In Sermon Illustrations: "Absent From The Body"

About "Amen"

Contributed by Greg Bond on Dec 28, 2009

ABOUT "AMEN" Then, of course, there is the Amen. It signifies faithful and true. Some suppose it is taken from the initial letters of adoni melech neetnem: My Lord, the Faithful King. In the Greek, it means, "So be it," or "Let it be so." The main point is that Jesus says to end our prayer with ...read more

Tags: Prayer Of Faith

Denomination: Pentecostal

I Like What S. D. Gordon Wrote: "It Is Startling ...

Contributed by Tony Abram on Feb 27, 2010

I like what S. D. Gordon wrote: "It is startling to think that Satan can actually come into the heart of a man in such close touch with Jesus as Judas was. And more--he is cunningly trying to do it today. Yet he can get in only through a door opened from the ...read more

Tags: Antichrist

Gift For The Children's Home

Contributed by Davon Huss on Aug 16, 2010

GIFT FOR THE CHILDREN'S HOME A tired stay-at-home mom opened the front door of her home to find the preacher from the church, who said, "I’m collecting donations for the new children’s home we’re building. Just asking you to give what you ...read more

Tags: Parenting

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Never On Guard

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 21, 2011

NEVER ON GUARD When Fred Mitchell, chairman of the China Inland Mission, died, one of the speakers at his funeral said this about him: "You never caught Fred Mitchell off his guard because he never needed to be on it." (George Duncan, Living the Christian ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 25:21

Tags: Character

In A Hurry

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 11, 2011

IN A HURRY The American minister and writer Philip Brooks (1835-93); was noted for his poise and quiet manner. However, one day a friend saw him feverishly pacing the floor like a caged lion and asked him what the trouble was. "The trouble is," replied Brooks, "that I’m ...read more

Scripture: Micah 7:7

Tags: God's Sovereign Will

Giving Up The World

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 9, 2011

GIVING UP THE WORLD A man once said to D. L. Moody, "Now that I am converted, must I give up to the world?" "No," answered the evangelist, "you need not give up the world; if you give a ringing testimony for the Son of God the world will give you up pretty quick. They ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 2:15-17

Tags: Christian Witness

Porn Statistics

Contributed by Alison Bucklin on Jul 11, 2011

PORN STATISTICS • A 2003 survey from Internet Filter Review reported that 47 percent of Christians admit pornography is a major problem in their homes. • An internet survey conducted by Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in 2002 found 30 percent of 6,000 pastors had viewed internet porn in the last ...read more

Tags: Pornography

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Blame And Self-Esteem

Contributed by Brad Henry on Jul 24, 2011

BLAME AND SELF-ESTEEM When I was an Airline Pilot I was responsible for all flight operations, whether good or bad. If you are taxing into the gate and your wing clips a baggage cart, it is the Captain's fault. It doesn’t matter if the lineman steers you the wrong way or not. What the lineman ...read more

Tags: Bitterness

Silver Lining

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Nov 19, 2011

SILVER LINING We have in the English language a proverb, "Every cloud has a silver lining," It comes from John Milton's masque (dramatic entertainment) 'Comus' (1634). 'Was I deceiv'd, or did a sable cloud/ Turn forth her silver lining on the night?' The proverb means that out of a negative ...read more

Tags: God In The Hardships

Denomination: Brethren

John Quincy Adams: The Decayed Tenement

Contributed by Jon Lipka on Mar 4, 2012

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS: THE DECAYED TENEMENT In 1846, former president John Quincy Adams had a stroke. Upon his return to Congress the following year, it was apparent that his health was failing. When asked about his health Adams replied, "I inhabit a weak, frail, decayed tenement battered by the winds ...read more

Tags: Death Nearness

Denomination: Anglican

Against The Wind

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 11, 2012

AGAINST THE WIND There will be challenges and suffering. Kites rise against, not with the wind. It is the winds that oppose it that drive it even higher. When the winds of adversity or criticism blows, allow it to be to you what the blast of wind is to a kite--a force against it that causes it to ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 2:18-25

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

The Danger Of Decoys...

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Oct 17, 2018

Ever watch duck hunting on TV? Good duck hunters have DECOYS that look so real, they move to imitate real ducks, they make real quacking sounds like ducks, and real ducks are SLICKED INTO THE BELIEF THAT THOSE DECOY DUCKS ARE REAL DUCKS. DOUBT BECOMES A REALLY GOOD DECOY AWAY FROM ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16

Tags: Doubt, Decoy

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Humility

Contributed by Shine Thomas on Nov 9, 2018

William Carey, often referred to as the father of the modern missionary movement. He was a brilliant man but came from a very humble beginning. In his early manhood, he worked as a cobbler, a shoe repairman. At a dinner party one evening a man said to Carey, “I understand, Mister Carey that you ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 5:5-6

Tags: Humble, Humility, Humility And Pride

Denomination: Assembly Of God

The Greatest Miracle Of Jesus

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Nov 6, 2022

"The Transfiguration was not a new miracle, but the temporary pause of an ongoing miracle. The real miracle was that Jesus, most of the time, could keep from displaying His glory. “For Christ to be glorious was almost a less matter than for him to restrain or hide his glory. It is forever his ...read more

Scripture: Luke 9:28-36

Tags: Glory, Jesus, Humility, Leadership, Transfiguration, Miracle  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Abraham Lincoln On Humor

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Feb 13, 2023

President [Lincoln] prefaced a discussion of the draft Emancipation Proclamation by reading aloud from a favorite humorist. In response to the disapproval of some members of his cabinet, Mr. Lincoln said: Gentlemen, why don’t you laugh? With the fearful strain that is upon me night and day, if I ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 17:22

Tags: Merry, Jokes, Comedy, Emotion, Sense Of Humor, Stress Relief, Stress, Joy, Humor, Laugh, Funny  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Theophany

Contributed by Joshua Blackmon on Jun 3, 2024

"Theologians have a specialized word to describe the instances when God appears to human beings. A visible manifestation of God within the Old Testament is called a theophany. The word theophany derives from two Greek words, the word for God (theos) and the word for appearing (phaino, which in ...read more

Tags: God, Theophany

Denomination: Pentecostal

Greatest Commandment

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Feb 22, 2025

From the Talmud: Rabbi Simlai taught "Six hundred and thirteen commandments were given to Moses; then David came and reduced them to eleven in Psalm 15.; Isaiah (33:15), to six; Micah (6:8), to three; Isaiah again (56:1), to two; and Habakkuk ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 20:1-17, Mark 12:28-34, Habakkuk 2:4, Romans 5:1, Matthew 22:36-40  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Greatest Commandment, Law Keeping, Justification By Faith, Two Great Commands, Torah, Faith And Works, Ten Commandments  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Step Into The Image Of Christ!" Hebrews 5:1-9 ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Feb 14, 2005

“Step Into The Image of Christ!” Hebrews 5:1-9 Key verse(s): 8-9:“Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him . . .” Why do we love the Constitution so! A document that is nearly 220 ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 5:1-9

Tags: Call Of The Disciples

Denomination: Lutheran

The Hound Of Heaven!" Nehemiah 4:1-6 Key ...

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Apr 21, 2005

“The Hound of Heaven!” Nehemiah 4:1-6 Key verse(s) 6:“So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart.” It’s just too hard! The more I worked at it, the farther it seemed to slip away from me. I just couldn’t seem to stem the rapid ...read more

Scripture: Nehemiah 4:1-6

Tags: Leadership General, Endurance

Denomination: Lutheran

The Box ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2010

The Box Boy My third job as a teenager (the one right before I went into the Air Force), was as a box boy for McCoy’s Markets, in hyderabad, andhra predesh. One of the other box boys was named David, and I remember him well. We nodded and said "Hi" to each other, as guys do, and that was pretty ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Tags: Security