In Sermon Illustrations: "what is except"

What Americans Believe

Contributed by Derrick Tuper on Aug 11, 2009

WHAT AMERICANS BELIEVE In the Barna Report: What Americans Believe, 1991, George Barna, the church statistician, states that there is "a great deal of ambivalence among Americans with regard to their beliefs. For instance, while 62 percent of the respondents said they have made a personal ...read more

Tags: Apologetics General

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

What Makes A Christian

Contributed by Clark Tanner on Sep 28, 2009

WHAT MAKES A CHRISTIAN "The true Christian desires less and less of the things and comforts and pursuits and goals of this world, and desires more and more the things that are eternal, that are pleasing to God, that are divine in nature. What do you witness in the people around you who claim to be ...read more

Tags: Basics Of Christianity

Denomination: Orthodox

What Makes A Good ...

Contributed by Timothy Gardner on Nov 7, 2009

"What makes a good church? If all the… …Lazy folks get up …sleepy folks wake up …Discouraged folks cheer up …Gossiping folks shut up …Dishonest folks fess up …Estranged folks make up …Depressed folks look up …Disgusted folks sweeten up …Lukewarm folks fire up …Sanctified folks show ...read more

Tags: People, Love, Commitment, Humor, Church General  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Salvation Army

What Jesus Prayed For

Contributed by Brian La Croix on Dec 15, 2009

WHAT JESUS PRAYED FOR Philip Yancey, in an article for Christianity Today, wrote: "When Jesus prayed to the one who could save him from death, he did not get that salvation; he got instead the salvation of ...read more

Tags: Jesus Life

Denomination: Wesleyan

What Other Gods?

Contributed by Donnie Martin on May 24, 2010

WHAT OTHER GODS? What other gods could we have besides the Lord? Plenty. For Israel there were the Canaanite Baals, those jolly nature gods whose worship was a rampage of gluttony, drunkenness, and ritual prostitution. For us there are still the great gods Sex, Shekels, and Stomach (an unholy ...read more

Tags: Idolatry

Denomination: Baptist

What Are Your Goals?

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Nov 19, 2010

WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS? Not long after I got out of seminary, I decided I needed more training. So, I applied for a pastoral residency position at one of the largest churches in our denomination. It was a church in Prairie Village, Kansas, just outside of Kansas City, Missouri. As it turns out, the ...read more

Tags: Goals

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

What Is Spiritual Maturity?

Contributed by K. Edward Skidmore on Dec 29, 2010

WHAT IS SPIRITUAL MATURITY? In our Pueblo group we asked how we could define spiritual maturity? Someone said, "Being spiritually mature probably means you don't try to figure out whether the people around you are spiritually mature or not." Someone else said, "It's all I can do to figure ...read more

Tags: Growth In Christ

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

What Americans Believe

Contributed by Rodelio Mallari on Dec 31, 2010

WHAT AMERICANS BELIEVE Even those who claim to be Born Again are not necessarily firmly grounded in the truths of the Bible. In his book which provides a statistical analysis of religious beliefs in America, George Barna cites several fascinating statistics which are based on a national survey. ...read more

Tags: Satan

Denomination: *other

The Relationship Is What Counts  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 24, 2011

THE RELATIONSHIP IS WHAT COUNTS Wayne Cordeiro, a preacher in Honolulu, HI writes: Some time ago some wonderful people in our church gave Anna, my wife, and me a dinner certificate to a nice restaurant for $100. We thought, Wow, a hundred bucks. Let's go for it. We found a free evening. We ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 2:1-7

Tags: Basics Of Christianity

What Is Your Purpose?

Contributed by Rodelio Mallari on Apr 13, 2011

WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE? Many years before Abraham Lincoln was elected president, he was a store-keeper in Salem, Illinois. Abe had a rifle displayed in his store that was one of the most beautiful rifles ever made. The barrel was made from the finest steel, the stock from the best walnut wood; and a ...read more

Tags: God Brings Purpose

Denomination: *other

What Is Sixty Years

Contributed by Jason Bonnicksen on May 15, 2011

WHAT IS SIXTY YEARS What is sixty years worth? The last sixty years have paid tribute to the election of ten U.S. Presidents. Yuri Gagarin, sixty years ago in April, rocketed into history as the first human to travel beyond the clouds, and to orbit around the earth for nearly two hours. Sixty ...read more

Tags: Marriage Commitment

Denomination: Lutheran

What's Wrong With The World?

Contributed by Alison Bucklin on Jun 6, 2011

WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE WORLD? When asked what was wrong with the world, renowned Catholic ...read more

Tags: Sin General

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

What Is "Daily Bread"?

Contributed by Alison Bucklin on Jun 18, 2011

WHAT IS "DAILY BREAD"? Martin Luther wrote in 1529: "What does daily bread mean? Everything that nourishes our body and meets its needs, such as food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, yard, fields, cattle, money, possessions, a devout spouse, devout children, devout employees, devout and faithful ...read more

Tags: Lord's Prayer

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

That's What The Wind Is For

Contributed by Ronnie Miller on Jul 27, 2011

THAT'S WHAT THE WIND IS FOR A few years ago I planted a row of spruce pines to the east of our home for a couple of reasons. One to keep the dust from a neighboring field from blowing onto our house. The other reason was to keep the wind down. They were just about 3 feet high when I bought them, ...read more

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Denomination: Baptist

What Really Matters  PRO

Contributed by Ronnie Miller on Jul 28, 2011

What Really Matters It was two weeks before Christmas and it began to start. Everyone was scrambling and rushing to get to Wal-Mart. Their credit cards were in the orange and checking account in the red in hopes that their rich uncle would soon be dead. Old Saint Nick sitting high on a mountain ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:1-40

Tags: Christmas, Tree, Poem, Santa Claus

Denomination: Baptist

What Really Matters

Contributed by Ronnie Miller on Jul 28, 2011

WHAT REALLY MATTERS It was two weeks before Christmas and it began to start. Everyone was scrambling and rushing to get to Wal-Mart. Their credit cards were in the orange and checking account in the red in hopes that their rich uncle would soon be dead. Old Saint Nick sitting high on a mountain ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 9:6

Tags: Christmas, Season, Gift, Santa, Xmas, Clause  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

What's Important In Life...?

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 11, 2011

WHAT'S IMPORTANT IN LIFE...? When I was 13, my dad owned his own business--a tiny shack where he sold chicken, ribs, hamburgers, hot dogs, and fries. One day the oil that the chicken was fried in caught fire. In a few minutes the whole place exploded in flames. My dad bolted from the store before ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:6-10

Tags: Money

What The Cross Displayed  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 11, 2011

WHAT THE CROSS DISPLAYED Author Henri Nouwen tells the story of a family he knew in Paraguay. The father, a doctor, spoke out against the military regime there and its human rights abuses. Local police took their revenge on him by arresting his teenage son and torturing him to death. Enraged ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 52:13-15

Tags: Cross

What Is Needed For Joy?

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 22, 2011

WHAT IS NEEDED FOR JOY? Max Lucado tells the following story about Robert Reed: "I have everything I need for joy!" Robert Reed said. His hands are twisted and his feet are useless. He can't bathe himself. He can't feed himself. He can't brush his teeth, comb his hair, or put on his underwear. ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:22-24

Tags: Joy

What Are We Preaching?  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 31, 2011

WHAT ARE WE PREACHING? False teachings abound whenever people do not know the truth. Many of our churches today do not teach the truth because many pastors do not know the Bible. In our seminaries, almost 50 percent of professors now teach that there was no virgin birth of Jesus, and that story ...read more

Scripture: Acts 20:28-31

Tags: False Teaching