In Sermon Illustrations: "Family Ministry"

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

Everything Looks Different

Contributed by Glynda Lomax on Dec 27, 2014

“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.” - Thornton Wilder It was the anniversary of the fall of the Soviet Union when he got the call from Moscow. Some of the Russian oil companies had abandoned their wells, left their rigs with the ...read more

Scripture: Luke 12:34

Tags: Work, Daily Living, Family Priorities

Denomination: Charismatic

We Can Witness, But We Cannot Convert

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Nov 18, 2019

We may use all means, by but we cannot command success. We may teach, but we cannot convert. We may show those around us the bread and water of life, but we cannot make them eat and drink it. We may point out the way to eternal life, but we cannot make others walk in it. ‘It is the Spirit that ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:1-10

Tags: Evangelism, Family, Witnessing, Unbelief, Straying  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Independent/Bible

32 Simple Ways To Make Your Marriage Sizzle

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 4, 2021

32 WAYS TO HELP YOU HAVE A GREAT MARRIAGE..... 1. Communicate with your partner – work hard on listening. 2. Befriend each other’s friends and family 3. Know your spouse’s love language – Touch, talk, time, treasures, tasks 4. Give each other space to breathe without control 5. Take trips ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:18-31

Tags: Love, Marriage, Family, Relationships, Home  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

How To Raise A Juvenile Delinquent

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 13, 2022

Years ago, the Sheriff's office in a Texas city distributed a list of rules titled, "How To Raise A Juvenile Delinquent In Your Own Family." Rule One: Begin with infancy to give the child everything he wants. This will insure his believing that the world owes him a living. Rule Two: ...read more

Tags: Home, Discipline, Children, Parents, Family  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Successful Parenting - Two Hands

Contributed by J Jeffrey Smead on Mar 13, 2023

The secret of all successful marriages ......... of all successful parenting...... always rests ... in two sets of hands. First and foremost, ... in the hand of God ...... and secondly ... in our hands. If we allow those hands ... (Clasp them) to be linked together ...... the results are ... ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:1-18

Tags: Father's Day, Hands, Fathers, Families

Denomination: Anglican

Words Really Do Matter!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 6, 2024

The children in a prominent family decided to create for their father’s birthday a book of the family’s history. They commissioned a professional biographer to do the work, carefully warning him of the family’s "black sheep" problem: Uncle George had actually been executed in the electric ...read more

Tags: Words, Tongue, Obituary, Family, Mouth  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Precious Grandmother  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 5, 2003

PRECIOUS GRANDMOTHER “In Charles Colson’s book, Loving God, he tells the story of an incredible ninety-one-year-old woman, known affectionately as Grandma Howell… As she moved into the twilight of her life, she had more than one reason to let depression take over--to just give up and die. Her ...read more

Tags: Mother's Day, Encourage, Encouragement, Giving Yourself, Family  (view more)  (view less)

Babel And Pentecost In Contrast

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 19, 2022

"Pentecost was a reversal of the judgment at the Tower of Babel when God confused man’s language (Gen. 11:1-9). God’s judgment at Babel scattered the people, but God’s blessings at Pentecost united the believers in the Spirit. At Babel, the people were unable to understand each other, but at ...read more

Scripture: Acts 1:11

Tags: Ministry, Church, Holy Spirit, Pentecost, Power, Revival, Pastors  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Who Are We Here For??

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Mar 9, 2023

The story has often been told about the message the founder of the Salvation Army sent to their international convention. General William Booth was unable to attend personally because of ill health, so he cabled the delegates a message containing one word: "OTHERS!" In the popular comic ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 6:1-10

Tags: Service, Ministry, Selflessness, Others, Bearing Burdens, One Another  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

How To Get Rid Of Your Pastor!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Aug 9, 2023

What a blessing it is to have a pastor who loves the Lord, who teaches the Word, and who leads his "flock" aright. I thank God we have a man like that in the church which I attend. In these days of apostasy, when there is such a tragic departure from an emphasis on the Word, how we ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-11

Tags: Division, Preachers, Ministry, Pastors, Apostasy, Man Of God, Churches  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

This Week I Was Reading The Story Of An ...  PRO

Contributed by Andrew Hamilton on Oct 26, 2002

This week I was reading the story of an Australian couple who went to Bangladesh as missionaries. When Stuart and Margaret arrived in the country they were informed, by the Baptist missionaries already there that the Muslim people were impossible to reach with the Gospel message. For the six years ...read more

Tags: Church Practices, Culture, Family, Sharing My Testimony

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Are Fathers Necessary?, Citation: Charles ...  PRO

Contributed by A. Todd Coget on Jun 15, 2001

[Are Fathers Necessary?, Citation: Charles Colson, How Now Shall We Live (Tyndale, 1999)] In How Now Shall We Live, Chuck Colson notes the disturbing realities that plague children who grow up without a father: Children in single-parent families are five times more likely to be poor, and half the ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 7:12-14

Tags: God With Us, Father's Day, Family, Divorce

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Not Everyone Can Teach A One-On-One Bible Study. ...  PRO

Contributed by Fred Sigle on Aug 16, 2003

Not everyone can teach a one-on-one Bible study. And door knocking, although it has some merit, is not the most effective way to set Bible studies or tell someone about Jesus. The Mormon church discovered this. At one you could see young Mormon elders going door-to-door to set Bible studies. ...read more

Tags: Sharing My Testimony, Family, Evangelism How To

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

President Leslie Lynch King????

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Aug 12, 2019

Leslie Lynch King, Jr. was born on Monday, July 14, 1913 in Omaha, Nebraska. His parents separated sixteen days after his birth and were divorced the following December. His father was abusive and had a drinking problem. His mother took her baby and moved back to her parents’ home in Grand Rapids, ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:17-21

Tags: Salvation, New Life, Adoption Into God's Family

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Honor Thy Father & Mother

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Jan 15, 2022

The reader may ask me why I did not try to escape what was in store for me after Hitler had occupied Austria. Let me answer the question by recalling the following story. Shortly before the United States entered WWII, I received an invitation to come to the American consulate in Vienna to pick up ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:1-2, Exodus 20:12, Matthew 15:4

Tags: Honor, Family, Obedience, Courage, 10 Commandments  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Pentecostal

Enriching Every Sphere" By Henry G. Bosch From ...  PRO

Contributed by Ron Newton on Aug 6, 2003

"Enriching Every Sphere" by Henry G. Bosch from Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations Signs of The Times, Assurance Publishers Illus... #2679 “Enriching Every Sphere” "Socrates taught for 40 years, Plato for 50, Aristotle for 40, and jesus for only 3. Yet the influence of Christ’s 3-year ministry ...read more

Tags: Teaching, Mentor, Jesus' Ministry, Jesus Teachings, Jesus Life, Instruct  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Holiness

The Good Samaritan Is A Portrait Of Jesus

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Apr 2, 2022

The Good Samaritan bears the features of the Lord Jesus Christ who comes to seek and save the lost. (1). "He came where he was." Christ comes to us right where we are. In our stripped and wounded condition we could do nothing for ourselves (Ro 5:6). (2). "He had compassion on ...read more

Tags: Neighbor, Kindness, Good Deeds, Good Samaritan, Types Of Christ, Ministry  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Six Ways To Be A Modern Day Barnabas

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Aug 2, 2023

Below are six ways to encourage someone. When was the last time you encouraged someone in any of the following ways? Have you ignored some gentle promptings by the Spirit to encourage someone? Perhaps today you might ask God to whom you might send a note or make a call? Yes, dear brother or ...read more

Scripture: Acts 4:36

Tags: Encouragement, Barnabas, Serving, Ministry To Others, Volunteers, Fellowship, Support, Giving  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Book Of Daniel Is About Teenagers.

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 1, 2022

HOW MANY MISS THE POINT THAT THESE ARE TEENAGERS! The Book of Daniel is about a young man and his teenage friends who grew up in a time when his country, Judah, southern tribes of Israel, was judged by God for their idolatry. God allowed the most ungodly leader and nation in the world, King ...read more

Tags: Mothers, Fasting, Fathers, Teenagers, Daniel, Family, Prayer, Revival  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational