In Sermon Illustrations: "persecuted church" showing 161-180 of 7,082

Division In The Church

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on May 20, 2008

DIVISION IN THE CHURCH We might sum up the divisions in this church this way according to Parsons: i. "I follow Paul" -- This group may have taken the attitude that Paul started this church and he will always be the leader. These are the traditionalists. 1. They always live in the past and never ...read more

Tags: Divisions

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Church Alternatives

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 30, 2008

CHURCH ALTERNATIVES A Barna study finds a majority of U.S. adults believe there are biblically legitimate alternatives to participation in a conventional church. Among them are engaging in faith activities at home with one’s family (acceptable by 89% of adults); being active in a house church ...read more

Tags: Evangelism The Lost

Playing Church

Contributed by Russell Brownworth on Aug 10, 2008

PLAYING CHURCH Some years ago I met Johnny Moore. Johnny is the lead singer for "His Glory". He tells his story of how he was on his way home one night before he got serious with the Lord. He’d been kinda "playing church." He was on his way home from a Wednesday night prayer meeting, and he ...read more

Tags: Confession Of Sin

Denomination: United Methodist

The Invisible Church  PRO

Contributed by Nathan Johnson on Sep 25, 2008

The Invisible Church Warren Weirsbe tells a story of a free-lance missionary that visited a pastor friend asking for financial support. "What group are you associated with?" his friend asked. The man replied, "I belong to the invisible church." His friend then asked, "Well, what church are you a ...read more

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Denomination: Baptist

No Church, No America

Contributed by Gene Gregory on Dec 6, 2008

NO CHURCH, NO AMERICA This week I received a letter in the mail from the Reverend Barry W. Lynn, the executive director of the organization "Americans United for Separation of Church and State." There would no America if there was no Church. This country was discovered, founded and populated by ...read more

Tags: Government

Denomination: Baptist

The Church Is The Rope

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 13, 2009

THE CHURCH IS THE ROPE Years ago at Niagara Falls two men were in a boat and found themselves caught in the current. The men jumped from their boat and swam for the shore. At last minute ropes from the shore were thrown out to them. The one man grabbed the rope and was pulled to shore. The other ...read more

Tags: Church Purpose Of

The Church Is About ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 13, 2009

THE CHURCH IS ABOUT FREEDOM The silkworm makes an amazing journey to becoming a moth. At one point in the journey, the worm spins about itself a remarkable cocoon. The little sack is composed of 400 to 800 yards of silk fiber which seals it from the inside as it waits for metamorphosis. When that ...read more

Scripture: John 8:36

Tags: Christian Liberty

Essential Church For ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 13, 2009

ESSENTIAL CHURCH FOR YOUTH LifeWay Resources’ Thom Rainer, after his research among people who stayed in church during ages 18-22 concluded that church should have higher expectations of its younger members. He argues an essential church will expect the younger generation to have a relationship ...read more

Tags: Youth

The Treasure Of The Church  PRO

Contributed by Anne Benefield on Mar 5, 2009

THE TREASURE OF THE CHURCH St. Lawrence was martyred in 258 A.D., but we remember him not for his martyrdom. We remember him as the Archdeacon of Rome. His responsibilities included maintaining the sacred vessels of the small, struggling church and distributing alms to the poor. While he was ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 15:13-16

Tags: Poverty

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Perfect Church

Contributed by David Parks on Sep 19, 2022

If you should find the perfect church Without one spot or sore For goodness sake! Don’t join that church! For it won’t be perfect anymore. If you should find the perfect church Where all anxieties cease. Then pass it by, lest you join it, And mar the masterpiece. But since no perfect church ...read more

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 1:7, Matthew 16:18, 1 Corinthians 13:1-10

Tags: Love, Faith, Hope, Church

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Church Matters

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Jun 1, 2024

Why do people in churches seem like cheerful, brainless tourists on a packaged tour of the Absolute? The tourists are having coffee and doughnuts on Deck C. Presumably someone is minding the ship, correcting the course, avoiding icebergs and shoals, fueling the engines, watching the radar screen, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 16:18, Ephesians 4:11-13

Tags: Eternity, Church, Mission

Denomination: Pentecostal

Live Churches Verse Dead Churches! (Adapted, ...  PRO

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Jul 10, 2003

LIVE CHURCHES VERSE DEAD CHURCHES! (adapted, WRITER UNKNOWN) Live churches constantly change, --- dead churches resist and refuse change... Live churches love to try, dead churches feel they don’t have to... Live churches have youth that are noisy and can’t be still, dead churches are very ...read more

Tags: Leadership General, Church General

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Church Finances: The Average Church Budget Size ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

Church finances: The average church budget size is $292,790 (median: $203,590). Senior pastors earn a median base salary of $31,006 and a median housing allowance of $15,250. 66% of church treasurers are responsible for the oversight of church expenditures. 57% of churches use debt only as needed ...read more

Tags: Church Practices

Church Debt: Your Church Magazine Reports That ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2006

Church Debt: Your Church magazine reports that 54% of all churches carry some kind of debt. 32% of small churches (annual budget up to $100,000) carry debt versus 69% of churches with budgets over $500,000. The median debt is 64% of the annual budget with larger churches carrying the highest ...read more

Tags: Church General

Church Shopping Online Church Consultant Tom ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 14, 2008

Church Shopping Online Church consultant Tom Bandy says that as tools for reaching potential worshipers, church Web sites are growing in number and getting more sophisticated. One sign: 5 years ago, churches made up only 5% of clientele for StreamGuys, an Arcadia, CA based provider of streaming ...read more

Tags: Church Growth

I Recently Read Of A Teenager In Florida In ...

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on May 22, 2010

I recently read of a teenager in Florida in America who fled for her life from her Muslim family after she converted to Christianity. Fathima Rifqa Bary says her family will murder her in what is known as an "HONOUR KILLING" because of her profession of faith in Christ. In Islamic tradition, an ...read more

Tags: Persecution, Islam

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Freedom

Contributed by Tim Smith on Sep 25, 2016

In the Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, VA, there’s a special display for a rickety, home-made aluminum kayak. This tiny, makeshift boat seems oddly out of place in the midst of displays for impressive Navy vessels and artifacts from significant battles on the sea. But a bronze plaque tells museum ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 12:1-2

Tags: Freedom, Persecution

Denomination: Methodist

It Is The First Century A Sunny Day In Jerusalem, ...

Contributed by Ronald Courtney on Sep 13, 2008

It is the first century a sunny day in Jerusalem, the “City of Peace” as its name implies, and you can hear the murmurs of ill contempt spreading through the fringes of the crowd as Stephen proclaims his message. Beginning with Abraham, describing his faith in Jehovah God to provide, guide, and ...read more

Tags: Persecution, Suffering

Denomination: Baptist

Twenty Nigerian Churches Demolished For ...  PRO

Contributed by Paul Fritz on Aug 25, 2001

Twenty Nigerian Churches Demolished For ’Enviromental’ Concerns by Obed Minchakpu KANO, Nigeria (Compass) -- Twenty church buildings were demolished July 6-13 in Kano city of northern Nigeria by the Kano State Environmental Planning and Protection Agency (KASEPPA) after the agency claimed the ...read more

Tags: Endurance, Doubt, Christian Disciplines

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Web Churches 83% Of Churches With Web Sites Say ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 10, 2006

Web Churches 83% of churches with Web sites say their use of the Internet has helped congregational life and 83% report e-mail communication from the church staff has helped ...read more

Tags: Evangelism How To