In Sermon Illustrations: "Matthew 4:1-11:11"

John Piper Summed Up Our Problem Well With His ...  PRO

Contributed by Andrew Hamilton on Sep 29, 2002

John Piper summed up our problem well with his statement, ‘The weakness of our hunger for God is not because he is unsavoury, but because ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:6

Tags: Love For God, Fulfillment

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

What Difference Does It Make?  PRO

Contributed by David Salisbury on Oct 2, 2002

WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE? The job of the church is not to impact the church, but to impact the world. It’s like a huddle in a football game. 67,000 people don’t pay $25.00 a ticket to watch the Titans huddle. What if you went to a Titans game and for 2½ hours you watched 11 men stand in a ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:13-16, Matthew 5:13-16

Tags: Church, Church Purpose Of, Adversity, Purpose, Outreach  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Last Week, Bernie Came To The Church Door. He ...  PRO

Contributed by Bill Sullivan on Oct 9, 2002

Last week, Bernie came to the church door. He showed up about five minutes before I was getting ready to leave for an appointment, and my first response to his arrival was, oh, no, not now. Bernie had been drinking – I could smell it on his breath. He was sweating profusely and was a little bit ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:13-20

Tags: Fellowship

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

A. Dr. Karl Menninger, A World-Famous ...  PRO

Contributed by Davon Huss on Oct 15, 2002

A. Dr. Karl Menninger, a world-famous psychiatrist, was answering questions after giving a lecture on mental health when one person asked, “What would you advice someone to do if he felt a nervous breakdown coming on?” Most people expected the doctor to say, “Consult a psychiatrist.” Instead he ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 4:18-20

Tags: Christian Disciplines, Fulfillment

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

I'm Only A Mirror Fragment  PRO

Contributed by Matt Black on Oct 26, 2002

I’M ONLY A MIRROR FRAGMENT I want to share with you a story about a very interesting well-educated Greek philosopher whose name is Dr. Alexander Popaderos. And Dr. Popaderos every summer on the island of Crete taught a class on ethics for two weeks. And this particular summer just as he was ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:16

Tags: Character, Evangelism, Fulfillment, God Brings Purpose, Reflect  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Independent/Bible

A Hungry Enemy  PRO

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Oct 27, 2002

A HUNGRY ENEMY A woman wrote to "Pulpit Helps" to explain a miraculous lesson her family experienced. During one of their family Bible readings as new Christians, they ran across the verse, "If your enemy is hungry, feed him" (Romans 12:20 RSV). She writes: Ours sons, 7 and 10 at the time, ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:20, Matthew 5:43-48

Tags: Forgiveness For Others, Enemy, Forgiveness General, Christian Love, Christlikeness, Love  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

God's Love Is Like A Bridge That Makes ...  PRO

Contributed by John Williams Iii on Nov 8, 2002

God’s love is like a bridge that makes reconciliation possible. If you take away the bridge, the separation remains. George Herbert said, “He who cannot forgive others breaks the bridge over which he must pass.” (T. T. Crabtree. Ed. The Zondervan 2001 Pastor’s Annual. Howard S. Kalb. “Forgiveness.” ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:21-25

Tags: Forgiveness General, Forgiveness For Others

Denomination: United Methodist

God Cares For His Creatures  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 27, 2002

FEATURE ARTICLE, God Cares for His Creatures ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Some of the most brilliant butterflies in tropical America are the butterflies of the genus Morpho. Many species are brilliant metallic blue. A few of the females are metallic red. These ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:14-16, Philippians 2:14-16

Tags: God's Provision, Light, Testimony, Shine

The Parents Of A Young Soldier Killed In Action ...  PRO

Contributed by Kenneth Squires on Dec 28, 2002

The parents of a young soldier killed in action gave their church a gift of money as a memorial to their son. During the presentation service, the mother of another soldier whose son was overseas whispered to her husband, “Let’s give the same amount for our son.” “What’s the matter with you?” he ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:9

Tags: Holidays Civic

Denomination: Pentecostal

The Resolutions Of Jonathan Edwards  PRO

Contributed by Alan Perkins on Jan 5, 2003

The Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God’s help, I do humbly entreat him by his grace to enable me to keep these Resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to his will, for Christ’s sake. Remember to read over these Resolutions once a week. ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:5

Tags: Discipleship, New Year's Day

Denomination: Baptist

Can You Fathom This? The God Of The Universe, ...  PRO

Contributed by Clark Tanner on Jan 10, 2003

Can you fathom this? The God of the universe, who holds all things together by the word of His power, who fills all things and is bigger than the universe; bigger than time, literally lives in you. Calls you His dwelling place. What a magnificent creation you are! What high and wonderful ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Mark 6:30-44, Leviticus 16:1-22, Luke 15:22-28, Leviticus 16:1, Matthew 5:8, Colossians 1:15-28, Colossians 1:15-28  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Holy Spirit In Believers

Denomination: Orthodox

The Chance Of Fulfilled Prophechy  PRO

Contributed by David Parks on Jan 30, 2003

THE CHANCE OF FULFILLED PROPHECHY The Old Testament contains over 300 references to the Messiah that were fulfilled in Jesus. What chance did Jesus or any other man have of fulfilling these prophecies? The mathematical laws of probability can give us a clue. In his book Evidence That Demands A ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:17-20

Tags: Apologetics Jesus

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Gentle Gain  PRO

Contributed by Jonathan Busch on Feb 2, 2003

THE GENTLE GAIN “In our rough-and-rugged individualism, we think of gentleness as weakness, being soft, and virtually spineless. Not so! ... Gentleness includes such enviable qualities as having strength under control, being calm and peaceful when surrounded by a heated atmosphere, emitting a ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:5

Tags: Christian Love, Sermon On The Mount, Meekness

Denomination: Pentecostal

Three Chefs Were Working In A Restaurant One Day, ...  PRO

Contributed by James H Boyd on Feb 10, 2003

Three chefs were working in a restaurant one day, when their kitchen supervisor approached them with an order, and instructions on how to properly prepare it. The first chef looked at the instructions, and said "You can show a recipe to 100 different people, and each of them get a different ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:24-27

Tags: Bible Influence

Denomination: Charismatic

Video Illustration: City Slickers- Right Atfter ...  PRO

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Feb 11, 2003

Video Illustration: City Slickers- Right atfter he is gored by the bull and they talk about it on the plane. It’s right after the scene of New York which says 1 year later. It’s his birthday and he is depressed and worried. Mitch has become a worry wart and it’s draining the joy out of his ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:25-34

Tags: Guilt

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

An Angel Appeared At A Faculty Meeting And Told ...  PRO

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Mar 10, 2003

An angel appeared at a faculty meeting and told the dean that in return for his unselfish service, he will be rewarded with his choice of wealth, wisdom, or beauty. Without hesitating, the dean selects wisdom. "It is done!" the angel said, and then disappeared into a cloud of smoke. All of the ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 17:24, James 1:5, Matthew 7:24-26

Tags: Money

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Years Ago A Farmer Owned Land Along The Atlantic ...  PRO

Contributed by Bjornlleven Rodriguez on Mar 11, 2003

Years ago a farmer owned land along the Atlantic seacoast. He constantly advertised for hired hands. Most people were reluctant to work on farms along the Atlantic. They dreaded the awful storms that raged across the Atlantic, wreaking havoc on the buildings and crops. As the farmer interviewed ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:24-27, Romans 13:11

Tags: Faith, Peace

Denomination: Church Of God

Charlie Lubin Made Great Cheesecake. In Fact It ...  PRO

Contributed by James Chandler on Apr 1, 2003

Charlie Lubin made great cheesecake. In fact it was so good he decided to open a cheesecake store, which he did on the north side of Chicago. It went so well that he opened a second store in South Chicago. That store did not do so well and eventually he lost both stores as a result. He sat in ...read more

Scripture: Deuteronomy 3:8, Matthew 4:4

Tags: Endurance, Finding Fulfillment

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

A Woman Bought A Extravagant Dress, And The ...  PRO

Contributed by Martin Albanese on Apr 21, 2003

A woman bought a extravagant dress, and the husband asked why did it have to be so extravagant, She said the devil made me buy it, The husband asked, why didn’t you say get behind me Satan?, The woman said, I did and ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 4:10

Tags: Satan, Temptation Resisting

Denomination: Christian Church

A Woman Once Wrote The Editor Of Christianity ...  PRO

Contributed by Jim Luthy on Apr 28, 2003

A woman once wrote the editor of Christianity Today with this story: “One afternoon, my four-year-old niece Paige and my six-year-old daughter Ashley started an argument, which grew louder and louder. I was about to intervene when my daughter stormed down the stairs. "Mom," she yelled, "Jesus ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:13

Tags: Character, Peace

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational