In Sermon Illustrations: "Personal Growth"

I. Barna Notes "Our Most Recent Surveys Indicate ...

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Oct 10, 2006

i. Barna notes “Our most recent surveys indicate that about half of all adults listen to preaching or Bible teaching in a typical week; one out of three read the Bible; one out of ten study the Bible during the week; fewer than one out of every twenty-five devote themselves to memorizing at least ...read more

Tags: Growth In Christ

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Fatal Metaphor Of Progress, Which Means ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"The fatal metaphor of progress, which means leaving things behind us, has utterly obscured the real idea of ...read more

Tags: Growth In Christ

Everybody Wants To Be Somebody; Nobody Wants To ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

Everybody wants to be somebody; nobody ...read more

Tags: Growth In Christ

If We Dont Change, We Dont Grow. If We Dont ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"If we dont change, we dont grow. If we dont grow, we are not really living. Growth demands a ...read more

Tags: Growth In Christ

Kenneth Hagin: "We Feed Our Physical Bodies ...  PRO

Contributed by Sharon Stonestreet on Mar 22, 2009

Kenneth Hagin: "We feed our physical bodies three hot meals a day and our spiritual ...read more

Tags: Growth In Christ

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Too Close To Where I Got In  PRO

Contributed by Rick Pendleton on Apr 9, 2009

TOO CLOSE TO WHERE I GOT IN A little boy fell out of the bed in his sleep. His father picked him up and put him back in bed. He asked him, "Son, what happened?" The little boy responded, "I fell asleep too close to where I got in." I believe that describes too many Christians today...they have ...read more

Tags: Growth In Christ

Denomination: Baptist

Reclaiming Church Dropouts  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 14, 2009

RECLAIMING CHURCH DROPOUTS 70% of young adults will leave the church between ages 18 and 22, yet LifeWay Research has found 39% of them will return if gently nudged by their parents or other family members. ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 10:25

Tags: Church Growth

32% Of Evangelical Protestant Churches Are In A ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 14, 2009

32% of evangelical Protestant churches are in a strong financial position vs. 13% ...read more

Tags: Church Growth

How Will You Ever Learn?

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 15, 2009

HOW WILL YOU EVER LEARN? I heard the story of a nine-year-old girl who returned from Sunday School and as her father was sitting down with his newspaper after a delicious Sunday lunch, she asked him some questions. "Daddy, why did God make all the leaves green?" He thought a moment and replied, ...read more

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:21

Tags: Growth In Christ

Spiritual Muscle

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Aug 19, 2009

SPIRITUAL MUSCLE I was visiting Pink at the nursing home. His legs had been like sticks, because he could have no therapy until his sore healed. Skin hung down, and he had no muscle. But now he is getting rigorous therapy; the skin has tightened, and muscle is now beginning to form. That’s ...read more

Tags: Growth In Christ

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Christian Maturity: It's In The Details

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 16, 2009

CHRISTIAN MATURITY: IT'S IN THE DETAILS Ted Williams, who died in 2002 was arguably the best hitter baseball has ever known. He was the last baseball player to hit better than .400 in a season. Upon his death, George Will said in his column "There is no joy in Red Sox Nation, a.k.a. New England, ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 5:14

Tags: Growth In Christ

D.l. Moody Illustrates How To Grow ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 12, 2009

D.L. Moody Illustrates How to Grow Spiritually In one of his meetings, D.L. Moody was explaining to his audience the truth that we cannot bring about spiritual changes in our lives by our own strength. He demonstrated the principal like this: “Tell me,” he said to his audience, “how can I get the ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:16-26

Tags: Growth In Christ

Christian Walk Compared To Learning How To Pitch ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 14, 2009

Christian Walk Compared to Learning How to Pitch Horseshoes When I married into Charlotte’s family I married into a really close family that liked to spend a lot of time together. Almost every Sunday was spent at Charlotte’s Mom and Dad’s house. There were football or baseball games to watch or ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 3:12-21

Tags: Growth In Christ

A Lot Of Christians Have A Tendency To Think That ...

Contributed by K. Edward Skidmore on Dec 9, 2009

A lot of Christians have a tendency to think that --- even though it was God’s Grace and Mercy that saved us --- now that we are saved, it’s all up to us to get on with the business of struggling to “live the Christian life” on our own power. We rev up our own dedication, will power, grit, and ...read more

Tags: Growth In Christ

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Focus On Christ

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 6, 2010

FOCUS ON CHRIST This bit of strange news was released by the Associated Press this past week: RIVERTON, Wyo. -- Officials say a magnifying glass set on a stand in a sunny room started a small blaze in a Wyoming home. UPS worker Buddy Armstrong was delivering a package to 84-year-old Thomas ...read more

Scripture: 2 Peter 1:1-2

Tags: Growth In Christ

Getting The Fruit For Yourself  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 6, 2010

Getting the Fruit for Yourself A family was driving to Tampa, Florida. As far as the eye could see, orange trees were loaded with fruit. When we stopped for breakfast, I ordered orange juice with my eggs. "I’m sorry," the waitress said. "I can’t bring you orange juice. Our machine is broken." We ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 5:11-14

Tags: Growth In Christ

We're Building Two A Day

Contributed by Bobby Scobey on Feb 22, 2010

WE'RE BUILDING TWO A DAY In the 1880s the Methodist Church was privileged to have a leader named C. C. McCabe. He was a church extension pioneer and strategist, and a great achiever he was. One day he was on a train, riding out to the Pacific Northwest to help develop and launch a strategy for ...read more

Tags: Church Growth

Denomination: Pentecostal

The Love Of Christ Enables Believers  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 31, 2010

THE LOVE OF CHRIST ENABLES BELIEVERS I like the way one pastor put it years ago (1986) when he became overwhelmed with all the "ideals" he was collecting from church growth seminars and books. He said, "Quite frankly, I'm sick to death of ideals. I have so many ideals and I've been so frustrated ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 4:13-16

Tags: Growth In Christ

Decline Of Christianity In America  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 30, 2010

DECLINE OF CHRISTIANITY IN AMERICA North America is the only continent on earth where Christianity is not growing. Only 17.5% of the population of the US attends church on a regular Sunday. During the 1990’s there was a 19.4% decline in church attendance. 85% of churches in America are ...read more

Scripture: Acts 2:42-47

Tags: Church Growth

Too Close To Where We Got In

Contributed by Derrick Tuper on Sep 21, 2010

TOO CLOSE TO WHERE WE GOT IN A little boy fell out of the bed in his sleep. His father picked him up and put him back in bed. He asked him, "Son, what happened?" The little boy responded, "I fell asleep too close to where I got in." I believe that describes too many Christians today. They have ...read more

Tags: Growth In Christ

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ