In Sermon Illustrations: "2 Corinthians 5 20b 6 10"

Pastor Learns To Trust God When Displaced By ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 28, 2010

Pastor Learns to Trust God When Displaced by War During the Thirty Years’ War in the 17th century, German pastor Paul Gerhardt and his family were forced to flee from their home. One night as they stayed in a small village inn, homeless and afraid, his wife broke down and cried openly in despair. ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:3-5

Tags: Taxes, Trials

The Love Of Christ Enables Believers  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 31, 2010

THE LOVE OF CHRIST ENABLES BELIEVERS I like the way one pastor put it years ago (1986) when he became overwhelmed with all the "ideals" he was collecting from church growth seminars and books. He said, "Quite frankly, I'm sick to death of ideals. I have so many ideals and I've been so frustrated ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 4:13-16

Tags: Growth In Christ

Do You Remember Jesus’ Radical Prescription ...

Contributed by David Owens on Jun 23, 2010

Do you remember Jesus’ radical prescription for avoiding temptation? In Matthew 5:27-30, He suggested that we should cut out or cut off whatever it is that leads us into sin. In the news this week was the story of Hartford, CT resident Jonathan Metz, a single man, who lived alone, who while ...read more

Tags: Temptation Resisting

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

A Boy Got His First Job. As He Was Boasting About ...  PRO

Contributed by Major Gerardo Balmori on Apr 2, 2011

A boy got his first job. As he was boasting about the amount of work he did, he said, "I get up at 5 a.m. and have my breakfast." He was asked, "Does anyone else get up too?" He replied, "Oh yes, mother gets up and fixes my breakfast and then fixes dad’s breakfast." "And what about your dinner?" ...read more

Scripture: Jude 1:1-25

Tags: Mother's Day

Denomination: Salvation Army

J. Oswald Sanders On Loneliness  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 9, 2011

J. OSWALD SANDERS ON LONELINESS J. Oswald Sanders once pointed out: "The round of pleasure or the amassing of wealth are [often] but vain attempts to escape from the persistent ache. The millionaire is usually a lonely man and the comedian is often more unhappy than his audience." In his book, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:19-34

Tags: Goals, Suffering Loneliness

Prayed Into The Kingdom

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 14, 2011

PRAYED INTO THE KINGDOM Chuck Sackett did not grow up in a Christian home. But he joined the Boy Scouts and wanted to complete the "God and Country" merit badge. So he walked a few blocks to a small church for several weeks. He filled out his papers and did what he had to do get that badge. ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:18-20

Tags: Prayer Persistence

God Picks The Unlovable Ones

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 15, 2011

GOD PICKS THE UNLOVABLE ONES Anne Lamott described a time when a fellow church member told about adopting her son through an organization called A.S.K. -- Adopt Special Kids. Part of the adoption process included filling out a questionnaire checking "yes" or "no" for one's willingness to adopt ...read more

Scripture: John 4:1-42

Tags: Adoption

Risks And Expectations

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 15, 2011

RISKS AND EXPECTATIONS Sohio, the Alaskan subsidiary of Standard Oil of Ohio, drilled a well in the Beaufort Sea in 1983, hoping to tap a geological formation holding several billion barrels of oil. Instead, they hit water, and $120 million went a glimmering. The oil companies know the risk. They ...read more

Scripture: Luke 9:23-26

Tags: Commitment To Christ

Albert Einstein On ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 3, 2012

ALBERT EINSTEIN ON CREATION In his book on Albert Einstein, author Walter Isaacson told of a dinner party in Berlin where everybody assumed Einstein was an atheist and he said, “No, I have a deep feeling of faith, a deep religiosity that comes from my appreciation of the way the Lord made the ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 19:1-6

Tags: Creation

Listening To God Compared To Listening To The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 4, 2012

LISTENING TO GOD COMPARED TO LISTENING TO THE DOCTOR We should treat prayer for what it is, a two way conversation with God, and learn to be quiet long enough for him to get a word in edge ways. Nicky Gumbel, in his book Questions of Life compares it to a visit to the doctor, he writes “Suppose I ...read more

Scripture: 1 Samuel 3:10

Tags: Prayer How To

A Surprise Ending For A Couple Who Met ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 16, 2012

A SURPRISE ENDING FOR A COUPLE WHO MET ON-LINE A couple from Zenica, Central Bosnia, are divorcing after accusing each other of being unfaithful following an online affair. “They met online, where he called himself “Prince of Joy,” and she called herself “Sweetie.” Their real names were Sana and ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:22-33

Tags: Marriage Faithfulness

The Priest And The Levite (Parable Of The Good Samaritan)

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Mar 20, 2022

Keathley makes several interesting points that the Priest and Levite mentioned in the Parable of the Prodigal Son were leaving Jerusalem and could not use the excuse that they did not want to touch the man and be unclean for worship. Why? They had already accomplished their duties and were heading ...read more

Tags: Priest, Parables, Hypocrisy, Pharisees, Kindness, Levite, Good Samaritan  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Two Babies In The Manger?  PRO

Contributed by Steven Simala Grant on Dec 23, 2002

2 babies in the manger? In 1994, two Americans answered an invitation from the Russian Department of Education to teach morals and ethics (based on biblical principles) in the public schools. They were invited to teach at prisons, businesses, the fire and police departments and a large ...read more

Tags: Christmas

Denomination: Baptist

Admirer Or Follower?  PRO

Contributed by Ty Tamasaka on Jul 19, 2011

ADMIRER OR FOLLOWER? Recently I heard that in Scotland, a voluntary survey was given to law enforcement officers of their religious affiliations. That may not sound very interesting, but what caught my attention was that 8 of the officers claimed their religious affiliation to be "Jedi". I ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 14:13-21

Tags: Discipleship

Denomination: Other

[096]. A Message From A Poem – From Earth To Heaven

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on May 3, 2025

[096]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – FROM EARTH TO HEAVEN This poem is one of rhyming couplets and the theme is “now on earth, but looking towards being in heaven with the Lord.” Do you love the world? Well my answer is yes and no. I absolutely love the world, that is, the creation in the world. ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 3:2-3, Hebrews 6:19, Romans 3:11-18, Psalm 8:3, Psalm 19:1-3  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Creation, Glory, Heaven, Hope, Poem, The World, Christian Poetry  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[128]. A Message From A Poem – His Hands, His Feet And His Brow

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Jul 11, 2025

[128]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – HIS HANDS, HIS FEET AND HIS BROW Introducing the Poem: This poem underneath actually resulted from a true story. On 16 June, 1997 a news item came over the radio of an incident that happened in Saudi Arabia. This is the true incident: [[A Saudi-Arabian woman ...read more

Scripture: John 20:26-27, Zechariah 13:6, Isaiah 53:5

Tags: Hands And Feet Pierced, Saudi Arabia

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[282]. A Message From A Poem – The Lord Will Never Fail Me

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Jan 31, 2026

[282]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – THE LORD WILL NEVER FAIL ME (possible song) This is a more unusual poem and in my mind, there was the possibility of a song. The poem has rhythm which is necessary for singing. The metre may defeat that though but not a problem for a good musician. I love ...read more

Scripture: John 16:33, Hebrews 13:5-6

Tags: Failure, Fail, Abide, Keep, Christian Poems  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Faith Honors God And God Honors Faith! A Story ...  PRO

Contributed by Paul Fritz on Mar 12, 2002

Faith honors God and God honors faith! A story from the life of missionaries Robert and Mary Moffat illustrates this truth. For 10 years this couple labored faithfully in Bechuanaland (now called Botswana) without one ray of encouragement to brighten their way. They could not report a single ...read more

Tags: Examples Of Faith, Faith General

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Abortion, Child Sacrifice, And Other Forms Of ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 6, 2002

Abortion, child sacrifice, and other forms of infanticide were both legal and acceptable in pagan societies from the earliest times. One of the major signs of depravity in ancient Rome was that its unwanted babies were abandoned outside the city walls to die from exposure to the elements of from ...read more

Parenting Social Degeneration  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 9, 2002

PARENTING SOCIAL DEGENERATION Sheila Weller, in her book "Saint of Circumstances", reveals the untold story of Alex Kelley, who was convicted of rape in 1996. When Kelley was initially indicted he fled to Europe, spending more than eight years on the run, leading a comfortable lifestyle. ...read more