In Sermon Illustrations: "Church Life"

I Want It All

Contributed by John Boquist on Jul 19, 2008

I WANT IT ALL Some time ago, our daughter had just turned 15½ and received her learner’s permit. Once she did that, I actually handed her the keys to my car and let her in the driver’s seat. Suppose she had said something like, “Now that I have the keys, I’m going to drive the way I want to. ...read more

Tags: Church Purpose Of

Denomination: Baptist

More Than The Sum Of Their Parts

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 23, 2008

MORE THAN THE SUM OF THEIR PARTS I once read the story is told of a horse pulling contest in Canada. The winning horse in the contest pulled 9,000 pounds The runner up pulled 8,000. Together you’d expect them to pull 17,000 lbs. but not so! When teamed together, they pulled 30,000 lbs – nearly ...read more

Tags: Church Purpose Of

In Or Out Of The Fort?

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 23, 2008

IN OR OUT OF THE FORT? One of the things I find really neat about this area is all of the forts. You have Fort Morgan, all the Forts over at Pensacola NAS. We have had forts all over this country since the day the Pilgrims first landed, up to right now. Some were made of wood, stone, brick and ...read more

Tags: Church Purpose Of

A Shepherd Vs. A Fisherman

Contributed by Ovidiu Radulescu on Sep 21, 2007

A SHEPHERD VS. A FISHERMAN A shepherd is usually given an existing flock and maintains that flock in good fashion. A fisherman, by nature, is more aggressive than ...read more

Tags: Church Growth

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

Cult Growth

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 30, 2008

CULT GROWTH Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) reported the largest membership increases in a year, according to the National Council of Churches’ 2008 Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches. Although Jehovah’s Witnesses currently rank 25th in size ...read more

Tags: Church General

We Never Know What He'll Do Next

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 31, 2008

WE NEVER KNOW WHAT HE'LL DO NEXT I read about an airplane that had been hijacked somewhere in Europe. As the hijacker made his demands to the pilot, something amazing happened: the pilot realized that the hijacker did not speak French. The pilot did speak French and knew that most of the ...read more

Tags: Church Purpose Of

Never Let Them See The Glory

Contributed by Dave Kinney on Aug 9, 2008

NEVER LET THEM SEE THE GLORY C.S. Lewis wrote the book, "The Screwtape Letters". In the book, "Screwtape" is the Devil and his demon is "Wormwood". This is what the Devil says to the demon about Christianity: "Wormwood, the church is fertile field if you keep them bickering over details, ...read more

Tags: Church Growth

Denomination: Baptist

In About 150a.d., Justin Martyr Described A ...

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Aug 25, 2006

In about 150A.D., Justin Martyr described a church meeting: "And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits; then when the reader has ceased, the ...read more

Tags: Church General

Denomination: Independent/Bible

It's Rather Like A Person From Brooklyn Who's ...  PRO

Contributed by Terry Barnhill on Sep 21, 2006

It’s rather like a person from Brooklyn who’s read about farming and assumes he knows what it’s like. Or an accountant in Seattle who once watched a rodeo and figures he knows how to ride a Brahma bull. That’s just not how it works. From our pain, we can learn of God’s mercy; and from our ...read more

Tags: Church General

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Don't Move The Piano  PRO

Contributed by James Chandler on Jan 10, 2007

A new preacher at the local church walked into the auditorium of His new church. He thought it would be best to move the piano from the right side of the stage to the left side of the stage, so he moved it. Soon after he was fired for the disruption caused by the new ...read more

Tags: Church General

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Hispanics Purchased 14.6% Of All U.s. Homes Sold ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 20, 2007

Hispanics purchased 14.6% of all U.S. homes sold in ’05. In California, they comprise 28% of home buyers. The rate of homeownership among Hispanics hit a record 50% in Q4 of ‘05, according HUD. Low interest rates and flexible lending rules are the key cause factors. Hispanics are ...read more

Tags: Church General

Plump Preachers 76% Of Christian Clergy Are ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 20, 2007

Plump Preachers 76% of Christian clergy are overweight versus 61% of the public, according to a ’04 a Duke ...read more

Tags: Church General

Pentecostal Power From Its Origins In An Ame ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 20, 2007

Pentecostal Power From its origins in an AME Church on Azusa Street in Los Angeles, Pentecostalism has emerged as the world’s fastest-growing Christian movement. The World Christian Encyclopedia reports more than 500 million followers, comprising 25% of the world’s Christians, up from 6% in 1906. ...read more

Tags: Church General

More Born Again New Barna Research Finds 45% Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 20, 2007

More Born Again New Barna research finds 45% of all U.S. adults meet the Barna Group “born again” criteria. That’s up from 31% in ‘83. It hovered in the 36% to 43% range from ‘92 through ‘05. The current figure represents the largest single-year increase since ‘91. A 16-point rise among Baby ...read more

Tags: Church General

100 Years Old The April 1906 Azusa Street ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 20, 2007

100 Years Old The April 1906 Azusa Street revivals in Los Angeles are considered the birth the modern Pentecostal movement. According to the World Christian Encyclopedia, adherents to Charismatic faiths now number more ...read more

Tags: Church General

Jim Henderson, Author And President Of Off The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 20, 2007

Jim Henderson, author and President of Off the Map, placed a winning eBay auction bid of $504 to send a Chicago atheist to church (one visit per $10 bid). Off the Map is ...read more

Tags: Church General

If You Want To Make God Laugh, Tell Him Your ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"If you want to make God laugh, tell him your ...read more

Tags: Church Practices

We Cant Cross A Bridge Until We Come To It, But ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"We cant cross a bridge until we come to it, but I always like to lay down ...read more

Tags: Church Practices

Dont Change Your Game Plan Unless You Have To. ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"Dont change your game plan unless you have to. Certainly, youve got to have a plan thats flexible, but ...read more

Tags: Church Practices

Make No Little Plans; They Have No Magic To Stir ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

Make no little plans; they have no magic to ...read more

Tags: Church Practices