In Sermon Illustrations: "Bad Examples"

So Yesterday I Went Across The Road To Jumbos Takeaways!

Contributed by Andrew Moffatt on Apr 29, 2012

So yesterday I went across the road to Jumbos Takeaways. Just as an aside have you ever noticed that just about every town in New Zealand has a ‘Jumbo’s Takeaway’s’ it’s like the franchise that you have when you’re not having a franchise. There was one in Stoke where I grew up, it wasn’t painted ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16

Tags: Commitment, Food, Commitment To Christ, Commitment To God, Commitment To Church  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Salvation Army

Louis Braille And The Will Of God

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Oct 15, 2019

I do not know if Louis Braille was a believer, but his life is an example of a sovereign God causing all things to work together for good - In the French Academy of Science there is a rather plain, old shoemaker's awl on display. The story behind the awl is quite extraordinary. To look at it, ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:28

Tags: Miracles, Testimony, Will Of God

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Yanking And Pulling.

Contributed by Roy Fowler on Jun 19, 2020

A woman that had boarded a plane to visit family struggled to wedge her suitcase into the tight overhead bin. Eventually triumphantly closing the door and taking her seat. When the plane landed, she got up opened the bin and found her suitcase was struck so she began yanking and tugging. The ...read more

Scripture: James 5:10-11

Tags: Persistence, Resilience

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Room At The Cross For You

Contributed by Davon Huss on Sep 1, 2020

On the deck of a sinking ship stood an African slave- the last man on board. He was to be the last person to get on the last lifeboat. The life boat was loaded to the water line. The slave had something in his arms and the sailors refused to take him until he let that go. He pressed to his ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:12, John 3:16, John 15:13

Tags: Salvation, Cross, Eternal Life, Perish

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Resilience When Faced With Insurmountable Problems

Contributed by Roy Fowler on Sep 13, 2020

A woman that had boarded a plane to visit family struggled to wedge her suitcase into the tight overhead bin. Eventually triumphantly closing the door and taking her seat. When the plane landed, she got up opened the bin and found her suitcase was struck so she began yanking and tugging. The ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 10:28

Tags: Resilience, Insurmountable Problems

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Discipleship Is A Call To Suffer

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 4, 2021

John R. Scott gives a modern example of one who suffered for the gospel observing that… "Few men of this century have understood better the inevitability of suffering than Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He seems never to have wavered in his Christian antagonism to the Nazi regime, although it meant for ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 1:12, Philippians 3:1-20, Romans 1:16

Tags: Church, Commitment, Discipleship, Suffering, Will Of God, Bonhoeffer  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Peter Johnson Related This Story In The April 14, ...

Contributed by R. David Reynolds on Mar 5, 2008

Peter Johnson related this story in the April 14, 1988, issue of USA TODAY. “Have you ever noticed that sometimes we get angry and remain bitter with people and actually forget why we’re so upset? Take, for example, the notorious Hatfield-McCoy feud. “It hit newspaper front pages in the 1880’s, ...read more

Tags: Election

Denomination: Methodist

Crowded Loneliness

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 10, 2008

CROWDED LONELINESS At a recent small groups conference at Saddleback Church Randy Frazee spoke on the "call to community." He reported the average American family manages 35 separate relationships on a day-to-day basis--children, extended family, neighbors, government, school, friends, work, ...read more

Tags: Church Small Groups

An Increasing Number Of People In America And ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 15, 2008

An increasing number of people in America and around the world don't believe in God. The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press has found 20% of Americans ages 18 to 25 say they have no religious affiliation or consider themselves atheists or agnostics, nearly double the rate of 20 years ...read more

Tags: Atheism

God Is Looking For People With Conviciton

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 11, 2008

GOD IS LOOKING FOR PEOPLE WITH CONVICITON DEF: an unshakable belief in something without need for proof or evidence In the events of the bridge collaple here in Minneapolis this past week, you have probably heard of countless examples of people acting with conviction. * Ed Nelson M.P.D. - when you ...read more

Tags: Becoming A Christian

Augustine And The Bible  PRO

Contributed by Bobby Scobey on Mar 3, 2009

AUGUSTINE AND THE BIBLE For 2,000 years the Bible, often unaided by any human intervention, has transformed the lives of those who read it, many times dramatically so. St. Augustine is a good example. For most of his life he was a famed academic in the Roman Empire. He was very successful in ...read more

Scripture: Romans 13:8-19

Tags: Bible Influence

Denomination: Pentecostal

What Forgiveness Is Not

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Dec 31, 2021

WHAT FORGIVENESS IS NOT by Dr. Larry Petton (excerpt from my book, "I CAN'T FORGIVE"). Text: Ephesians chapter 4 Ruth Bell Graham described a successful marriage as the "union of two great forgivers." Forgiveness has been described as, “Me not hurting you, because you ...read more

Tags: Forgive Them, Father, Forgiveness, Bitterness, Unforgiveness  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Jay Fondren Is A Recent Hero. When My Wife ...  PRO

Contributed by Chris Surber on May 24, 2007

Jay Fondren is a recent hero. When my wife Christina was an auditor for the Department of Veterans she met Jay in a Veteran’s Regional Office in Waco, Texas. She was conducting interviews to determine the timeliness of transition between the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans ...read more

Tags: Thanksgiving

Denomination: Christian Church

We Can Get Ourselves In Trouble Fast  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 4, 2001

We can get ourselves in Trouble Fast A burglar broke into a house one day. As he was stealing the valuables he heard a voice out of the darkness that said, "Jesus is watching you". He almost choked. He stoped and looked around and then he shook of his fear and went on stealing some more. ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 28:13-28

Tags: Sin Exposed, Sin General, Sin Punishment Of

All Because Of Prayer

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 15, 2001

ALL BECAUSE OF PRAYER It’s a wonderful story about prayer, about a faith that can sustain people in good times and in bad times," said President Bush Monday, summarizing the tale of Heather Mercer and Dayna Curry, the two Shelter Now workers held by the Taliban for three months. As Mercer and ...read more

Tags: Prayer Adoration

The Action Of Karma  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 18, 2002

THE ACTION OF KARMA The teaching of karma (literally translated the word means “action”) indicates that karma is something negative, the acting is wrong. Karma is something you must be released from. Karma is the reason for the poverty of the beggar; the illness of the sick, and the hopeless ...read more

Held Hostage In The New Year  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 23, 2002

HELD HOSTAGE IN THE NEW YEAR The new year started off rather uniquely for a "nameless" woman in Laingsburg, Michigan. She heard "angry, accented voices" coming from her living room. Fearing her husband was being held hostage by terrorists, she hid in a bathroom closet and whispered to the police ...read more

Tags: Giving Yourself, New Year's Day

The Best Escape  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 6, 2003

THE BEST ESCAPE Escapism is usually thought of as a bad thing, because it is a running away from reality. But we need to see there is much reality that we need to escape from. The stress and tension all around us is real, but we have no obligation to be in a state of constant reaction to it. ...read more

Tags: Peace, God Brings Hope, Disciplines Meditation

Warren Wiersbe (The Bible Exposition Commentary, ...

Contributed by Wes Richard on Jan 7, 2004

Warren Wiersbe (The Bible Exposition Commentary, Vol. 2) tells the story of Harry, a salesman who came out of the manager’s office with a dismal look on his face. “You didn’t get fired, did you?” the secretary asked. “No, it’s not that bad. But he sure did lay into me about my sales ...read more

Tags: Faith

Denomination: Brethren

Grieving Person: It Is So Depressing Being Out ...  PRO

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Jan 26, 2004

Grieving Person: It is so depressing being out of work so long, sometimes I wonder if life is worth living. Not that I’m planning on committing suicide or anything, but this really gets me down. Right Response: I don’t blame you for feeling the way you do. It is bad, and I would probably have ...read more

Tags: Workplace Unemployment

Denomination: Independent/Bible