In Sermon Illustrations: "2 Corinthians 3:1-4:20"

I Ran Several Years Of Track In High School. At ...

Contributed by Sterling Franklin on Jun 21, 2010

I ran several years of track in high school. At the end of each season, there was a conference meet – a big gathering of schools racing against each other to see who the best was in the area. I came prepared to run on a rubber track, wearing my Nike Air Jasaris, light shoes with hard plastic ...read more

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Anxiety Is A Dud

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 13, 2010

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

Tags: Anxiety

Missed Opportunity

Contributed by Rodelio Mallari on Nov 14, 2010

MISSED OPPORTUNITY In 1269 Kublai Khan sent a request from Peking to Rome for "a hundred wise men of the Christian religion...And so I shall be baptized, and when I shall be baptized all my baron and great men will be baptized, and their subjects baptized, and so there will be more Christians here ...read more

Tags: Opportunity

Denomination: *other

God's Standard For Sin

Contributed by K. Edward Skidmore on Dec 30, 2010

GOD'S STANDARD FOR SIN At a former church, a youth leader came up to me one day and said, "I'm trying to figure out the way God judges sin. The best I can figure it, I assume he grades on the curve like they do at school. You know, 70% good is a passing grade." I had bad news for him. God has a ...read more

Tags: Judgment

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Danger Of Spiritual Procrastination  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 24, 2011

THE DANGER OF SPIRITUAL PROCRASTINATION There is a fable which tells of three apprentice devils who were coming to this earth to finish their apprenticeship. They were talking to Satan, the chief of the devils, about their plans to tempt and to ruin men. The first said, "I will tell them that ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 25:1-13, Romans 13:11-14, Romans 13:12

Tags: Second Coming, Coming, Second

How God Calls It  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 2, 2011

HOW GOD CALLS IT A major league baseball player hit the ball far out in left field. Bases were loaded. The one who was on 2nd base made it all the way to home plate and he collided with the catcher. Immediately, the one team yelled, "He's safe, he's safe, he's safe." The other team yelled, "He's ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 127:3-5

Tags: Abortion

Diocletian

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Sep 4, 2011

DIOCLETIAN In its first 300 hundred years the Christian church endured repeated waves of persecution. But perhaps the worst came while Diocletian was emperor of Rome (A.D.284-305). Convinced that the Christians were conspiring against him, Diocletian sought to annihilate them throughout his ...read more

Tags: God's Sovereign Will

Denomination: Brethren

Encouraging Babies  PRO

Contributed by Tim Hinrichs on Feb 23, 2012

ENCOURAGING BABIES In 1995 twin girls Kyrie and Brielle were born prematurely. Weighing only 2 pounds each, they were watched over very carefully each in their respective incubators. Kyrie began putting on weight immediately, but Brielle struggled--she cried and cried, leaving her gasping and blue ...read more

Tags: Encouragement

Denomination: Lutheran

Sure You Want To Win The Lottery?

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Jun 1, 2012

SURE YOU WANT TO WIN THE LOTTERY? When William "Bud" Post won $16.2 million in a 1988 lottery, one of the first things he did was try to please his family. Unfortunately, his kin was of the unfriendly sort. Post's brother hired a hit man to kill him, hoping to inherit some money. Other family ...read more

Tags: Money

Denomination: Independent/Bible

"Knowing" Christ  PRO

Contributed by Paul Barreca on Jan 6, 2013

"KNOWING" CHRIST In today's world of Smart Phones, tablets and instant Internet access, there are many things that we can "know." If someone asks the questions, "how long is the Verrazano Bridge," a nimble person with a 4 G connection and an Iphone can ask Siri, "How long is the Verrazano ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 3:10

Tags: Jesus Christ, Knowing God

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Sacred Cows

Contributed by Dr. Ronald Shultz on Dec 17, 2020

Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:1-2

Tags: Sacred Cows, Traditions

Denomination: Baptist

God Can't Take His Eyes Off Of Me!

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Feb 13, 2022

There were 2 boys playing one day when they got bored. Little Johnny turned to his buddy, Billy, and said, "You know something, I'm bored. Let's go to the store and steal some candy!" Billy says: "Oh no! I can't do that! God is watching me!“ Little Johnny replies: ...read more

Tags: God's Love, Dishonesty, Heavenly Father, God's Providence, Children  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

So,... You Say You ...

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

SO,... YOU SAY YOU BELIEVE? A. W. Tozer wrote, “Fortunately only a few things are matters of life and death, such as a compass for a sea voyage or a guide for a journey across the desert. To ignore these things is not to gamble or take a chance; it is to commit suicide. Here it is either be ...read more

Scripture: Acts 11:21

Tags: Trust

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Too Many Hypocrites

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

TOO MANY HYPOCRITES One of the most common excuses given for someone not surrendering to the Gospel of Christ is found in this statement, "There are too many hypocrites in the church." Many persons who are seen by outsiders to be "hypocrites" may be true, yet immature, Christians. Christians ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 26:25

Tags: Church General

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Victory Over Death

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

VICTORY OVER DEATH The arch of the gospel rests upon these two great pillars: the death of Christ and the bodily resurrection of Christ. Paul defines the gospel: "For what I received I pass on to you as first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was ...read more

Scripture: Romans 4:25

Tags: Death

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Biblical Proof The Creator Of Heaven And Earth Wrote The Bible

Contributed by Raymond Petzholt on Aug 25, 2025

Biblical Proof the Creator of Heaven & Earth also Wrote the Bible Hebrews 3:4 “For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God.” A house does not build itself. A creation cannot create itself! Christ has built all things for He is God! (John 1:1-3; Col. 1:16-17; ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 3:4

Tags: Inspiration Of The Bible, Science In The Bible

Denomination: Baptist

Fire In The Hole

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 7, 2011

FIRE IN THE HOLE Centralia was a small mining town in the eastern part of Pennsylvania with about 1000 residents making their income off of the coal dug just underneath the crust. The town had existed the same way for over a century when pre-Civil War settlers moved out to dig up the anthracite ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:21-30

Tags: Hell

I Don't Believe In Hell

Contributed by Raymond Petzholt on Jul 5, 2023

Illustration: “I don’t believe in Hell.” The fact that a lot of people have a tough time believing in a literal Hell was brought home to me in a very meaningful way. When I pastored in Chino, CA we lived in a parsonage right next to the Church. I soon noticed that a certain man was walking up ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 10:28, Mark 9:43-45, Luke 16:23

Tags: Hell, Salvation, Facing Death

Denomination: Baptist

Misapplied Scriptures: Amos 3:7

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Oct 2, 2023

Introduction: Like many believers, I didn’t spend too much time reading the Bible, let alone doing serious study, for many of my years as a believer. It seems some religious leaders or devout followers know this and use verses such as this one to prove a point. If true believers don’t have a ...read more

Scripture: Amos 3:7

Tags: Misapplied Scriptures, False Prophets, Prophets

Denomination: Baptist

[121]. A Message From A Poem – From Where Did God Originate?

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Jul 5, 2025

[121]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – FROM WHERE DID GOD ORIGINATE? The real title of this poem is HE IS BEFORE ALL THINGS, AND IN HIM ALL THINGS HOLD TOGETHER but the title is too long for SermonCentral to accept, so I changed the title. This is a dialogue poem. There are 4 speakers. Speaker 1 is a ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 1:16-17, Colossians 2:20-23

Tags: Existence Of God, Rationalist, Christian Poetry, Christian Poems, Jesus, Atheist, All Things, Agnostic, Gnostics, Gnosticism, Christian, Creation  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational