In Sermon Illustrations: "Missing Church"

Ill>> A Coloradoan Moved To Texas And Built A ...

Contributed by Richard Mcnair on Oct 27, 2004

ILL>> A Coloradoan moved to Texas and built a house with a large picture window from which he could view hundreds of miles of rangeland. "The only problem is," he said, "there’s nothing to see." About the same time, a Texan moved to Colorado and built a house with a large picture window ...read more

Tags: Compassion

Denomination: Baptist

A Little Boy Was Heard Talking To Himself As He ...  PRO

Contributed by Darren Ethier on May 21, 2002

A little boy was heard talking to himself as he walked across the backyard, baseball cap in place, ball and bat in his hands. "I am the greatest hitter in the world," he said. He threw the ball up, swung and missed. "Strike one," he said. But again, he told himself, "I am the greatest hitter ever." ...read more

Tags: Human Body

Denomination: Pentecostal

A Little Boy Was Heard Talking To Himself As He ...  PRO

Contributed by Michael Richardson on Jul 28, 2007

A little boy was heard talking to himself as he walked across the backyard, baseball cap in place, ball and bat in his hands. "I am the greatest hitter in the world," he said. He threw the ball up, swung and missed. "Strike one," he said. But again, he told himself, "I am the greatest hitter ever." ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Just A Couple Weeks Ago, A Sweet Lady In Our ...

Contributed by Herman Abrahams on Oct 10, 2004

Just a couple weeks ago, a sweet lady in our church family stood before the congregation to share her story. She had been raised in a sound Christian home and had received proper instruction as well as all the comforts a modest home could provide. Although she acknowledged that she was loved by her ...read more

Tags: Parenting, Children

Denomination: Charismatic

Some Of Us Make It A Practice To Set Aside One ...  PRO

Contributed by Michael Tkachuk on Dec 23, 2004

Some of us make it a practice to set aside one evening of advent a year to cruise the residential areas of the city or town we live in and admire the unique display of Christmas lights. I am overwhelmed by all the work and money that goes into some of those elaborate outdoor Christmas displays. I ...read more

Tags: Christmas

Denomination: Catholic

God's Standard For Sin

Contributed by K. Edward Skidmore on Dec 30, 2010

GOD'S STANDARD FOR SIN At a former church, a youth leader came up to me one day and said, "I'm trying to figure out the way God judges sin. The best I can figure it, I assume he grades on the curve like they do at school. You know, 70% good is a passing grade." I had bad news for him. God has a ...read more

Tags: Judgment

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Circles Of Life

Contributed by Patrick Marino on Mar 16, 2006

The circles of life I remember when I was a kid, seeing my mom hand feed my sister. I realize that she did the same with me as well. After a while I began to take the spoon and feed myself. At first it was a little messy (missed my mouth most of the time). As time and experience went on, I ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 5:12-14

Tags: Worship General

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Faith Struggles: 9 Of 10 Adults Say Faith Is Very ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2006

Faith Struggles: 9 of 10 adults say faith is very important to them, and 3 out of 4 adults who consider themselves to be Christian say they would like to improve aspects of their faith life. According to a new Barna Group survey 48% of adults who deem themselves Christian rated themselves above ...read more

Tags: Faith General

The Nail-- As The Story Goes, They Built A New ...

Contributed by Dennis Selfridge on Apr 9, 2007

THE NAIL-- As the story goes, they built a new church building and people came from everywhere to see it. They admired its beauty! Up on the roof, a little nail heard the people praising everything about the lovely structure except the nail! No one even knew he was there, and he became angry and ...read more

Denomination: Wesleyan

Sherlock Holmes And His Friend Dr. John Watson ...  PRO

Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Mar 30, 2008

Sherlock Holmes and his friend Dr. John Watson went on a camping trip. They set up their tent and fell asleep. Some hours later, Holmes woke his faithful friend. "Watson, look up at the sky and tell me what you see." Watson replied, "I see millions of stars." "What does that tell you?" asks ...read more

Denomination: Anglican

Prayed Into The Kingdom

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 14, 2011

PRAYED INTO THE KINGDOM Chuck Sackett did not grow up in a Christian home. But he joined the Boy Scouts and wanted to complete the "God and Country" merit badge. So he walked a few blocks to a small church for several weeks. He filled out his papers and did what he had to do get that badge. ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:18-20

Tags: Prayer Persistence

The Rules And The Ruler

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 28, 2009

THE RULES AND THE RULER Back in the day of one-room school houses, a story is told about a little girl named Mary. Mary was so excited because it was the first day of school! Miss Tomlin was the new teacher and since it was the first day, Miss Tomlin thought it a good idea to lay some ground ...read more

Tags: Atonement

Impact Of Love  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 8, 2008

Impact of Love a. Ted was not what one would call the teacher’s pet--he was Turned off by school. Very sloppy in appearance. Expressionless. Unattractive. Many looked down upon him Even his teacher, Miss Thompson, enjoyed bearing down her red pen -- as she placed Xs beside his many wrong answers. ...read more

How Did I Spend My 75 Years?  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 22, 2004

HOW DID I SPEND MY 75 YEARS? Statisticians tells us that the average life span is now around 75 years. If you’re under 30 then you think that is a long time. If you’re around my age, you’re beginning to realize that’s not really very long at all. A few years ago, someone went to the trouble to ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 3:12-14, Acts 20:7-12

Tags: Finding Fulfillment, New Year's Day, Giving Yourself

At A Leadership Conference Several Years Ago I ...

Contributed by Joe La Rue on Feb 12, 2008

At a leadership conference several years ago I heard Pastor Wayne Cordeiro of New Hope Christian Fellowship in Hawaii tell the story about walking into a restaurant over the lunch hour and seeing one of his church members sitting at a table and talking quite excitedly with a man he didn’t ...read more

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Thwe Wright Brothers Story: Big News In Dec 1903 ...

Contributed by Aubrey Vaughan on Oct 28, 2006

Thwe wright brothers story: Big News In Dec 1903 the Wright brothers telegram their sister it read we flew 120 feet today. We will be home for Christmas. Katherine took the telegram to the editor of the local newspaper who said that’s good they will be home for Christmas. He totally missed the big ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Did You Know That The Idea For Mothers Day Was ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Did you know that the idea for Mothers Day was born in a small Methodist church in Grafton, West Virginia? It was 1876 and the nation still mourned the Civil War dead. While teaching a Memorial Day lesson, Mrs. Anna Reeves Jarvis thought of mothers who had lost their sons. She prayed that one day ...read more

Tags: Parenting

Stepping Out-Of-Bounds

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 12, 2009

STEPPING OUT-OF-BOUNDS I had missed a game winning free-throw. I swore that would never happen again. So I practiced until I became excellent at free-throws. In the next big tournament, I swished two free-throws. On the last one, I heard an ear-splitting whistle in my ear. I had stepped over the ...read more

Tags: Holy Spirit In Believers

Commitment Or Convenient?

Contributed by Terry Blankenship on Oct 14, 2009

COMMITMENT OR CONVENIENT? Deacon Wives author Diana Davis writes about Angie and her commitment. Let’s take a look at Angie. She loves her church and is committed to its ministry. She considers herself to be a faithful worshipper. If you take a careful look, however, you’ll find a few gaps in ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 2:3-5

Tags: Commitment To Christ

Denomination: Baptist

In One Scene Of The Popular Movie Robin Hood, The ...

Contributed by Richard Mcnair on Oct 27, 2004

In one scene of the popular movie Robin Hood, The Prince of Thieves, Kevin Costner as Robin comes to a young man taking aim at an archery target. Robin asks, "Can you shoot amid distractions?" Just before the boy releases the string, Robin pokes his ear with the feathers of an arrow. The boy’s ...read more

Tags: Temptation General

Denomination: Baptist