In Sermon Illustrations: "Spiritually stagnant" showing 181-200 of 2,201

Christians Give In Too Easily To The Devil In ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 28, 2009

Christians Give In Too Easily to the Devil in Spiritual Warfare In his book Fuzzy Memories, Jack Handey writes: There used to be this bully who would demand my lunch money every day. Since I was smaller, I would give it to him. Then I decided to fight back. I started taking karate lessons. But then ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 8:28-34

Tags: Spiritual Warfare, War

There Was A Story About A Man Who Died & When ...

Contributed by John Perry on May 15, 2010

There was a story about a man who died & when they were winding up his estate it was discovered that in his will he wanted his estate left to the devil! Since the estate involved a property the executors of the will were at a loss as to how they would leave real estate to the devil. After some ...read more

Tags: Satan, Spiritual Neglect

Denomination: Pentecostal

My Youngest Grandson Had A Birthday Party Not Too ...

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on May 25, 2010

My youngest grandson had a birthday party not too long back. It was a pirate party so all his mates came dressed in pirate gear - eye-patches, head scarves, etc. At the door we presented every pirate with a plastic blow-up sword, which looked good but caused no damage at all. They wielded their ...read more

Tags: Spiritual Warfare, War

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Praying The Armor Of God

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Aug 12, 2019

PRAYING THE ARMOR OF GOD This is a prayer I shared with our congregation after teaching a series on Spiritual Warfare based upon an exposition of Ephesians 6:10-18. "Good morning, Lord. It’s going to be a great day because I am preparing to win spiritual battles for Your glory and ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-18

Tags: Spiritual Warfare, Prayer

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

While Using This Illustration You Need A Clear ...

Contributed by Brian Harvison on Nov 12, 2008

While using this illustration you need a clear pitcher with a small amount of diluted coffee in it, and a pitcher of clear water to pour into the coffee to illustrate the point Jesus Christ gives us living water (John 4). So water mixed with dirt makes mud. So when we are saved we receive the ...read more

Tags: Sanctification, Spiritual Growth

Denomination: Baptist

Stop Look And Listen

Contributed by David Parks on Oct 11, 2023

Stop Look and Listen Early in the 20th century, with the advent of the automobile, the country's largest railroad became concerned about the many collisions at crossings. The company offered $2,500 for the three best words to use on a warning sign. The top prize winner was paid $833 for ...read more

Scripture: Luke 12:15-21, Romans 10:17, Psalm 19:1

Tags: Faith, Spirituality, Materialism

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Buttprints In The Sand  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 22, 2004

Buttprints in the Sand One night, I had a wondrous dream; One set of footprints there was seen. The footprints of my precious Lord, But mine were not along the shore. But then some stranger prints appeared, And I asked the Lord, "What have we here?" "Those prints are large and round and neat, But, ...read more

Tags: Growth, Servanthood, Service, Spiritual

Superficiality: The Curse Of Our Age

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Oct 20, 2013

"Superficiality is the curse of our age. The doctrine of instant satisfaction is a primary spiritual problem. The desperate need today is not for a great number of intelligent ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Tags: Disciplines Meditation, Spiritual Discipline

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Gossip Test

Contributed by John Bright on Jun 1, 2021

Another basic concept – sin creates spiritual blindness. Let me illustrate with my favorite sin to talk about… GOSSIP. I’ll stop right here and make sure you know how I define gossip. Before you tell someone a story about another person (even disguised as a prayer request), it needs to pass all ...read more

Scripture: Luke 6:37-45

Tags: Sin, Gossip, Spiritual Blindness

Denomination: Methodist

Scratch Resistant

Contributed by Glynda Lomax on Dec 6, 2022

I was emailing with a friend about the intense testing we all seemed to be experiencing when she emailed back to me: I think a very good analogy for the unending intense spiritual attacks is to liken it to how a diamond is formed… Diamonds are formed under extreme pressure and intense heat, ...read more

Scripture: Zechariah 13:9

Tags: Refining, Tests, Spiritual Strength, Spiritual Attacks, Fiery Trials, Endurance  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Charismatic

A Game Of Redemption And Unity

Contributed by Jung Lee on Jan 16, 2024

In Korea, there's a popular game called "Ice or Free." The rules are simple: one person is 'it' and chases others. Players can freeze themselves if cornered by shouting "Ice," becoming immune to being tagged. They remain frozen until a teammate tags them, setting ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 6:1-2

Tags: Community, Cycle, Christian, Redemption, Responsibility, Unity, Spiritual Support, Spiritual Growth  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Going Beyond Our Teachers  PRO

Contributed by Davon Huss on Jul 9, 2013

A well-known Bible teacher gives this insight: "Someone on our staff informed me several months ago that a woman had called the ministry office to find out what my 'official position' was on a biblically gray area. When she was told that it's not my policy to make 'official' public statements ...read more

Scripture: Mark 7:1-23

Tags: Legalism, Opinion, Spiritual Growth, Debatable

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Hunting Mice

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 28, 2014

HUNTING MICE It is amazing how we can focus on things that don’t matter and neglect the most important things in life. We need to learn how to choose our battles better. Leonard Ravenhill said it ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:32-33

Tags: Spiritual Warfare, Priorities, Little Things

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Mammon

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Oct 2, 2014

The Blessed Life is a book written Robert Morris. He talks about a crucial weed that chokes out the truth of God, the teachings of God, the Word in our life – that weed or thorny vine is called mammon – greed – the love of money which supersedes the love of the Lord Jesus. It’s a real weed and it’s ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:24

Tags: Money, Greed, Riches, Spiritual Attack

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Commitment

Contributed by Tim Smith on May 28, 2015

Dave Hood tells the story of training to run a 5K run. Every time his wife and he would go running on their favorite trail, they’d walk a little faster, and with a little more gusto. One day, a half mile in and a young lady came at them sprinting towards them. They jumped out of the way so she ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:13-14

Tags: Commitment, Spiritual Growth, Running The Race

Denomination: Methodist

Augmented Reality Device Guides The Blind

Contributed by Matt Neace on Jun 19, 2018

In World magazine, Michael Cochrane shares about a new technology called “augmented reality” (AR). Using this “augmented reality” a group of researchers from Cal Tech developed an app for Microsoft’s HoloLens. This app enables blind people to navigate through buildings. According to the MIT ...read more

Tags: Direction, Call, Discipleship, Spiritual Blindness

Denomination: Baptist

Yuri Gagarin Did Not See God.

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 9, 2020

Do you know the name of Yuri Gagarin?? The year was 1961 and this Russian cosmonaut was the first human to travel into space. After circling the earth, the atheistic astronaut came back and declared that he looked outside his capsule and didn’t see God anywhere. To which Dr. W. A. Criswell ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:1-12

Tags: Faith, Beatitudes, Atheism, Spiritual Vision

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Satan's Three-Fold Attack

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 9, 2020

Satan tempts us in three separate ways according to I John 2:15-16: "The lust of the flesh is the desire to DO something apart from the will of God. The lust of the eyes is the desire to HAVE something apart from the will of God. The pride of life is the desire to BE something apart from ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:1-12, 1 John 2:15-16

Tags: Lust, Satan, Spiritual Warfare, Temptation

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

If Ii Were Satan...

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Nov 14, 2021

IF I WERE SATAN… I would delude their minds into thinking that they had come from man's effort, instead of God's blessings; I would promote an attitude of loving things and using people, instead of the other way around; I would convince people that character is not an issue when it comes ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 5:7-9

Tags: America, Satan, Spiritual Warfare, The Devil

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Fooled By Our Emotions

Contributed by Alison Bucklin on Jun 17, 2023

One of the most difficult things, all Christians must surely admit, is to differentiate between a truly spiritual fervor and a carnal, animal zeal and enthusiasm. Natural animal spirits and temperament may very well make one fervent and zealous.... There is nothing of which a preacher needs to be ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:21, Jeremiah 17:9

Tags: Enthusiasm, Spirituality, Martin Lloyd Jones

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed