In Sermon Illustrations: "Purpose"

During Wwii, When Italy Invaded Ethiopia, All ...  PRO

Contributed by Bruce Howell on Apr 17, 2002

During WWII, when Italy invaded Ethiopia, all Protestant missionaries were forced to leave the country. In one district there was a church of about 70. Some 5 years later when the missionaries returned, they found 60,000 Christians ...read more

Tags: Holy Spirit In Believers, Church Purpose Of, God's Omnipotence

Denomination: Wesleyan

The Little Boy And The Circus  PRO

Contributed by Ely Lambert on Aug 26, 2002

The Little Boy and the Circus A little boy who lived far out in the country in the late 1800s had reached the age of twelve and had never in all his life seen a circus. You can imagine his excitement, when one day a poster went up at school announcing that on the next Saturday a traveling circus ...read more

Tags: Growth In Christ, Church Purpose Of, Holy Spirit Attributes

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Why Go To Church  PRO

Contributed by Dean Kennedy on Aug 26, 2002

Why Go To Church A Churchgoer wrote a letter to the editor of the newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. "I’ve gone for 30 years now," he wrote, "and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can’t remember a single one ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 10:24-25

Tags: Church General, Church Small Groups, Worship Purpose

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Bishop Lindsey's Story  PRO

Contributed by Sheila Crowe on Sep 26, 2002

Bishop Lindsey’s Story I recently had the opportunity to hear our Bishop, Lindsey Davis, speak. He is an avid golfer, so much so in fact that when we went to Augusta for the North Ga Conference meeting they gave him a green jacket – I’m not sure why – I’m kidding I do know the significance of a ...read more

Tags: Church Purpose Of, Sharing Your Faith, What Is Evangelism?

Denomination: United Methodist

I'm Only A Mirror Fragment  PRO

Contributed by Matt Black on Oct 26, 2002

I’M ONLY A MIRROR FRAGMENT I want to share with you a story about a very interesting well-educated Greek philosopher whose name is Dr. Alexander Popaderos. And Dr. Popaderos every summer on the island of Crete taught a class on ethics for two weeks. And this particular summer just as he was ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:16

Tags: Character, Evangelism, Fulfillment, God Brings Purpose, Reflect  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Fred Smith Reminds Us That We Make Blood In ...  PRO

Contributed by Dana Chau on Nov 5, 2002

Fred Smith reminds us that we make blood in order to live; we do not live in order to make blood. One of the biggest blunders human beings make is that we are ...read more

Tags: Death Nearness, Finding Fulfillment, God Brings Purpose

Denomination: *other

Out Of Those Missionaries Comes Another Name To ...

Contributed by Julian Silva on Jan 9, 2003

Out of those missionaries comes another name to mind, that of Jack Hetzel. Another name commonly heard throughout the Frankfurt area. Having a choice to remind in the States, or go abroad...Jack, being a man of vision, decided to go to Europe and there began a missionary ministry for our Service ...read more

Tags: Evangelism Urgency, Church Purpose Of, Sharing Your Faith

Denomination: Baptist

Ways To Know Your Church Is Unfriendly  PRO

Contributed by Ken Kersten on Jun 3, 2003

Ways to know your church is unfriendly. When the sign out front says – For members only When the parking lot has a sign that says – unauthorized vehicles will be towed at owners expense. When the church lobby has a sign that says – no loitering When you say “Praise the Lord” and ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 3:10-12

Tags: Funny, Church Purpose Of, Church General, Church, Quotes  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Gene A. Getz, In His Book, The Measure Of A ...  PRO

Contributed by Dana Chau on Jul 7, 2003

Gene A. Getz, in his book, The Measure of a Church, asks the question, "What is the measure of maturity in the church?" And he lists what others believe are the measure of maturity: 1. An active church (involving people in meetings and programs) 2. A giving church (supporting the church and ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 2:12-14

Tags: Church General, Church Body Of Christ, Church Purpose Of

Denomination: *other

A Man Was Driving Through A Mining Region One ...

Contributed by Charles R. Swindoll on Oct 10, 2004

A man was driving through a mining region one Sunday when he noticed a large number of mules in an open field. When he inquired about this unusual sight, he was told that the work animals had been brought up from the dark passages below to preserve their eyesight. Unless they were regularly ...read more

Tags: Church Purpose Of, Mule, Mining, Preserve, Light, Sun  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Life Without Easter  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 13, 2009

LIFE WITHOUT EASTER The story is told of a young mother who found herself on the last train out of Poland during Hitler’s regime. She had her first-born toddler and her newborn nursing infant with her. The bombing was fierce, and the train had to stop many times for the passengers to take cover. A ...read more

Scripture: Mark 16:6

Tags: Easter, Joy, Purpose, Eternal Life, Easter Resurrection  (view more)  (view less)

Last Year About This Time Our Tennessee Titans ...  PRO

Contributed by Tom Dooley on May 11, 2001

Last year about this time our Tennessee Titans were involved in a heart wrenching defeat in the Super Bowl. All season they had fought back from deficits to win and it appeared as though they were going to pull off another comeback victory over the Rams. Unfortunately they came up about a yard ...read more

Tags: Church Practices, God The Father, Worship General

Denomination: Baptist

Physician, Theologian, And Philosopher Albert ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 20, 2002

Physician, theologian, and philosopher Albert Schweitzer stated … “The purpose of human life is to serve, and to show compassion and the will to help ...read more

Jesus Calls Us To "Life Abundantly Not Life ...

Contributed by Don Jones on Jan 9, 2007

Jesus calls us to "life abundantly not life redundantly." We need to get out of the boat and begin to accomplish ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Prayer Is Communicating With God For The ...  PRO

Contributed by Joseph Rodgers on Dec 15, 2003

Prayer is communicating with God for the purposes of knowing Him, seeking His heart, and doing His will. It is putting your ear ...read more

Tags: Prayer Adoration, Prayer How To

Denomination: Baptist

William Shakespeare Once Said, "The Devil Can ...

Contributed by Brian La Croix on Feb 20, 2008

William Shakespeare once said, “The devil can quote Scripture for his purpose.” (Merchant of Venice, ...read more

Denomination: Wesleyan

God Expects Of Us The One Thing That Glorifies ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"God expects of us the one thing that glorifies Himand that is to remain absolutely confident in Him, remembering what He has said ...read more

Tags: Confidence

What Is Success? I Think It Is A Mixture Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"What is success? I think it is a mixture of having a flair for the thing you are doing; knowing that it is not enough, that you have got to ...read more

Tags: Workplace Success

In May Of 1846, 187 Men, Women And Children Left ...  PRO

Contributed by Kelly Mitchell on Aug 15, 2012

In May of 1846, 187 men, women and children left from Missouri in a wagon train headed to California. There was nothing exceptional about the group or this journey and we would have never known about them had they not made the decision to try a shortcut. The “Hastings Cutoff”, as it was known, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:6

Tags: Humility, Repentance, Righteousness, Worship Purpose, Church General, Church Practices, Church Purpose Of, Worship Definition, Worship General  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

To Worship Is To Quicken The Conscience By The ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 20, 2002

To worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God, to feed the mind with the truth of God, to purge the imagination by the beauty of God, to open the heart to the love of God, to ...read more

Tags: Church Practices, Discipleship, Worship General