In Sermon Illustrations: showing 61-80 of 94

Honor

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on May 28, 2020

Victor Frankl was a survivor of the holocaust. His famous book is called "Man's Search for Meaning." The reader they ask me why I did not try to escape what was in store for me after Hitler had occupied Austria. Let me answer by recalling the following story. Shortly before ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 20:12, Ephesians 6:1

Tags: Sacrifice, Honor, Family, Purpose, Meaning, Selfishness, 10 Commandments  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Pentecostal

The Power Of Singing

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on May 14, 2020

Its been observed that Singing Together Shapes Community. ***Songs are one way that a community has its identity and one way that individuals find their identity within a community. (therefore old songs –passed on to the next generation- help create community bonds) Baseball has a song – during ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:1-2

Tags: Community, Church, Worship

Denomination: Pentecostal

Crisis Of Covid-19

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on May 4, 2020

The 20th century... What if you were born in 1900 - my grandparents for example were born in 1904 in Newfoundland. At age 14 , World War I starts, and ends on your 18th birthday. 22 million people perish in that war. Later in 1918, the Spanish Flu epidemic kills 50 million people in those two ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 9:6, Hebrews 12:28-29

Tags: Hope, Second Coming, Perspective, Crisis

Denomination: Pentecostal

Pioneer

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Feb 27, 2020

Time Magazine's obituary - Dr. Wilfred Thomason Grenfell's October 21, 1940. Oct. 21, 1940 - Wilfred Grenfell spent his boyhood on the Sands of Dee near Cheshire, England. He used to filch biscuits and wine from his school larder to give to fishermen as they left at dawn to catch the ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 4:6-8, Romans 12:1-8

Tags: Service, Sacrifice, Commitment

Denomination: Pentecostal

A Magnificent Surprise

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Dec 17, 2019

The accumulation of surprises at Bethlehem, humble country characters, a young peasant girl, an animal stall, a manger, shepherds, Magi, the threat of Herod and fleeing as refugees, though fascinating- are all secondary matters. The ...read more

Scripture: John 1:14

Tags: Christmas, Incarnation

Denomination: Pentecostal

Christmas And Atheism

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Dec 16, 2019

The famed Austrian psychologist Carl Jung once wrote about a life without God: “Those psychiatrists who are not superficial have come to the conclusion that the vast neurotic misery of the world could be TERMED a neurosis of emptiness. Men cut themselves off from the root of their being, from God ...read more

Scripture: John 1:14

Tags: Faith, Atheism, Emptiness, Existence Of God

Denomination: Pentecostal

Love Or Achievement

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Dec 9, 2019

I once heard a woman give a remarkable account of achievement. An early feminist, she gained renown in the male-dominated field of endocrinology. She brushes shoulders with Nobel laureates and world leaders, and has lived as full and rich a life as any I have known. At the end of her story she ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16, 1 John 4:7-8

Tags: Love, Success, Meaning Of Life

Denomination: Pentecostal

Politics And Religion

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Nov 19, 2019

Politics always competes with religion (joining it, tolerating it when it must, and absorbing it when it can) in order to promise, if not a life beyond, then a new deal on this earth, and a leader smiling charismatically from the ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 21:1-4, Matthew 2:1-23, Luke 23:1-25

Tags: Hope, Politics, Culture

Denomination: Pentecostal

The Road To Character

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Nov 6, 2019

“Humility is the freedom from the need to prove you are superior all the time, but egotism is a ravenous hunger in a small space – self-concerned, competitive, and distinction hungry. Humility (in contrast) is infused with lovely emotions like ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:22-23

Tags: Humility, Pride

Denomination: Pentecostal

The Selfishness Test

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Nov 6, 2019

Psychologists have a test for selfishness – it's called the narcissism test – they read people statements like these: “I like to be the center of attention” “I show off if I get the chance because I’m extraordinary” “Somebody should write a ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 2:1-11

Tags: Humility, Pride, Selfishness

Denomination: Pentecostal

The Sin Problem

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Sep 12, 2019

Immanuel Kant. “Out of the crooked timber of humanity, no ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:11-21, Romans 3:23

Tags: Forgiveness, Sin, Salvation

Denomination: Pentecostal

A Modern Day (Sports) Parable

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Aug 21, 2019

The Parable Of The Free Agent Hockey Players “For the kingdom of heaven is like a rich sports owner who went out at 6 AM on July 1st , free agency day, to find players for his hockey team. At the local Starbucks he found a Superstar player. He said, “I’ll make you a good offer. - $5 million per ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 20:1-16

Tags: Grace, Gospel, Kingdom Of God

Denomination: Pentecostal

Obscurity

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Aug 20, 2019

In his book Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places, Eugene Peterson recounts the story of the fourth century church father Gregory of Nyssa whose brother Basil had arranged for him to be made bishop of Cappadocia. "Gregory objected," Peterson writes. "He didn't want to be stuck ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 139:1-12

Tags: Obedience, Identity

Denomination: Pentecostal

Who Needs Twitter!

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Aug 20, 2019

We all want our lives to matter, and we believe they only matter if they are noticed by someone. I wonder if this desire for a witness isn't what fuels a lot of blogs, Facebook, and especially Twitter. We want someone, anyone, to take notice … to care about us … to watch us and by their ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 139:1-12

Tags: Communication, Self Esteem, Relationship

Denomination: Pentecostal

Stealing God

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Aug 20, 2019

A couple had two little boys, ages 8 and 10, who were mischievous. They were always getting into trouble, and their parents knew that if any mischief occurred in their town, their sons were probably involved. The boys' mother heard that a Pastor in town had been successful in disciplining ...read more

Tags: Presence, God

Denomination: Pentecostal

Healing

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Aug 19, 2019

Frederick Buechner, from Wishful Thinking The Gospels depict Jesus as having spent a surprising amount of time healing people. Although, like the author of Job before him, he specifically rejected the theory that sickness was God's way of getting even with sinners (John 9:1-3), he nonetheless ...read more

Scripture: James 5:14, Mark 2:1-12, Mark 1:33-34

Tags: Healing, Salvation, Power, Prayer, Faith  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Pentecostal

Creation Or Evolution?

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Aug 11, 2019

An experiment was conducted... A computer was placed in a cage with six monkeys, and after one month of hammering away at the keys … the monkeys produced fifty typed pages—but not one single word. This is amazing, considering that the shortest word in English could be a one-letter word such as the ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 1:1-2

Tags: Creation, Evolution

Denomination: Pentecostal

Where To Find Happiness

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Aug 5, 2019

C.S. Lewis quote: I didn't go to religion to make me happy. I always knew a bottle of port would do that. If you want religion to make you really ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:4-13

Tags: Peace, Happiness, Contentment

Denomination: Pentecostal

Vacation For Seniors!

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Jul 22, 2019

A number of years ago I attended a pastors gathering in Toronto. A retired Pastor, now crippled by a stroke, sat along the wall on a chair, all alone. In his prime he was a highly esteemed professor, author and preacher. Now, he sat alone and unnoticed. I walked across the room and lamented this ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:12-20

Tags: Loneliness, Community, Aging

Denomination: Pentecostal

Romans Road To Salvation

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Jun 24, 2019

The Romans Road to Salvation 1. I consider myself a good person. All have sinned & fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23 2. Is sin that big of a deal? The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 3. Why would Jesus die in my ...read more

Scripture: Romans 3:23, Romans 10:9

Tags: Salvation, Gospel, The Cross

Denomination: Pentecostal