In Sermon Illustrations: "Almost"

Prayer Is The Strongest Form Of Abiding That ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 27, 2008

Prayer is the strongest form of abiding that there is. -- A retired teacher was giving her little nephew some help with his schools work. He was normally a good, attentive child, but on this occasion he could not fix his mind on his work. Suddenly he said, "Aunt Sally, may I kneel down and ask God ...read more

Tags: Prayer General

You Are My Favorite ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 10, 2009

YOU ARE MY FAVORITE PART Dave Stone wrote in "If Jesus Lived in My Neighborhood" about his uncle Greg, who is a quadriplegic. A few years ago, Uncle Greg was able to attend a special-needs camp at Country Lake Christian Retreat in southern Indiana. A man named John was assigned to be with Uncle ...read more

Tags: Servanthood

Strange Inside And Out

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 17, 2009

STRANGE INSIDE AND OUT In May 2008, scientists finally completed analyzing the DNA of the platypus, a creature native to Australia that defies categorization under bird, reptile or mammal. The platypus is so odd that when the first specimens were sent to Europe in the 19th century, scientists ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 2:1-16, 1 Peter 2:11

Tags: God's Sovereign Will

What's Up With Jesus?  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 17, 2009

WHAT’S UP WITH JESUS? Renowned theologian Karl Barth was lecturing to a group of students at Princeton when a student asked him, "Sir, don’t you think that God has revealed himself in other religions and not only in Christianity?" With a modest thunder he stunned the crowd, replying, "No, God has ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 16:13-20

Tags: Jesus Christ

Obama Is Not The Messiah  PRO

Contributed by Warner Pidgeon on Apr 4, 2009

OBAMA IS NOT THE MESSIAH President Barack Obama arrived at Stansted airport last week from America, complete with armoured limousines, helicopters, 200 US Secret Service staff and a six-doctor medical team. More than 500 officials and staff accompanied Obama, along with a mass of high-tech ...read more

Tags: Easter Palm Sunday

Denomination: Anglican

Don't Wait On The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 8, 2009

DON’T WAIT ON THE DECISION I recently heard a terrible story about a young man who made a bad decision. The church of a pastor friend of mine had a drama about hell, and a mother brought her 26-year-old son who had been in rehab. When the pastor gave the invitation, the mother got up to go to the ...read more

Scripture: Acts 26:26-29

Tags: Salvation

Reconcilation Story

Contributed by Jim Kane on May 18, 2009

RECONCILATION STORY It was a conversation that has stuck with me over the years. I was not a part of the conversation, per se, but I was a part of the audience that listened. I think that it took place in 1986 but I cannot remember. It was, I remember, a Sunday night at the church where I was ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness For Others

Denomination: Church Of God

Divorce Doesn't Mean Happiness

Contributed by Jeffrey Wildrick on Jun 29, 2009

DIVORCE DOESN'T MEAN HAPPINESS Survey of those who had been seriously considering divorce. Five years later, revisited. Some had divorced, some had done hard work to stay together. On repeat survey, those who had done hard work and stayed together rated their lives as happier than those who’d ...read more

Tags: Divorce

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Kokomo Tribune Writer Scott Smith Wrote An ...

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Aug 3, 2009

Kokomo Tribune writer Scott Smith wrote an article for the Kokomo Tribune headlined, "Dam destruction part of Wildcat Creek’s revival." It reads: "The water upstream from the old Continental Steel dam looks almost stagnant. The streambed is deep, and the surface untroubled. But the lack of rills ...read more

Tags: Purity, Trials And Difficulties

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Missionaries' Lives Spared From Marytrdom As They ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 22, 2009

Missionaries’ Lives Spared from Marytrdom As They Sang the Hymn, "Face to Face" Many years ago, a band of Chinese terrorists had captured Rev. and Mrs. Porteous, who were serving as missionaries in China with the old China Inland Mission. The terrorists led them to a lonely spot on a hill and ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 10:17-39

Tags: Missions

Renoir On Suffering: The Beauty Remains, The Pain ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 10, 2009

Renoir on Suffering: The Beauty Remains, The Pain Passes Our greatest battles are not won on the mountain tops of life but during the tough times while we are in the valleys. Among the famous painters of the French impressionist school, Henri Matisse and August Renoir were the closest friends. ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 12:1-3

Tags: Suffering Joy In

The First Step In Developing Specific Prayers ...

Contributed by Greg Bond on Dec 28, 2009

The first step in developing specific prayers for your community, oddly enough, is to pray. Start with a specific prayer, asking God to open your eyes to those areas in your community that have the most influence. Ask Him to open your eyes to those things which are beneficial, and those which are ...read more

Tags: Outreach, Opportunity

Denomination: Pentecostal

From Bad To Worse

Contributed by Davon Huss on Oct 29, 2012

FROM BAD TO WORSE 1. Two animal rights protesters were outside a meat packing plant in Bonn, Germany protesting the cruelty of slaughtering pigs.  There protests were ignored and their attempts to stop the slaughter of these animals was unheeded.  However, things went from bad to worse when the ...read more

Tags: Hardship Of Life

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Vastness Of Space

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Jan 2, 2015

I have read that the nearest star to our sun is called Proxima Centauri, and it’s about 4.22 light years away. As you know, a light year is not a measurement of time; it is a measurement of distance. Light is the fastest thing we know of, and a light year is how far it takes light to travel in a ...read more

Scripture: Romans 1:18-23

Tags: Creation, Astronomy

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Standing Up For Persecuted Christians

Contributed by John Crowe on Oct 29, 2015

Michael Horowitz is a Jewish attorney in Washington, D.C. who has done more for persecuted Christians than almost any Christian I know. He recently wrote to me that from his long experience with efforts to help rescue persecuted Christians, his sad experience is that U. S. Christian leaders are ...read more

Scripture: Mark 9:41

Tags: Persecution, Persecuted Christian

Denomination: Baptist

A Close Encounter

Contributed by Steve Kinnard on Feb 15, 2019

A Close Encounter As the great hunter stalks his prey thru the sultry jungle of Africa, the prey is running for his life; but to no avail because nothing escapes the skills of the great white hunter. The prey is trembling with fear as the hunter closes in. Can you see the evil leer in the ...read more

Scripture: Acts 4:1-13

Tags: Grace, Mercy

Denomination: Pentecostal

Complaints -- Duh!

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Feb 11, 2025

These are actual complaints received from dissatisfied customers by Thomas Cook Vacations (based on a Thomas Cook/ABTA survey): a. "It's lazy of the local shopkeepers in Puerto Vallarta to close in the afternoons. I often needed to buy things during 'siesta' time -- this should be ...read more

Scripture: Numbers 11:1, Colossians 3:13, Philippians 2:14

Tags: Wisdom, Contentment, Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction, Sense, Complaints  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Independent/Bible

There Once Was A Fellow Who, With His Dad, ...  PRO

Contributed by Philip Harrelson on Dec 28, 2006

There once was a fellow who, with his dad, farmed a little piece of land. Several times a year they would load up the old ox-drawn cart with vegetables and go into the nearest city to sell their produce. Except for their name and the patch of ground, father and son had little in common. The old ...read more

Denomination: Pentecostal

The Henry Ford Museum In Dearborn, Michigan, Is A ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 29, 2002

The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, is a monument to the Industrial Revolution in America. Created by Henry Ford himself, it chronicles Ford’s innovations that changed forever the nature of work in America. Ironically, next door to the Ford Museum is a different kind of monument – also ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 18:15-20

There Were Two Churches Of Christ In The Small ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

There were two Churches of Christ in the small north Texas town. The church where I ministered had split from the older church years before over some petty differences. I was beginning a sermon series on the "One-another" passages of the Bible, when Gabe, a former elder, got up and walked up to ...read more

Tags: Faith