In Sermon Illustrations: "Dying Churches"

There Was A Little Old Church Out In The ...

Contributed by Jerry Hillyer Ii on Jul 7, 2008

There was a little old church out in the countryside: painted white and with a high steeple. One Sunday, the pastor noticed that his church needed painting. He checked out the Sunday ads and found a paint sale. The next day, he went into town and bought a gallon of white paint. He went back out to ...read more

Tags: Sin General

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Church Is Not A Place Where The Perfect ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 30, 2008

"The church is not a place where the perfect dwell, but rather a hospital where sick sinners get well." (SOURCE: St. Augustine. From a sermon by Monty Newton, ...read more

Tags: Church Purpose Of

40% Of Pastors Of Conventional Churches In The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 30, 2008

40% of pastors of conventional churches in the U.S. say they would recommend a house church to ...read more

Tags: Church General

How America Does Church

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 30, 2008

HOW AMERICA DOES CHURCH "Unattached"--people who had attended neither a conventional church nor a faith community during the past year represents 25% of adult Americans. A third of these have never attended a church. "Intermittents"--participated in a conventional church or a faith community ...read more

Tags: Church General

Have You Seen The Church?

Contributed by Mark Eberly on Aug 4, 2008

HAVE YOU SEEN THE CHURCH? These early Church of God people also used another phrase, "I saw the church." They might ask, "Have you seen the church?" Now a lot of you know that I didn't grow up "going to church." And I certainly didn't grow up attending a Church of God congregation. So when I ...read more

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Denomination: Church Of God

The Church Can Still Strike ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 11, 2008

THE CHURCH CAN STILL STRIKE FEAR In 1988, Wally Magdangal was pastoring an underground church in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He was a Filipino lay pastor of Christian foreign workers wishing to gather for worship. In 1992, soon after the conclusion of the Gulf War, the house church had grown to over ...read more

Tags: Persecution

Too Good For Your Church

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 2, 2008

TOO GOOD FOR YOUR CHURCH A good set of clothes makes all the difference. A Methodist church tried to get a man to attend, but he never did. "Why don't you come?" the minister asked, and the man finally admitted it was because he didn't have proper clothes. So a member of the congregation took him ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:17-24

Tags: Church Growth

Selflessness Sparks A Whole Church  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 28, 2008

SELFLESSNESS SPARKS A WHOLE CHURCH When Yoido Full Gospel Church in South Korea was building its prayer mountain, they struggled in raising the funds for its construction. Pastor David Cho challenged the people again and again and still they could raise the funds they needed for the project. Then, ...read more

Tags: Holy Spirit In Believers

The Rich Family In Church By Eddie ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 11, 2009

THE RICH FAMILY IN CHURCH by Eddie Ogan I’ll never forget Easter 1946. I was 14, my little sister Ocy was 12, and my older sister Darlene 16. We lived at home with our mother, and the four of us knew what it was to do without many things. My dad had died five years before, leaving Mom with seven ...read more

Tags: Money

How People Find A Church

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 16, 2009

HOW PEOPLE FIND A CHURCH 55% of unchurched people and 64% of church switchers find a church through recommendation from friends or family. 49% of unchurched people and 83% of church switchers do so from an in-person visit. 25% of unchurched and 21% of church switchers find or visit a churches ...read more

Tags: Evangelism How To

Ten Rules For Improving The Church

Contributed by David Parks on Jun 3, 2022

TEN RULES FOR IMPROVING THE CHURCH 1. Tell yourself over and over that since you are not perfect you would not fit into a perfect congregation, if one existed. 2. Instead of picking out the worldly members to point to, pick out the sincere, dedicated, spiritual members and thank God for them. You ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 6:1-2, 1 Peter 4:8, Matthew 7:1-5

Tags: Church, Encouragement, Judgementalism

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Church Is A Battleship, Not A Cruise Ship!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 2, 2023

Adrian Rogers said "We are in a spiritual war! And the Church is not a cruise ship with the Senior Pastor as the Master of Ceremonies! Indeed, the Church is not a showboat…...it is a battleship. We, in the Body of Christ, are called to see Satan's strongholds crumble under the ...read more

Tags: Satan, Spiritual Warfare, Prayer, Revival, Victory, Demons, Strongholds  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

When A Thief Was Surprised At Church!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Nov 13, 2023

When I was pastoring in Texas, something strange happened one Christmas that I will never stop laughing about. Because it was a Christmas holiday, we were at home with our family taking a break from our normal ministry schedule. We did not go to the church campus for the weekend. But, while we ...read more

Scripture: Malachi 3:10-11, Proverbs 3:9-10, 1 Timothy 6:10, 1 Corinthians 16:1-2

Tags: Pastors, Tithing, Robbing God, Stealing, Surprises, Church, Giving, Humor  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Church That Voted God Out!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 28, 2024

The story is told about a poor woman who lived across the tracks and wanted to join a very fashionable church. She talked to the pastor about it, but he sought to discourage her. He suggested she go home and think about it carefully for a week. At the end of the week she came back. He said, “Go ...read more

Scripture: James 2:1-12

Tags: Church, Revival, Favoritism, Pastors, Membership, Partiality  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

There Were Two Churches Of Christ In The Small ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

There were two Churches of Christ in the small north Texas town. The church where I ministered had split from the older church years before over some petty differences. I was beginning a sermon series on the "One-another" passages of the Bible, when Gabe, a former elder, got up and walked up to ...read more

Tags: Faith

I Have A Friend Who Works With A Church In ...  PRO

Contributed by Jeremy Houck on Jul 26, 2005

I have a friend who works with a church in Nashville. He was telling us a few weeks ago about a lady at his church who was really convicted by what she had been reading in the scriptures and hearing at church. She felt that she has no other choice but to take the love of God out to a dying world ...read more

Tags: Evangelism How To

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Joseph Ton Was Pastor Of Second Baptist Church, ...  PRO

Contributed by Kenneth Henes on Jun 22, 2004

Joseph Ton was pastor of Second Baptist Church, Oradea, Rumania, until he was exiled by the Rumanian government in 1981. In Pastoral Renewal, he writes of his experience: "Years ago I ran away from my country to study theology at Oxford. In 1972, when I was ready to go back to Rumania, I ...read more

Tags: Examples Of Faith, Doubt

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

In Forty Years Of Involvement In His Church's ...  PRO

Contributed by James Wilson on Nov 23, 2000

In forty years of involvement in his church’s visitation program, Wilt Durant had led one person to Christ. You know what they say, if only one person comes to Christ its worth all the effort, right? When he retired in 1992, he moved to Rogers, AR and joined Immanuel Baptist Church. One Sunday, ...read more

Tags: What Is Evangelism?

Denomination: Baptist

A Pastor Was Called To A New Church. The First ...  PRO

Contributed by Steve Heartsill on Oct 25, 2000

A pastor was called to a new church. The first Sunday the pastor was there, his message was taken from John 3:16. The message was entitled, "How to Be Born Again." The message was well received, but no decisions were made. The second Sunday, the pastor’s message was taken from John 3:16 and was ...read more

Tags: Becoming A Christian, Lordship Of Christ, Forgiveness In Jesus

Denomination: Baptist

Church Conflicts Happen For Pretty Unusual ...  PRO

Contributed by Dan Erickson on Jan 28, 2001

Church conflicts happen for pretty unusual reasons. In the 1890s there was a small Baptist church in Mayfield County, Kentucky. The church had just two deacons, and those two men seemed to be constantly arguing and bickering with each other. On a particular Sunday, one deacon put up a small wooden ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:10-17, Colossians 3:13, 1 Corinthians 16:14, Philippians 2:14

Tags: Christian Love, Unity

Denomination: Baptist