In Sermon Illustrations: "Spiritual Goal"

George Barna Study

Contributed by Roger Nelmes on Jan 29, 2008

George Barna Study Specifically, 61 percent of today’s young adults, who, as teenagers, were churched at one point, are now spiritually disengaged. Spiritual disengagement is identified as being inactive when it comes to church attendance, Bible reading, or prayer. Only 20 percent of ...read more

Denomination: Pentecostal

25 Years Ago A Baby Was Born In A Hospital. He ...  PRO

Contributed by Ed Wood on Jun 23, 2005

25 years ago a baby was born in a hospital. He weighed only a few pounds. He had to be pampered and coddled to enable him to live. Now he is 6’2" tall and weighs 200 pounds. There is a vast difference in the baby and the man. Yet the life he now has is the same life he had 25 years ago. Our ...read more

Tags: Bible Study, Growth In Christ

Denomination: Baptist

Do You Have An Awareness Of Sin?

Contributed by Davon Huss on Mar 26, 2012

DO YOU HAVE AN AWARENESS OF SIN? John MacArthur: A basic mark of true spirituality is a deep awareness of sin. In Scripture those who most despised their sinfulness were often those who were the most spiritual. Paul said he was the chief of sinners. Peter said to Jesus, "Depart from me, for I ...read more

Tags: Lies, Death, Sin, Deception, Sanctification  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Running Past The Red Flags

Contributed by Glynda Lomax on Dec 27, 2014

“Wisdom is the quality that keeps you from getting into situations where you need it.” - Doug Larson The house looked like a fairy tale come true. Though my friend had a nagging feeling about the owners, she ignored it and went to inspect the house. It was spacious and full of sunshine with a big ...read more

Scripture: James 1:5

Tags: Wisdom, Caution, Lack Wisdom

Denomination: Charismatic

Charles R. Swindoll, The Finishing Touch, In A ...

Contributed by Sherm Nichols on Nov 17, 2006

(Charles R. Swindoll, The Finishing Touch, in a book he had read:) “A time to be careful is when one reaches his goals. The easiest period in a crisis situation is actually the battle itself. The most difficult period is the period of indecision, whether to fight or run away. And the most ...read more

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Among Americans 45 Or Older Who Describe ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2006

Among Americans 45 or older who describe themselves as somewhat religious, 20% say prayer is the best way to find spiritual or religious satisfaction, according to USA Today. Other pleasing spiritual experiences include living a moral life and helping others, both at 19%. And 13% view being with ...read more

Tags: Prayer Adoration

Preaching That Kills

Contributed by John Akosile on Jun 1, 2009

PREACHING THAT KILLS The preaching that kills is non-spiritual preaching. The ability of the preaching is not from God. Lower sources than God have given to it energy and stimulant. The Spirit is not evident in the preacher nor his preaching. Many kinds of forces may be projected and stimulated by ...read more

Tags: Preaching

Denomination: Pentecostal

In His Book, The Safest Place On Earth, Dr Larry ...

Contributed by Steve Greene on Nov 11, 2007

In his book, The Safest Place on Earth, Dr Larry Crabb states that, “The difference between the spiritual and unspiritual community is not whether conflict exists, but is rather in our attitude toward it and our approach to handling it. When conflict is seen as an opportunity to draw more fully on ...read more

Denomination: Nazarene

Spell-Check

Contributed by Charles Wallis on Feb 19, 2009

SPELL-CHECK A student was reading an article by a seminary professor. As he read, he did not notice any mistakes. Later, the student copied the article into Word and several misspellings and errors showed up. In the same way, we can think we are living well and doing good spiritually, even ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 13:5-10

Tags: Discipleship

Denomination: Pentecostal

For All Of Its Foibles—-Lousy Preaching, ...

Contributed by Charles Wilkerson on Jan 27, 2010

"For all of its foibles—-lousy preaching, political infighting, self-centered focus, stagnation, a gaggle of special interest groups—-the pokey local church...is still the most fertile environment for spiritual development. In fact, there can be no genuine spiritual progress without a long-term ...read more

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Abstinent  PRO

Contributed by Paul Wallace on Aug 30, 2004

Supermodel Kim Alexis said "I made the decision as a teenager to be abstinent. I wanted to take control of my future. It wasn’t a popular decision then, just like it can be an unpopular decision now. It doesn’t always make me more friends. But the friends I have are true friends. True to ...read more

Tags: Sexuality

Denomination: Wesleyan

Women Lead: Recent Studies Show That Women ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 13, 2006

Women Lead: Recent studies show that women execu-tives, when rated by peers, underlings, and bosses, out-score their male counterparts on a wide variety of mea-sures from producing high-quality work to goal setting to mentoring employees. Using elaborate performance eval-uations of execs, ...read more

Tags: Women

Many Of You Don't Know This, But When We Started ...

Contributed by Todd Stiles on Dec 13, 2006

Many of you don’t know this, but when we started FFC, it was our goal to blitz the city – to visit every home in Ankeny. Now remember, there were only about 60 of us at that point, so this was one daunting task. Yet, did you know that right about 80% of our town was visited personally ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

You May Remember Years Ago A Tv ...

Contributed by Douglas Sherwood on Mar 27, 2008

ILLUSTRATION: You may remember years ago a TV show that was geared to teach our children . . . and maybe some of us parents what a "conjunction" is in the English grammar. The goal was called "SchoolHouse Rock." Remember? In it they sang a little tune . . . "Conjunction Junction . . . what your ...read more

Scripture: Romans 6:23

Denomination: Nazarene

Barna Notes That Between The Two Parents Mother's ...

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on May 14, 2007

Barna notes that between the two parents mother’s and father’s the mom is doing a better job of teaching their kids about the spiritual dimension of life -- Barna survery: a. Mom versus Dad: Men may enjoy advantages in physical strength, but they are much less likely than women to exercise their ...read more

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

We Can See How Calling Time A Problem Or Tyrant ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 14, 2001

"We can see how calling time a problem or tyrant is a misnomer; it focuses on the symptoms rather than the disease. Time measures motion and change in activities determined by our decisions, motivated by our goals and values. The tyranny of the urgent is more than a question about time. Tension ...read more

We Can See How Calling Time A Problem Or Tyrant ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 12, 2001

"We can see how calling time a problem or tyrant is a misnomer; it focuses on the symptoms rather than the disease. Time measures motion and change in activities determined by our decisions, motivated by our goals and values. The tyranny of the urgent is more than a question about time. Tension ...read more

When Benjamin Franklin Was 27 Years Old, He ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 16, 2001

When Benjamin Franklin was 27 years old, he decided he would take control of his life. He selected 12 virtues he wanted to acquire, and kept a daily chart of his progress in the development of each one. Whenever he missed the mark, he put a black dot beside that virtue. His goal was to ultimately ...read more

Tags: Character

In Sweden For Instance, A Royal Commission Some ...  PRO

Contributed by James O. Davis on Oct 28, 2003

In Sweden for instance, a royal commission some years ago heralded the arrival of the contraceptive society as though the achievement of free sex were a national, moral goal. The commission announced that ninety percent of all Swedish people have a permissive attitude toward pre-marital sex and ...read more

Tags: Sexuality

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Life At Its Best An Extensive Survey Was ...  PRO

Contributed by Ed Wood on Jul 6, 2004

LIFE AT ITS BEST An extensive survey was conducted in the United States by a leading polling agency. Questionnaires were distributed to people of various ages and occupations. The key question was this: What are you looking for most in life? When the results were compiled, the analysts were ...read more

Tags: Evangelism Urgency

Denomination: Baptist