In Sermon Illustrations: "Appear"

The Prince Of Peace And The Pauper

Contributed by Clark Tanner on Feb 2, 2009

THE PRINCE OF PEACE AND THE PAUPER It may be a poor example, but I draw from Mark Twain's classic "The Prince and The Pauper." Ten-year-old Prince Edward, spoiled and bored, finds a pauper boy, Tom Conti, who is his precise double in appearance. The two trade places on a lark, but the Prince ...read more

Tags: Jesus Life

Denomination: Orthodox

Transparency And Real ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 17, 2009

TRANSPARENCY AND REAL LIFE I can right off the top of my head think of at least three falsehoods that many people still call the truth today: 1. "Every day in every way our world is getting better, better, better." I sure would like to meet the person who first wrote those words, wouldn’t you? ...read more

Tags: Truth

God's Salvation ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 17, 2009

GOD’S SALVATION CHURCH In the 1990s, a cult from Taiwan relocated to San Dimas, California, and registered itself as God’s Salvation Church. In 1997, the Chen Tao cult, also known as the Flying Saucer cult, led by Hon-Ming Chen, headed to Garland (mistaken for "God Land"), Texas, where they expect ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 24:1-51

Tags: Rapture

The Swiss Fusion Man

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 17, 2009

THE SWISS FUSION MAN On May 14, 2008, Swiss aviation enthusiast and inventor Yves Rossy became the first man in the world to fly with wings and four jet engines strapped to his body. The inaugural flight in Bex, Switzerland lasted six minutes. The 48-year-old daredevil made his first public ...read more

Tags: Confidence

Power Of The Flesh  PRO

Contributed by Daniel Olukoya on Apr 17, 2009

POWER OF THE FLESH A certain man was in very big trouble. He was sacked from five jobs. When he could not feed his family again, his wife ran away, leaving him with three daughters. To worsen his sorrow, his first daughter became pregnant while in form three. When he tried to beat her, she said, ...read more

Tags: Pride

Denomination: Pentecostal

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

Pull For The Shore, Sailor

Contributed by Dwight L. Moody on Jun 11, 2009

PULL FOR THE SHORE, SAILOR A vessel was wrecked off the shore. Eager eyes were watching and strong arms manned the life-boat. For hours they tried to reach that vessel through the great breakers that raged and foamed on the sand-bank, but it seemed impossible. The boat appeared to be leaving the ...read more

Tags: Heaven

Denomination: *other

Radical Faith  PRO

Contributed by Ken Pell on Jan 24, 2011

RADICAL FAITH I want to read to you the opening story from David Platt's book "The Radical Question" (Multnomah Press). Imagine a scene that took place in Asia not so long ago: A room in an ordinary house, dimly lit, all the blinds on the windows closed. Twenty leaders from churches in the ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 12:10-17

Tags: Persecution, Better Together

Denomination: Nazarene

Saved By Hope

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 17, 2011

SAVED BY HOPE An interesting item appeared in a Nashville newspaper, datelined Memphis (UPI): A woman named Hope pulled a man from chilly harbor waters after watching him drive his car off the bank in an apparent suicide attempt. Hope Phillips, thirty-eight, said Monday she was sitting in her car ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 42:1-11

Tags: God Brings Hope

Hope Of Maria

Contributed by Ken Pell on Jun 5, 2011

HOPE OF MARIA Hope weans God’s people from seeking and trusting this world. The story is told of Maria. She lived in a small town in southern Kentucky. She did not see or hear from her husband for years. Edward was assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division during the Korean war and captured when the ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 3:2-3

Tags: Pleasing God, God Brings Hope

Denomination: Nazarene

Give God The Big Stuff, Too

Contributed by Sean Harder on Aug 5, 2011

GIVE GOD THE BIG STUFF, TOO I am mechanically inept and every once in a while I try to do some mechanical thing. Sometimes it's as simple as trying to put up a light fixture. Inevitably it fights back and doesn't go easily. I start getting frustrated and forcing the issue, usually making it worse. ...read more

Tags: Trust

Basic Training

Contributed by John Telgren on Feb 11, 2017

I hated shining shoes in Basic Training. There were other things I would rather be doing instead of sitting on the floor with a brush and mounds of cotton balls stained with black Kiwi shoe polish! If our boots and dress shoes were not perfect we paid for it dearly! During one of our trips to the ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 2:15, 2 Timothy 2:15

Tags: Diligence, Diligently, Diligent

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Pardoned Fugitive

Contributed by Roger Byrd on Jul 17, 2021

He was an unlikely criminal. In the difficult days after World War I, many veterans like Robert Elliot Burns had taken to “riding the rails” in search of work. A native of New Jersey, Burns had found the times very trying so when a friend told him of a job, he immediately agreed. The problem was ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 11:28

Tags: Pardon, Historical

Denomination: Baptist

Rejoice, We Conquer!

Contributed by Roger Byrd on Jul 18, 2021

In the year 490 B.C., the Persian Army, seeking to invade Greece, landed a large force 26 miles outside of Athens. The huge army disembarked from their warships and gathered on the plains of a place called Marathon. There they prepared to attack the Greek Army and establish their presence in ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 2:15

Tags: Victory, Historical

Denomination: Baptist

Martin Luther And The Gospel

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Jul 20, 2022

Martin Luther: 1483-1546 In 2017 – the 400th anniversary of the Reformation, I had the privilege to visit Wittenberg, Germany, birthplace of the Reformation. I walked the cobblestone streets, and even toured Luther’s home. The prodigious Martin Luther appeared headed for the legal profession but ...read more

Scripture: Romans 1:17, 1 Corinthians 15:1-8, Galatians 1:1-9

Tags: Faith, Salvation, Gospel, The Cross, Reformation, Justification By Faith  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Ukraine & God's Masterplan

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Nov 28, 2022

Closed Doors - Open Doors My first trip to Ukraine was in 2000. We visited Kiev and L'viv to connect with ministry training institutions. In 2002 I made my first teaching trip to L'viv to teach at L'viv Theological Seminary (LTS). It was so rewarding to contribute to God's work in ...read more

Scripture: James 4:13-17, Romans 12:1-2

Tags: Direction, Obedience, Sovereignty Of God, Ukraine

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Victorious Living

Contributed by Jerry Cosper on Feb 13, 2023

2 weeks ago as I sat in the office of my lawyer, he showed me a photocopy of a handwritten letter from Abraham Lincoln that was written to my lawyer’s great-great uncle. The uncle happened to be the president of the University of Pennsylvania at that time. He was involved in writing a pamphlet on ...read more

Scripture: John 16:19-22

Tags: Victory, Hard Times

Denomination: Baptist

Moved By Grace

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Apr 20, 2023

The word itself... grace... has become trite and debased through misuse and overuse. It does not move us the way it moved our early Christian ancestors. In some European countries, certain high ecclesiastical officials are still called, Your Grace. Sportswriters spoke of Michael Jordan's easy ...read more

Scripture: Romans 1:17

Tags: Grace, Lacking In Grace, Scandal Of Grace

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

I Missed The Sunrise

Contributed by Austin W. Duncan on Apr 17, 2026

I recently had the chance to visit Acadia National Park in Maine. There's a place there, Cadillac Mountain, where you can be one of the first people in the entire country to see the sunrise. While the rest of America is still in darkness, light first makes its appearance on that mountaintop. I ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 9:2

Tags: Hope, God's Faithfulness

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Warped Floor

Contributed by Austin W. Duncan on Apr 18, 2026

One evening Cassy and I were at home, about to eat dinner together, which doesn't always get to happen. I opened the silverware drawer to grab a fork and noticed something. Mold. I felt the edge of the drawer and it was wet. I opened the cabinet below, and those walls were wet too. I opened the ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 1:12-14, Romans 8:28

Tags: Joy, Perspective, Trials

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational