In Sermon Illustrations: "Mark 4:13-13:20" showing 1-20 of 254

Or Would You Be More Like The Woman Who Was ...  PRO

Contributed by Russell Brownworth on Dec 11, 2000

Or would you be more like the woman who was bitten by a rabid dog, and it looked like she was going to die from rabies. The doctor told her to put her final affairs in order. So the woman took pen and paper, and began writing furiously. In fact she wrote and wrote and wrote. Finally the doctor ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 19:1-19, Mark 12:28-34

Tags: Love, Christian Love, Anger, Forgiveness For Others

Denomination: United Methodist

This Is An Alleged New Year’s Letter ...  PRO

Contributed by Tony Fox on Dec 12, 2000

ILL: This is an alleged New Year’s letter written from a church member to the pastor. Dear Pastor: You often stress attendance at worship as being very important for a Christian, but I think a person has a right to miss now and then. I think every person ought to be excused for the following ...read more

Scripture: Mark 7:24-30, Mark 7:1-8

Tags: New Year's Day, Growth In Christ, Faith, Sandra

Denomination: Baptist

How To Catch A Monkey  PRO

Contributed by Doug Sanders on Jan 2, 2001

HOW TO CATCH A MONKEY Native hunters in the jungles of Africa have a clever way of trapping monkeys. They slice a coconut in two, hollow it out, and in one half of the shell cut a hole just big enough for a monkey’s hand to pass through. Then they place an orange in the other coconut half before ...read more

Scripture: Mark 6:38, Matthew 8:5-13

Tags: John Wesley, Lost, Need, Grace, Human Value, Course, Church, Business And Marketplace, Encouragement, Sovereign, Support, Riches, Salvation, Sacrifices, Wisdom, Track  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

In The Fall Of The Year, Linda, A Young Woman, ...  PRO

Contributed by Jamie Moore on Oct 31, 2000

In the fall of the year, Linda, a young woman, was traveling alone up the rutted and rugged highway from Alberta to the Yukon. Linda didn’t know you don’t travel to Whitehorse alone in a rundown Honda Civic, so she set off where only four-wheel drives normally venture. The first evening she found a ...read more

Scripture: Mark 9:1-6, Mark 9:36-37

Tags: Church Small Groups, Compassion

Denomination: Baptist

Charles Swindoll In His Book "Three Steps ...  PRO

Contributed by Richard Jones on Nov 1, 2000

Charles Swindoll in his book “Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Back” tells the story of a farmer who wanted to impress his hunting buddies. To impress them, he bought the smartest, most expensive hunting dog he could find. He trained this dog to do things no other dog on earth could do---impossible ...read more

Scripture: Mark 6:1-13

Tags: Faith General, Emotions

Denomination: Baptist

An Old American Indian Tale Recounts The Story Of ...  PRO

Contributed by Richard Jones on Nov 3, 2000

An old American Indian tale recounts the story of a chief who was telling a gathering of young braves about the struggle within. "It is like two dogs fighting inside of us," the chief told them. "There is one good dog who wants to do the right and the other dog always wants to do the wrong. ...read more

Scripture: Mark 9:38-50, Psalm 139:13-16, Proverbs 4:1-27, Isaiah 6:1-5, Psalm 139:1-14  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Seek, Steadfast, Stumbling Block, Service, Willingness, Worship, Turn, Commitment, Experience, Discipleship, Encounter, Pray, Obedience, Growth In Christ, Humble, Holiness, Hero  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

The Late Dr. Boice Had Some Interesting Thoughts ...  PRO

Contributed by Nathan Robertson, Jr. on Nov 3, 2000

The late Dr. Boice had some interesting thoughts as to why God’s justice is offensive. In human affairs we rightly value justice and the "wrath" of the judicial system, for they protect us. If by chance we ourselves run afoul of the law, there is always the chance that we can cop a plea, escape on ...read more

Scripture: Mark 12:1-12

Tags: Forgiveness General, God's Judgment, God's Forgiveness

Denomination: Baptist

In His Book Enjoying Intimacy With God, J. Oswald ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 31, 2001

In his book Enjoying Intimacy with God, J. Oswald Sanders makes a piercing observation: "We are at this moment as close to God as we really choose to be. True, there are times when we would like to know a deeper intimacy, but ...read more

Scripture: Mark 12:29-30

Tags: Discipleship, Disciplines General

Frequently In The Wedding Service We Have The ...  PRO

Contributed by Gene Barron on Feb 2, 2001

Frequently in the wedding service we have the ceremony of lighting the unity candle by the bride and groom. The couple each takes a small burning candle, representing their solitary life thus far, and together they light the large, center, wedding candle. When they put their small candles back ...read more

Scripture: Mark 10:6-9

Tags: Marriage, Marriage Commitment, Marriage Obligations, Unity, Wedding  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Leadership Magazine Carried A Story About 4 Young ...  PRO

Contributed by Melvin Newland on Feb 14, 2001

Leadership Magazine carried a story about 4 young men, Bible College students, who were renting a house together. One Saturday morning someone knocked on their door. And when they opened it, there stood this bedraggled-looking old man. His eyes were kind of marbleized, & he had a silvery stub of ...read more

Scripture: Mark 12:28-34, Mark 12:1-17

Tags: Christian Love, Christian Disciplines, Giving, Giving General, Generosity, Good  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Notice Satan’s Version Of Grace - It Had An ...  PRO

Contributed by Joel Pankow on Mar 1, 2001

notice Satan’s version of grace - it had an IF clause attached to it. [[This reminds me of the many ploys out there today - get 400 dollars of free merchandise - IF you sign up for MSN for three years. No money down - no interest for 12 months - you can own a new car NOW! But all you have to do ...read more

Scripture: Mark 1:12-15, Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 4:26-34

Tags: Money, Sin Deceptive, Temptation Of Christ

Denomination: Lutheran

What Is Servanthood? It’s A Question We ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 30, 2001

What is servanthood? It’s a question we have to answer because today the concept has largely been abandoned by our culture. In his book, The Jesus Style, Gayle D. Erwin described servanthood this way: "A servant’s job is to do all he can to make life better for others - to free them to be ...read more

Scripture: Mark 10:35-45, Mark 10:34-45, Colossians 1:24-25

Tags: Help, Volunteer, Volunteerism, Service, Servanthood, Servant  (view more)  (view less)

A Third Grader's Explanation Of God  PRO

Contributed by Brian Mavis on Apr 4, 2001

A THIRD GRADERS EXPLANATION OF GOD Written by Danny Dutton, age 8, from Chula Vista, California, for his third grade homework assignment to "Explain God." One of God’s main jobs is making people. He makes them to replace the ones that die so there will be enough people to take care of things on ...read more

Scripture: Mark 7:1-23, Galatians 5:1-26

Tags: God The Father, Children

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Young Harold Had A Really Bad Case Of Attention ...  PRO

Contributed by Tom Lovorn on Apr 10, 2001

Young Harold had a really bad case of Attention Deficit Disorder. On Palm Sunday, Harold’s Sunday School teacher sent empty plastic eggs home with each of her students. Mrs. Wilson told them to bring something back in the eggs next Sunday to represent Easter. She really didn’t expect Harold to ...read more

Scripture: Mark 10:46-52, Luke 7:11-17

Tags: Miracles Of Jesus, Easter Resurrection

Denomination: Baptist

The Ss Teacher Told The 5th Grade Class That ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 13, 2001

The SS teacher told the 5th grade class that Jesus was buried in a borrowed tomb. One student said that she knew ...read more

Scripture: Mark 5:21-43

Tags: Easter Resurrection, Miracles Of Jesus

We'll Stay Out Of The Way  PRO

Contributed by Bob Hager on Apr 26, 2001

WE'LL STAY OUT OF THE WAY The Call to Worship had just been pronounced starting Easter Sunday Morning service in an East Texas church. The choir started its processional, singing "Up from the Grave He Arose" as they marched in perfect step down the center aisle to the front of the church. The ...read more

Scripture: John 11:25, John 17:6-19, John 11:1-25, John 11:1-44, John 4:23-24, John 20:26-29, Mark 8:33  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Easter Resurrection, Wholehearted, Hope, Indifference

Denomination: Methodist

: "When Blind Eyes Were ...  PRO

Contributed by Bruce Howell on May 9, 2001

Illus.: “When Blind Eyes Were Opened” D.L. Moody, the famed evangelist, told this story at one of his meetings: One evening just before Christmas, a man was walking through the streets of an Eastern city. The store windows were all beautifully decorated, and he observed three little girls ...read more

Scripture: Mark 10:46-52, Job 42:1-6, 1 Corinthians 1:9-16, Isaiah 9:2-7

Tags: Assurance Of Salvation, Apologetics General, Blind, Evangelism, Holy Spirit Attributes  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Wesleyan

#8230; Discipleship Journal, ...  PRO

Contributed by Troy Borst on May 31, 2001

ILLUSTRATION… Discipleship Journal, 11-12/92 A recent survey of Discipleship Journal readers ranked areas of greatest spiritual challenge to them: 1. Materialism 2. Pride 3. Self-centeredness 4. Laziness 5. (Tie) Anger/Bitterness 5. (Tie) Sexual lust 6. Envy 7. Gluttony 8. Lying Survey respondents ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 13:15-16, Luke 14:25-33, John 5:1-47, Ephesians 6:1-3, Philippians 2:5-11, Matthew 16:27-30, James 4:13-17, Isaiah 43:1-21, Luke 18:35-41, 1 Thessalonians 5:18, 1 Kings 3:16-28, Mark 6:17-29, John 3:16, Romans 5:1-11, Matthew 10:1-15, Mark 13:1-8, 1 John 2:15-17, Proverbs 30:1-11, John 15:9-17, Romans 5:5, John 4:1-13, Ruth 1:16, Genesis 22:1-18, Philippians 2:5-12, James 1:13-18, Genesis 2:23  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Ahead, Abide In Jesus, Busy, Call, Comfort, Companionship, Self Esteem, Patience, Temptation General, Temptation Pride, Spiritual Gifts, Temptation, Grace, Money, Lonely, Losing Mother, Lord's Prayer  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

I Was Waiting For My Test Results From A ...  PRO

Contributed by Robert Travis on Jun 24, 2001

I was waiting for my test results from a Christian Education class at the Bible Colllege where I attended. I knew I had every answer right and I was anticipating an A as my grade, but to my disappointment I received a C. The teacher admitted I had every answer right, but I had failed to follow ...read more

Scripture: Mark 11:2-3, Mark 11:14

Tags: Gifts Mercy, God's Forgiveness

Denomination: Baptist

In The First Century, A 12-Year-Old Would Have ...  PRO

Contributed by Todd Schäve on Jun 26, 2001

In the first century, a 12-year-old would have been well along in their life since: -a third of those born would have died by age 6; -60% by their mid-teens; -by their mid-twenties 75%; -90% by their mid-forties; and -maybe 3% reached their 60s. Bruce J. Malina and Richard L. ...read more

Scripture: Mark 5:42

Tags: Jesus Life, Children, Death Nearness

Denomination: Baptist