In Sermon Illustrations: "After This"

Get Busy And Cast A Line

Contributed by Keith Peters on Jul 5, 2011

GET BUSY AND CAST A LINE A poor, hungry man stood idly on a bridge watching some fishermen. Seeing one of them with a basket full of fish by his side, he said, "If I had a catch like that, I'd be happy. I'd sell it and buy some food and clothes." "I'll give you that many fish if you do a small ...read more

Tags: Workplace Unemployment

Denomination: Baptist

Gollum And Sin

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Jul 19, 2011

GOLLUM AND SIN Tolkien’s character - Gollum. What a great name. Just from the sound of it, you can tell that it is attached to a ne'er-do-well. Gollum is the slimiest character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy. If you are a true-blue fan of the books, you know that originally this ...read more

Tags: Sin General

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Impact Of Optimism

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 4, 2011

THE IMPACT OF OPTIMISM Just a few years ago (2004), Fox News reported on a study that came from the Archives of General Psychiatry. Researchers studied 1,000 people aged 65-85 trying to determine the importance of a positive attitude in dealing with life. After almost 10 years of follow-up, these ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 1:3-5

Tags: Attitude General

J. Oswald Sanders On Loneliness  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 9, 2011

J. OSWALD SANDERS ON LONELINESS J. Oswald Sanders once pointed out: "The round of pleasure or the amassing of wealth are [often] but vain attempts to escape from the persistent ache. The millionaire is usually a lonely man and the comedian is often more unhappy than his audience." In his book, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:19-34

Tags: Goals, Suffering Loneliness

Risks And Expectations

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 15, 2011

RISKS AND EXPECTATIONS Sohio, the Alaskan subsidiary of Standard Oil of Ohio, drilled a well in the Beaufort Sea in 1983, hoping to tap a geological formation holding several billion barrels of oil. Instead, they hit water, and $120 million went a glimmering. The oil companies know the risk. They ...read more

Scripture: Luke 9:23-26

Tags: Commitment To Christ

Salvation Swing

Contributed by Jason Bonnicksen on Dec 6, 2011

SALVATION SWING I remember back, as though it was yesterday, when my daughters were just little tykes. There was a great playground just down the hill from our seminary apartment where the girls would climb, slide and swing. Day after day they’d ask, "Mom, Dad, can we go to the park and swing?" ...read more

Tags: Encouragement

Denomination: Lutheran

Eckerd: On The Hook With God

Contributed by Dennis Davidson on Jan 23, 2012

ECKERD: ON THE HOOK WITH GOD JACK ECKERD founded the chain of drug stores that bear his name. Eckerd gave his employees Eckerd's shares from his personal stock. By taking advantage of the stock option program offered by Eckerd, his employees benefitted financially in the success of the new ...read more

Tags: Christian Witness

Denomination: Baptist

The Imaginary Ball

Contributed by Guy Mcgraw on Feb 6, 2012

THE IMAGINARY BALL A golfer who had been playing badly went to a psychiatrist who told him to relax by playing a round of golf without a ball. "Do everything you would normally do, but use an imaginary ball." The golfer tried it the next day. He stepped up on the first tee, imagined he got a ...read more

Tags: Confidence

Forgive And Forget

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Feb 15, 2012

FORGIVE AND FORGET There's a wonderful story about the cardinal of the Philippines, named, oddly enough, Cardinal Sin. When Cardinal Sin was a bishop, a young woman in his parish claimed that she had visions of Jesus. Bishop Sin was given the task of determining if these visions were authentic. He ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 1:9

Tags: Forgiveness General

Denomination: Baptist

Spiritual Acne

Contributed by Antonio Silveira on Feb 29, 2012

SPIRITUAL ACNE Have you seen ads for Clearsil, Proactiv, or other acne treatments? They usually exaggerate things and show the face before and aft the application of the "miraculous" product that makes you look good and perfect. They also make sure you get hooked to the remedy so they can bank on ...read more

Scripture: James 1:22-27

Tags: Sanctification

Denomination: Baptist

Ingersoll And The Patience Of God

Contributed by Guy Mcgraw on Mar 5, 2012

INGERSOLL AND THE PATIENCE OF GOD Robert Ingersoll, an American Agnostic, after delivering one of his addresses, pulled his watch from his pocket and said, "According to the Bible, God has struck men to death for blasphemy. I will blaspheme Him and give Him five minutes to strike me dead and ...read more

Tags: Judgment

The Visitor Experience

Contributed by Perry Greene on Mar 29, 2012

THE VISITOR EXPERIENCE Back in the 1980s, a man visited 18 different churches of differing beliefs to find out what churches are really like. The man said that he sat near the front. After each service he walked slowly to the rear; then returned to the front; and then back to the foyer using ...read more

Tags: Outreach

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Because You Did, Dad  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 14, 2012

"BECAUSE YOU DID, DAD." James Bryan Smith begins this chapter of his book by telling a story about taking his six year old son to an amusement park. While at the park, he and his son got on a ride. A teenage boy buckled them into their seats and then started the ride. The entire time during the ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 22:6-18

Tags: Father's Day

God, You're In My Way.  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 28, 2012

"GOD, YOU'RE IN MY WAY." A California pastor, Kyle Idleman, talks about his last move in his book, Not a Fan. In that move, he saved the heaviest piece of furniture for last -- the desk from his office. And as he was pushing and pulling the desk with all his might, his four-year-old son came over ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:6-8, Philippians 4:4-7

Tags: Anxiety

Jesus Freaks

Contributed by Joe Bertone on Jul 23, 2012

JESUS FREAKS In the book, Jesus Freaks, is the story of the Hine family. They lived in Cambodia during the Vietnam War. At that time it was very dangerous to be Christian in Cambodia. They were arrested one day for being Christians and thus enemies of the revolution and bad blood. One morning ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:13-14, Hebrews 11:1-40

Tags: Sacrifice, Paradise, Dying, Sacrifices, Martyr  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

A Surprise Ending For A Couple Who Met ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 16, 2012

A SURPRISE ENDING FOR A COUPLE WHO MET ON-LINE A couple from Zenica, Central Bosnia, are divorcing after accusing each other of being unfaithful following an online affair. “They met online, where he called himself “Prince of Joy,” and she called herself “Sweetie.” Their real names were Sana and ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:22-33

Tags: Marriage Faithfulness

Guiding Light

Contributed by Joe Bertone on Aug 20, 2012

GUIDING LIGHT Do you remember this intro? “And now, The Guiding Light.” It is an old one. According to Guinness Book of World Records The Guiding Light was the longest running drama of all time. It came on the air in January 25, 1937 five days after President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s second ...read more

Scripture: John 8:12

Tags: Darkness, Change, Soap, Jesus Life, Guiding Light  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Match Made In Heaven

Contributed by Ken Henson on Oct 16, 2012

There is a story about a couple that went to heaven and in this life they loved each other, but from a distance. So when they got to heaven, they decided to get married. They said to Peter, "Pete, we want to get married." And Peter says, "You have got eternity, why don't you think of it for 50 ...read more

Tags: Heaven

Denomination: *other

Timanthes And The Do-Over

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Jan 5, 2013

TIMANTHES AND THE DO-OVER Over 2,000 years ago a young Greek artist named Timanthes (Tim-an-thes) painted this picture - The Sacrifice of Iphigenia. Before he painted this masterpiece when the artist Timanthes (Tim-an-thes) was a young man, he studied under a well-known and highly respected tutor. ...read more

Tags: Learning

Denomination: Brethren

The Yanov Torah

Contributed by Perry Greene on Mar 13, 2013

THE YANOV TORAH During World War II, Jewish inmates of the Yanov labor camp in occupied Poland defied their Nazi guards, secretly conducting religious services inside their darkened barracks. To observe their ritual, the Jews had cut religious scrolls into sections, bound the parchment pieces ...read more

Tags: Bible Study, Scripture, The Word

Denomination: Independent/Bible