In Sermon Illustrations: "Dying Churches" showing 1,441-1,460 of 7,387

According To The Latest Survey From Gallup, The ...

Contributed by Bumble Ho on Sep 26, 2005

According to the latest survey from Gallup, the number one reason for people joining a church is because “they like the pastor” (55%). The number one reason for leaving a church other than relocation is “disappointment with the pastor” D. Michael Lindsay, ...read more

Tags: Church General, Church Body Of Christ

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Baptistry

Contributed by Davon Huss on Sep 13, 2014

Bob Russell wrote of a church who, years ago, bickered over the use of a piano. Some wanted to use a piano during Sunday worship, others did not. The disagreement grew sharp, and the church divided into two sides over the issue. One Sunday, when members arrived for church, they discovered a new ...read more

Scripture: John 17:20-23

Tags: Disagreeable, Church Unity, Church Conflict

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Teddy Bear Of Jesus

Contributed by John Telgren on Feb 11, 2017

I put my son to bed, and went through the routine. "I love you, I love mommy, I love your brothers, etc." Then he stopped, looked up at me, and asked, "What about my Teddy, don't you love my Teddy?" I looked over at a tattered, dingy, stuffed animal that was on it's last leg quite literally. I ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:25-32

Tags: Church, Bride Of Christ, Church Appreciation

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Statistics On Loneliness

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 7, 2011

STATISTICS ON LONELINESS This week I read an article by Medical News Today about the health effects of loneliness. Quoting the article, it states that "there is evidence that the risk of developing and dying from heart disease can depend on the strength of one's social network of friends and ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-16

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Who, In Hell

Contributed by Jim Butcher on Apr 13, 2018

The business meeting at First Baptist was well into its second hour. It had been another cantankerous one. Lots of angry comments, snide remarks, and power plays. And, making it especially sad, the issue on the table wasn’t even an important one. The debate was over a relatively minor recent ...read more

Tags: Evangelism, Hell, Church, Unity, Division, Church Fights  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Pick One

Contributed by Kelly Mitchell on Oct 7, 2012

Pick One The purpose and intent of the church, according to Ezekiel 36:23 is to be used to prove the Lord Holy to the nations. I can only think of two ways which God can use the church to prove the He is Holy to the Community: 1 - When He provides great happiness, peace, and success because of ...read more

Scripture: Ezekiel 36:22-23

Tags: Obedience, Church Growth, Righteousness, Church Discipline, Church Body Of Christ, Church Practices, Church Purpose Of, Sin Wages Of  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Many Christians Have Been Infected With The Most ...  PRO

Contributed by A. Todd Coget on Sep 21, 2001

Many Christians have been infected with the most virulent virus of modern American life, what sociologist Robert Bellah calls "radical individualism." They concentrate on personal obedience to Christ as if all that matters is "Jesus and me," but in doing so, miss the point altogether. For ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:16-20

Tags: Church Body Of Christ, Church Purpose Of, Church Small Groups, Renewal

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

A Winning Team  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 8, 2008

A WINNING TEAM Lee Iacocca once asked legendary football coach Vince Lombardi what it took to make a winning team. In the book Iacocca records Lombardi’s answer: "There are a lot of coaches with good ball clubs who know the fundamentals and have plenty of discipline but still don’t win the game. ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 6:9-10, John 13:34-35, Romans 12:10, Ephesians 4:2

Tags: Success, Church Body, Teamwork, Church Health, Church Body Of Christ  (view more)  (view less)

Spreading The Deadly Disease Of Gossip

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Aug 2, 2023

In 1520, one person stepped off a Spanish ship in Mexico and caused the deaths of thousands of people. The man was a soldier under the leadership of Pánfilo de Narváez, and he had smallpox. The soldier didn't know it, but wherever he went he exposed the citizens to a new disease. As a ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:28-30

Tags: Church, Lies, Gossip, Rumors, Division, Church Splits, Church Fights  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Several Years Ago In The Movie Hoosiers, Gene ...  PRO

Contributed by Tom Dooley on May 11, 2001

Several years ago in the movie Hoosiers, Gene Hackman played the part of Norman Dale, a former college coach with a tainted past who was hired to coach a rural high-school basketball team from Hickory, Indiana. Coach Dale leads the team all the way to the state finals. On the day of the ...read more

Tags: What Is Evangelism?, Church General, Church Purpose Of

Denomination: Baptist

One Older Pastor Gave Some Great Advise To ...  PRO

Contributed by David Fox on Nov 15, 2001

One older pastor gave some great advise to younger ministers, He said, “Trust the people in your pew’s. they are smarter ...read more

Tags: Leadership General, Church, Church Body Of Christ

Denomination: Pentecostal

Yet Membership In A Confessing Body Is ...  PRO

Contributed by David Yarbrough on Nov 26, 2001

Yet membership in a confessing body is fundamental to the faithful Christian life. Failure to do so defies the explicit warning not to forsake "our assembling together." His understanding of this prompted Martin Luther to say, "Apart from the church, salvation is impossible." Not that the church ...read more

Tags: Church Small Groups, Church Body Of Christ

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Randy Frazee Has Written A Book Called "The ...  PRO

Contributed by Matthew Rogers on Feb 20, 2002

Randy Frazee has written a book called "The Connecting Church." He has a son who was born without a left hand. One day in Sunday School the teacher was talking with the children about the church. To illustrate her point she folded her hands together and said, “Here’s the church, here’s the ...read more

Tags: Church Body Of Christ, Church Small Groups

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

What Difference Does It Make?  PRO

Contributed by David Salisbury on Oct 2, 2002

WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE? The job of the church is not to impact the church, but to impact the world. It’s like a huddle in a football game. 67,000 people don’t pay $25.00 a ticket to watch the Titans huddle. What if you went to a Titans game and for 2½ hours you watched 11 men stand in a ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:13-16, Matthew 5:13-16

Tags: Church, Church Purpose Of, Adversity, Purpose, Outreach  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Tony Campolo Wrote A Book Called "The Kingdom Of ...  PRO

Contributed by Steven Simala Grant on Feb 26, 2003

Tony Campolo wrote a book called “The Kingdom of God is a Party.” In chapter one, he tells the story of a trip to Honolulu in the mid 80’s. Having crossed far too many time zones from Philadelphia to Hawaii, he found himself awake and needing breakfast at 3:30am local time. He ended up in a ...read more

Tags: Worship Definition, Church Purpose Of, Church Practices

Denomination: Baptist

The Tree Of Hippocrates

Contributed by Kelly Mitchell on Oct 3, 2012

The Tree of Hippocrates On the island of Kos, the home of Hippocrates, the great physician from whom we get the “Hippocratic Oath”, there grows a tree that history says Hippocrates himself once gathered his students for class. Although the current tree is only about 500 years old, it is purported ...read more

Scripture: Luke 6:46-49

Tags: Revival, Restoration, Church Growth, Church Practices

Denomination: Baptist

Eusebius

Contributed by Davon Huss on Jul 25, 2015

Surely they will not put us in prison. I pray not, but even if they do there's a lot of good ministry in jails and prisons. Eusebius in his Church History written in 324 AD tells about the Great Persecution: “An imperial decree ordered that church leaders everywhere be chained and imprisoned, ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 4:16

Tags: Persecution, Persecute, Church Persecution, Persecuted Church

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Book Of Re-Evaluation!!!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 1, 2022

Charles Schulz consistently provided helpful and humorous insights through his Peanuts comic strip. In one run he showed Charlie Brown's sister, Sally, struggling with her memory verse for Sunday. She was lost in her thoughts trying to figure it out when she recalled, "Maybe it was ...read more

Tags: Repentance, Evaluation, Seven Churches, Church, Revival  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Baptist Kittens

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Mar 5, 2023

A Church of Christ minister walked past a street corner stand that was full of kittens for sale by a little boy in his neighborhood. The sign over the kittens read, "Church of Christ kittens for sale, one week old.....$5.00 each". The minister smiled and said, "My son, you are ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 16:18

Tags: Baptists, Church, Truth, Humor, Church Of Christ  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Term "Golden Hour" Was Originally Coined By ...

Contributed by Troy Brewer on Dec 19, 2002

The term "golden hour" was originally coined by Dr. R Adams Cowley of the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services, who is regarded as the pioneer of modern trauma care. Dr. Cowley advocated that most trauma patients die of shock, which comes from sluggish or non-existent circulation ...read more

Tags: Church Purpose Of, Evangelism Urgency, Salvation

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational