Sermon Illustrations
Free Sermon Illustrations for Preaching :

In Sermon Illustrations: "surprises" showing 161-180 of 1,208

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
  • Vigilance, War, And The Price Of Freedom

    Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 6, 2011
     | 3,474 views

    VIGILANCE, WAR, AND THE PRICE OF FREEDOM "Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom" -- a familiar saying in our country. We remember from Pearl Harbor what it's like to get caught off guard. The enemy can be so deceptive: Japan's peace envoys were seated at the negotiating table at the very ...read more

  • S. D. Gordon Tells Of A Spring Storm That Broke A ...  PRO

    Contributed by Evie Megginson on Nov 4, 2003
    based on 5 ratings
     | 3,582 views

    S. D. Gordon tells of a spring storm that broke a large limb on his cherry tree. Although it hung by a very slender strand, to his surprise the blossoms came anyway. Later some fruit began to grow as it did on the other branches. He noticed, however, that only those in full contact with the tree ...read more

  • Irritation  PRO

    Contributed by Paul Fritz on Jan 3, 2004
    based on 2 ratings
     | 2,472 views

    IRRITATION Imagine all of the obstacles a person might have to overcome if he were to walk from New York City to San Francisco. One man who accomplished this rare achievement mentioned a rather surprising difficulty when asked to tell of his biggest hurdle. He said that the toughest part of the ...read more

  • Someone Once Said "Joy Is Like The Hidden Note ...  PRO

    Contributed by Jeff Simms on Jan 2, 2005
    based on 3 ratings
     | 1,369 views

    Someone once said “Joy is like the hidden note in the glass. Joy is tuning in to what God is doing around you, seeing the world through his eyes, picking up on his delight in us as his children. Anyone can find happiness for a while. . . Happiness depends on what is happening to you. Joy is ...read more

  • Friday, I Did A Quick Web Based Search, And I Was ...

    Contributed by Guy Glass on Aug 5, 2005
     | 1,187 views

    Friday, I did a quick web based search, and I was surprised by what I found. I answered four questions: 1. Do you and your spouse have any children under the age of 18 from this marriage? 2. Can you locate your spouse, and is he or she willing to sign the divorce documents with you? 3. Have you ...read more

  • S.d. Gordon Tells Of A Spring Storm That Broke A ...

    Contributed by Steve Smith on Feb 26, 2007
     | 2,704 views

    S.D. Gordon tells of a spring storm that broke a large limb on his cherry tree. Although it hung by a very small strand, to his surprise the blossoms came anyway. Later some fruit began to grow as it did on the other branches. He noticed, however, that only those in full contact with the tree ...read more

  • Steve Atkerson States This About Water Baptism: ...

    Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Apr 3, 2007
     | 2,536 views

    Steve Atkerson states this about Water Baptism: The OT is replete with examples of ceremonial cleansings accomplished through the use of water (Nu 19:11-21; 31:21-24). Thus, the Jews were not surprised that John the Baptist used water graphically to portray repentance and forgiveness of sins (Mk ...read more

  • Sleep ...

    Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 14, 2009
     | 4,281 views

    SLEEP CONFUSED Studies find people who sleep between 6.5 hours and 7.5 hours per night live the longest. Those who sleep 8 hours or more or less than 6.5 hours don’t live quite as long. There is just as much risk associated with sleeping too long as with sleeping too little. The big surprise is ...read more

  • Whyte In Prayer

    Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 13, 2011
     | 3,898 views

    WHYTE IN PRAYER Scottish minister Alexander Whyte was known for his uplifting prayers in the pulpit. He always found something for which to be grateful. One Sunday morning the weather was so gloomy that one church member thought, "The preacher certainly won’t think of anything for which to thank ...read more

  • Everyone Needs A Savior

    Contributed by Gordon Curley on Jun 25, 2011
     | 2,545 views

    EVERYONE NEEDS A SAVIOR Billy Sunday was a famous baseball player in the early part of the last century. He was dramatically converted to Christ, and became then even more famous as an evangelist. In preparation for a city wide mission in a large American city, Billy Sunday wrote a letter to the ...read more

  • Creche And The Second Coming

    Contributed by Tim Smith on Aug 13, 2017
     | 4,553 views

    Marques Silva writes, “In college I was surprised when a close friend explained her family crèche. It wasn’t the style or the model that caused me to pause. It was the addition of a figurine that I had neither seen nor considered before. This particular set included not only the baby Jesus but an ...read more

  • A) Ever See The Movie Clue? Albert Einstein And ...

    Contributed by Randy Hohf on Feb 6, 2008
     | 1,318 views

    a) Ever see the movie Clue? Albert Einstein and his colleagues pass off a local garage mechanic as some surprise genius, coaching him so that he can give lectures on physics to gatherings of scholars (it was all a match-making scheme to get him hooked up with Einstein’s niece). Of course, it was so ...read more

  • During The War Between The States, A Northern Pow ...

    Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 8, 2008
     | 928 views

    During the war between the states, a northern pow escaped from his captors. For hours and days he wandered through the woods seeking the union lines and the safety of his companions. Finally, he approached a camp trying to figure out if it was friend or foe. Within minutes, he was surrounded by the ...read more

  • A Young Soldier Was Going Off To Fight In World ...

    Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 31, 2008
     | 1,505 views

    A young soldier was going off to fight in World War II against the Japanese. As his father put him on the train and waved good-bye, he turned with bitter tears and said, "If my son is killed, I hope every Japanese in the world is killed!" A year later the son was killed. Soon $10,000 in life ...read more

  • And Yet James Dobson Asked Hundreds Of Teens What ...  PRO

    Contributed by David Limiero on Jun 5, 2001
    based on 80 ratings
     | 1,945 views

    And yet James Dobson asked hundreds of teens what they would like to tell their parents. Their answers might surprise you: * Teach us about God and spiritual things. * Guide us towards good marriages by modeling a good one. * Don’t curse and smoke, if you don’t want us too. * Be consistent and ...read more

  • Leaders And Followers  PRO

    Contributed by Darren Ethier on May 7, 2002
    based on 206 ratings
     | 6,271 views

    LEADERS AND FOLLOWERS S. I. McMillen, in his book "None of These Diseases," tells a story of a young woman who wanted to go to college, but her heart sank when she read the question on the application blank that asked, "Are you a leader?" Being both honest and conscientious, she wrote, "No," and ...read more

  • I Do Not Know If You Knew This But The Number Of ...  PRO

    Contributed by Lynn Floyd on Aug 9, 2002
    based on 2 ratings
     | 1,314 views

    I do not know if you knew this but the number of unchurched people is growing every year. “Only 41% of Americans attend church services on a typical weekend. Each new generation becomes increasingly unchurched. Slightly over one half (51%) of the builder generation (born before 1946) attends ...read more

  • A Good Cup Of Coffee  PRO

    Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 25, 2002
    based on 18 ratings
     | 3,087 views

    A GOOD CUP OF COFFEE This little grandmother was surprised by her 7 year old grandson one morning. He had made her coffee. She drank what was the worst cup of coffee in her life. When she got to the bottom there were three of those little green army men in the cup. She said, "Honey, what are the ...read more

  • After Five Years Of Therapy The Psychiatrist Told ...  PRO

    Contributed by Kerry Tilley on Feb 15, 2004
    based on 4 ratings
     | 1,927 views

    After five years of therapy the psychiatrist told his patient that they seldom used the term “cure,” but he was please to pronounce her completely cured. To his surprise the patient became obviously disappointed. The doctor asked, “What’s wrong? I thought you would be thrilled to know that your ...read more

  • Marvin Gregory Tells The Story Of A Junk Dealer ...  PRO

    Contributed by Timothy Smith on Sep 18, 2004
    based on 2 ratings
     | 2,515 views

    Marvin Gregory tells the story of a junk dealer who became a millionaire even though he only had an 8th grade education. Somebody asked him how he was able to make a million dollars and in spite of his lack of formal training. He said, "Well, it ain’t hard. I just bought junk for $1 and sold it for ...read more