In Sermon Illustrations: "welcome home"

Thom Rainer And The Unchurched Next Door

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 14, 2011

THOM RAINER AND THE UNCHURCHED NEXT DOOR Thom S. Rainer has written a book entitled "The Unchurched Next Door". He wants people to understand the unchurched in order to better reach them. The premise is that we do not invite our neighbors for all the wrong reasons. He encourages Christians to make ...read more

Scripture: Luke 14:1-24, Luke 14:1-14

Tags: Evangelism How To

Cheering For The Other Team

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 9, 2011

CHEERING FOR THE OTHER TEAM I heard about an unusual high school football game played in Grapevine, Texas recently between Grapevine Faith Academy and the Gainesville State School. Faith Academy is a Christian school and Gainesville is located within a high-security youth correctional facility. ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 3:27

Tags: Christian Witness

Several Years Ago There Was A Guy Who I Use To ...

Contributed by Ronnie Miller on Jul 27, 2011

Several years ago there was a guy who I use to talk with on occasion when I worked at RJR and don't believe he was a saved man, if he was he wasn't walking the walk and for sure wasn't talking the talk. He used foul language, had a reputation of being a big pot smoker. One morning he came in with a ...read more

Scripture: Romans 6:23

Tags: Witness, Jesus, Cross, Calvary

Denomination: Baptist

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

St. Patrick: Stones Squashed In The Mud

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 12, 2011

ST. PATRICK: STONES SQUASHED IN THE MUD As a young boy Patrick lived a comfortable life near an English coastal city where his father was a deacon in their church. But at the age of 16, all that came to an end. Irish pirates attacked his village, abducting Patrick and many of the household ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 2:9-10

Tags: Evangelism The Lost

I Wish I Had Known Then What I Know Now

Contributed by Mark Stepherson on Mar 15, 2012

I WISH I HAD KNOWN THEN WHAT I KNOW NOW Mickey Mantle’s father was right handed and his grandfather was left handed. Between them, they taught him to switch hit. He is widely regarded to be the greatest switch hitter of all time, and one of the greatest players ever. He was inducted into the ...read more

Tags: Prayer General

Denomination: Baptist

Extraordinary Or Ordinary?

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 3, 2012

EXTRAORDINARY OR ORDINARY? God is not looking for extraordinary people. God is looking for ordinary people who will trust God in an extraordinary way. Morton Kondracke is known as a no-nonsense, independent-thinking journalist who, in addition to writing, appears on shows like The McLaughlin ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 3:1-15

Tags: Trust

The Prayer Of Grandma Jones

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 28, 2012

THE PRAYER OF GRANDMA JONES I'd like to tell you the story about an old lady that everybody called "Grandma Jones." She had a close relationship with Jesus. And she knew that Jesus wanted her to be a soul-winner. She wanted to lead others to Christ. However, Grandma Jones was pretty much home ...read more

Scripture: John 4:4-38

Tags: Evangelism Urgency

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

The Tree Of Hippocrates

Contributed by Kelly Mitchell on Oct 3, 2012

The Tree of Hippocrates On the island of Kos, the home of Hippocrates, the great physician from whom we get the “Hippocratic Oath”, there grows a tree that history says Hippocrates himself once gathered his students for class. Although the current tree is only about 500 years old, it is purported ...read more

Scripture: Luke 6:46-49

Tags: Revival, Restoration, Church Growth, Church Practices

Denomination: Baptist

An Urgent Message At Easter

Contributed by Troy Borst on Apr 4, 2015

EASTER FAMILY TIME (p) It is Easter time and a gathering opportunity for your whole family. Your family made a commitment to all get together this year at Easter to make sure you celebrated something this year as a family. Grandma chose Easter and chose to rent a few beach houses for everyone to ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 3:15

Tags: Evangelism, Sharing Christ, Christian Witness, Mission To Family

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

We Will Tell Your God On You!

Contributed by Melvin Newland on Apr 13, 2015

by Amy Carson Phillips (Adapted by Melvin Newland) “Night is falling on the Congo, O’er the jungles far and near. Soon the blackness will be brooding - He who walks will walk in fear. Yet no black man seeks his hut, All are waiting on the shore, Gazing, peering through the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:18-20

Tags: Poem, Mission Of Church, Evangelism, Hope, Africa, Despair  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Moving Forward For Christ

Contributed by Rick Crandall on Jan 30, 2018

*The early church kept moving ahead. And we can too! In spite of our enemies, in spite of the setbacks, we can still move forward for the Lord Jesus Christ! *In February of 2007, a deadly tornado struck central Florida. And it smashed almost everything in its path. The storm struck at the worst ...read more

Tags: Overcome, Gospel Advancing

Denomination: Baptist

False Converts

Contributed by Rick Palmer on Oct 5, 2018

As an archery deer hunter I walk a lot out in nature. Yesterday as I was walking across a corn field I found a small branch of pretty colored leaves. My wife loves collecting leaves and doing crafts with them. I looked around and there were no trees with in a great distance from the leaves. How ...read more

Scripture: John 14:6, Matthew 4:17, John 3:16-18

Tags: Grace, Believe, Salvation, Repentance

Grace At Christmas

Contributed by Joel Arndt on Jan 9, 2020

Early on in my ministry, I was called to the home of one of the people in the congregation who said they had a Christmas gift for me. Shortly after getting out of my vehicle I heard shouting coming from the house that I was called to. I gently knocked on the door and the woman of the house opened ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 6:23

Tags: Christmas, Grace, Forgiveness, Gift

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Seven Types Of Loneliness

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 1, 2021

7 Types of Loneliness 1. New-situation loneliness. You’ve moved to a new city where you don’t know anyone, or you’ve started a new job, or you’ve started at a school full of unfamiliar faces. You’re lonely. 2. I’m-different loneliness. You’re in a place that’s not unfamiliar, but you feel ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 4:10

Tags: Loneliness, Single, Widow, Fear, Drugs, Alone, Alcohol, Depression  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Unsung Heroines-The Widow Who Gave Her Last Two Coins

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on May 22, 2022

Introduction: Some of us have heard the phrase, “the widow’s mite”. That phrase came from this passage! Jesus took notice what a certain widow did and her story is still being told to this day. Text: Mark 12:41-44, KJV: 41 And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast ...read more

Scripture: Mark 12:41-44

Tags: Offerings, Mites, Unsung Heroines

Denomination: Baptist

Questions That Churches Must Ask Themselves

Contributed by Dr. Ronald Shultz on Jun 7, 2022

Why is this church here or what really is our mission? Are we truly fulfilling our mission? How did we get here? Were we a split or the first of our faith? If a split, was it because of doctrine or something/someone else? If we are the first, have we fallen from our first love position or is ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 3:1

Tags: Church, Purpose, Division

Denomination: Baptist

An Observation About Aging—and Baseballs

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Jul 7, 2022

Introduction: You just can’t change some facts. Aging is one of those facts! Text: Ecclesiastes 12:1, KJV: 1 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; Thoughts: Like most good ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 12:1

Tags: Aging, Baseball, Sports

Denomination: Baptist

Surface Level Fellowship

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 3, 2022

Bill Hybels recalls a time when “Dr. Bilezikian said there’s life-changing fellowship in biblically functioning community. That was a far cry from the childhood experience of a lot of his audience! The only kind of fellowship that many of his listeners had witnessed revolved around the fifteen or ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 17:17

Tags: Fellowship, Community, Small Groups