In Sermon Illustrations: "5 10 11 14"

Brandon A. Bradley Told His Story In Pray ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Brandon A. Bradley told his story in Pray magazine last year: “I am a surgical assistant—the surgeon’s right-hand man. At one point in my career, I lost my passion. I wanted a job with spiritual significance, and I prayed for that. Imagine my shock when God led me to a position in plastic surgery. ...read more

Tags: Heaven, Care

The Year Was 1992. A Man Was On Parole For Child ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

The year was 1992. A man was on parole for child molesting. His fellow apartment renters complained of odors and chainsaw noises. When the police searched his apartment, they found it full of skulls, headless torsos and body parts. He would murder, mutilate and sometimes cannibalized boys and men. ...read more

Tags: Cross Agony

In 1997, Reilly Rankin, Was An All-American ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

In 1997, Reilly Rankin, was an all-American golfer as a freshman at the University of Georgia. In her sophomore year, she was set back by an appendectomy, hernia repair and treatment for endometriosis. Having recovered from these procedures, her and a group of friends ventured out onto Lake Martin, ...read more

Tags: Cross Agony

Victory Hill

Contributed by Johnny Wilson on Mar 30, 2009

VICTORY HILL Remember, our plotting is unfinished, but God’s training and strength-conditioning is already there for us. I want to talk about this chastising, sometimes translated as punishing, and which I have translated as "training." I have something in mind. The Hebrew verb means to provide ...read more

Tags: God's Judgment

Denomination: *other

God Just Needs A Voice  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 13, 2009

GOD JUST NEEDS A VOICE John Stott, a well-known British pastor and theologian, was invited to preach at the University of Sydney in Australia; but after he got there, he lost his voice. He describes his experience as follows: "What can you do with a missionary who has no voice? We had come to ...read more

Scripture: Luke 21:14-15, Matthew 1:18-24

Tags: God Brings Purpose

Prejudice Comes From An Unclean ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 18, 2009

Prejudice Comes from an Unclean Heart I like this thought posted by Mike Atkinson in his daily email humor list some time ago. If you can start the day without caffeine; if you can get going without pep pills; if you can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains; if you can resist complaining ...read more

Scripture: Mark 7:14-15

Tags: Racism

The Golden Rule And The Holocaust  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 19, 2009

THE GOLDEN RULE AND THE HOLOCAUST Living the Golden Rule is pretty simple isn’t it? It’s just being considerate, mindful, and thoughtful but sometimes to live the Golden Rule requires great moral courage. It requires a willingness to sacrifice. In March of 1943, Bulgaria which had aligned with ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:12

Tags: Christian Witness

Cost Of Discipleship  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 19, 2009

COST OF DISCIPLESHIP I recently read the true story about a preacher who was standing at the door shaking hands as the congregation departed. He grabbed one man by the hand and pulled him aside. The preacher said to him, "You need to join the Army of the Lord!" The man replied, "I’m already in the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 16:24-25

Tags: Discipleship, Follow, Deny, Gross

Ignoring The Barriers Of The Past

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 19, 2009

IGNORING THE BARRIERS OF THE PAST Every four years, the world’s attention turns to the summer Olympic games. For a few days, men and women from around the globe gather to compete against the best. Amazing records are broken and new ones are set at these games. The Four-Minute-Mile: Just a few ...read more

Scripture: Deuteronomy 1:1-8, Deuteronomy 2:1-3, Ecclesiastes 9:10

Tags: Encouragement

Sinners Need Restoration Like Cast Sheep Need ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 22, 2009

Sinners Need Restoration like Cast Sheep Need Rescued One of the dangers facing a sheep is that it becomes ‘cast’ and one of the challenges facing a shepherd is to make sure that his sheep do not become cast. A cast sheep is one that has turned over on its back and is, become of it lack of agility ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 23:1-6

Tags: Restoration

Wwii Vet's Blood Saves Grandmother  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 26, 2009

WWII VET'S BLOOD SAVES GRANDMOTHER And I think it is also what Paul was talking about in Romans 8:28 when he says, "...in all things God works for the good of those who love Him..." Kim Huffman tells this story: World War II was over, and my father, along with thousands of others had been ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:28

Tags: God's Provision

Christian Character Saves A Muslim

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 27, 2009

CHRISTIAN CHARACTER SAVES A MUSLIM From Betty Lukens--Nabil Kareen was a truck driver in the army of his country. But Nabil was more than a truck driver; he used his truck for smuggling, which was against Army rules. Nabil carried watches and quinine pills wrapped in bundles and hid them under the ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 2:14-16

Tags: Christian Witness

Wartime Speech By Churchill,

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 29, 2009

Wartime Speech by Churchill, "We Will Never Surrender" On the fifth of June, 1940, not even a month after he became prime minister, Winston Churchill spoke to the British people to encourage them of their desperate situation. Bear in mind that in September of the previous year the Nazis had ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 6:9

Tags: War

A Lesson Of Grace From A Can Of Soda

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 29, 2009

A LESSON OF GRACE FROM A CAN OF SODA The Apostle Paul wrote these words to the Christians in Corinth. "For God made Jesus who had no sin to be sin for us so that in him we might be righteous, holy and forgiven in God's sight." In the world of psychology this is called "transference." God ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:21

Tags: Grace, Sinner, Saved

On Shepherds

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Dec 28, 2009

ON SHEPHERDS "Let me tell you a bit about shepherds. They were the last people you’d expect God to take notice of. First of all, they were religious outcasts. According to Jewish religious law, these men were unclean. Their line of work prevented them from participating in the feasts and holy days ...read more

Tags: Christmas

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

This Year I Received An Email Listing "25 ...

Contributed by Bobby Scobey on Mar 15, 2010

This year I received an email listing “25 Things About To Become Extinct In America.” Yellow Pages - This year will be pivotal for the global Yellow Pages industry. The falloff in usage of newspapers and print Yellow Pages could even reach 10% this year -- much higher than the 2%-3% fade rate ...read more

Tags: Change

Denomination: Pentecostal

Music To Raise The Dead

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on May 10, 2010

"MUSIC TO RAISE THE DEAD", an album from a Christian Rock group called Resurrection startled the Christian world with it's intensity in the 1970's. They did this in a day when many conservative pastors and evangelists actively thundered their warnings from the pulpit against the evils of rock music ...read more

Tags: Gifts Healing

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Story: In The Late Nineteenth Century In South ...

Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Oct 16, 2010

Story: In the late nineteenth Century in South Africa, an old man was digging for gold in a river bed. He had been at it for many years. Every now and then he found a little bit of gold, not enough to make him rich – but just enough to maintain his interest. The part of the river in which he ...read more

Tags: Prayer Persistence

Denomination: Anglican

Prayer Transforms A Workplace  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 27, 2011

PRAYER TRANSFORMS A WORKPLACE Brandon A. Bradley told his story in Pray! Magazine some time back about an opportunity in his life: "I am a surgical assistant--the surgeon's right-hand man. At one point in my career, I lost my passion. I wanted a job with spiritual significance, and I prayed for ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 4:2-6

Tags: Prayer General

Unsung Heroines

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 6, 2011

UNSUNG HEROINES In Tom Brokaw’s book "The Greatest Generation Speaks," Veronica Mackey Hulick tells of her service during World War II. Veronica was 20 when she joined the Navy WAVES [Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service]. She and about 1500 other bright young women worked for hours at ...read more

Scripture: Mark 9:35, Mark 9:33-35

Tags: Servanthood