In Sermon Illustrations: "Spiritually stagnant"

Spiritual Fruit

Contributed by Ken Pell on Jan 27, 2008

Spiritual Fruit I have something in my treasure chest that you will recognize today. This small limb is from a very specific tree in my back yard. Do you know what kind of tree it is? Try and guess. This limb is from an apple tree. Every year this APPLE tree gives Vickie and me a lot of ...read more

Denomination: Nazarene

Spiritual Carcinogens

Contributed by Alison Bucklin on Jun 20, 2011

SPIRITUAL CARCINOGENS When the Challenger went down nearly 20 years ago, the whole country went around draped in a dark cloud of mourning. Soon the shock gave way to outrage and scandal when it was discovered that cost-cutting and carelessness components that didn’t quite meet the required ...read more

Tags: Heresy

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Spiritual Consumerism

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 15, 2011

SPIRITUAL CONSUMERISM In February 27 2009 article from the website “Slate” titled, “Why American churchgoers like to shop around” also caught my attention. That article cited statistics from a Barna Group survey that revealed that one in seven adults changes churches each year, and another one in ...read more

Scripture: John 4:19-24

Tags: Church Practices

Spiritual Arrhythmia  PRO

Contributed by Antonio Silveira on Feb 25, 2012

SPIRITUAL ARRHYTHMIA The primary function of the heart is to supply blood and nutrients to the body. The regular beating, or contraction, of the heart moves the blood throughout the body. Each heartbeat is controlled by electrical impulses traveling through the heart. In the normal heart these ...read more

Scripture: 3 John 1:2

Tags: Heart, Spanking Kids

Denomination: Baptist

Spiritual Acne

Contributed by Antonio Silveira on Feb 29, 2012

SPIRITUAL ACNE Have you seen ads for Clearsil, Proactiv, or other acne treatments? They usually exaggerate things and show the face before and aft the application of the "miraculous" product that makes you look good and perfect. They also make sure you get hooked to the remedy so they can bank on ...read more

Scripture: James 1:22-27

Tags: Sanctification

Denomination: Baptist

Spiritual Redwoods

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 18, 2012

SPIRITUAL REDWOODS Can you imagine a redwood tree saying, "I’d just rather remain a little bush"? That would seem insane, right? I want to put up on the screen some pictures of redwood trees. They are truly magnificent. My oldest daughter and her husband were married at the foot of redwood that ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 1:3-14

Tags: Growth In Christ

Spiritual Gambling

Contributed by Ajai Prakash on May 30, 2013

SPIRITUAL GAMBLING The problem of compulsive gambling may seem foreign to most of us. Yet experts believe that millions of Americans are psychologically addicted to gambling. It gives them the excitement of hope and risk, but it usually ends in defeat. It is indeed a temporary pleasure. For those ...read more

Tags: Faith

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Spiritual Breakthrough.

Contributed by Andrew Moffatt on Feb 14, 2014

During the week I have been looking at a book by John Larsson where he called Spiritual breakthrough where he talks about Samuel Logan Brengle. In his recalling Brengle, Larsson talks of how at the age of twenty-five, Brengle was at a seminary training to be a minister but he was troubled. He ...read more

Scripture: John 2:1-11

Tags: Holy Spirit, Sanctification, Spiritual Encounter

Denomination: Salvation Army

Spiritual Maturity

Contributed by Barry O Johnson on Feb 5, 2024

1 Timothy 3:6 - "Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil." Recently, a father sat down with his four-year-old son and asked him if he would like the $10 in his right hand or the two Oreo cookies in his left hand. His son immediately chose ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 3:6

Tags: Talent, Maturity, Novice

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Spiritual Zombies

Contributed by John Bright on Feb 2, 2025

Ephesians 2:1-3 “2 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:1-5

Tags: Born Again, Zombies, Spiritually Dead

Denomination: Methodist

Spiritual Dryness

Contributed by Samuel M on Feb 18, 2025

When we pray prayers that are not in God's will, we by ourselves enter into seasons of spiritual dryness. We may receive answers to our prayer requests, yet we may become spiritually dry. If you are experiencing a season of spiritual dryness, do check and correct your prayers. Prayers ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 17:20

Tags: Faith, Hope

Seek Spiritual Advice From Spiritually Mature Christians

Contributed by J Jeffrey Smead on Aug 7, 2023

Seek Spiritual Advice from Spiritually mature Christians. Albert Einstein ... had difficulty speaking until he was four years old ... and did not read ... until he was seven. Beethovens music teacher said: .... As a composer, ... he is hopeless. When Thomas Edison was a young boy, ... his ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 14:22-33, Mark 6:45-52

Tags: Advice, Spiritual

Denomination: Anglican

The Spiritual Odd Couple  PRO

Contributed by Joel Pankow on May 1, 2002

THE SPIRITUAL ODD COUPLE Often times we stand in awe of the fact that our Savior Jesus Christ was born into this sinful world and took on human flesh - born in a cattle stall! What a filthy place for God to be born! In the same way, then, shouldn’t we stand in awe at what the Holy Spirit ...read more

Tags: Holiness, Holy Spirit In Believers

Denomination: Lutheran

Unused Spiritual Resources  PRO

Contributed by A. Todd Coget on Sep 12, 2003

Unused Spiritual Resources During Superbowl XXXVII, FedEx ran a commercial that spoofed the movie Castaway, in which Tom Hanks played a FedEx worker whose company plane went down, stranding him on a desert island for years. Looking like the bedraggled Hanks in the movie, the FedEx employee in the ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 2:1, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Timothy 3:15-17, Colossians 3:1-4

Tags: Bible Influence, Bible Study

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Soil And Spiritual Seasons  PRO

Contributed by Mark Eberly on May 19, 2009

SOIL AND SPIRITUAL SEASONS Jesus says these people resemble the soil next to the path which in Palestine could look like decent soil but only an inch deep. Because the soil has settled there maybe blown by the wind or pushed there by the run off from the rain, it can be very fertile. People are ...read more

Tags: Parable Sower And Seed

Denomination: Church Of God

Cicadas: Spiritually Dead

Contributed by Richard Tow on Sep 16, 2009

CICADAS: SPIRITUALLY DEAD I grew up in West Texas and there were a lot of Cicada insects. They’re not technically locusts but we called them that. During the hot summer days the loud, shrill sound that the males made would fill the air. You would usually see them in the trees. At times you would ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:5

Tags: Church Practices

Denomination: Charismatic

Battle Dress For Spiritual ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 26, 2009

Battle Dress for Spiritual Warfare Marine recruits were each issued a service bag filled with clothing, in addition to a rifle, a cartridge belt, a bayonet, and a heavy steel helmet. Since those just arriving on base did not know how to care for themselves, recruits were also issued basic supplies ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:13-18

Tags: Spiritual Warfare, War

How Spiritual Are You

Contributed by Hugh Laing on Jan 19, 2010

HOW SPIRITUAL ARE YOU Tell me how much time you spend alone with God...I will tell you how spiritual you are..and I mean really alone. Not how many meetings you go to...not how many gifts or talents you have...not how many sermons you preach...not how many records you’ve recorded or produced...not ...read more

Tags: Disciplines General

Denomination: Baptist

Spiritual Near-Sightedness  PRO

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Jan 25, 2010

Spiritual Near-Sightedness One of my favorite riddles is this one Q: What did the near-sighted porcupine say when it backed into a cactus? A: Pardon me, honey! If you are near-sighted, you see objects that are near, but distant objects are blurry or unclear. To put is simply, you are equipped to ...read more

Tags: Future

Denomination: Independent/Bible

When Their Lives Are Spiritually ...

Contributed by Donnie Martin on May 24, 2010

When Their Lives Are Spiritually Frigid As a musician was tuning his instrument prior to a concert, he held it for a few seconds before a flaming fireplace. Asked why he did this, he replied, “I can’t seem to get any music out of it when it’s cold.” In a similar way, God’s children cannot produce ...read more

Tags: Musicians, Lukewarm

Denomination: Baptist