In Sermon Illustrations: "Church Fights"

Peter's View Of The Church

Contributed by Dale Pilgrim on Feb 14, 2011

PETER'S VIEW OF THE CHURCH Derek Tidball – Ministry by the Book: New Testament Patterns for Pastoral Leadership: “Peter presents a view of the church where all are priests but some are called to exercise an overseeing role as elders and shepherds, which they do both ...read more

Tags: Call Of The Disciples

Denomination: Salvation Army

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

The Church As A China Cabinet

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 7, 2011

THE CHURCH AS A CHINA CABINET Bryan Wilkerson talks about a sterling silver tea set that a family member gave him and his wife as a reminder of her love for them. It’s quite old and beautifully made, and it sits on a stand in their dining room. There's only one problem: they can’t use it. The ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 3:14-15

Tags: Church Purpose Of

How Not To Market The Church

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 10, 2011

HOW NOT TO MARKET THE CHURCH When we speak of marketing the church (writes David Wells) we are not referencing such things as advertising church events, providing excellence in church programming, being kind to visitors, or providing ample parking. No one is arguing the importance and value of ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 3:14-16

Tags: Church Practices

De-Sanctified Churches

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 19, 2011

DE-SANCTIFIED CHURCHES Not too long ago, a real estate listing in Dallas had the simple headline: "Converted Church." In other words, what had once been a church facility is now somebody's house. The listing under the heading had this description: "The altar has been adapted for use as a granite ...read more

Scripture: 2 Thessalonians 1:3-4

Tags: Church Purpose Of

The Church Without Outreach

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 26, 2011

THE CHURCH WITHOUT OUTREACH Fred Craddock tells the story of his first church. It was a beautiful little white church on a hill in Oak Ridge, Tenn. The church was beautifully maintained. The pews had been hand-hewn from giant poplar trees that had grown nearby. Little kerosene lamps on the walls ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 3:14-22

Tags: Church Purpose Of

Separation Of Church And State...?

Contributed by Jeff Strite on May 30, 2011

SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE...? God has promised: "Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD." But... wait a minute. I thought those same founders wanted to separate the Church from the State! How many of you have ever heard that phrase? Of course you have. And I'll give a hundred dollar ...read more

Tags: America

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

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

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

Set The Church Back

Contributed by Suresh Manoharan on Dec 3, 2011

Billy Graham that great and uncompromising preacher once in a Revival meeting held at Los Angeles, shared a passionate message on the Early Church, outlining what needs to be done for the Churches of modern era to become more effective. While many were moved by it, some “cannibal” Christians ...read more

Tags: Evangelism Urgency

Denomination: *other

A True Church Family

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 28, 2012

A TRUE CHURCH FAMILY Fred Sigle, preaching minister at Garfield Christian Church in Indianapolis tells about Mark Knutson. On August 28, 1993, he was diagnosed with an extremely aggressive form of cancer. When diagnosed, he was already in the late stages and was only given a short time to ...read more

Scripture: Acts 2:42-47

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

A Non-Repentant Church

Contributed by John Bartol on Nov 7, 2012

A NON-REPENTANT CHURCH Lack of repentance is the root cause of powerlessness in the church, in this materialistic, self-indulgent age. There can be no spiritual ...read more

Tags: Repentance

Denomination: Baptist

The Church's Role In Parenting

Contributed by Rodney Bowen on Feb 7, 2013

THE CHURCH'S ROLE IN PARENTING Recently reviewing the new book by Dr. Tim Kimmel title, CONNECTING CHURCH & HOME, I found my mind and heart really pierced with the current state of our in-church parenting. Churches and families need each other. And no, I am not referring to our family’s use of ...read more

Tags: Children, Family, Parenting, Christian Life, Family Ministry  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Is Your Church An Encyclopedia?

Contributed by Perry Greene on Feb 13, 2013

IS YOUR CHURCH AN ENCYCLOPEDIA? There is a story about a man who was walking down the street. He passed a used-book store, and in the window he saw a book with the title, "How to Hug." He was taken by the title and, being of a somewhat romantic nature, went in to buy the book. To his chagrin, he ...read more

Tags: Church, Love Of The Disciples

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Wealthy, Unhealthy Church

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 9, 2014

THE WEALTHY, UNHEALTHY CHURCH Many writers have told the traditional story of the thirteenth century Catholic theologian, Thomas Aquinas, who visited the Vatican in Rome. He was escorted through the fine buildings housing the vast Papal treasury. The Pope, referring to himself as Peter’s ...read more

Scripture: Acts 5:1-10

Tags: Church, Holy Spirit, Healing, Power

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Unhappy Church Member

Contributed by Kerry O'neill on Jan 27, 2019

A christian man was stranded on a deserted island for many years. He was finally discovered and a rescue crew arrived. They were impressed with all the things he built by himself, most prominently 3 buildings. They asked him about the first building and he answered, “That is where I live.” Then ...read more

Scripture: Mark 10:45

Tags: Negativity, Church Hopping

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Reclaiming Church Dropouts  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 14, 2009

RECLAIMING CHURCH DROPOUTS 70% of young adults will leave the church between ages 18 and 22, yet LifeWay Research has found 39% of them will return if gently nudged by their parents or other family members. ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 10:25

Tags: Church Growth

Falling Asleep In Church

Contributed by Johnny Creasong on Apr 22, 2009

FALLING ASLEEP IN CHURCH Please don't think I'm complaining about folks who fall asleep in church. I understand some people can’t help it. I am convinced that some people fall asleep in church during the sermon because their have a physical ailment. Some folk must have a snooze button attached at ...read more

Tags: Preaching

Denomination: Church Of God

Marks Of A Healthy Church  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 19, 2009

Marks of a Healthy Church Walt Disney was a dreamer. His crowning vision was EPCOT; Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. He envisioned the perfect city of 20,000 using all of the most modern advances technology. One problem, Walt Disney died before his cream was ever realized. His dream ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 3:1-22

Tags: Church Purpose Of

The Church's Greatest Troublemakers  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 6, 2009

THE CHURCH'S GREATEST TROUBLEMAKERS Preacher and Bible commentator, John Stott, said this in his exposition of Paul's letter to the Galatians: "To tamper with the gospel is to trouble the church... Indeed the church's greatest troublemakers (now as then) are not those outside who oppose, ridicule ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 1:6-10

Tags: False Teaching