In Sermon Illustrations: "Absolutes"

What Are You Afraid Of? The Barney Story

Contributed by Michael Deutsch on Sep 11, 2012

WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF? THE BARNEY STORY A few years ago, a church in Seattle, Washington was having a big kick-off Sunday. They wanted to do something for their children's programs. So they brought in Barney the Dinosaur. They learned, Kids like Barney when he’s on TV or in a stuffed animal. ...read more

Tags: Fear And Worry

Denomination: Baptist

A Pastor's Dream Of His Own Worship Service  PRO

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jan 28, 2014

A PASTOR’S DREAM OF HIS OWN WORSHIP SERVICE The story is told of a pastor of a large church who had a dream one night that really opened his eyes. He dreamed that he could see his own church worship service on Sunday morning. But there was something very strange happening. The choir was ...read more

Scripture: 1 Samuel 16:7

Tags: Church, Worship, Devotion, Intimacy With God

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Beauty

Contributed by Tim Smith on Sep 25, 2016

Pastor Randy Kanipe tells the story of a Sabbath time away from his church while he was struggling with failure. He happened to be walking by a cow pasture and stopped to gaze over the fence, pondering the ’green pastures’ that he imagined God leading him through - my attention was drawn down to a ...read more

Scripture: James 3:2, John 1:5

Tags: Failure, Failures, Poop

Denomination: Methodist

Singing When I Am Hurt?

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Jul 16, 2024

WHEN I AM HURT? GO FIGURE? I LOVE BIRDS. I LOVE TO WATCH BIRDS. EACH FAMILY OF BIRDS HAVE THEIR OWN DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS. In my limited study of birds I ran across WHAT IS CALLED ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SONG BIRDS. This SINGING BIRD is unique in many ways. This special little bird is ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 137:1-3

Tags: Hope, Sing, Song In The Night

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Talking Dog For Sale!

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Oct 13, 2024

A guy sees a sign in front of a house: "Talking Dog for Sale." He rings the bell and the owner tells him the dog is in the backyard. The guy goes into the backyard and sees an old black mutt just sitting there. "You talk?" he asks. "Yep," the mutt replies. "So, ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 12:22, Colossians 3:9, Exodus 20:16

Tags: Truth, Lies, Deceit, Dogs, Sermon Introductions  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

I Want You To Imagine A Couple Sitting In A ...  PRO

Contributed by Steve Lucas on Jul 30, 2005

I want you to imagine a couple sitting in a coffee shop. And you are one table over. Have you ever done this? You just kind of eavesdrop. You know, those coffee shops are small enough; you can hear almost every conversation in the room. You know, just have your laptop open so they don’t know you ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 1:9-14

Tags: Romantic Love

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Just Prior To The 2002 Olympics I Was Asked By ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 11, 2005

Just prior to the 2002 Olympics I was asked by Arturo Kinch of Costa Rica to coach him in Cross Country skiing. This wasn’t Arturo’s first Olympics or ski experience. In fact I realized that this former missionary kid, who hadn’t even seen snow until he was 19, was somewhat of a folk hero in ...read more

Tags: Promises Of God

A Jewish Man Had A Son Who Did Not Take His Faith ...  PRO

Contributed by Mitchell Skelton on Oct 14, 2003

A Jewish man had a son who did not take his faith seriously. The father warned him that if his attitude did not change, he would send the boy to the Holy Land to become a good Jew. The son continued to refuse and true to his word, the father sent the son off to the Holy Land. Six months later the ...read more

Tags: Jesus Christ, Divinity Of Christ

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

I'm Not Much Of A Cook, And Even When I Do, It's ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

I’m not much of a cook, and even when I do, it’s just by means of the 4 basic food groups—frozen, canned, instant, and micro waved. So when my wife, who is a good cook, asked me to go to the store for ‘cream of tartar’, I proudly marched off stating I needed no help from her in locating it. Off I ...read more

Tags: Parable General

Christmas Eve, 1953

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Christmas eve, 1953 New Zealand’s worst railway disaster occurred on Christmas Eve, 1953. The Wellington-Auckland night express plunged into the flooded Whangaehu River just west of Tangiwai, near Waiouru. Of the 285 people on board, 151 were killed. The tragedy left a nation in mourning and ...read more

Tags: Easter Good Friday

Just Prior To The 2002 Olympics, A Trainer Was ...

Contributed by Terry Blankenship on Feb 27, 2008

Just prior to the 2002 Olympics, a trainer was asked by Arturo Kinch of Costa Rica to coach him in Cross Country skiing. This wasn’t Arturo’s first Olympics or ski experience. In fact, the trainer realized that this former missionary kid, who hadn’t even seen snow until he was 19, was somewhat of a ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

In 1988, Author Robert Fulghum Had A Book ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 31, 2008

In 1988, author Robert Fulghum had a book published entitled, “All I really need to know I learned in Kindergarten”. The idea behind the little book was that since the basics of human social behavior are taught us as young children, such as kindness, fairness, cleaning up after yourself, sharing ...read more

Tags: Worry, Burden

One Giant Leap For Mankind  PRO

Contributed by Bruce Howell on Dec 10, 2008

ONE GIANT LEAP FOR MANKIND ONE OF THE GREAT EVENTS OF THE 20TH CENTURY took place on July 20th, 1969, at exactly 4:17 P.M., EDT, when the Lunar Module "Eagle" landed on the surface of the moon. The Apollo 11 mission was the first manned mission to land on the moon. It was the 5th human spaceflight ...read more

Tags: Christmas

Denomination: Wesleyan

South Park: God's Authority

Contributed by Johnny Wilson on Feb 15, 2009

SOUTH PARK: GOD'S AUTHORITY The hostile atheists do not want to admit that God is Creator because such an admission would give God authority over their lives. They would rather serve chance so that all experience is relative and so that there are no absolutes-—except perhaps, their certainty that ...read more

Tags: Atheism

Denomination: *other

He Died For Me  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 27, 2009

HE DIED FOR ME During the U.S. Civil War, conscription was not absolute. The drafted man could always hire a substitute if he could afford it. Starting in 1862, the U.S. government allowed this escape from military service on the theory that, so long as each name drawn from the wheel produced a ...read more

Scripture: Romans 3:21-30

Tags: Cross

Decision Without Determination

Contributed by Mark Eberly on Jul 28, 2009

DECISION WITHOUT DETERMINATION Some choose and pray a prayer. This is the great heresy of the last hundred years. I made a choice when I was ten. But there is no determination. I have been convinced by the Lord that a decision without determination and effort is absolutely meaningless. In ...read more

Tags: Discipleship

Denomination: Church Of God

Laws Of Stewardship, Sowing And ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 26, 2009

Laws of Stewardship, Sowing and Reaping A few of the Laws of Stewardship and of Sowing and Reaping: THE LAW OF RIGHTFUL OWNERSHIP – Nothing truly belongs to us; everything actually belongs to God. THE LAW OF PURPOSEFUL POSSESSION – Wise stewards are guided by lordship, not “hoardship.” THE LAW ...read more

Tags: Stewardship

Why Ministers Fall Into ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 28, 2009

Why Ministers Fall Into Immorality WHAT TYPES OF INSURANCE DO YOU CARRY? Health Insurance Auto Insurance Home Owners Insurance Life Insurance Title Insurance Insurance companies look for good risk individuals and avoid bad risks. All of us like hearing, we are a Preferred Risk! Dr. Howard ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 6:18-20

Tags: Pornography

A Man Doesnt' Recognize The Answer To His Prayer ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 8, 2009

A Man Doesnt’ Recognize the Answer To His Prayer Because of Laziness A man, who had been a churchgoer since boyhood from a remote village went to his town one day and saw advertisements and billboards along the highway. He saw advertisements endorsing a brand of dairy products – milk, cheese, ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 10:4

Tags: Prayer Answered

God's Cures/Remedies For...

Contributed by Timothy Brown on Feb 14, 2010

God's Cures/Remedies for... * Worry: John 14:1, "Let not your heart be troubled, ye believe in God, believe also in me..." * A broken heart: Psalm 147:3-6, "He heals the brokenhearted, binding up their wounds. He counts the stars and calls them all by name. How great is our Lord! His power is ...read more

Tags: Anxiety

Denomination: Baptist