In Sermon Illustrations: "Past"

I'd Like To Ask You A Few Questions As We Begin ...  PRO

Contributed by Steve Malone on Mar 4, 2003

I’d like to ask you a few questions as we begin our time together today… They are real easy questions to answer. OKAY – here we go. Is every soft drink the same? Is every french fry the same? Is all music the same? Is all fried chicken the same? Is all make up the same ...read more

Tags: World Religions

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Greatest Difference Of Religions Lies Between ...  PRO

Contributed by Tom Mccrossan on Jun 19, 2003

The greatest difference of religions lies between the Bible which says we can never save ourselves - that salvation is the gift of God through faith in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:8-9); and all the other religions which say a person will be saved, reborn, made whole, or achieve fulfillment by keeping ...read more

Tags: World Religions

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

What Is This Mercy And Grace Exactly…  PRO

Contributed by Greg Buchner on May 5, 2005

What is this mercy and grace exactly… This past week I pulled my “Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms” (one of those books I bought in seminary but very rarely open today  ) off my library shelf. While I often quote that grace is the “unmerited favor of God,” it was interesting to ...read more

Scripture: Titus 3:7, Luke 1:26-38

Tags: Grace

Denomination: Methodist

Batman Begins" Movie Has A Scene In It That I ...

Contributed by Andrew Chan on Jul 8, 2005

"Batman Begins" movie has a scene in it that I like – Bruce Wayne aka Batman puts on the playboy act—meant to keep people from connecting him with the crusading hero Batman— Wayne’s girlfriend from his past and now a zealous district attorney, saw all that and relates her disappointment in what ...read more

Tags: Faith

Denomination: Evangelical Free

One Of The Big Stories In The Mid-Nineties That ...

Contributed by David Ritsema on Sep 7, 2003

One of the big stories in the mid-nineties that you may recall being on all the TV news broadcasts was the concern for a dying species of owl in the Northwest called the Spotted Owl. The concern was that the logging being done in the area was actually destroying the species. But according to a ...read more

Tags: Sin Deceptive

Denomination: Baptist

In Perspective Bureau Of Labor Statistics And ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 16, 2006

In Perspective Bureau of Labor Statistics and Current Population Survey data puts recent large-scale layoff announcements in perspective: Annually, job creation is still outpacing job elimination, and has since ’95; mass layoffs account for only 20% of unemployment—as they have for the past 5 ...read more

Tags: Workplace

New Megachurch Research A Major New Study Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

New Megachurch Research A major new study of megachurches shows that 93% of churches with an average weekly attendance of at least 2,000 are found in the South, the West and the Midwest. The states with the largest concentration are California, Texas, Florida and Georgia. Dr. Scott Thumma, faculty ...read more

Tags: Church General

Tbn Troubles Ministry Watchdog Wall Watchers Has ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 20, 2006

TBN Troubles Ministry watchdog Wall Watchers has recommended Trinity Broadcasting Network leaders Paul and Jan Crouch step down from TBN leadership, citing their lavish lifestyle, a lack of TBN financial transparency, and other problems. The announcement also notes the couple takes home an annual ...read more

Tags: Money

Giving By Foundations Hit A Record Last Year, ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2006

Giving By Foundations hit a record last year, reversing 2 years of declines thanks to gains in asset values and continued gifts from philanthropists. The nation’s 66,000 independent, community and corporate foundations gave $32.4 billion in ’04 vs. $30.3 billion in ’03, an inflation adjusted 4.1% ...read more

Tags: Giving General

Acts 20:13 We Went On Ahead To The Ship And ...

Contributed by Steven Cannon on Jan 15, 2007

Acts 20:13 We went on ahead to the ship and sailed for Assos, where we were going to take Paul aboard. He had made this arrangement because he was going there on foot. Acts 20:14 When he met us at Assos, we took him aboard and went on to Mitylene. Acts 20:15 The next day we set sail from there ...read more

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Consumers Are Losing Faith In Many Companies They ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 14, 2007

Consumers Are Losing Faith in many companies they deal with, and companies aren’t doing much to stop it, says a new Datamonitor report. 86% percent of U.S. and European consumers have become more distrustful of corporations within the past 5 years. What do people trust? Word of mouth ...read more

Consumers Are Losing Faith In Many Companies They ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 20, 2007

Consumers Are Losing Faith in many companies they deal with, and companies aren’t doing much to stop it, says a new Datamonitor report. 86% percent of U.S. and European consumers have become more distrustful of corporations within the past 5 years. What do people trust? Word of mouth ...read more

Tags: Workplace

I Met A Man Who Told Me He Was Celebrating His ...

Contributed by Stephen Smarowsky on Apr 10, 2009

I met a man who told me he was celebrating his birthday this month. I asked him what day. He replied, "I don’t know what day my actual birthday is on." He said that he was so old that when he was born there was no such thing as a birth certificate and that he had so many siblings his parents just ...read more

Tags: Salvation

Denomination: Baptist

For We Do Not Have A High Priest Who Cannot ...

Contributed by Clark Tanner on Sep 28, 2009

"For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin." Heb 4:15 "In the past when I’ve heard that verse or read it, I’ve thought that it is a very all-encompassing statement to say that Jesus was tempted ...read more

Tags: Jesus Temptation

Denomination: Orthodox

Twas The Night Of Thanksgiving, I Just Couldn't ...

Contributed by Bobby Scobey on Oct 27, 2009

‘Twas the night of Thanksgiving, I just couldn’t sleep.. I tried counting backwards, I tried counting sheep. The leftovers beckoned - the dark meat and white But I fought the temptation with all of my might Tossing and turning with anticipation The thought of a snack became infatuation. So, I raced ...read more

Tags: Thanksgiving Holiday

Denomination: Pentecostal

The Impact Of Imitating ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2010

The Impact of Imitating Christ The Christian walk of Will Houghton, a preacher who became the president of Moody Bible Institute during the 1940s, played a large role in the conversion of an agnostic who was contemplating suicide. The skeptic was desperate, but he decided that if he could find a ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 11:1

Tags: Christian Witness

University Of Louisville Psychologist Michael ...

Contributed by David Ward on Apr 1, 2010

University of Louisville psychologist Michael Cunningham recently did an extensive study of the most common complaints men and women have about each other. Here is what he discovered: 1. The most common complaints men have re: women include: a. the silent treatment b. bringing up past ...read more

Tags: Marriage General

Denomination: Baptist

Determined To Save Money

Contributed by John Perry on Apr 17, 2010

DETERMINED TO SAVE MONEY I had never been much of a saver, but there came a time after some years of failing to save anything that I decided to break the habit. I could ill afford to save at the time, I had financial constraints / a number of factors that suggested I wouldn’t be successful. But my ...read more

Tags: Debt

Denomination: Pentecostal

Fossil Evidence For Evolution

Contributed by C Jordan on Nov 18, 2010

FOSSIL EVIDENCE FOR EVOLUTION In his introduction to the 150th anniversary edition of Darwin's The Origin of Species, Ray Comfort notes, "Darwin acknowledged that the absence of intermediates put his theory in doubt, but he attributed their lack to the scarcity of fossils at that time -- and he ...read more

Tags: Creation

Denomination: *other

A Special Visitor

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Nov 29, 2010

A SPECIAL VISITOR This past Tuesday, it was difficult to drive in and out of our church parking lot because of a barrage of traffic down Webster Street. Where did this traffic come from? Downtown was blocked off because President Obama and Vice-President Biden were speaking at a closed meeting a ...read more

Tags: Christmas

Denomination: Independent/Bible