In Sermon Illustrations: "Matthew 4:1-7:1"

The Leo Burnett Advertising Agency Did A ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 10, 2002

The Leo Burnett advertising agency did a nationwide telephone survey a few years ago on lying, cataloging when we lie, how we lie, and why we lie. The results were interesting. Ninety-one percent of all Americans confessed that they regularly lied. Seventy-nine percent had given out ...read more

Scripture: John 8:44, Matthew 5:33-37, Jude 1:2-5, Matthew 5:33-37

Tags: Lies

They Paid The Price  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 24, 2002

THEY PAID THE PRICE Americans, you know the 56 men who signed our Declaration of Independence that first 4th of July--you know they were risking everything, don’t you? Because if they won the war with the British, there would be years of hardship as a struggling nation. If they lost they would ...read more

Scripture: Mark 10:29-30, Psalm 119:81-176, Matthew 5:10-12

Tags: Political Freedom, Martyr, Independence, Independence Day, History, July, Sacrifice, Christian Disciplines, America, Freedom  (view more)  (view less)

Stolen Billfold  PRO

Contributed by Donnie Martin on Jul 21, 2002

Stolen Billfold John was driving home late one night when he picked up a hitchhiker. As they rode along, he began to be suspicious of his passenger. John checked to see if his wallet was safe in the pocket of his coat that was on the seat between them, but it wasn’t there! So he slammed on the ...read more

Scripture: Luke 6:37, Matthew 7:1

Tags: Grace, Compassion

Denomination: Baptist

Kidnapped By Hatred  PRO

Contributed by Dana Chau on Jul 21, 2002

KIDNAPPED BY HATRED On February 9, 1960, Adolph Coors III, millionaire head of Coors Company, was kidnapped and held for ransom. Seven months later his body was found on a remote hillside. He had been shot to death. Adolph Coors IV was then fifteen years old. He lost not only his father, but also ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:14-15, John 10:1-42, John 5:1-9, Luke 8:43-48, Luke 8:43-48, Luke 8:43-48  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Forgiveness For Others

Denomination: *other

Though The Following Story Comes From The ...  PRO

Contributed by Michael Gibney on Aug 7, 2002

Though the following story comes from the distant past, it speaks forcefully to the present: King Henry IV of France once asked the Duke of Alva if he had observed the great eclipse of the sun that had recently occurred. "No," said the duke, "I have so much to do on the earth that I have no leisure ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:33, Matthew 7:24-30

Tags: Heaven, Rewards, Giving Yourself

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

A Mother Once Approached Napoleon Seeking A ...  PRO

Contributed by Tony Klinedinst on Aug 14, 2002

A mother once approached Napoleon seeking a pardon for her son. The emperor replied that the young man had committed a certain offense twice and justice demanded death. "But I don’t ask for justice," the mother explained. "I plead for mercy." "But your son does not deserve mercy," Napoleon replied. ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:7, Genesis 18:19

Tags: God's Forgiveness, Descriptions Of God

Denomination: Baptist

Blessed Are The Merciful. I Learned The Truth Of ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 22, 2002

Blessed are the merciful. I learned the truth of this Beatitude from Henri Nouwen, a priest who used to teach at Harvard University. At the height of his career, Nouwen moved from Harvard to a community called Daybreak, near Tornonto, in order to take on the demanding chores required by his ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:5

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