In Sermon Illustrations: "Ephesians 1:1-6:1"

Downward Trends In U.s. Christianity

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 15, 2012

DOWNWARD TRENDS IN U.S. CHRISTIANITY In George Barna's new book on U.S. Christians called Futurecast, he tracks annual changes from 1991 to 2011 and shows that all the major trend lines of religious belief and behavior ran downward except two: More people claim they have accepted Jesus as their ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:11-16

Tags: Church Practices

What Grace Means

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 4, 2012

WHAT GRACE MEANS When a person works an eight-hour day and receives a fair day’s pay for his time, that is a wage. When a person competes with an opponent and receives a trophy for his performance, that is a prize. When a person receives appropriate recognition for his long service or high ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:8-9

Tags: Grace

A Surprise Ending For A Couple Who Met ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 16, 2012

A SURPRISE ENDING FOR A COUPLE WHO MET ON-LINE A couple from Zenica, Central Bosnia, are divorcing after accusing each other of being unfaithful following an online affair. “They met online, where he called himself “Prince of Joy,” and she called herself “Sweetie.” Their real names were Sana and ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:22-33

Tags: Marriage Faithfulness

Child Of A King

Contributed by Dwight Clough on Dec 29, 2012

Imagine for a moment that you were a child in a super rich family. If you wanted a new car, it’s yours. If you wanted a week in Europe or in the South Pacific, no problem. For you, money is no object. Whatever you want is yours. Most of us will never be in that situation. But, in reality, we are in ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 3:20

Tags: Identity, Prayer How To

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Healing House: "I Thought You Were Dead."  PRO

Contributed by Tim Smith on Jan 6, 2013

HEALING HOUSE: "I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD." Healing House is in Kansas City, Ks. It's a home for drug addicts started by a woman named Bobbie Jo. Bobbie Jo had been walking the streets for many years but then someone cared enough to share the Gospel with her and she was born again. At the same time, ...read more

Scripture: Deuteronomy 26:1-11, Ephesians 2:1-10

Tags: Giving General

Denomination: Methodist

Jealous In A Restaurant  PRO

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Jan 10, 2013

JEALOUS IN A RESTAURANT There is an old story about an older couple having dinner in a restaurant. The wife sees another couple about their age sitting in a booth nearby. She sees the husband sitting close to his wife, with his arm around her. He is whispering things in her ear, and she is smiling ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:28

Tags: Contentment, Marriage General

Denomination: Baptist

Critics

Contributed by David Simpson on Jan 18, 2013

If there is one glaring fault in my ministry, it has been to allow others to blur my vision and that of the church. To take away any enthusiasm and joy. No matter what you do in life, you are going to have critics. The only people who don’t hear criticism are the ones not doing anything. Paul ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:29

Tags: Discouragement, Complaining

Denomination: Christian Church

Sins Are Habits  PRO

Contributed by John Sattler on Feb 18, 2013

SINS ARE HABITS I’m reading a book right now called "The Power of Habit" (http://charlesduhigg.com/the-power-of-habit/) about how so much of our daily life is lived by habit. We have to. Our brain needs habits in order for us to be able to function. Just about everything we do is habitual. How ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:28, Romans 12:2

Tags: Temptation General

Denomination: Lutheran

The Umpire's Revenge  PRO

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Mar 6, 2013

THE UMPIRE'S REVENGE Forgiveness begins when we give up the quest to get even. This is difficult, because getting even is the natural obsession of the wounded soul. Stories about getting even always capture our attention. It wouldn’t surprise me if revenge is the theme of as many as half the ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:32

Tags: Forgiveness General

Denomination: Baptist

Filled  PRO

Contributed by Davon Huss on Apr 16, 2013

FILLED In his best selling book called, "Into Thin Air," Jon Krakauer relates the hazards that plagued some climbers as they attempted to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Andy Harris, one of the expedition leaders stayed at the peak too long and on his descent, he became in dire need of oxygen. ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:18, Matthew 4:4, Zechariah 12:10

Tags: Evangelism The Lost

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

How To Find Your Mom In A Supermarket

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 3, 2013

HOW TO FIND YOUR MOM IN A SUPERMARKET I read a story about a six-year-old boy who was separated from his mother in a supermarket. So he frantically called, "Martha! Martha! Martha!" That was his mother's name and she came running to him quickly. "But, honey," she admonished, "you shouldn't call ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:1-3

Tags: Mother's Day

Last Night I Had The Privilege Of Writing "paid ...

Contributed by David Tack on Jul 21, 2013

“Last night I had the privilege of writing "paid in full" on someone’s bill. It felt great to see them smile and walk out with no debt on their shoulders. I wondered if that’s how Jesus felt when He went to the Father on my behalf and took my debt that I could have never paid and put ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:8-10

Tags: Redemption, Remission

Denomination: Baptist

We're On The Same Team  PRO

Contributed by Gaylon Clark on Dec 9, 2013

Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin had every reason as teammates to be friends, but they were not. Incognito harassed and bullied Martin. He called him a racial slur in a voicemail played by every media outlet in the country. He threatened to kill him and his family. Incognito claimed all of this ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-6, John 17:20-23, Colossians 3:12-17, Psalm 133:1-3

Tags: Teamwork, Christian Unity, Church Unity, Christian Friendship

Denomination: Baptist

The Power Of Forgiveness  PRO

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jan 20, 2014

THE POWER OF FORGIVENESS An African woman gave her heart to Christ. Her husband was the chief of a Zulu tribe. When she told him what she had done, the chief beat her brutally. As she was lying in the floor bleeding, the man mocked her and said, “Now, what can your Jesus do for ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:31-32, Luke 23:34

Tags: Forgiveness, Enemy, New Birth, Forgiving Others

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Beautiful And Stupid At The Same Time  PRO

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Feb 2, 2014

BEAUTIFUL AND STUPID AT THE SAME TIME A husband and wife were having an argument. Finally, out of sheer frustration, the husband blurted out, "Honey, I don’t know why God made you so beautiful...and, yet, so stupid, at the same time!" The woman stared at her husband and said, ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:18-25

Tags: Marriage, Husband, Wife

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

United We Stand

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 16, 2014

Let me read one of Aesop’s Greek fables; In the forest, there lived four oxen. They were very good friends and always went together to graze in the fields. However, every time they went, a hungry lion tried to attack them. The lion longed for their meat. But they withstood his attack by fighting ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-6

Tags: Unity, Divisions

The Power Of Snowflakes  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 20, 2014

THE POWER OF SNOWFLAKES We can learn great lessons of unity and its power simply by observing the nature. For example a single snow flake that looks beautiful and innocent. If it remains on its own it can easily fly away or quickly melt away. On it's own it does no harm and poses no threat to any ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 11:1-9, Luke 10:38-42, Ephesians 4:13-14

Tags: Power, Unity, Power Of Unity

Gossip: Opie's Newspaper

Contributed by Davon Huss on May 7, 2014

"Opie's Newspaper" is an episode on the Andy Griffith Show. Opie's friend, Howie, received a small printing press as a gift, and the boys decide to go into the newspaper business. They work hard and produce an initial issue of what they call the Mayberry Sun. The boys soon find that business is ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:31-32

Tags: Gossip, Slander, Sins Of Tongue, Control Tongue

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Team

Contributed by Suresh Manoharan on Jul 14, 2014

Remember the good ole’ definition of the word TEAM? T-OGETHER ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:11-15

Tags: Destination, Coordination

Denomination: *other

Love Is The Pursuit Of Relationships.

Contributed by Andrew Moffatt on Oct 28, 2014

Love eh, the most excellent way, how do we sum this up. What is the main point I’d like to make about love? Well it’s this, “Love is the pursuit of relationships.” Well what would that look like? Let me tell you about a couple of young men who were born in the same town back early in the last ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 3:14-21

Tags: Gain, Relationships, Damage, Family Relationships

Denomination: Salvation Army