In Sermon Illustrations: "Ecclesiastes 1:1-7:12" showing 21-40 of 71

Chrysostom On Ecclesiastes  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 21, 2011

CHRYSOSTOM ON ECCLESIASTES Eutropius had fallen into disgrace. As the highest-ranking official in the Byzantine Empire (late fourth century), he served as the closest adviser to the emperor Arcadius, then ruling in Constantinople. But Eutropius abused his imperial power and aroused the anger of ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 1:2, 2 Kings 16:10-16

Tags: Evangelism How To

Temporary Castles  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 28, 2011

TEMPORARY CASTLES "A little boy is on the beach. On his knees he scoops and packs the sand with plastic shovels into a bright red bucket. Then he upends the bucket on the surface and lifts it. And, to the delight of the little architect, a castle tower is created. "All afternoon he will work. ...read more

Scripture: James 4:13-17, Luke 12:15-21, Ecclesiastes 3:1-15

Tags: Death

Connection Is Key

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 26, 2011

CONNECTION IS KEY Henry Cloud in How People Grow writes, "Virtually every emotional and psychological problem, from addictions to depression, has alienation or emotional isolation at its core or close to it. Recovery from these problems involves helping people get more connected to each other at ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Tags: Emotions

Aussie Common Sense  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 3, 2011

AUSSIE COMMON SENSE Common sense is taking into consideration all the realities you see in front of you and coming to a right conclusion. After having dug to a depth of 10 feet last year, British scientists found traces of copper wire dating back 200 years and came to the conclusion that their ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 1:9-11

Tags: Wisdom

Crabs In A Basket

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 11, 2011

CRABS IN A BASKET Charles L. Allen wrote about a fisherman friend of his who told him that one never needs a top for his crab basket. If one of the crabs starts to climb up the sides of the basket, the other crabs will reach up and pull it back down. ("The Miracle of Love") Allen then observed ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 4:4

Tags: Envy

Relationships Matter Most In Happiness

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 10, 2011

RELATIONSHIPS MATTER MOST IN HAPPINESS In 1937, a researcher at Harvard University began a study (originally named The Harvard Study of Adult Development) on what factors contribute to human well-being and happiness. The research team selected 268 male Harvard students who seemed healthy and well ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 2:24-26

Tags: Happiness

Impersonal America

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 14, 2011

IMPERSONAL AMERICA Here is how Max Lucado rates us as a society: "Call us a fast society, an efficient society, but don’t call us a personal society. Our society is set up for isolation. We wear ear buds when we exercise. We communicate via e-mail and text messages. We enter and exit our house ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 4:7-12

Tags: Friendship General

Keeping Up With Next Door  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 8, 2011

KEEPING UP WITH NEXT DOOR I heard about a chicken yard with a big hen house, where a rooster had all of his hens laying eggs. One day, two little boys were next door playing football, with a brand new white football. One of them accidentally kicked the football over the fence, and it rolled into ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 4:4

Tags: Envy, Successful

Do Dead Men Bleed?  PRO

Contributed by Perry Greene on Oct 3, 2011

DO DEAD MEN BLEED? It is dangerous to base our salvation experience entirely upon feeling. Knowing that, and acting upon it, are still sometimes strangers. Like the psychiatrist who took on a very disturbed man as a patient. The man thought he was dead. No matter what techniques the doctor ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 1:2-4

Tags: Salvation, Christian Work

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Labor Day And Our Divine Union

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 4, 2012

LABOR DAY AND OUR DIVINE UNION I’ve heard that Labor Day was first celebrated in Boston on Sept 5, 1882. It wasn’t until 1894 that it became a federal holiday. That was an effort encouraged by President Grover Cleveland to reconcile with the labor movement and prevent further violence. You see, ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Tags: Holidays Civic

The Purpose Of Life  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 28, 2012

THE PURPOSE OF LIFE There's a guy named Hugh Morehead who 45 years ago began a hobby of writing to famous philosophers and scientists and authors and asking them, "What is the purpose of life?" The responses he got back were depressing at best. Isaac Asimov wrote back, "As far as I can see there ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 1:1-14

Tags: God Brings Purpose

Time To A Pig

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 19, 2012

TIME TO A PIG There’s the story of a man walking past a farm and noticed a farmer feeding pigs in a most unusual manner. The farmer would lift a pig up to a nearby apple tree, and the pig would eat the apples off the tree directly. The farmer would move the pig from one apple to another until the ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:1-22

Tags: Decision, Time

Bitter Rivalry Between Artists

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 21, 2012

BITTER RIVALRY BETWEEN ARTISTS In 1503, Julius II became Pope of the Roman Catholic Church. He immediately began a building program to beautify the Vatican. In 1509, he commissioned Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo reluctantly agreed to paint the fresco, though ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 4:4

Tags: Envy

Encouragement From A Friend

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 29, 2012

ENCOURAGEMENT FROM A FRIEND There are times when you will be pushed out or pushed aside. You can be on the right road and still find yourself in a situation that is so severe that you cannot survive it on your own. Mark it down: You are not exempt from times of suffering, rejection, or ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Tags: Friendship General

You Follow What You're Tied To  PRO

Contributed by Rick Pendleton on Oct 31, 2012

YOU FOLLOW WHAT YOU'RE TIED TO Two hunters were out hunting and come upon what appeared at first as an abandoned farm. The barn was sagging, the house was in disrepair, and there were junk cars and car parts lying around. The only thing that made it a working farm were a few chickens pecking away ...read more

Scripture: John 5:1-5, Luke 21:5-35, Ecclesiastes 3:1-15

Tags: Fear, Marriage, Sin Bondage To, Sidetracked

Denomination: Baptist

What Time Is It?  PRO

Contributed by Rod Elmore on Feb 18, 2013

WHAT TIME IS IT? An old man was standing on a crowded bus. A young man standing next to him asked, "What time is it?" The old man said nothing. As the young man walked away, the old man's friend asked, "Why were you so rude to the young man?" The old man answered, "If I had given him the time ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Tags: Heart

Denomination: Christian Church

A Christmas Carol

Contributed by Davon Huss on Dec 22, 2014

Not that it is in the Bible but a story familiar around this time of the year is Ebenezer Scrooge. Ebenezer is a man incapable of joy. Scrooge is rich, but he lives alone in squalor. He takes pleasure in nothing and is indifferent to human suffering. On Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by a ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 1:15

Tags: Christmas, Joy, Scrooge, Joy And Gospel

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Time

Contributed by Ronnie Miller on Jan 2, 2015

Where has the time gone? There is a time for everything but, that never seem to bother me when I was young. But as I get older I consider almost everything in time. It’s time to take my medicine, it’s time to go to the doctor, it’s time for this or time for that. One of the few things Brenda and I ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:1-4, Ecclesiastes 3:1

Tags: Accepted Time, Time, Fullness Of Time

Denomination: Baptist

I'm That Clown!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Mar 1, 2016

I’M THAT CLOWN It is said that in a great city there was a physician famous for his wisdom. A man came to him one day and said, "Doctor, I want you to see what is wrong with me." The doctor checked him over and said, "Your heart is all right. Your lungs are all right. Your blood pressure is ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:1-12

Tags: Happiness, Joy, Emptiness

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Power Of Unity

Contributed by Shawn Miller on Jun 2, 2016

In one of Aesops fables he describes an old man who had several sons, who were always falling out with one another. He had often, but to no purpose, exhorted them to live together in harmony. One day he called them together, and he gathered a bundle of sticks and tied them together and asked each ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 4:12, 1 Corinthians 1:10-11

Tags: Harmony, Church Community, E, Unity, Christian Unity  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational