In Sermon Illustrations: "Matthew 1:1-28:5"

The Big Announcement

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 1, 2011

THE BIG ANNOUNCEMENT We hear good news in lots of different ways, and I am glad that we got to hear the Easter story told by some of our children this morning. There is something about hearing a child tell this great story that gives it new power. I can no longer hear the Resurrection story ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:1-10

Tags: Easter Resurrection

Grant Vs. Custer  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 2, 2011

GRANT VS. CUSTER There is a story of two Civil War Generals: George A. Custer and Ulysses S. Grant. Both graduated from West Point--Gen. Grant, being the oldest, graduated in the 1840's and Gen. Custer in 1861. Grant fought in several wars and was a field General in every sense of the word. In ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 23:1-11, Matthew 23:23-24

Tags: Humility, Pride, Show Off, Comparison

Jesus Had A Rose

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 3, 2011

JESUS HAD A ROSE Judy Packard of Lake Leelanau, Michigan, talks about the time her neighbor, visiting the Holy Land, sent a letter describing the beautiful gardens. Her 6-year-old mused, "I wonder if he saw the rose." "What rose?" Judy asked. "You know," said her child, "like the Bible women ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:1-7

Tags: Easter Resurrection

False Hope In A Gold Coin

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 3, 2011

FALSE HOPE IN A GOLD COIN George Dixon was a lieutenant in the Confederate Army who carried around a $20 gold piece that his fiancée had given him in the early days of the war. During the battle of Shiloh, a union musket ball struck him--actually it struck the gold coin, which saved his life. From ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:1-7

Tags: Easter Resurrection

No Entrance And No Exit  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 3, 2011

NO ENTRANCE AND NO EXIT Peter Larson: "Despite our efforts to keep him out, God intrudes. The life of Jesus is bracketed by two impossibilities: a virgin's womb and an empty tomb. Jesus entered our world through a door marked 'No Entrance' and left through a door marked 'No Exit.'" ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:1-7

Tags: Easter Resurrection

Firm Foundation  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 5, 2011

FIRM FOUNDATION Ravi Zacharias told about doing a lectureship several years ago at the Ohio State University. As he was being driven to the lecture, they passed what was then the "new" Wexner Art Center. The driver commented, "This is a new art building for the university. It is a fascinating ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:24-27

Tags: Foundation

Which House Would You Rather Live In?

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 5, 2011

WHICH HOUSE WOULD YOU RATHER LIVE IN? On October 19, 2010, a test was conducted at the Institute for Business and Home Safety in Richburg, South Carolina. Researchers constructed two 1,300-square-foot houses inside a $40 million laboratory and then observed how a simulated hurricane would impact ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:24-27

The Foundation Made The Difference  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 5, 2011

THE FOUNDATION MADE THE DIFFERENCE On Oct. 17, 1989, a massive earthquake struck the San Francisco area. Buildings built on solid ground sustained much less damage than those built on shaky ground. The south pier of the Golden Gate Bridge sits directly on top of the San Andreas fault, yet it is ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:24-27, Matthew 7:21-29

Holiness And Red Buttons  PRO

Contributed by Mark Stepherson on Aug 6, 2011

HOLINESS AND RED BUTTONS In studying holiness as a prayer key, I got bogged down with trying to understand it. I had an even harder time trying to explain it. I felt like the Red Buttons character in the movie, "Hatari." In that movie, John Wayne led a team of hunters in Africa capturing wild ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 2:8, Matthew 22:15-22

Tags: Holy, Prayer, Holiness

Denomination: Baptist

How To Be A Servant  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 6, 2011

HOW TO BE A SERVANT You need to answer a very important question this morning. Are you more interested in being served or being a servant? A first grade teacher asked her students, "What do you do to help at home?" One little girl said, "I dry the dishes." One of the boys said, "I sweep the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 20:20-28

Tags: Servanthood

Believing In Anything  PRO

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Aug 8, 2011

BELIEVING IN ANYTHING G.K. Chesterton once said, "It is often supposed that when people stop believing in God, they believe in nothing. Alas, it is worse than that. When they stop believing in God, they believe in anything." Without God the only standard of TRUST - of right and wrong - is what ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 11:2-11

Tags: Trust

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Ant, The Prayer, And The Contact Lens  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 8, 2011

THE ANT, THE PRAYER, AND THE CONTACT LENS A true story: Brenda was a young woman who was invited to go rock climbing. Although she was scared to death, she went with her group to a tremendous granite cliff. In spite of her fear, she put on the gear, took a hold on the rope, and started up the face ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 32:17, Matthew 7:7, Revelation 2:8

Tags: Prayer Answered

J. Oswald Sanders On Loneliness  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 9, 2011

J. OSWALD SANDERS ON LONELINESS J. Oswald Sanders once pointed out: "The round of pleasure or the amassing of wealth are [often] but vain attempts to escape from the persistent ache. The millionaire is usually a lonely man and the comedian is often more unhappy than his audience." In his book, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:19-34

Tags: Goals, Suffering Loneliness

Ravi Zacharias: Changed Lives Show The Truth Of ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 9, 2011

RAVI ZACHARIAS: CHANGED LIVES SHOW THE TRUTH OF CHRIST In his book Has Christianity Failed You? Ravi Zacharias points to one of the greatest proofs for the truth of Christ and the reality of his resurrection: the changed lives of Christians. He writes: "During the course of nearly 40 years, I ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:13-16

Tags: Christian Witness

Walking On Water In Los Angeles  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 9, 2011

WALKING ON WATER IN LOS ANGELES [James Bryan Smith, The Good and Beautiful Life (InterVarsity Press, 2010), pp. 131-132 | posted 7/05/2010] In the early 1990s, gang violence erupted in Boyle Heights, a section of East Los Angeles. Eight gangs were in conflict in the parish around the Dolores ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:9

Tags: Christian Witness

Working For Food

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 10, 2011

WORKING FOR FOOD I like the story of the rich executive who announced to his church one morning that he was going to give up all he owned so that he had to depend on his faith in God for everything he needed. He sold everything, gave it to the poor, and moved into a rented home down on the bad ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:19-34

Tags: Prayer Of Faith

Tearing Of The Veil

Contributed by Larry Wilson on Aug 10, 2011

TEARING OF THE VEIL QUOTE: Note 194 “This veil, which was the thickness of a palm breadth, was sixty feet long and thirty broad, and separated the Holy and Most Holy Places. Various attempts have been made to explain this strange phenomenon on naturalistic grounds, such as the earthquake, or as ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 27:45-51

Tags: Crucifixion, Peas

Denomination: Baptist

Only In The Lone Star State

Contributed by John Crowe on Aug 11, 2011

ONLY IN THE LONE STAR STATE My daughter’s family moved to Del Rio, Texas. One night my 4-year-old granddaughter recited the Lord’s Pryaer with a slight variation; "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:9-13

Tags: Children

Denomination: Baptist

Deliver Us From Evil

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 12, 2011

DELIVER US FROM EVIL Dr. Thomas Dooley gave a chilling example related to this prayer. It came from his experience in Southeast Asia between 1954 and 1960. Dr. Dooley authored three books about conditions there, the most well-known being 'Deliver Us from Evil', published in 1956. The subject was ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:9-13

Tags: Lord's Prayer

You're Beautiful To God  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 12, 2011

YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL TO GOD R.C. Buckner, a big, bold and brash man, lived about 100 years ago in Texas. This imposing figure had a very tender heart for children, starting Buckner's Children's Homes all across the state. The children affectionately called him "Papa Buckner" and would run up to him ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 9:9-13

Tags: Compassion