, it will stay a size proportionate to the aquarium you put it in. Sharks can ...read more

Tags: Growth In Christ

Denomination: *other

So Hungry

Contributed by Davon Huss on Jan 16, 2012

SO HUNGRY The silence of the congregation partaking of the Lord’s Supper was suddenly broken by a loud exclamation. A 5-year-old girl was watching that passing out of the bread and juice and asked her mother is she could take some. Her mother said that she was not old enough to take some. With ...read more

Tags: Growth In Christ

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Century Plant

Contributed by Johnny A. Palmer Jr. on Feb 10, 2012

THE CENTURY PLANT Abraham has now reached the Century mark! He is 100 years old and Sarah is 90. A common sight in America's Southwest desert is the century plant. It's unique. The century plant (Agave Americana) thrives in rocky, mountainous, desert sites. It has dramatic, splayed leaves that ...read more

Tags: Growth In Christ

Denomination: Baptist

Spiritual Redwoods

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 18, 2012

SPIRITUAL REDWOODS Can you imagine a redwood tree saying, "I’d just rather remain a little bush"? That would seem insane, right? I want to put up on the screen some pictures of redwood trees. They are truly magnificent. My oldest daughter and her husband were married at the foot of redwood that ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 1:3-14

Tags: Growth In Christ

How To Promote Good Health In Infants

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 8, 2012

HOW TO PROMOTE GOOD HEALTH IN INFANTS A person who is "born again" starts a new life similar to that of a newborn infant. Seven rules that promote good health in babies can be adapted and applied to a Christian’s spiritual growth. 1. Daily Food. Take in the "pure milk of the word" through study ...read more

Scripture: Acts 2:42-47

Tags: Growth In 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

In A Peanuts Comic Strip, We Find Snoopy ...

Contributed by Davon Huss on Jul 9, 2012

In a Peanuts comic strip, we find Snoopy thinking to himself: "Yesterday I was a dog. Today I'm a dog. Tomorrow I'll probably still be ...read more

Tags: Growth In Christ

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Jim Twins. ...

Contributed by Ed Sasnett on Dec 18, 2012

Maybe you’ve heard the story of the Jim twins. Jim Springer and Jim Lewis were twin sons of a fourteen-year-old Italian girl. She gave birth to them in a small town in Ohio and then disappeared. They were adopted into two separate loving families, but after 39 years of life had never seen one ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 1:6-9

Tags: Growth In Christ

Denomination: Baptist

Never Quit Growing

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Feb 9, 2022

GROWTH IS ESSENTIAL OR ONE WILL GET STAGNATE AND BEGIN A DECREASE. Growth is essential to long term survival. We must learn to take advantage of opportunities and take risk. GROWTH: improve, increase, develop, mature, progressive development, MATURITY, AGE, SIZE, WEIGHT, HEIGHT. 2 Peter 3:18 ...read more

Scripture: 2 Peter 3:18, Philippians 1:9

Tags: Plan, Growth

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Getting Fat

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Jan 6, 2019

JUST GETTING FAT? By Juan Carlos Orte We have a phenomenon in the church today which I call “eternal babyhood of the believer.” We have members of our churches who after years of hearing messages are just the same as always. They continually need a minister to keep after them, changing their ...read more

Scripture: Luke 13:6-9

Tags: Focus, Real Growth, Stages Of Growth

Denomination: Assembly Of God

The Price Has Been Paid For You

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Aug 28, 2024

The story is told of a young man who left the old country and sailed to America to make a new life in the new world. Before he left, his father pressed some money in his hand. It wasn't much, but it was all he had. He hoped it would tide the boy over until he found a job. His mother handed him ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:13-14

Tags: Good News, Barriers, Intimacy With God, Missing Out

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Purpose Of Testing Your Faith Is To Help You ...  PRO

Contributed by Tim George on Feb 5, 2001

The purpose of testing your faith is to help you to see whether or not your faith is real and how strong that faith is. A jeweler gives as one of the surest tests for a true diamond what is called the water test. An imitation stone is never ever so brilliant as a genuine stone. A genuine diamond ...read more

Scripture: James 1:2-3

Tags: Growth In Christ, Doubt

Denomination: Baptist