In Sermon Illustrations: "Genesis 34:7-9:1"

Some One Has Said, There Are Three Kinds Of ...  PRO

Contributed by Evie Megginson on Apr 17, 2001

Some one has said, there are three kinds of givers -- the flint, the sponge and the honeycomb. To get anything out of a flint you must hammer it. And then you get only chips and sparks. To get water out of a sponge you must squeeze it, and the more you use pressure, the more you ...read more

Scripture: Job 7:1-7, Genesis 23:1-20, Genesis 23:1-12, Genesis 26:1-23

Tags: Labor, Giving General, Dirty, Church Practices, Work  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Confidence In A Crisis  PRO

Contributed by A. Todd Coget on Nov 8, 2002

Green Bay Packers’ [now Seattle Seahawks] head coach Mike Holmgren looks back at a heartbreaking moment, when he was cut from the New York Jets as backup quarterback to Joe Namath, that directed him to a bigger plan. "I had committed my life to Jesus Christ when I was 11, but in my pursuit to ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 39:23

Tags: Doubt, Sharing My Testimony, Growth In Christ

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Americans Are Willing To Spend Billions To Lose ...  PRO

Contributed by Victor Yap on Jan 8, 2003

Americans are willing to spend billions to lose weight. Marketing products and services to dieters is a cinch, a dream, and a no-brainer big business, and easy money, because more than 120 million or 61% of people in the USA are overweight, obese, or overweight by 30 pounds or more. The common ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 3:4-6

Tags: Peace, Testing, Giving Yourself, Christian Disciplines

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Sammy's Big Catch - Sammy Was A Young Boy Who ...  PRO

Contributed by Charles Wall, Jr. on Aug 26, 2003

Sammy’s Big Catch - Sammy was a young boy who lived in the Deep South. His summer days were filled when times of walking through the woods, playing with friends, and fishing in the pond down the road. Fishing was by far his favorite thing to do. Just about every day during his summer vacation, ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 3:1-23

Tags: Sin General, Sin Wages Of, Sin Deceptive

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Forgiveness Is To Release, To Let Go, Relinquish, ...  PRO

Contributed by Charles Wilkerson on Feb 19, 2004

Forgiveness is to release, to let go, relinquish, get rid of sin—ours and those we’ve been victimized by. Dr. Lewis Smedes, one of my professors at Fuller wrote about what forgiveness is not. · When you forgive a person, this does not mean you are immediately healed. · When you forgive a person, ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 49:13

Tags: Forgiveness For Others

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

I Heard The Story Of Three Guys That Were Hiking ...  PRO

Contributed by Ken Kersten on Apr 8, 2004

I heard the story of three guys that were hiking in the woods. They came to a raging river. Not sure what to do next the first guy looked to the heavens and said, “God please make me strong enough to get across this river.” Poof he had big strong arms and legs and he jumped in and began ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 2:18-25

Tags: Examples Of Faith

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Opening Illustration With Marshmallows: Invite ...  PRO

Contributed by Bill Sullivan on Aug 12, 2004

Opening illustration with marshmallows: invite three or four from congregation who really like marshmallows - give each one a marshmallow. Ask them to hold it, wait until you’ve walked all the way around the auditorium. If they can wait until you’ve walked all the way around the auditorium, ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 3:1-19

Tags: Temptation General, Temptation Resisting

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Bernie May Of Wycliffe Bible Translators Wrote, ...  PRO

Contributed by Evie Megginson on Aug 13, 2004

Bernie May of Wycliffe Bible Translators wrote, "As an airplane pilot, from the first time I sat in the beginner’s seat beside my instructor I was taught to ’trust’ my instruments. ’Your instincts will fool you,’ my instructor rightly told me. ’You must learn that even though you may feel you are ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 3:1-15

Tags: Faith General

Denomination: Baptist

Let Me Give You A Few Examples Of Boundaries. ...

Contributed by Paul Wallace on Sep 22, 2004

Let me give you a few examples of boundaries. Dr. James Dobson, in his book Love Must Be Tough, tells of a woman who allows her husband to move his lover into their home, and she thinks she is trying to hold her marriage together. However, in reality she has failed to put a boundary around her ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 11:1-9

Tags: Marriage Commitment

Denomination: Wesleyan

With His Life In Disarray, Steven Lavaggi Sat On ...  PRO

Contributed by James Wilson on Nov 23, 2000

With his life in disarray, Steven Lavaggi sat on his bedroom’s wooden floor, and began searching his Bible for answers. His wife had just left him to marry a writer for The Rolling Stone Magazine. Ten days later, Steven discovered his son was stricken with Juvenile Diabetes. As if coping with the ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 45:3-15

Tags: Leadership General, Workplace Evangelism

Denomination: Baptist

Chuck Swindoll In His Book, Improving Your Serve, ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 1, 2001

Chuck Swindoll in his book, Improving Your Serve, gives a memorable illustration: Let’s pretend that you work for me. In fact, you are my executive assistant in a company that is growing rapidly. I’m the owner and I’m interested in expanding overseas. To pull this off, I make plans to travel ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 3:1-13

Tags: Call Of The Disciples, Discipleship, Faith

Katie Fisher, 17, Entered The Madison County ...  PRO

Contributed by David Dewitt on Feb 4, 2001

Katie Fisher, 17, entered the Madison County Ohio Junior Livestock Sale hoping the lamb she had for sale would get a good price. For months Katie had been battling cancer. She had endured hospital stays and been through chemotherapy a number of times. Before the lamb went on the block, the ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 49:22-24

Tags: Giving General, Compassion, Forgiveness General

Denomination: Church Of God

A Monument To A Man’s Leg Was Erected On ...  PRO

Contributed by Ted Sutherland on May 29, 2001

A monument to a man’s leg was erected on the Saratoga battlefield in honor of Benedict Arnold, one-time hero of the Continental Army but who later tried to betray West Point and then fled to England. Because Arnold was instrumental in winning the crucial battle of Saratoga where his left leg was ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 37:1-36

Tags: Independence Day, Faith

Denomination: Baptist

During The Days When Mohammed Ali Was A Great ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Hodges on Jun 16, 2001

During the days when Mohammed Ali was a great boxer, he would go around in his arrogance and say that, "He was the greatest." Humility was never his strong suit. One day, back in his prime, he was on an airplane and the plane was ready to take off and the flight attendant had repeatedly told him ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 33:1-4

Tags: Humility, Emotions

Denomination: Baptist

Dave Stone Co-Pastors A Very Large Church In ...  PRO

Contributed by Michael Cassara on Sep 8, 2001

Dave Stone co-pastors a very large church in Louisville, KY. On his desk he keeps a picture of his family, a picture of the church facility and a newspaper article of a well known pastor who had an affair. He keeps all this on his desk ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 39:1-12

Tags: Marriage Faithfulness, Marriage Commitment, Adultery

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

An Umpire Named Babe Pinelli Once Called Babe ...  PRO

Contributed by Paul Fritz on Dec 3, 2001

An umpire named Babe Pinelli once called Babe Ruth out on strikes. When the crowd booed with sharp disapproval at the call, the legendary Ruth turned to the umpire with disdain and said, "There’s 40,000 people here who know that the last pitch was ball, tomato head." Suspecting that the umpire ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 17:1-21

Tags: Resist, Judgment

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

By The Seeds You Plant  PRO

Contributed by Dru Ashwell on Dec 16, 2001

BY THE SEEDS YOU PLANT "Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 1:1

Tags: Parable Sower And Seed, Sharing Your Faith, What Is Evangelism?

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

To Laugh Often And Much; To Win The Respect Of ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 20, 2002

To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 37:1-36

African-American Inventors  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 10, 2002

AFRICAN-AMERICAN INVENTORS Granville T. Woods was known as "the black Thomas Edison" for his many inventions. Example: his 1889 automatic cutoff switch, an ancestor of the circuit breaker. In honor of Black History Month, the website of home improvement retailer Lowe’s paid tribute to Woods and ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 1:12-20

Tags: Leadership General, Racism

The Great Christian Reformer, Martin Luther, In ...  PRO

Contributed by James Gallop on Mar 27, 2005

The great Christian reformer, Martin Luther, in fact, once spent three days in a black depression over something that had gone wrong. On the third day his wife came downstairs dressed in mourning clothes. "Who’s dead?" he asked her. "God," she replied. Luther rebuked her, saying, "What do you ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 20:1-19

Tags: Courage, Character, Faith, Trust

Denomination: Methodist