In Sermon Illustrations: "ask" showing 5,961-5,980 of 8,306

Why Do So Few Christians Share Their Faith?

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Apr 4, 2022

What makes people hesitate to share their faith? Here are some of the fears that have been mentioned to me: "I am afraid I might do more harm than good." "I don't know what to say." "I may not be able to give snappy answers to tricky questions." "I may ...read more

Tags: Great Commission, Fear Of Man, Great Supper, Man Pleasing, Evangelism, Fear, Gospel, Parables, Excuses, Witnessing  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Ten Rules For Improving The Church

Contributed by David Parks on Jun 3, 2022

TEN RULES FOR IMPROVING THE CHURCH 1. Tell yourself over and over that since you are not perfect you would not fit into a perfect congregation, if one existed. 2. Instead of picking out the worldly members to point to, pick out the sincere, dedicated, spiritual members and thank God for them. You ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 6:1-2, 1 Peter 4:8, Matthew 7:1-5

Tags: Church, Encouragement, Judgementalism

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Daniel In The Lion's Den

Contributed by Davon Huss on Sep 13, 2022

Need this picture displayed for illustration: https://www.freebibleimages.org/illustrations/moody-daniel-lions/ Charles Stanley tells of a time when he was struggling with much opposition. In the midst of the turmoil, an elderly member of his church invited him to her apartment for lunch. He ...read more

Tags: Fear, Almighty, Powerful

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Legacy Of Haddon Robinson

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Oct 7, 2022

Haddon Robinson wrote the classic book on preaching called, “Biblical Preaching.” It has sold more copies than any other preaching textbook. He taught and practised expository preaching to thousands. I had the privilege of being one of his students from 1996-1999 in the Doctor of Ministry program ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 90:12, 2 Timothy 4:6-8

Tags: Death, Family, Remember, Legacy

Denomination: Pentecostal

The Obituary Of Someone Else

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Nov 20, 2022

Our church was saddened to learn this week of the death of one of our most valued members, Someone Else.   Someone’s passing creates a vacancy that will be difficult to fill. Else has been with us for many years and for every one of those years, Someone did far more than a normal person’s ...read more

Tags: Service, Sacrifice, Church Members, Volunteers

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Hilarious Christmas Story!!!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Dec 19, 2022

• A Sunday School was putting on a Christmas pageant which included the story of Mary and Joseph coming to the inn. One boy wanted so very much to be Joseph, but when the parts were handed out, a boy he didn’t like was given that part, and he was assigned to be the inn-keeper instead. He was ...read more

Tags: Mary, Nativity, Christmas, Bethlehem, Children, Joseph, Pageants  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

How Long Is Eternity?

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Dec 22, 2022

A young boy went up to his pastor after his sermon and said, "Pastor, how long is forever?" The pastor knelt down by the side of the boy and said, "Why would you ask me that question, Billy?" Billy said, "Well, Pastor, you said that we were going to live in one of two ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16

Tags: Eternity, Heaven, Time, Everlasting Life, Hell  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Praying For Enemies

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 31, 2022

I once invited a guest lecturer to speak to a counseling class I was teaching and asked him to specifically discuss the topic of forgiveness. He told a powerful story from his own life that day to illustrate his point that we should forgive. His brother had many struggles, and one day there was a ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:43-45

Tags: Death, Forgiveness

Simple Confession, Profound Forgiveness

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 31, 2022

In 1818 one out of six women who had children died of something called “childbirth fever.” A doctor’s daily routine back then started in the dissecting room, where he performed autopsies, and from there he made his rounds to examine expectant mothers. No one even thought to wash his hands...at ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 1:9

Tags: Grace, Forgiveness

Moving Story Of A Godly Father

Contributed by J Jeffrey Smead on Mar 13, 2023

Hear our Lords Words: BIBLE Be merciful ... even as your Father (in Heaven) is merciful. END (Luke 6:36) Some time ago ... I heard a touching story .... about a humble, ... consecrated pastor ... whose young son had become.... Extremely ill. After the boy had undergone an exhaustive series of ...read more

Scripture: Luke 6:36, Proverbs 1:8, Matthew 6:1-18

Tags: Father, Father's Day, Salvation, Godly

Denomination: Anglican

What Percentage Will Go To Heaven?

Contributed by Glynda Lomax on Apr 21, 2023

[Pastor Clendennen speaking:] For many years, in the church I pastored, we had an all-night prayer meeting the last Friday night of every month. One such Friday night, out of four-hundred members, there were forty-one of us present. As I was praying, I heard this Word from the Lord: “You are ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 24:40-42, 1 Corinthians 15:52, Revelation 1:7

Tags: Rapture, Bride Of Christ, Return Of Jesus

Denomination: Charismatic

Dirty Windows

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jun 12, 2023

"A friend of mine, Bud Wood, founded Shepherds Home in Wisconsin for boys and girls with developmental disabilities. The original ministry opened its doors in 1964 to 36 children, providing them a loving residential environment and a school that would focus on their unique needs, helping them ...read more

Scripture: John 14:1-6, Philippians 3:20, 1 John 3:1-3

Tags: Return Of Christ, Disabled Children, Revelation, Children, Heaven, Second Coming, Rapture  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Worst Dad Joke Ever

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jul 17, 2023

I usually begin every one of my Sunday sermons with a funny story to get our congregation comfortable before I begin to dive in deeply to the Word of God. If you like dad jokes or puns (old name) and you want to make your congregation groan a little bit.........check this dad joke out! CHESS ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 17:22, Galatians 5:22-23

Tags: Medicine, Dad Jokes, Happiness, Joy, Humor, Laughter  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

In God's Time

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Sep 20, 2023

The little boy walked home from Sunday School and the family were sitting around the old pot-bellied stove talking. The boy told his dad and Pa about the lesson. The boy was so excited. He told them he had gone to the altar and accepted Jesus as his personal Savior. The boy said he was going to ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Tags: Time, Serve

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Fighting Temptation

Contributed by Brian Harvison on Oct 4, 2023

Have you seen the Kid’s Candy Challenge videos? • What happens in the Kid’s Candy Challenge is the parent tells their small child or children that they can have some candy • But they have to wait until mom or dad gets back • The candy is set right in front of them • Along with a phone to ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 4:1-11

Tags: Sin, Temptation, Jesus Cannot Sin

Denomination: Baptist

The Incredible Damage Of Gossip

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 6, 2024

There was a woman in a village who maliciously gossiped about another lady and her family in the village. One day she found out that she was wrong about this lady and her family and had a change of heart. She went to the village’s wise man and asked how she could take back all the wrong she had ...read more

Tags: Mouth, Words, Tongue, Gossip, Division, Wisdom  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Gossip Is Like Scattering Feathers

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 18, 2024

There was a woman in a village who maliciously gossiped about another lady and her family in the village. One day she found out that she was wrong about this lady and her family and had a change of heart. She went to the village’s wise man and asked how she could take back all the wrong she had ...read more

Tags: Words, Speech, Tongue, Gossip, Division, Mouth  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Only Jesus Can Give This Kind Of Forgiveness!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Aug 12, 2024

Bruce Goodrich was being initiated into the cadet corps at Texas A & M University. One night, Bruce was forced to run until he dropped -- but he never got up. Bruce Goodrich died before he even entered college. A short time after the tragedy, Bruce's father wrote this letter to the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:9-15

Tags: Eternity, Parents, Cross, Prayer, Lord's Prayer, Forgiving Others, Enemies, Fathers, Forgivness  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Knowing Scripture

Contributed by Andrew Moffatt on Sep 11, 2024

A bit of an aside, when we were in Sri Lanka, I had the opportunity to attend the opening of one of the well projects in the east. Rochelle went to all of them because she ran the projects. The reason these wells were being placed in villages was because many people in the East didn’t have a good ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 10:17

Tags: Scripture, Belief, Support, Encouragement, Life Change, Opportunity, Disease, Drought, Projects, Good Water, Bad Water, The Afflicted, Eternal Change  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Salvation Army

When God Opened An Unexpected Door For Cliff Barrows

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Nov 10, 2024

Dr. James Dobson wrote a book entitled When God Doesn’t Make Sense, and, in his book, he shared an illustration that is very applicable to the point being drawn from this particular verse. Take a moment and reflect upon the following story: In 1945, a young associate pastor named Cliff married his ...read more

Tags: Will Of God, Call To Ministry, Open Doors, Sovereignty Of God

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational