In Sermon Illustrations: "Going To Church"

The Surprise Of The Rich Man And His Attempt To ...

Contributed by Philip Gill on May 29, 2008

The surprise of the rich man and his attempt to fix things up is a bit like the story of the young assistant curate who, while pedaling his bike to a pastoral visit, sees Jesus walking through town heading in the direction of his church. He races back to the vicarage and rouses the vicar. He ...read more

Tags: Church Practices

Denomination: Anglican

God Chose Us To Complete, Not Compete With, One ...

Contributed by David Ibeleme on Jun 8, 2008

God chose us to complete, not compete with, one ...read more

Tags: Church Purpose Of

Denomination: Independent/Bible

I Have A Lot Of Friends In Ministry, And One In ...

Contributed by Larry Vinson on Jun 17, 2008

I have a lot of friends in ministry, and one in particular had a chance to say what he had been waiting to say to his now former church when he resigned from his position. He had only been there six months, but it was long enough to realize that there were some problems within that particular ...read more

Tags: Church General

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

We Are Heavenly Citizens – Eph.1:3-6; 2:6 – ...

Contributed by David Ibeleme on Jul 8, 2008

We are heavenly citizens – Eph.1:3-6; 2:6 – however, we are ...read more

Tags: Church General

Denomination: Independent/Bible

In The Yorktown Visitors Center You Can See The ...

Contributed by John Boquist on Jul 19, 2008

In the Yorktown Visitors Center you can see the bicentennial proclamation celebrating the 200th anniversary of Washington's victory over the British general Cornwallis. Under the glass with that proclamation is the pen Ronald Reagan used to sign the document back in 1981. Suppose I were to ...read more

Tags: Church Purpose Of

Denomination: Baptist

More Than The Sum Of Their Parts

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 23, 2008

MORE THAN THE SUM OF THEIR PARTS I once read the story is told of a horse pulling contest in Canada. The winning horse in the contest pulled 9,000 pounds The runner up pulled 8,000. Together you’d expect them to pull 17,000 lbs. but not so! When teamed together, they pulled 30,000 lbs – nearly ...read more

Tags: Church Purpose Of

Cult Growth

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 30, 2008

CULT GROWTH Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) reported the largest membership increases in a year, according to the National Council of Churches’ 2008 Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches. Although Jehovah’s Witnesses currently rank 25th in size ...read more

Tags: Church General

Never Let Them See The Glory

Contributed by Dave Kinney on Aug 9, 2008

NEVER LET THEM SEE THE GLORY C.S. Lewis wrote the book, "The Screwtape Letters". In the book, "Screwtape" is the Devil and his demon is "Wormwood". This is what the Devil says to the demon about Christianity: "Wormwood, the church is fertile field if you keep them bickering over details, ...read more

Tags: Church Growth

Denomination: Baptist

Spiritual Health Checks  PRO

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

Spiritual Health Checks (Devoted to Prayer) There are four signs that show that the child of God is a healthy Christian. One is a heart hungry for God's Word, second is his desire to be involved in Christian fellowship, third he observes "Communion," and four he is devoted to prayer. (Acts ...read more

Scripture: Acts 2:42

Tags: Church Discipline

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Too Many Hypocrites

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

TOO MANY HYPOCRITES One of the most common excuses given for someone not surrendering to the Gospel of Christ is found in this statement, "There are too many hypocrites in the church." Many persons who are seen by outsiders to be "hypocrites" may be true, yet immature, Christians. Christians ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 26:25

Tags: Church General

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Erwin Mcmanus States, "Once Survival Has Become ...

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Aug 26, 2008

Erwin McManus states, "Once survival has become our supreme goal, we have lost our way... the church is not called to survive history but to serve humanity. As with each individual, there is a difference between living and existing for the church...The church exists to serve as the body of Christ, ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 11:23-28

Tags: Church Purpose Of

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

True Believer  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 2, 2008

TRUE BELIEVER There was a young seminarian who was taking an oral examination for his ordination process. During the questioning, one of the examiners asked him if he believed in a personal devil. "No," he replied, "I do not believe in the devil." Hearing this, the examiners began to discuss the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:24-43

Tags: Church General

The Power Of Love

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 2, 2008

THE POWER OF LOVE An old fable tells how different instruments tried to master a piece of iron. The blows of the ax fell heavily, but its edge became more and more blunt. The saw’s relentless teeth worked until they were worn down or broken The hammer’s head flew off at the first stroke. Despite ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 1:9-11

Tags: Church General

So What Is A Vision? George Barna Defines It As, ...

Contributed by Tim Smith on Dec 10, 2008

So what is a vision? George Barna defines it as, "Vision for ministry is a clear mental image of a preferable future imparted by God to His chosen servants and is based upon an accurate understanding of God, self and circumstances." Vision is more than simply what could be. It’s something that must ...read more

Tags: Church Purpose Of

Denomination: Methodist

As We Read This Text, According To Dr. Schmit, ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 11, 2008

As we read this text, according to Dr. Schmit, and I quote, "We know that we too are individual members of a large flock of faithful disciples who seek to live as citizens of the kingdom of heaven. In other words, the work we do is never ours alone to accomplish. We do our part and trust that God ...read more

Tags: Church General

Remember The Mission

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 12, 2008

REMEMBER THE MISSION In 1629, when the favorite wife of Indian ruler Shah Jahan died, he ordered that a magnificent tomb be built as a memorial to her. The shah placed his wife's casket in the middle of a parcel of land, and construction of the temple literally began around it. But several years ...read more

Tags: Church Growth

Getting Caught Asleep

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 8, 2009

GETTING CAUGHT ASLEEP Just in case your boss catches you asleep at your desk, be ready to blurt out one of these excuses: "They told me at the blood bank that this might happen." "This is just a 15-minute power nap like they raved about in that time management course you sent me to." "I was ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 3:1-3

Tags: Church General

What Are You Supposed To Do?  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 27, 2009

WHAT ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO DO? Frank Sosienski was a postman in Louisville, Kentucky, who didn’t want to deliver some of his mail. Perhaps he was tired of being chased by dogs. Perhaps it was the cold weather he disliked or the hot summertimes. Maybe the mail was heavy; maybe he wanted to quit his ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:28

Tags: Church Purpose Of

Staring At The Gates Of Hell

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 28, 2009

STARING AT THE GATES OF HELL Auguste Rodin was a French impressionist sculptor. He created The Thinker. The Thinker was originally meant to sit on top of Rodin’s greatest masterpiece, the Gates of Hell. The Thinker is contemplating an eternity of judgment separated from God. Author Neil Cole ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 16:18

Tags: Church Purpose Of

We Need Each Other

Contributed by Bobby Scobey on May 4, 2009

WE NEED EACH OTHER Edward Everett during the 19th century said: We ask the leaf, "Are you complete in yourself?" and the leaf answers, "No, my life is in the branches." We ask the branch, and the branch answers, "No, my life is in the trunk." We ask the trunk, and it answers, "No, my life is ...read more

Tags: Church General

Denomination: Pentecostal