In Sermon Illustrations: "Boring Sermons"

Denominational Loyalty Has Remained Unexpectedly ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

Denominational Loyalty has remained unexpectedly strong among those who attended church as children. The church preferences of the adults who did not attend a Christian congregation when young are more likely to attend Baptist churches and not mainline Protestant or Catholic churches. Barna ...read more

Tags: Church General

Churched-As-Children Individuals Are Twice As ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

Churched-As-Children individuals are twice as likely as the unchurched-as-children niche to be born again Christians (44% vs. 24%), and significantly more likely to hold an orthodox view of God’s nature (74% vs. 54%). A minority of both groups believes in the existence of the Holy Spirit and of ...read more

Tags: Church General

Kid-Influence: Last Year, Children Ages 4-12 ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

Kid-Influence: Last year, children ages 4-12 spent $29 billion of their own money, plus they influenced an estimated $290 billion in family spending. ...read more

Tags: Children

1 Out Of Every 6 Theological Students In The U.s. ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

1 out of every 6 theological students in the U.S. is enrolled in a Southern Baptist seminary. (Foster ...read more

Tags: Church General

In ‘99, 52% Of Students In Theological School ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

In ‘99, 52% of students in theological school were 35 or over, up from the ‘91 figure of 45%. (Foster ...read more

Tags: Church General

Church Attendance Surge Over: For The Last Three ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

Church Attendance Surge Over: For the last three decades, Gallup Poll has found the percentage of Americans who attend church or synagogue weekly to hover between 39% and 43%. In May ‘01, the figure was 41%, in the 10 days after 9/11, it climbed to 47%—a noticeable rise, but no more than what is ...read more

Tags: Church General

Retail Glut: Worrisome American Retailers Added 3 ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

Retail Glut: Worrisome American retailers added 3 sq. ft. of new store space during the ‘90s for every man, woman, and child in the U.S., finds research firm F.W. Dodge. That 20% growth rate was double the rate of population growth during the decade. As space grew, the industry became less ...read more

Tags: Finding Fulfillment

Honesty Ranking: Firefighters Top The Annual ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

Honesty Ranking: Firefighters top the annual CNN/USA Today Gallup Poll ranking the honesty, integrity and ethical standards of various professions. 90% of Americans rated them “high” or “very high.” Close behind firefighters in the ratings were nurses (84%), members of the military (81%), policemen ...read more

Tags: Faith

Private Help: A Yearlong Study Finds That More ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

Private Help: A yearlong study finds that more Americans now depend on private food kitchens and pantries than use the federal food stamp program. The survey, paid for by America’s Second Harvest, a network of food banks, shows food pantries, kitchens and emergency shelters provided for more than ...read more

Tags: Giving General

God & Prosperity: The Data In 60 Countries Over ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

God & Prosperity: The data in 60 countries over the last 20 years show a pattern of richer societies being less religious. However, the extent of religiousness rises with education. In the U.S., within denominations, more highly educated persons tend to attend church ...read more

Tags: Apologetics General

Fewer Absolute Truth Believers: Some 20 Months ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

Fewer Absolute Truth Believers: Some 20 months prior to the 9/11 attacks, people were asked if they believed that “there are moral truths that are absolute, meaning that those moral truths or principles do not change according to the circumstances” or that “moral truth always depends upon the ...read more

Tags: Truth Absolute

Married Men Who Are Fired Have An 18% Higher ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

Married men who are fired have an 18% higher chance than the norm of being divorced with the next 3 months versus 13% for women. ...read more

Tags: Divorce

Truth—not So Absolute: The People Groups Least ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

Truth—Not So Absolute: The people groups least likely to believe in absolute moral truth are Baby Busters (those 36 and younger—only 13% embrace absolute truth), Catholics (16%) and adults who are not born again Christians (15%). The groups most likely to endorse the existence of absolute moral ...read more

Tags: Truth Absolute

Generous Christians: The Average Amount Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

Generous Christians: The average amount of charitable gifts donated in ‘00 by households in which people regularly attend religious services was $2,151, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy. The average donated by those who do not ...read more

Tags: Giving General

Sir Billy: Evangelist Billy Graham Became The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

Sir Billy: Evangelist Billy Graham became the first clergyman outside the British Commonwealth to receive the insignia of Honorary Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire bestowed by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The ceremony was held 12/6 ...read more

Tags: Character

In The Last 10 Years, There Has Been A 42% Growth ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

In the last 10 years, there has been a 42% growth in the number of new Muslim mosques in America compared to a 12% increase in evangelical ...read more

Tags: World Religions

Christian Bookstores Are Reporting Bibles Sales ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

Christian bookstores are reporting Bibles sales increases up to 40% since 9/11. (Foster Letter ...read more

Tags: Bible Influence

A 5% Increase In Customer Retention Can Translate ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

A 5% increase in customer retention can translate to a 25% to 125% increase in company profitability in the B-to-B marketplace. ...read more

Tags: Church General

Family Time: Society Is Seeing Attitudinal Shifts ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

Family Time: Society is seeing attitudinal shifts in parents as they focus less on career and more on family. According to the Travel Industry Association of America, households with kids took just under 119 million leisure trips in ‘02, up 23% ...read more

A Better Life? In 1956 The Typical American Had ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

A Better Life? In 1956 the typical American had to work 16 weeks for each 100 square feet of home purchased; now it takes 14 weeks, and the houses are much nicer. Most families of that period had 1 car and strived to own 2; today 1/3 of U.S. families own 3 or more cars. The workforce has never been ...read more

Tags: Children