In Sermon Illustrations: "Depravity of Man"

Two Sons And What They Did With Their ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 11, 2009

Two Sons and What They Did With Their Marbles Once upon a time, a mother gave each of her sons two dollars and took them to a toy store to buy the beautiful, shiny marbles they had been asking for. The older son quickly figured out how many marbles he could get with his two dollars, chose the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 25:14-30

Tags: Stewardship

Leading A Neighbor To Christ During A Time Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 14, 2009

Leading a Neighbor to Christ During a Time of Grief Someone in Elgin once had a neighbor named Jack. Jack was a tough man. He worked hard, he drank hard, he fought hard, and he was harsh and gruff in his manner. Most people were afraid of Jack. But this one neighbor got brave and said hello to him ...read more

Scripture: Acts 17:1-15

Tags: Christian Witness

Alone On ...

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Dec 28, 2009

ALONE ON CHRISTMAS George Mason’s life was centered in his business. He lived alone and refused all invitations to socialize. His brother’s family had urged him to visit but the children always made too much noise. Besides, he didn’t want to buy presents for his nephews and nieces. Instead he ...read more

Tags: Christmas

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Adoption In Christ Frees Us From ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 10, 2010

Adoption In Christ Frees Us From Satan An illustration from history past can help us realize the significance of being children of Almighty God - an amazing concept! The image of emaciated babies and young children sitting in cribs, in a stark, ill-equipped Romanian orphanage blazed across the ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 1:5

Tags: Adoption

Hetty Green The Money ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 6, 2010

Hetty Green the Money Hoarder -The corruption of the possessions of wealthy people witness against them. People who hoard and set out to accumulate great amounts of money and possessions fail to recognize that God gave them wealth for a reason. -For many years Hetty Green was called America’s ...read more

Scripture: James 5:1-6

Tags: Money

Defining Moments Of Faith

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Aug 11, 2010

DEFINING MOMENTS OF FAITH Several years ago Jeff Strueker was a US Army Ranger posted in Mogadishu, Somalia. Today he is a master of divinity student at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. For him Oct 3-4, 1993 were the defining moments of his life. He was one of the ...read more

Tags: Faith

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Bruised Reed

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Sep 29, 2010

THE BRUISED REED As I talked with Nancy that day she said,"I pray to God every night and ask Him why He has been so unfair to me. Why did He leave me alive?" She is an elderly woman suffering the results of a stroke. She said "My Mother died of a stroke. Why didn't He take me too, instead of ...read more

Tags: God Brings Hope

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Crew Of Life-Savers

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 14, 2011

THE CREW OF LIFE-SAVERS Nantucket, Massachusetts is located next to important shipping lanes running along the East Coast. Toward the end of the 1800s sailing ships were in their heyday. Nantucket Island saw hundreds of vessels passing by each day—all navigating without the advantages of modern ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 9:19-23

Tags: Evangelism The Lost

The Case Of Margaret Ault

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 19, 2011

THE CASE OF MARGARET AULT In his book, The Jesus Creed, Scot McKnight shares the moving story of Margaret Ault. When Margaret was just about to complete her Ph.D. at Duke, something unexpected -- but quite welcomed -- happened: she fell in love. She went on a date with a man named Hyung Goo Kim, ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 10:23

Tags: God Brings Hope

Our White Stone Name

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Jul 19, 2011

OUR WHITE STONE NAME In the BBC reality show Monastery, a group of five men from diverse backgrounds voluntarily join a Benedictine monastery for a span of forty days. The five men don't have to assent to Christian beliefs, but they do have to respect and follow the monks' communal requirements--a ...read more

Tags: God The Father

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Wesley: God's Will For Marriage

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 6, 2011

WESLEY: GOD'S WILL FOR MARRIAGE When John Wesley was thirty-two years old, he was a bachelor missionary in the colony of Georgia. While he was serving a church in Savannah, he met a young woman named Sophia Christian Hopkey. She was pretty and intelligent, and Wesley fell head over heels in love ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 3:5-6

Tags: Knowing God's Will

A Letter From John Wayne

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 24, 2011

A LETTER FROM JOHN WAYNE Dr. Robert Schuller’s teenage daughter, Cindy, was in a motorcycle accident and had to have her leg amputated. John Wayne was a big fan of Robert Schuller. He heard Dr. Schuller say on one of his programs that his daughter had been in an accident and had to have her leg ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 1:3-6

Tags: Christian Witness

Fruit Requires Effort And Dedication

Contributed by Robert Sickler on Jan 27, 2012

FRUIT REQUIRES EFFORT AND DEDICATION The young boy stood looking up at the naked ice-covered limbs of his favorite cherry tree. It was 4:30 in the morning and the full moon produced a silvery sheen in the ice, which almost seemed to originate within the branches themselves. The young man let out ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 12:33

Tags: Fruit Of The Spirit

Denomination: Christian Church

Joe Bayly, A Christian Author And Leader, Had A ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 2, 2012

Joe Bayly, a Christian author and leader, had a son named Tim who was not following the Lord. This caused great tension in the home until one day Joe told his son he had to move out. Taking Tim aside, he said, "Tim, you're not living for God and you need to leave our home." Tim left, but his ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 3:4-5

Tags: Parenting

James Dobson's Faith-Full Parents  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 29, 2012

JAMES DOBSON'S FAITH-FULL PARENTS "Of all the values transmitted to me by my father, none made a more lasting impression than his attitude toward money. As an evangelist, he could never depend on the compensation he would be given. The local church would collect a freewill offering for my father, ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 13:5-6

Tags: Father's Day

Letter Home From A W Va Farm Kid Enduring Marine ...  PRO

Contributed by C. Scott Ghan on Aug 5, 2013

Letter home from a W VA farm kid enduring Marine Basic Training on Paris Island. Dear Ma and Pa, I am well. Hope you are. Tell Brother Walt and Brother Elmer the Marine Corps beats working for old man Minch by a mile. Tell them to join up quick before all of the places are filled. // I was ...read more

Scripture: Ezra 3:1-13, Hebrews 12:7-11

Tags: Restoration, Rebuild

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Ugandan Juvenile Jail

Contributed by Tim Smith on Sep 25, 2016

Bob Goff tells the story of his longtime friend Charlie. Charlie was one of those guys who measured his life not by what he was but by what he has given up. He was a graduate of law school and then became an FBI agent. He met Bob for coffee and then said he wanted to use his training to help kids ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 18:21-25

Tags: Prayer, Forgiveness

Denomination: Methodist

Sifted Like Wheat

Contributed by Sam Mccormick on Dec 15, 2016

A rooster’s crow announced the dawn. This dawn was not the sunrise, still hours away, but the dawn of Peter’s realization of what he had done. Like the first rays of the sun slicing through the night’s darkness, Peter awakened to his sin and its gravity. It cut him to the core of his being, and ...read more

Scripture: Luke 22:31-32

Tags: Peter, Betrayal Of Christ, Sifted, Rehabilitation

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Not A Slave? Think Again

Contributed by Nickolas Kooi on Jun 22, 2017

Paul says that you were a slave. Slavery is unfortunately still alive and well in our world. The story of a young girl named “Dodzi” is a common one in Ghana. Dodzi was orphaned at nine months and lived with her Grandmother, who served as her guardian. Her Grandmother had a lot on her plate as ...read more

Scripture: Romans 6:12-23

Tags: Sin, Slave

Denomination: Lutheran

Have You Been To The Great Physician?

Contributed by David Goering on Sep 6, 2018

Mr. Pharisee and Mr. Publican lived in the town of Doomsville, both heard that a great Physician was going to be in the neighboring town of Gilead. The great Physician was going to hold a free Health Clinic and give people a free complete examination, and if they passed this examination he would ...read more

Scripture: Luke 18:10-14

Tags: Justification, Pride, Publican, Pharisee, The Great Physician, Salvation, Humility  (view more)  (view less)