In Sermon Illustrations: "Spiritual Success"

Reluctant Fasting  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 28, 2008

RELUCTANT FASTING I ran across an article a few months back in Discipleship Journal called "Confessions of a Reluctant Faster." The author mentioned how God impressed upon her the need to pray and fast for a woman in her small group deeply involved in New Age. She didn't like the idea of fasting, ...read more

Tags: Fast

Another Of Her Like Would Be Ophrah – Not A ...  PRO

Contributed by Andrew Hamilton on Oct 25, 2002

Another of her like would be Ophrah – not a witch, but described by Christianity Today as one of the most influential spiritual leaders in America today – perhaps even all over the western world where her program is shown. This ex baptist now espouses the view that “one of the biggest mistakes we ...read more

Scripture: John 14:6

Tags: Cults, Universalism

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

When You Become A Sports Spectator Instead Of A ...

Contributed by W F on Sep 21, 2004

When you become a sports spectator instead of a participant, all the wrong things start to happen to your body. Your weight, blood pressure, resting heart rate and cholesterol all go up. And your oxygen consumption, muscular flexibility, stamina and strength all go down. So it doesn’t take too much ...read more

Tags: Growth In Christ, Prayer General, Bible Study

Denomination: *other

Some Of The World's Greatest Geniuses Were ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"Some of the world's greatest geniuses were self-educated men and women who visualized success for themselves, who saw themselves overcoming all handicaps, who gained the heights, first through achieving a ...read more

Tags: Thought

Life Affords No Higher Pleasure Than That Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"Life affords no higher pleasure than that of surmounting difficulties, passing from one step of success to another, forming new wishes and seeing them gratified. He that labors in any great or laudable undertaking ...read more

Tags: Hardship Of Life

Nothing Succeeds Like Failure. We Learn Far ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"Nothing succeeds like failure. We learn far more about ourselves in our failures than in our successes. Failure is the greatest teacher of all. Failure dramatizes where we are yet incomplete, and points ...read more

Tags: Hardship Of Life

God May Allow His Servant To Succeed When He Has ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

God may allow His servant to succeed when He has disciplined him to a point where he does not need to succeed to be happy. The man who is elated by success and is cast down by failure ...read more

Tags: Hardship Of Life

The Will Of God Has Far More To Do With My ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

The will of God has far more to do with my spiritual condition than with ...read more

Tags: God The Father

Henri Nouwen Was Also A Person Whose Heart Was To ...  PRO

Contributed by Amanda Wilson on May 6, 2004

Henri Nouwen was also a person whose heart was to serve the Lord. And as a world-renown Catholic educator and teacher he had a great deal of success in encouraging others in their faith. Yet one day, God asked him to leave that and become a house parent in the Le Arche community, an organization ...read more

Scripture: Joshua 1:6, Joshua 1:6-9

Tags: Christian Disciplines, Faith

Denomination: Independent/Bible

George Barna Says, "As Long As Churches Measure ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2006

George Barna says, “As long as churches measure success on the basis of popularity and efficiency, we will continue to see a nation filled with people who can recite Bible stories but fail to live ...read more

Tags: Bible Influence

There Is No Such Thing As A Self-Made Man. We ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"There is no such thing as a self-made man. We are made up of thousands of others. Every one who has ever done a kind deed for us, or spoken one word of encouragement to us, has entered into the ...read more

Tags: Friendship New Friends

There Are High Spots In All Of Our Lives And ...  PRO

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Sep 13, 2012

"There are high spots in all of our lives and most of them have come through encouragement from someone else. I don’t care how great, how famous or how successful a man or ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:32

Tags: Encouragement

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Hush Puppies

Contributed by Ed Sasnett on Aug 27, 2014

Are you familiar with the brush-suede shoe called Hush Puppies? It was popular when I was a kid. The brand was all but dead until late 1994. Sales were down to 30,000 pairs a year, mostly sold in backwoods outlets and small-town family stores. Wolverine, the company that makes Hush Puppies, was ...read more

Scripture: Daniel 6:10

Tags: Prayer Power, Importance Of Prayer

Denomination: Baptist

C. Recent Research Is Shining Light On The ...  PRO

Contributed by Davon Huss on Jun 16, 2003

C. Recent research is shining light on the importance of male spiritual leadership in the home. Among their findings is the reality that 68 million of our nation’s 94 million men don’t attend any church. This, in spite of the fact, that 86% of them grew up with some sort of church background. ...read more

Tags: Parenting, Father's Day

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

We Are Not Built For Mountain Tops

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Nov 6, 2022

We have all had times on the mount, when we have seen things from God’s standpoint and have wanted to stay there; but God will never allow us to stay there. The test of our spiritual life is the power to descend; if we have power to rise only, something is wrong. It is a great thing to be on the ...read more

Tags: Miracles, Transfiguration, Mountains, Valleys

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Be Thankful For Books. They Are Voices Of The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 11, 2007

"Be thankful for books. They are voices of the distant and the dead, and make us heirs of ...read more

Tags: Books And Literature

24% Of Formerly Churched People Consider ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 10, 2008

24% of formerly churched people consider themselves "spiritual, but not ...read more

Tags: Religion

Christians Ought To Rise Together In Defense Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

Christians ought to rise together in defense of spiritual and moral values against the pressure of ...read more

Tags: Christian Values

A Life Of Reaction Is A Life Of Slavery, ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"A life of reaction is a life of slavery, intellectually and spiritually. One must fight for ...read more

Tags: Action

Bishop Will Willimon Is The Resident Bishop For ...

Contributed by Matthew Mobley on Mar 28, 2008

Bishop Will Willimon is the resident bishop for the North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church. But before he was elected bishop in 2004, he was dean of the chapel at Duke University – one of the most prestigious universities in America. He tells this story from his days at Duke about ...read more

Denomination: Methodist