In Sermon Illustrations:

Post-It Note Christianity

Contributed by Todd Catteau on Jul 6, 2021

I’m a minister and, for the most part, the people I’m around know that. But in the church I serve we don’t wear any special clerical clothing, so on occasion I find myself in conversations with people who don’t know I’m a minister. That can create some interesting situations. I golf occasionally ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 3:3

Tags: Faithfulness, Sincerity, Faith, Commitment, Dedication  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Eyes Wide Open

Contributed by Todd Catteau on Jul 6, 2021

It’s happened to me more times than I care to admit. My wife will ask me to get something out of the pantry or refrigerator and, after a quick check, I’ll report that the item she wants is not there. Then she looks and there it is, right where she said it would be. Right there staring me in the ...read more

Tags: Beauty, Hope, Blessings

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

If I Had But One Sermon To Hear

Contributed by David Parks on Jun 16, 2021

IF I HAD BUT ONE SERMON TO HEAR In 1906 Charles Reynolds Brown was preaching in the San Francisco Bay area of California. That spring, on the Sunday generally designated as Easter, he and the other preachers of the region spoke to full houses. Years later, he mentioned that particular Sunday in his ...read more

Scripture: James 4:13-14

Tags: Death, Decision, Judgment, Natural Disasters

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Spellcheck Fail

Contributed by Todd Catteau on Jun 1, 2021

I’m a terrible typist. I’m old enough to have taken typing class in high school when that kind of thing was taught, but I never thought that I would need to be proficient on a keyboard; so I bowed out. Typing was not in my future. But here I am on a keyboard just about every workday hunting and ...read more

Scripture: Judges 21:25, Deuteronomy 12:8, Judges 17:6

Tags: Deception, Wrong, Right, Morals, Judges, Ethics, Morality, Sin, Evil  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Solar Powered

Contributed by Todd Catteau on Apr 27, 2021

The other day I was sitting on my back porch. On my porch is a bird bath with a small solar-powered fountain. The fountain only works when the sun is directly on it and, since that day was a clear day, the fountain was operating at full steam. As I was sitting enjoying the day a brief passing ...read more

Scripture: John 8:12

Tags: Spirit, John, Light, Power, Life, Darkness  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Middle Eastern Gate

Contributed by Davon Huss on Apr 17, 2021

Derrick Johnson of the Regeneration singing group told a story about his daughter, Debbie. When Debbie was 4 years old, she got lost in a crowded supermarket. After an anxious search, she was found only one aisle over from her mother, but she was petrified. For a long time after that, she was ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 21:21, Revelation 21:25

Tags: Gates, Resurrection, Heaven

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Epitaphs

Contributed by Davon Huss on Apr 17, 2021

The Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, has an exhibit of unique epitaphs. Give a few. Near Uniontown, Pennsylvania there’s a gravestone that reads, “Here lies the body of Jonathan Blake. He stepped on the gas instead of the brake.” Boot Hill Cemetery in Tombstone, ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:1-10

Tags: Death, Headstones, Epitaphs

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Defaced From Family Will

Contributed by Ron Freeman, Evangelist on Mar 14, 2021

I was told by a wonderful woman who had married a negro man after falling in love with him during the 1940s. She met him in Pittsburg, PA, and later moved to Chicago, IL for the safety of their family. Her father was filled with bitterness and anger and defaced her from the will. He disowned her ...read more

Scripture: James 2:8-9, Matthew 22:37-40

Tags: Prince Harry, Racism, Transgression, Respect Of Persons, Royal Law Of Love, Family Will, Meghan Markle, Sin, Bigotry, Brotherly Love, Prejudice, Hatred  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

William Wilberforce

Contributed by Davon Huss on Mar 13, 2021

Jesus is the supreme example. He cares so much about completing His mission on earth that he lets himself be killed. That total commitment to God’s will literally costs Him His life. It also saves it, as the resurrection proves. There are many examples from history of persons who have proved ...read more

Scripture: John 12:25

Tags: Glory, Die, Hate, Lose

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Albert Schweitzer

Contributed by Davon Huss on Mar 13, 2021

Dr. Albert Schweitzer was a famous musician, writer and teacher. He gave up all of this to become a medical doctor. When on October 13,1906, he sent letters to his parents and closest acquaintances announcing that he would enter Strasbourg University as a medical student to prepare for his ...read more

Scripture: John 12:24, John 12:27-28

Tags: Glory, Die, Live

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Losing

Contributed by Davon Huss on Mar 13, 2021

Read a book by Pat Conroy entitled My Losing Season. In that book Conroy recounts the season in 1967 when he played point guard for the Citadel college basketball team. In his book Conroy contrasts the lessons from winning from those learned from losing. “Winning,” he writes, “makes you think ...read more

Scripture: Mark 8:35, John 12:23-33, John 12:25

Tags: Character, Winning, Losing

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Gary Bettenhausen

Contributed by Davon Huss on Mar 13, 2021

We must decide what we mean by success. Gary Bettenhausen will help us to decide it. Some years ago, in an Indianapolis 500 race, veteran driver Al Unser lost control of his race car, which then skidded into the track wall and exploded into flames. Seconds later, another driver slammed his ...read more

Scripture: John 12:23-33, Mark 8:35

Tags: Success, Loser

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Forgiveness

Contributed by Steve Malone on Feb 3, 2021

It was in a church in Munich that I saw him, a balding heavyset man in a gray overcoat, a brown felt hat clutched between his hands. People were filing out of the basement room where I had just spoken, moving along the rows of wooden chairs to the door at the rear. It was 1947 and I had come from ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 18:21-35

Tags: Hurt, Forgiveness

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Callous, Cold And Conniving Or Restored, Revived And Redeemed?

Contributed by Davon Huss on Jan 23, 2021

(Presented on weekend of Martin Luther King Jr. Day before the invitation hymn, hymn of decision) Unlike Jesus, David was not sinless on his way to the wilderness or in the wilderness but he is described as a man after God’s own heart. Something David did that was good is that he attended a ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:19

Tags: Culture, Racism, Civil Rights, Prophetic Zeal

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

My Life: Crazier Than It Has To Be

Contributed by Todd Catteau on Nov 18, 2020

Last Friday was a crazy day. But I made it crazier than it had to be. High winds blew through the region the night before leaving hundreds without power including the church building – well, sort of. One of our assistants called me when she got in the office and said the lights were out, which ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 33:20

Tags: Faith, Trust, Hope, Worry, Wait, Waiting  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Outwit, Outplay, Outlast

Contributed by Todd Catteau on Nov 18, 2020

Over the pandemic I reunited with an old friend – Survivor. That’s right, the father of all reality shows and I had been apart for several years when the shutdown brought us back together. I had faithfully watched the first few seasons, but, as it is with many relationships, we drifted away over ...read more

Tags: Faith, Endurance, Wait, Parousia, Patience, Coming, Second, Waiting  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Room At The Cross For You

Contributed by Davon Huss on Sep 1, 2020

On the deck of a sinking ship stood an African slave- the last man on board. He was to be the last person to get on the last lifeboat. The life boat was loaded to the water line. The slave had something in his arms and the sailors refused to take him until he let that go. He pressed to his ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:12, John 3:16, John 15:13

Tags: Salvation, Cross, Eternal Life, Perish

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Eternal Life

Contributed by Davon Huss on Sep 1, 2020

The eternal life I am talking about is best described by Thomas Guthrie: "Eternal life is deliverance from eternal death, deliverance from the curse of breaking God’s law, and deliverance from the doom of a burning hell. Eternal life is eternal blessedness- the pardon from sin’s guilt, and ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:12

Tags: Perfect, Eternal Life

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Importance Of Preaching

Contributed by David Parks on Aug 27, 2020

March 4, 1881 was a beautiful spring day in Washington D.C. James Garfield stood on the Capitol steps, placed a hand on the Bible, another on his heart, faced a crowd of thousands, and was sworn in as the 20th President of the United States. Like every Inauguration, it was a day ripe with ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 4:1-5

Tags: Truth, Preaching, Minister

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Wiretap Into Your Home

Contributed by Davon Huss on Aug 22, 2020

The church is the bride of Christ. If we love the groom (Jesus), we will look for positive things to say about the bride (the church). Bob Russell tells a story about how years ago, when there were multiple party telephone lines, a preacher picked up the telephone to make a call but couldn’t get ...read more

Scripture: John 13:35, 2 Corinthians 11:28-29

Tags: Evangelism, Love For The Church, Speak Positively

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ