In Sermon Illustrations: "Matthew 6:3-20"

A Man Walking Along A California Beach Was Deep ...  PRO

Contributed by Jason Cole on Mar 7, 2004

A man walking along a California beach was deep in prayer when all of a sudden he said aloud, "Lord grant me one wish". The sky clouded and a booming voice said, "Because you have tried to be faithful I will grant you one wish." The man said, "Build a bridge to Hawaii so I can drive over anytime I ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:6

Tags: Communication, Women, Relationships, Marriage, Men And Women, Marriage Obligations  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Cnidius, A Skillful Architect, Building A ...  PRO

Contributed by Charles R. Swindoll on Sep 27, 2004

Cnidius, a skillful architect, building a watchtower for the King of Egypt, caused his own name to be engraved upon a stone in the wall in great letters, and afterwards covered it, with lime and mortar, and upon the outside of that wrote the name of the King of Egypt in golden letters. This was all ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:13

Tags: Sin Exposed

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

A Woman Decided To Have Her Portrait Painted. She ...  PRO

Contributed by Thomas Black on Jan 28, 2005

A woman decided to have her portrait painted. She told the artist, "Paint me with diamond rings, a diamond necklace, emerald bracelets, a ruby broach, and gold Rolex." "But you are not wearing any of those things," he replied. "I know," she said. "It’s in case I should die before my husband. ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:19-21

Tags: Money

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Tiger Breath!" Matthew 6:9-13 Key Verse(S): ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Feb 6, 2005

“Tiger Breath!” Matthew 6:9-13 Key verse(s): 13:“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” It has been foreordained that life is a temptation! Now that is a depressing thought if I ever heard one. Foreordained? That means that no matter what I do or how I do it, ultimately I ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:9-13, Matthew 4:1-11

Tags: Sin Exposed, Risk Of Sin, Release, Sin Separates From God

Denomination: Lutheran

Which Window?  PRO

Contributed by Bobby Scobey on Apr 28, 2008

WHICH WINDOW? Catherine Marshall wrote: "My friend Marge had an experience aboard a plane bound for Cleveland, waiting for takeoff. As she settled into her seat, Marge noticed a strange phenomenon. On one side of the airplane a sunset suffused the entire sky with glorious color. But out of the ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 3:5-7, Mark 6:1-6, Deuteronomy 6:18, Matthew 6:1-6, Isaiah 30:1-15, Deuteronomy 6:9-15, Psalm 90:1-2  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Trust, Wait, Perspective, Busy

Denomination: Pentecostal

No Man In The World Has More Courage Than The ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

No man in the world has more courage than the man who can stop ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:16-18

Tags: Food

Aging Are Leaving No ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 14, 2009

AGING ARE LEAVING NO INHERITANCE An AARP analysis of the Federal Reserve Board’s 2004 Survey of Consumer Finances finds 21% of people born after 1964 thought they would inherit money someday. But with each passing year, the pressures on the nest-eggs of older people will only grow. A lot of ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:19-20

Tags: Money

Treasure In Christ, But "Out Of Gas"  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 13, 2009

TREASURE IN CHRIST, BUT "OUT OF GAS" Several years ago, on New Year’s Day, a beautiful float in the Tournament of Roses parade suddenly sputtered and quit. It was out of gas. The whole parade was held up until someone could get a can of gas. The amusing thing was this float represented the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:19-20

Tags: God's Provision

You Do Not Pull The Shore To ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 24, 2009

YOU DO NOT PULL THE SHORE TO YOU Prayer is surrender--surrender to the will of God and cooperation with that will. If I throw out a boathook from the boat and catch hold of the shore and pull, do I pull the shore to me, or do I pull myself to the shore? Prayer is not pulling God to my will, but ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:9-10

Tags: Prayer, Prayer Supplication

Hypocrites Do Things For The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 4, 2009

Hypocrites Do Things for the Show During my childhood - as I was growing up - anything "modern" was considered good! Whatever the current fad was, it was something that I wanted to have - and, I was convinced, like everyone else, that the new item was better - even when it came to "modern food;" if ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:1-5

Tags: Hypocrisy

General Oglethorpe Admits Unforgiveness To John ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 23, 2009

General Oglethorpe Admits Unforgiveness to John Wesley (Mat 6:15 NIV) But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. B. General Oglethorpe once said to John Wesley, "I never forgive and I never forget." To which Wesley responded, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:12-15

Tags: Unforgiveness, Forgiveness For Others

The Spite ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 23, 2009

The Spite House Once there was a millionaire who owned a lot in an exclusive residential area of a large city. This lot presented an unusual problem. It was only 2 yards wide but nearly 100 feet long. There was nothing that he could do but sell it to one of the neighbors on either side. He went to ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:12-15

Tags: Bitterness

Mr. And Mrs. ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 24, 2009

"Mr. and Mrs. Thing" John MacArthur, in his book titled Overcoming Materialism, offers this analysis: Mr. and Mrs. Thing are a very pleasant and successful couple. At least, that’s the verdict of most people, who tend to measure success with a “thingometer.” And when the “thingometer” is put to ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:19-21

Tags: Materialism

Rare Italian Automobile Good Only For ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 24, 2009

Rare Italian Automobile Good Only for Show I heard this week about a very, very special automobile. It was built in the 1920’s by the Italian manufacturer Bugatti, and it was designed to be sold to the outrageously wealthy. This car was equipped with 450 horses under the hood; it was some 22 feet ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:19-21

Tags: Materialism

Chrysostom On Prayer--Without The Spirit Our ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 4, 2009

Chrysostom on Prayer--Without the Spirit Our Prayer Bouquets are Like Weeds Chrysostom, a 4th century preacher, used this analogy for prayer. A young boy wanted to give a gift to his father who had been away a long time. His mother sent him to the garden to pick a bouquet of flowers. The boy ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:5-13

Tags: Prayer In The Spirit

Why Doesn't Anybody Wear Shoes In This ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 4, 2009

Why Doesn’t Anybody Wear Shoes in this City? In Hugh Price Hughes’ story, the "City of Everywhere," a man arrived in a city one cold morning. as he got off the train, the station was like any other station with the crowds and redcaps, except that everybody was barefooted. they wore no shoes. He ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:5-13

Tags: Prayer General

S.d. Gordon On Who The Great People ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 4, 2009

S.D. Gordon on Who The Great People Are Let me share the words of S.D. Gordon. "The great people of the earth today are the people who pray. I do not mean those who talk about prayer; nor those who say they believe in prayer; nor yet those who can explain about prayer; but I ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:5-13

Tags: Prayer General

Bill Hybels On Prayer As An Unnatural ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 6, 2010

Bill Hybels on Prayer as an Unnatural Activity Bill Hybels begins his book Too Busy Not to Pray with these words: “Prayer is an unnatural activity. From birth we have been learning the rules of self reliance and self sufficiency. Prayer flies in the face of such deep seated values…. It is an ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:9-15

Tags: Prayer General

Rearranging Ashes

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 8, 2010

Rearranging Ashes The story is told of an eastern ascetic holy man who covered himself with ashes as a sign of humility and regularly sat on a prominent street corner of his city. When tourists asked permission to take his picture, the mystic would rearrange his ashes to give the best image of ...read more

Scripture: 2 Kings 2:1-14, Matthew 6:1-18

Tags: Hypocrisy

Sin And Hypocrites  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 8, 2010

Sin and Hypocrites Some mistakenly think that they are free to sin, just so long as they aren't hypocrites about it, that the worst form of sin is hypocrisy. Often one hears it said, "I know I'm not perfect, but at least I'm not hypocritical about it." A few years ago in Texas there were two men ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:1-18

Tags: Hypocrisy