In Sermon Illustrations: "Dying Churches" showing 1,681-1,700 of 7,387

I Did It With My Club

Contributed by Chris Jordan on Sep 23, 2012

I DID IT WITH MY CLUB A hunter walking through the jungle found a huge dead elephant with a pigmy standing beside it. Amazed, he asked: "Did you kill that?" The pigmy said, "Yes." The hunter asked, "How could a little guy like you kill a huge beast like that?" "I killed it with my club." ...read more

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Denomination: *other

The Body: The Image Of God

Contributed by Bret Toman on Oct 31, 2012

THE BODY: THE IMAGE OF GOD Paul Brand writing about what it means to be in the image of God in his book In His Image: "We will not explore the psychological and mental attributes in each one of us that might reflect the image of God. Instead, we will center on a community, that group of God’s ...read more

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Denomination: Baptist

One Body To The Death

Contributed by Bret Toman on Oct 31, 2012

ONE BODY TO THE DEATH On February 19, 1945, near the end of WWII, 800 American ships amassed to assault the island of Iwo Jima with its two strategic air strips 600 miles south of Tokyo. The Marines had fought a total of 43 months in the Pacific in World War II and in this one-month assault on Iwo ...read more

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Denomination: Baptist

Rent A Family…?

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 14, 2013

RENT A FAMILY...? I read a recent article about how people in Japan are so busy that older people can now rent a family. Here’s the quote: "In Japan, you can rent a family. Elderly Japanese who are isolated from their children by the frantic pace of modern life can rent a 'family' for lunch and a ...read more

Scripture: Acts 2:42-47

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

A Bad Business Meeting

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 28, 2014

A church called a special business meeting of all of its members to vote on a very heated issue. Things got out of hand so badly that one elderly woman of the congregation stood up and said, "I am so ashamed of every one of you here tonight. This is a disgrace! If Jesus knew about this......He ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 14:1-33

Tags: Jesus, Church, Theology

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Why No Revival In America?

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 28, 2014

WHY NO REVIVAL IN AMERICA? A wise old evangelist was once asked, “Why don’t we see revival happening in the Church in the United States today?” The old preacher scratched his chin and thought for a moment. Then he said, “The reason why ...read more

Scripture: Acts 2:18-32

Tags: Church, Revival, Apathy

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Miss America And Elephants

Contributed by Pastor Jeff Hughes on Feb 1, 2014

Matt 24:24-25 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand. Back years ago, I heard a well known salesman that regularly competed with the number one company in his industry. Those ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 24:24-25

Tags: Size, Church Size

Denomination: Bible Church

When The Gospel Came To America

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Mar 4, 2014

Biblical Scholar, Dr. Richard Halverson, once said, “When the Greeks got the Gospel, they turned it into a philosophy; when the Romans got the Gospel, they turned it into a government. When the Europeans got the Gospel, they turned it into a culture........ and when ...read more

Scripture: Romans 1:15-16

Tags: Church, America, Gospel

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Stephen King On Religion

Contributed by Davon Huss on May 7, 2014

Horror writer Stephen King says this: "Organized religion ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 23:1-36

Tags: Religion, Church Community

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Relationship We Share

Contributed by Davon Huss on Jun 2, 2014

While many people hunger for family closeness, we often miss the opportunities that stand immediately before us. Tammy Harris of Roanoke, Virginia, began searching for her biological mother when she turned 21. A year of searching proved fruitless. Tammy did not realize, however, that her ...read more

Scripture: Mark 3:34-35

Tags: Family, Church Family

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Sow Indiscriminately

Contributed by I. Grant Spong on Jul 15, 2017

In the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13) Jesus spoke of the kingdom of heaven being like an indiscriminate sower. This contradicts theories surrounding church growth of targeting certain statistically measurable demographics. There is no such target audience in this parable. The seed of the kingdom ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:1-23

Tags: Sower, Church Growth

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Lego Theology

Contributed by Davon Huss on Nov 23, 2019

Matt Proctor- Several years ago, two of my nephews accompanied their mom on a visit to a friend’s house. Ben was 8, Brian was 6. Their mother’s friend was a very neat lady- a place for everything and everything in its place. Though childless, she did have a few toys and handed Ben and Brian a ...read more

Tags: Church, Relationships, Synergy

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Eat Twinkies Together

Contributed by Davon Huss on Nov 23, 2019

A Harvard study of 7,000 people found that the most isolated people were 3 times more likely to die than those with strong relationships. Reporting on the study, John Ortberg writes that “people who had bad health habits (such as smoking, poor eating habits, or alcohol use) but strong social ties ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:15

Tags: Church, Relationships, Synergy

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Power Of Singing

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on May 14, 2020

Its been observed that Singing Together Shapes Community. ***Songs are one way that a community has its identity and one way that individuals find their identity within a community. (therefore old songs –passed on to the next generation- help create community bonds) Baseball has a song – during ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:1-2

Tags: Community, Church, Worship

Denomination: Pentecostal

Facts About Persecution Of Christians

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Aug 18, 2020

FACTS ABOUT PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS: * More Christians were martyred in the 20th century than in all other centuries combined. * Currently over 200 million Christians are being persecuted worldwide. * 70 percent of the world's population lives in a religiously intolerant environment. * Every ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:1-12

Tags: Church, Persecution, Beatitudes

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

African Proverb

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 24, 2009

African proverb: If you want to travel fast, travel alone. If you want to travel far, go together. (From a sermon by Anthony ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 4:8-12

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Mountain Climbers Help Each Other

Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Mar 29, 2009

Mountain Climbers Help Each Other In May 1953, two men became the first in history to climb to the top of Mt. Everest; Edmund Hillary, a New Zealand beekeeper and explorer, and his Sherpa guide from Nepal, Tenzing Norgay. They reached the summit together and attained instant international ...read more

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Denomination: Other

Pitchers Need Their Team

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 8, 2009

PITCHERS NEED THEIR TEAM Behold, a team went forth to play a game of baseball. Just as the umpire was saying, "Batter up," the catcher for the home team arrived and took his place behind the plate. The center fielder didn’t show up at all but sent his regrets. The third baseman likewise failed to ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 10:24-25

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Object Lesson: The Purpose Of A Teapot

Contributed by David Rumley on Apr 16, 2009

OBJECT LESSON: THE PURPOSE OF A TEAPOT Does a teapot serve a purpose until it has something to pour out? So too are we meant to be full – ready to pour out what we have been filled with. This is the Body of Christ - meant to become full of Christ so that we might be poured out on those in need. ...read more

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Denomination: Pentecostal

Getting Organized  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 28, 2009

GETTING ORGANIZED In a Peanuts cartoon, Lucy demands that Linus change TV channels and then threatens him with her fist if he doesn’t. "What makes you think you can walk right in here and take over?" asks Linus. "These five fingers," says Lucy. "Individually they are nothing, but when I curl ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 10:25

Tags: Church Body Of Christ