In Sermon Illustrations: showing 4,101-4,120 of 52,429

Almost Giving

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 21, 2012

ALMOST GIVING One of the Ad Council's most effective public service commercials is the "Don't Almost Give" campaign. One ad shows a man with crutches struggling to go up a flight of steps. The narrator says, "This man almost learned to walk at a rehab center that almost got built by people who ...read more

Scripture: Luke 6:38, James 2:16

Tags: Giving General

Compromise

Contributed by Gordon Curley on May 20, 2012

COMPROMISE A hunter went out into the forest to shoot a bear. With winter fast approaching he planned to make a warm coat out of the bearskin. Soon he saw a bear coming toward him, he raised his gun and took aim. "Wait," said the bear, "why do you want to shoot me?" The hunter replied: ...read more

Tags: Sin Wages Of

Denomination: Brethren

Christ Transforms A Prisoner

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 18, 2012

CHRIST TRANSFORMS A PRISONER Chuck Colson tells story after story of men in prison who had committed crimes, but who came to Christ and were thoroughly converted. No one would have guessed that some of these men would be devout followers of Christ one day. One such story was the account of a man ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:1-32

Tags: Parable Prodigal Son

An Honors Student In Fort Worth, Texas, Was Sent ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 17, 2012

An honors student in Fort Worth, Texas, was sent to the principal's office and punished for telling a classmate that he believes homosexuality is wrong. Holly Pope said she was "absolutely stunned" when she received a telephone call from an assistant principal at Western Hills High School ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:10-16

Tags: Persecution

The Master And The Child  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 17, 2012

THE MASTER AND THE CHILD The folklore surrounding Poland's famous concert pianist and prime minister, Ignace Paderewski, includes a story, which though fictional, provides a true picture of what God can do with us: A mother, wishing to encourage her young son's progress at the piano, bought ...read more

Scripture: James 1:2-4

Tags: God In The Hardships

A Salesman Meets The Inventor

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 17, 2012

A SALESMAN MEETS THE INVENTOR In 1969, in a science lab in New Jersey, Canadian physicist Willard Boyle and his colleagues invented the concept of an electronic eye. Using their knowledge of mathematics and the behavior of light, they provided the science behind digital cameras known as a ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:3

Tags: Arrogance

Michael Jordan: Persevere

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 17, 2012

MICHAEL JORDAN: PERSEVERE In the fall of 1978, fifteen-year-old Michael Jordan tried out for the varsity basketball team at Emsley A. Laney High School in Wilmington, North Carolina. The sophomore was 5 feet 11 inches and with his skills, the coach told him that he was not good enough, and Michael ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 12:1-12

Tags: Endurance

Connecting With The Common Man

Contributed by Perry Greene on May 17, 2012

CONNECTING WITH THE COMMON MAN Sam Walton was in the mid 90s named as one of the richest men in America. You'd never know it! He drove a pickup and lived like a regular person. Asked why he didn't drive a Rolls Royce, he replied, "Where would I put my dogs?" He was successful at least in part ...read more

Tags: Jesus Life

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

He'll Always Catch You

Contributed by Bryce Thorpe on May 17, 2012

HE'LL ALWAYS CATCH YOU I love to play with my kids. Even as they have gotten older, they bring me a great deal of joy. But, I confess, it was easier when they were young. Especially my daughter, now 21, used to love it when I threw her in the air. But, as you might guess, that wasn't always ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 11:1

Tags: Faith General

Denomination: Baptist

My Friend Will Find Me

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 16, 2012

MY FRIEND WILL FIND ME Sam was a great bird dog. If he pointed to a clump of bushes, there surely was a bird in there. He was much more than just a bird dog. Often we’d share together lazy lunches in an abandoned apple orchard, and the snooze that followed. Late one afternoon, Sam and I became ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 4:7-9

Tags: Trust

First-Century Fire

Contributed by Suresh Manoharan on May 16, 2012

FIRST-CENTURY FIRE Billy Graham, that great and uncompromising preacher, once in a Revival meeting held at Los Angeles, shared a passionate message on the Early Church, outlining what needs to be done for the Churches of modern era to become more effective. While many were moved by it, some ...read more

Tags: Pentecost

Denomination: *other

Tough Love  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 15, 2012

TOUGH LOVE "Living in this house is like living in hell," screamed the young girl as she stamped her feet on the way upstairs to her room. The mother stood looking at her daughter, a hint of tears forming in her eyes. She wanted to run up the stairs and hug her daughter but she knew the timing ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 13:24

Tags: Parenting

Self-Image

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 15, 2012

SELF-IMAGE There's a story about a girl who was the daughter of one of the royal families of Europe. She had a big, round nose that destroyed her beauty in the eyes of others--and especially in her own eyes. She grew up with this terrible image of herself as an ugly person. So her family hired a ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:1-11

Tags: Self

Downward Trends In U.s. Christianity

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 15, 2012

DOWNWARD TRENDS IN U.S. CHRISTIANITY In George Barna's new book on U.S. Christians called Futurecast, he tracks annual changes from 1991 to 2011 and shows that all the major trend lines of religious belief and behavior ran downward except two: More people claim they have accepted Jesus as their ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:11-16

Tags: Church Practices

Do You Know Your Business?

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 15, 2012

DO YOU KNOW YOUR BUSINESS? There was once a sign on a door that read: "Gone out of business. Didn’t know what our business was." Do you know what your business is in this world? More than anything it should be the pursuit of holiness by ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 12:14

Tags: Holiness

Running With A Stopwatch

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 15, 2012

RUNNING WITH A STOPWATCH Long-distance runner Paavo Nurmi of Finland was an Olympic champion, winning twelve medals (nine of them gold) in the 1920, 1924, and 1928 Games. Nurmi was famous not only for his achievements, but also for running with a stopwatch in his hand to check his performance. ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 12:1-13

Tags: Disciplines General

The Pond Of The Soul

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 15, 2012

THE POND OF THE SOUL Thomas Fuller (English preacher of 1600’s) wrote: "Almost 20 years ago I heard a profane jest and still I remember it. How many pious passages of a far later date have I utterly forgotten? It seems my soul is like a filthy pond where fish die soon ...read more

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:22-24

Tags: Holiness

Character And Witness

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 15, 2012

CHARACTER AND WITNESS John Bunyan said of Christians: "When all their garments are white the world will count them His," and the skeptical German poet Heinrich Heine said to Christians, "You show me your redeemed life and I might be inclined to believe in your Redeemer." The authentic life that ...read more

Scripture: John 17:20-23

Tags: Christian Witness

Playing In The Dirt

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 15, 2012

PLAYING IN THE DIRT If you see a baby playing in the dirt, the baby may be dirty but you pretty much don’t make a big deal about it because it’s understood that babies play in dirt. Babies try to eat dirt. Babies scrub themselves in dirt. Dirt is a toy to a baby. But if you see a ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:11-16

Tags: Growth In Christ

Crossing The Line

Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on May 15, 2012

CROSSING THE LINE A business training exercise shows how people from different cultures look at the same task in different ways. A leader draws an imaginary line on the floor, and puts one person on each side. The purpose is to get one person to convince the other, without force, to cross the ...read more

Tags: Unity

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed