Sermon Illustrations
Free Sermon Illustrations for Preaching :

In Sermon Illustrations: "surprises" showing 301-320 of 1,210

Filter Results
Close Filters

Scripture

Rating

Date

Denominations

  • Show more

Category

  • Try PRO

    Confident Preaching

    Try PRO free and preach with confidence when people need it most.
    Free to start now
  • The Word ‘christian' Means Different Things To ...  PRO

    Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 26, 2002
    based on 2 ratings
     | 1,009 views

    “The word ‘Christian’ means different things to different people. To one person, it means a stiff, uptight, inflexible way of life—colorless and unbending. To another, it means a risky, surprised-filled venture, lived on tiptoe at the edge of expectation. Either of these pictures can be ...read more

  • An Old Legend Has It That A Wealthy ...  PRO

    Contributed by Melvin Newland on Aug 1, 2002
    based on 32 ratings
     | 3,008 views

    ILL. An old legend has it that a wealthy merchant of the 1st Century who wanted to meet the Apostle Paul encountered Timothy, who arranged a visit for him with Paul who, at that time, was a prisoner in Rome. Stepping inside the cell, the merchant was surprised to find a rather old man, ...read more

  • A Little Boy Wanted $100.00 Badly And Prayed To ...  PRO

    Contributed by Justin Meek on Aug 28, 2003
    based on 13 ratings
     | 24,313 views

    A Little Boy wanted $100.00 badly and prayed to God for a whole week, but nothing happened. So, he decided to write God a letter requesting the $100.00. When the Post Office got the letter addressed to God they forwarded it on to the Whitehouse. The President was very impressed, touched and amused ...read more

  • A Friend Of Mine Gave A Bible To Someone Who Was ...  PRO

    Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Dec 14, 2003
    based on 5 ratings
     | 1,614 views

    A friend of mine gave a Bible to someone who was going through a difficult time. The person was in real need, and their life had been one disaster after the other, but in all that time there was never any concrete attempt to give their life to God and follow him. As my friend gave a Bible to this ...read more

  • Both Glad And Sad  PRO

    Contributed by Dixon Olu. David on Feb 3, 2004
    based on 4 ratings
     | 3,460 views

    Illustration: Both Glad and Sad. We were told of an old legend about three men crossing a desert on horseback at night. Approaching a dried-up pond bed, they heard a voice commanding them to stop and dismount, pick up some pebbles, put them in their pockets, and not look at them until the morning. ...read more

  • Parents, It Is Especially Important For Us To ...  PRO

    Contributed by Timothy Smith on Aug 2, 2004
    based on 3 ratings
     | 2,449 views

    Parents, it is especially important for us to understand how our using God’s name correctly enhances our testimony because our kids are listening to our speech. A Sunday School teacher asked her class: "Does anyone know where the Lord lives?" One little boy said, "He lives in our bathroom." “Why ...read more

  • Life Is War. That's Not All It Is. But It Is ...  PRO

    Contributed by Adam Cruse on Jul 18, 2001
    based on 123 ratings
     | 6,209 views

    “Life is war. That’s not all it is. But it is always that. Our weakness in prayer is owing largely to our neglect of this truth. Prayer is primarily a wartime walkie-talkie for the mission of the church as it advances against the powers of darkness and unbelief. It is not surprising that ...read more

  • Earthly Wealth  PRO

    Contributed by David Fox on Dec 11, 2001
    based on 3 ratings
     | 4,062 views

    <<ILL>> There was a greedy man with great wealth who was determined to take his money with him when he died. He gave strict orders that when he died all of his stocks and assets were to be liquidated and all his life’s earnings were to placed in his casket and buried with him. When He finally did ...read more

  • I Always Liked The Story Told About The Great ...

    Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007
    based on 1 rating
     | 2,142 views

    I always liked the story told about the great preacher Charles Spurgeon. Charles was raised on a farm. When he was a young teen, he was behind the family barn on day sneaking a cigarette. His dad surprised him, by coming up upon him Charles attempted to diffuse the situation by using an approach ...read more

  • A Girl Named Angie Smith Wrote: While Working In ...

    Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007
     | 2,013 views

    A girl named Angie Smith wrote: WHILE WORKING in a new pizzeria, I was surprised to find that many people had never eaten pizza. One customer admitted this when she came in for a takeout order. I explained our menu and took great care in helping her make her decision. After baking her pie to a nice ...read more

  • Valuable Necklace

    Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007
    based on 1 rating
     | 3,717 views

    Valuable Necklace An American tourist in Paris, who purchased an inexpensive amber necklace in a trinket shop, was shocked when he had to pay quite a high duty on it to clear customs in New York. This aroused his curiosity, so he had it appraised. After looking at the object under a magnifying ...read more

  • A Colleague Was Invited To Hold A Speech In ...

    Contributed by Paul Shafit on Aug 4, 2007
     | 2,907 views

    A colleague was invited to hold a speech in Japan. Aware of his reputation as a very good speaker, he was surprised that his audience did not react at all to any of his perfectly timed jokes and witticisms. In fact, the audience did not react to anything he said. Somewhat put down, he went back to ...read more

  • A While Ago My Wife Had A Job Evaluation From Her ...

    Contributed by Richard Goble on Nov 16, 2007
     | 1,115 views

    A while ago my wife had a job evaluation from her employer. Her boss commended her for doing a good job, and she received a nominal raise in pay. Nothing that would change her lifestyle, but an increase in pay none the less. Upon leaving the evaluation she said to her boss, “Thank you for the ...read more

  • Praise And Gratitude

    Contributed by Bill Butsko on May 9, 2008
    based on 1 rating
     | 9,509 views

    PRAISE AND GRATITUDE After one of the terrible battles of the Civil War, a dying Confederate soldier asked to see the chaplain. When the chaplain arrived, he supposed the young man would wish him to ask God for his recovery; but it was very different. First the soldier asked him to cut off a ...read more

  • Whipping The ...

    Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 10, 2009
     | 2,104 views

    WHIPPING THE SAVIOR Love paid the price for your sins and mine! The great preacher W.A. Criswell saw this in an unusual dream he had one night. In this dream, Dr. Criswell saw the Savior. Jesus’ back was bare. And there was a soldier lifting up his hand and bringing down that awful whip on the ...read more

  • Gollum And The Ring

    Contributed by Davon Huss on Feb 15, 2010
    based on 1 rating
     | 2,186 views

    GOLLUM AND THE RING Many of us are familiar with the Lord of the Rings trilogy. We cannot help but remember the character named Gollum. He was a hideous, pathetic creature who was possessed by the power of the ring. In fact, the ring was the reason for his hideous appearance. His obsession ...read more

  • Four Sets Of Teeth  PRO

    Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Mar 1, 2010
    based on 3 ratings
     | 2,565 views

    FOUR SETS OF TEETH Simon was an Orthodox Jew. He had a Gentile friend, James, who noticed that Simon owned four sets of false teeth. One day James asked his friend why he had so many sets of false teeth. Surprised by the question, Simon explained, "My friend, as you know, I keep kosher. I have ...read more

  • There Is A Fable Of A Kite Which Once Said To ...

    Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on Jun 29, 2010
     | 1,488 views

    There is a fable of a kite which once said to itself, “If I could just get rid of that man who is holding me back, then I could fly above the clouds and kiss the stars.” One day the string broke. Now, at last, the kite was free to soar higher than it had ever gone before. But much to its surprise ...read more

  • Anxiety Is A Dud

    Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 13, 2010
     | 3,324 views

    ANXIETY IS A DUD What's worse than being trapped behind prison bars? Trying to live while avoiding capture. Sergei was a Latvian prison convict with ten months left to serve on his seven-year burglary sentence, when he decided to escape. But even after years of freedom, the escapee couldn't ...read more

  • Because I'm A Gentleman  PRO

    Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 23, 2011
    based on 3 ratings
     | 3,111 views

    BECAUSE I'M A GENTLEMAN A middle-aged business executive once approached the front entrance of the office building in which he worked. A young feminist came up at the same moment, so he stepped back and held the door open for her to pass on through. She looked at him and said with annoyance, ...read more

  • Previous
  • 1
  • 2
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 60
  • 61
  • Next