And the affects of mess is that it can distract us from what is good
Some time ago I visited a garden full of beautiful flowers
But it was not a pleasant place to be
You see that garden was full of fertilizer
Cow manure, blood and bone and it stunk…
The smell distracted me from the beauty of the
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Denomination:
Lutheran
Contributed by Jimmy Chapman on May 10, 2007
Many years ago, a survey was made of a town. At a certain door, the surveyor asked the woman who answered the door, if she had any children.
Suddenly, she began to say, "Well, there’s Willie, Horace, Orace, Grace, and Ethel." The surveyor interrupted and said, "Never mind names, I just want
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Denomination:
Baptist
Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Jun 4, 2007
According to Wikipedia:
Normative influence is a function of social impact theory (Lantane, 1981), which has three components. A group’s strength is how important the group is to you. Groups we value generally have more social influence. Immediacy is how close the group is to you in time and space
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Denomination:
Independent/Bible
Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007
based on 1 rating
| 1,808 views
Recently I read a fable about a dog who loved to chase other animals. He bragged about his great running skill and said he could catch anything. Well, it wasn’t long until his boastful claims were put to the test by a certain rabbit. With ease the little creature outran his barking pursuer. The
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Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007
based on 1 rating
| 1,686 views
Great illustration of a perfectionist. John Quincy Adams held more important offices than anyone else in the history of the U.S. He served with distinction as president, senator, congressman, ambassador to major European powers, and participated in various capacities in the American Revolution, the
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Illustration: One Sunday morning, a Pastor was sharing a “Children’s sermon” with the children of the church. He was talking to them about the importance of loving one another and getting along with one another. He used the passage of scripture that I just read to explain to the children that God
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Denomination:
Baptist
Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 28, 2008
based on 2 ratings
| 6,096 views
PUNCTUATING ADVENT
You may have chuckled when I started this sermon by talking about the importance of punctuation. But prudent punctuation is no joke. In Russia, a period actually saved a man's life. The Czar had condemned the man to death and sent this telegram to the jailer: PARDON IMPOSSIBLE.
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Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 13, 2009
RUN TO THE REFUGE
Bunker gear, over 1,000 degrees of heat, protection from fire scene elements, provides a refuge/safety for self... importance of ARFF truck...refuge, responsible for protection of firefighters, T3000 3,000 gal. of water, large truck, nozzles, discharge 1,000 gpm...truck was place
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Contributed by Bobby Scobey on Jun 22, 2010
JUDGMENT EPIDEMIC
At a recent gathering of seminary professors, one teacher reported that at his school the most damaging charge one student can lodge against another is that the person is being "judgmental." He found this pattern very upsetting. "You can’t get a good argument going in class
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Denomination:
Pentecostal
Contributed by Gordon Curley on Nov 22, 2010
THE STORY OF UNCLE GEORGE
Being honest is not always easy.
The children in a prominent family decided to give their father a book of the family's history for a birthday present. They commissioned a professional biographer to do the work, carefully warning him of the family's "black sheep"
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Denomination:
Brethren
Contributed by Alison Bucklin on Jul 2, 2011
Thomas Merton: "The Gospel looks to a future event that is still not fulfilled - the full revelation of the Glory and the Reign of Christ. He reigns already, but his reign is not yet manifest as it will be.
"Yet this brings with it another temptation: the false news of those who have too much of
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Denomination:
Presbyterian/Reformed
PRAYING TOGETHER: GREATER THAN THE SUM OF OUR PARTS
Someone wrote, "At a horse-pull in Canada, one horse pulled 9,000 pounds, another pulled 8,000 pounds. Together, we might assume that they could pull 17,000 pounds. However, when harnessed together these mighty steeds pulled 30,000 pounds, over
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Denomination:
Evangelical/Non-Denominational
based on 1 rating
| 399 views
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
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Denomination:
Evangelical/Non-Denominational
Contributed by Mary Lewis on Jun 7, 2004
based on 3 ratings
| 1,401 views
When I was 13, my dad owned his own business—a tiny shack where he sold chicken, ribs, hamburgers, hot dogs, and fries. One day the oil that the chicken was fried in caught fire. In a few minutes the whole place exploded in flames. My dad bolted from the store before the flames could engulf him.
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Denomination:
Baptist
Contributed by Juan Lane on Apr 21, 2005
based on 2 ratings
| 2,889 views
(Illustration)
I was talking to one of my friends from the islands and he was explaining how the people on his island loved mangos. He went ahead to explain how mangos were also the leading fruit import to the island and how they would raise the prices on mangos at will. The second part to
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Denomination:
Pentecostal
Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 12, 2005
based on 3 ratings
| 1,623 views
As a minister was addressing a group of men, he took a large piece of paper and made a black dot in the center of it with a marking pen. Then he held the paper up before the group and asked them what they saw. One person quickly replied, “I see a black mark.” “Right,” the preacher replied. “What
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Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 3, 2006
based on 1 rating
| 2,570 views
New Barna Research shows that church attendance bottoms out during the late 20s when the vast majority of students have transitioned from education to the workforce. Only 31% of 20-somethings attend church in a typical week, compared to 42% of those in their 30s and 49% of all adults 40 and older.
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Sermon Central