In Sermon Illustrations: "Advent Scripture Reading Plan"

Learned Helplessness

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 5, 2011

LEARNED HELPLESSNESS Learned Helplessness is a term I came across in my reading this week. It is a technical term originally used in reference to animal psychology but is also appropriately applied to human behavior as well. Learned helplessness describes an animal or a person who has learned to ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 29:10-14

Tags: Attitude General

A Purpose For Sheep

Contributed by Chuck Sligh on Jun 14, 2011

A PURPOSE FOR SHEEP Sad to say, millions of people wander through life with no earthly idea what they’re here for. One of the abiding fascinations of my wife here in Germany are sheep. About once a year, a shepherd brings a flock of sheep near our village, and my wife goes out and makes as many ...read more

Tags: God Brings Purpose

Denomination: Baptist

Walking On Water In Los Angeles  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 9, 2011

WALKING ON WATER IN LOS ANGELES [James Bryan Smith, The Good and Beautiful Life (InterVarsity Press, 2010), pp. 131-132 | posted 7/05/2010] In the early 1990s, gang violence erupted in Boyle Heights, a section of East Los Angeles. Eight gangs were in conflict in the parish around the Dolores ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:9

Tags: Christian Witness

Communion: In Remembrance

Contributed by Gene Gregory on Aug 11, 2012

COMMUNION: IN REMEMBRANCE A man was working in his backyard one day, when his neighbor began talking to him over the fence. He said, "Yeah, my wife and I went to one of those seminars yesterday, you know, where they teach you ways to improve your memory and such." His neighbor commented, ...read more

Scripture: James 1:19-21, James 1:19

Tags: Lord's Supper

Denomination: Baptist

What Kind Of Heart Do You Have?  PRO

Contributed by Ken Henson on Sep 23, 2012

WHAT KIND OF HEART DO YOU HAVE? I was reading this week an article by Bryan Doyle. It talks about hummingbirds. Hummingbirds have race car hearts that eat oxygen at an eye-popping rate. Their hearts are built of thinner, leaner fibers than ours. Their arteries are stiffer and more taut. Their ...read more

Tags: Heart

Denomination: *other

Severe Trial Of Affliction

Contributed by Davon Huss on Oct 18, 2014

In his novel The Source, James Michener described a period in Jewish history around 170 BC when the Jews in Palestine faced severe persecution. Greek officials came to Jerusalem and read an edict that forbade any Jew from worshipping Yahweh, and ordered them to lay their hands on an unclean pig ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 11:35-38

Tags: Persecution, Great Commandment, Loyalty To Christ

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Encountering Angels

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Dec 8, 2014

Some years ago, I had occasion to read Madeleine L’Engle’s book, A Wind in the Door. It’s about a young girl named Meg and her brother Charles Wallace. One day, Charles Wallace tells Meg that he has seen a drive of dragons in the broccoli patch. Meg goes with her brother to check it out, but all ...read more

Scripture: Luke 1:5-20

Tags: Books And Literature, Fear, Angels

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Life With God On Your Side Should Get Better, Shouldn't It?

Contributed by Gordon Mcculloch on Aug 31, 2017

5 Storms in my life changed me intensely. Sometimes a storm will follow a great spiritual event just like these disciples had witnessed. … Many years ago, I was having great difficulties, and that is when I turned to Christ, and then I knew that everything in the bible was true, that Jesus was ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 14:22-33

Tags: Doubt, Storm, Difficulties, Confusion, Trials, Doubt And Fear  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Episcopal

Lord Prayer

Contributed by Don Berry-Graham on Nov 17, 2017

We have defined prayer as breathing out self and breathing in God. We breath in a God who is Abba Father Daddy. I loved to play with the kids. I love to play with the grand children. Lego never had lego as a child so love to do it with the kids I now get my lego out before they come and start to ...read more

Scripture: Luke 11:1-3

Tags: Love, Prayer

Denomination: Baptist

Do All Roads Lead To God?

Contributed by Daniel King, D. Min. on Jul 25, 2018

Main Idea: Jesus is the only one way to heaven. Verse: Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6 NKJV). Illustration: I once heard someone say, “All religions ultimately lead to God.” But, think about this question logically. ...read more

Tags: Evangelism, Salvation, Religious Beliefs

Denomination: Charismatic

Who Needs Twitter!

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Aug 20, 2019

We all want our lives to matter, and we believe they only matter if they are noticed by someone. I wonder if this desire for a witness isn't what fuels a lot of blogs, Facebook, and especially Twitter. We want someone, anyone, to take notice … to care about us … to watch us and by their ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 139:1-12

Tags: Communication, Self Esteem, Relationship

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Eragon Vs. Galbatorix

Contributed by Joel Pankow on Sep 17, 2020

Years ago I read through a children’s series called Eragon. Eragon was going to face a strong and evil sorcerer named Galbatorix who had taken over the land through murder and violence. Finally, after battle upon battle to get to him, Eragon was able to confront Galbatorix deep within his lair. ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 18:15

Tags: Sin, Confrontation

Denomination: Lutheran

Limited Vision

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Feb 7, 2022

I once read a lesson about this man, Simeon, he was a shepherd that lived in 390 A.D. He saw how corrupt the world had become. So he decided to LIVE ABOVE ALL THE EVIL and CORRUPTION. So he built a 6 feet tall pillar to be above the evil world. He built a little area and he lived on this ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 29:18, Joel 2:28

Tags: Vision, Dream

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Lost At Sea For Nine Months!

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Mar 15, 2022

LOST AND FOUND - Three Mexican fishermen who disappeared while on a short shark fishing trip were rescued in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, after spending 9 months on the open sea. The men said they survived by eating raw fish, ducks, and seagulls, drinking rainwater, and reading the Bible. They ...read more

Tags: Lost Sheep, Prodigal Son, Luke 15, Celebration, Parables, Lost  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Truth Will Always Come Out.

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Apr 18, 2022

We live in a generation of government corruption and evil that is unparalleled. How long will God tolerate this? The Bible says in Luke 8:17 (NLT), "For all that is secret will eventually be brought into the open, and everything that is concealed will be brought to light and made known to ...read more

Tags: Reaping, Evil, Truth, Corruption, Last Days, Lies, Government  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Mimic The Owner

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Jul 5, 2023

I read of a wealthy woman that owned a very rare and expensive MACAW. It was so beautiful. It was so smart it could talk unbelievable. Over a period of time the MACAW developed an extremely irritating and terrible hacking cough. The lady called the local vet and they discussed the problem and ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 24:19, Romans 8:28

Tags: Pretender, Wounded

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Hatred's Bitter Fruit

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Aug 2, 2023

One of the worst cases of hatred I have ever come across is found in a will written in 1935 by a Mr. Donohoe. It says, "Unto my two daughters, Frances Marie and Denise Victoria, by reason of their unfilial attitude toward a doting father, … I leave the sum of $1.00 to each and a father's ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:28-32

Tags: Love, Family, Anger, Bitterness, Hate, Unforgiveness, Anger Management, Fathers, Daughters  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

One Solitary Life

Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Oct 24, 2025

I’d like to read you a little piece written by an unknown author called One Solitary Life He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in still another village, where he worked in a carpenter’s shop until he was thirty. Then for three years he was an itinerant ...read more

Scripture: John 14:6

Tags: Son Of God, One Solitary Life, Jesus

Denomination: Anglican

How Long Is Eternity

Contributed by Loyd C. Taylor on May 31, 2026

HOW LONG IS ETERNITY? By Loyd C. Taylor, Sr. How long is eternity? No tongue can truly say, We stand before its vast unknown, And feel its weight today. Suppose a bird takes flight Toward the moon so far away, It carries grains and leaves them there, Then brings them back someday. When all that ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16, John 3:36, John 5:24, Matthew 7:12-13, Matthew 7:21-23, Romans 10:9, Romans 6:23, 1 Timothy 1:16, Titus 1:2, Titus 3:7, Jude 1:21  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Eternity, Eternal Life, Forever, Salvation Poems, Poems For Sermons, Funeral Poems, Poems About Heaven  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Goodness Or Just A Smelly Gas! (08.23.05--Under ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Aug 21, 2005

Goodness or Just a Smelly Gas! (08.23.05--Under Pressure!--Romans 15:14) I’ve always been intrigued by LP gas tanks. I guess that it is that mystery of the unseen and the unanticipated that causes the mystique. Around Beech Springs we have a number of them. There’s one in my workshop tied to ...read more

Scripture: Romans 15:14

Tags: God In The Hardships, Endurance

Denomination: Lutheran