In Sermon Illustrations: "Temptation General"

I Drive A Lot On Interstate 5 And Can Relate To ...

Contributed by Austin Mansfield on Feb 18, 2007

I drive a lot on Interstate 5 and can relate to the story of a highway patrol officer who was on I-5 late one night, when the road was almost clear, except for one car in the fast lane, barely moving, an accident waiting to happen. The car was crawling along when the trooper pulled it over, and he ...read more

Tags: Communication General

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

Churches Can Learn From Small Businesses That ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 20, 2007

Churches can learn from small businesses that have been operating for less than 10 years in that they use the Web for marketing far more than their older counterparts, according to a Kelsey Group study. Younger businesses are particularly heavy users of e-mail and Internet Yellow Pages, but also ...read more

Tags: Church General

Video Church- About 1,000 Churches, Mostly ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 20, 2007

Video Church- About 1,000 churches, mostly evangelical, use remote feeds, live or via DVD. In ‘05, 91% of mega-churches used the technology, up from 65% in ‘00, states a Hartford Seminary survey. Many Christians have taken to “godcasts” through video churches. Video technology allows leaders of ...read more

Tags: Church General

60% Of Canadians Believe "Through The Life, ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 20, 2007

60% Of Canadians believe “through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, God provided the way for the forgiveness of sins,” but only 17% attend church at least ...read more

Tags: Church General

Legalized Gambling Americans Spend More Money On ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 20, 2007

Legalized Gambling Americans spend more money on more forms of legal gambling now than at any time in the nation’s history. 70% of Americans say legalized gambling encourages people to gamble more than they can afford. Only 62% expressed that concern in ’89. Interestingly 71% approve of state ...read more

Tags: Communication General

Introverted Ceos- 4 In 10 Top Executives Are ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 20, 2007

Introverted CEOs- 4 in 10 top executives are introverts, a little lower than the 50-50 ratio among those 40-plus in the U.S. Introverts say they succeed because they have inner strength and think before they act. When faced with difficult decisions they worry little about what others will think of ...read more

Tags: Leadership General

Generosity Varies- People In The Midwest Gave The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 20, 2007

Generosity Varies- People in the Midwest gave the highest portion of after-tax income to charitable contributions (2%), while the South and West were tied for the next place (1.6% each) ant the Northeast ...read more

Tags: Giving General

92% Of U.s. Adults Say They Or A Household Member ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 20, 2007

92% of U.S. adults say they or a household member made a financial contribution to a nonprofit organization in the past year. 49% of those who contributed gave less than $500, while 6% donated $5,000 or more. In ‘06, 50% of donors gave to churches and religious organizations, 50% to disaster relief ...read more

Tags: Giving General

Hispanics Purchased 14.6% Of All U.s. Homes Sold ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 20, 2007

Hispanics purchased 14.6% of all U.S. homes sold in ’05. In California, they comprise 28% of home buyers. The rate of homeownership among Hispanics hit a record 50% in Q4 of ‘05, according HUD. Low interest rates and flexible lending rules are the key cause factors. Hispanics are ...read more

Tags: Church General

Home-Grown Churches Researcher George Barna Says ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 20, 2007

Home-Grown Churches Researcher George Barna says millions of Americans are breaking from traditional church and choosing a home church. They want to “be” the church, not just attend church. He estimates more than 20 million Americans have begun exploring alternative forms of worship since ’00. ...read more

Tags: Church General

Online Giving To American's Largest Charities ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 20, 2007

Online Giving to American’s largest charities continued its steep climb in ‘05, according to The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s annual survey. E-gifts to the 167 organizations responding to the survey topped $911.9 million, up 148% from ’04. Some of the very largest charities are seeing online ...read more

Tags: Giving General

Disaster Relief Is The Most Common Type Of Cause ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 20, 2007

Disaster relief is the most common type of cause (outside the local church) financially supported by ...read more

Tags: Giving General

35.5% Or $88.3 Billion Of All '04 U.s. Charitable ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 20, 2007

35.5% or $88.3 billion of all ’04 U.S. charitable giving went to Religion and was the #1 donor ...read more

Tags: Giving General

The Current Median Age For Marriage In The U.s. ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 20, 2007

The current median age for marriage in the U.S. has risen to 25 for women and 27 for ...read more

Tags: Marriage General

1 In Every 3 American Babies Has Unwed ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 20, 2007

1 in every 3 American babies has unwed ...read more

Tags: Marriage General

Plump Preachers 76% Of Christian Clergy Are ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 20, 2007

Plump Preachers 76% of Christian clergy are overweight versus 61% of the public, according to a ’04 a Duke ...read more

Tags: Church General

Older Churches, Especially Those 40 To 80 Years ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 20, 2007

Older Churches, especially those 40 to 80 years old, on average declined 1.5% to 1.6% between ’03 and ’04. At the same time younger churches ...read more

Tags: Church General

The Top 10 Issues Facing Today's Church 1-Prayer ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 20, 2007

The Top 10 Issues Facing Today’s Church 1-Prayer 2-Discipleship 3-Leadership 4-Evangelism 5-Doctrine /Worldview 6-Apathy 7-Marriage ...read more

Tags: Church General

Who Needs Church? Even Though The Bible Is Clear ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 20, 2007

Who Needs Church? Even though the Bible is clear about the importance of experiencing God through a shared faith journey, only 17% of adults believe the local church is central to one’s faith development. Only 33% of evangelicals, 20% of non-evangelical born again adults, and 25% of adults with a ...read more

Tags: Church General

Who Needs Church? Even Though The Bible Is Clear ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 20, 2007

Who Needs Church? Even though the Bible is clear about the importance of experiencing God through a shared faith journey, only 17% of adults believe the local church is central to one’s faith development. Only 33% of evangelicals, 20% of non-evangelical born again adults, and 25% of adults with a ...read more

Tags: Church General