In Sermon Illustrations: "Advent Scripture Reading Plan"

The Church--A Hospital For Sinners (The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 7, 2009

The Church--A Hospital for Sinners (The Ragamuffin Gospel) "The Ragamuffin Gospel was written with a specific reading audience in mind. This book is not for the super-spiritual...It is not for legalists who would rather surrender control of their souls to rules rather than run the risk of living ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 9:10-13

Tags: Church Purpose Of

Minister Runs Ad In Local Paper To Invite ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 8, 2009

Minister Runs Ad in Local Paper to Invite Straying Sheep Back into the Fold A few years ago I was reading a book by Stephen Gaukroger. He tells the story of a New York Methodist minister who saw the need to bring his ‘ninety nine righteous’ sheep back into the fold. He put an advert in the local ...read more

Scripture: John 10:1-18

Tags: Parable Lost Sheep

Branded As Christ's Disciple

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 21, 2010

BRANDED AS CHRIST'S DISCIPLE Two Texans were trying to impress each other with the size of their ranches. One asked the other, "What's the name of your ranch?" He replied, "The Rocking R, ABC, Flying W Circle C, Bar U, Staple Four, Box D, Rolling M, Rainbow's End, Silver Spur Ranch." The ...read more

Scripture: Luke 5:1-11

Tags: Discipleship

Facing The Truth: Beverly Sills

Contributed by Dale Pilgrim on Apr 26, 2010

fACING THE TRUTH: BEVERLY SILLS Confession is admission of something; it is an act of disclosure. Here's a story in the Ladies’ Home Journal as once quoted in The Reader’s Digest: Being general director of the New York opera took a toll on Beverly Sills; she ballooned into obesity. "It made me ...read more

Tags: Confession Of Sin

Denomination: Salvation Army

Clinker Bricks  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 28, 2010

CLINKER BRICKS Although at times it seems as though the church is in ruin and rubble, God sees it as a beautiful building. Clinker bricks are bricks that did not quite make it. For some reason or another, they come out of the kiln misshapen or deformed. I read about a Presbyterian Church in New ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:19-21

Tags: Atonement, Redemption, New Life, Born Again, Church Body Of Christ  (view more)  (view less)

Hard Places Cannot Be Mended

Contributed by Sean Harder on Sep 30, 2010

HARD PLACES CANNOT BE MENDED How many of you have read the Pilgrim’s Progress? This is a classic allegory of the Christian journey. The main character, Christian, is on a journey from the city of Destruction to the Celestial City, and along the way him and all the other pilgrims come across ...read more

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Wag Your Tail!

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Nov 30, 2010

WAG YOUR TAIL! When missionaries in the northern part of Alaska, where the Eskimos live, they were trying to get the Bible translated, and they had some difficulty. When you go to translate the Bible in any culture, there’s a difficulty in translating some words, because cultures and languages ...read more

Tags: Joy

Denomination: Brethren

Pride And Peril: The Art Forger

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 6, 2011

PRIDE AND PERIL: THE ART FORGER Yesterday I was reading about a man called Han van Meegeren who was a Dutch artist and an extremely talented ART FORGER. He forged some of the world’s most famous paintings so well that the best art critics and art experts of his time thought his paintings were ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 16:18

Tags: Art

Christian Caste System

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 26, 2011

CHRISTIAN CASTE SYSTEM Division is the opposite of unity. When we exclude or separate others based on race, socioeconomic status, age, appearance or personal hygiene we are dividing. In his autobiography, Mahatma Gandhi wrote that during his student days he read the Gospels seriously and ...read more

Scripture: Mark 11:17

Tags: Racism, Self Cleansing

The Wedding Problem

Contributed by Guy Mcgraw on Jun 22, 2011

THE WEDDING PROBLEM Mary Campbell of Elgin, Illinois that had to say "I do" three times at three different weddings before she finally became Mrs. Randy Peterson. The couple took out their wedding license in Kane County and made all the arrangements for their wedding at a church in Ontarioville. ...read more

Tags: Weddings

What A Waste...?

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Jul 8, 2011

WHAT A WASTE...? When I lived in another city, I became acquainted with an organization called the Wycliffe Bible Translators. In fact, we had a man come speak to our church. I’ll never forget the impression he made on me. He had a PhD in linguistics. He was an incredibly well-educated and gifted ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:24-43, Matthew 13:1-9

Tags: Servanthood

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Journaling Experiment

Contributed by Brad Henry on Jul 26, 2011

JOURNALING EXPERIMENT Please try this experiment. Take out a piece of paper and on the left side of the paper write down all the things that you are burdened with. On the right side of the paper write down all the things that God has either protected you from or trials that He has gotten you ...read more

Tags: Faith General

Poem: Ozymandias By Shelley

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 23, 2011

Poem: Ozymandias by Shelley I met a traveler from an antique land Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand, Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions ...read more

Scripture: James 4:13-15

Tags: Power

All By Myself?

Contributed by Perry Greene on Dec 27, 2011

ALL BY MYSELF? The story is told of an old lady who had moved to the United States from Europe when she was a child, but now she wanted to officially become a citizen of this country. After months of going through all the necessary red tape, she was finally ready to take the required ...read more

Tags: Confidence

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

A Brief Excerpt From The Biography* Of ...

Contributed by Suresh Manoharan on Sep 18, 2012

A brief excerpt from the Biography* of D.Livingstone that immortal missionary to Africa captures the essence of his ministry…on how he had modeled it on His master. ‘They (people to whom he ministered) had decided to go to Kolobeng, too, for they felt that they could not live without their white ...read more

Tags: Jesus' Ministry

Denomination: *other

Woman Returns Stolen Money

Contributed by Matt Neace on Aug 7, 2018

An Arkansas woman's stolen cash was turned over to police with a letter of apology from the thief who took it from her wallet. Susan McNabb said she left her wallet, and the $160 cash it contained, behind at the Walmart store in Clinton, and when she returned a short time later, the wallet was ...read more

Tags: Remorse, Integrity, Guilt, Conscience

Denomination: Baptist

The Man In History Who Refused His Own Pardon

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Dec 18, 2021

In the early 1800’s, President Andrew Jackson issued a full pardon to George Wilson, a man sentenced to be hanged for his crime. However, believe it or not, George Wilson refused the pardon from President Jackson. But could he legally refuse the President’s pardon? Supreme Court Justice John ...read more

Scripture: John 1:1-12

Tags: Salvation, The Gospel, Pardon, How To Be Saved, Choices, Receiving Christ, Evangelism  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Buried With A Fire Extinguisher!

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jun 6, 2022

An interesting newspaper clipping from 1999 told of a British man who was quite a character. Two or three days AFTER his funeral his friends started getting signed postcards from him. The cards said "wish you were here" and were addressed from ...read more

Tags: Hell, Death, Eternity, Judgment, Deceived  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

A Strong Foundation

Contributed by John Bright on Feb 2, 2025

The foundation of your house is important to making sure it continues to stand. The foundation of a skyscraper is even more important. Years ago, I read that the challenge for making buildings taller and taller was not adding floors on top – the challenge is adding to the base. Three ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:24-27

Tags: Bible, Foundation

Denomination: Methodist

The Story Is Told Of A Sunday Class That Had Been ...  PRO

Contributed by Charles R. Swindoll on Nov 18, 2004

The story is told of a Sunday class that had been asked the question, ¡§in your time of discouragement, what is your favorite Scripture.¡¨ A young man said, ¡§the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want Psalm 23:1.¡¨ A middle age woman said, ¡§God is my refuge and strength, a very present help in ...read more

Tags: Hardship Of Life, Death, Workplace Unemployment

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational