In Sermon Illustrations: "Becoming The Church"

Psalm 1 And Gambling

Contributed by Marianne Unger on May 22, 2009

PSALM 1 AND GAMBLING If you go to the casino to find fulfillment and play craps, you’ll find when the dice are rolled, there are a possibility of 64 combinations for which you desire the outcome to be a 7 or 11 or snake eyes, depending on how you’ve placed your bets. The roulette wheel gives ...read more

Tags: Assurance Of Salvation

Denomination: *other

Chuck Swindoll: Joseph's Life Story

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Jul 2, 2009

Chuck Swindoll: In the fifty chapters of Genesis Joseph’s life story takes up one-fourth of the chapters. His life can be divided up into three sections: • Birth to Seventeen Years (Genesis 30:24-37:2) o During this time Joseph’s family was is transition-everyone was unsettled, on the move. A ...read more

Tags: Joseph

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Faithfulness In ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 19, 2009

Faithfulness in Battle John Wesley once said: "Give me a hundred men who love nothing but God and hate nothing but sin, and I will shake the whole world for Christ." It doesn’t take many… but it does take someone who decides to be faithful. In December 1944, the German army launched an unexpected ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 5:12

Tags: War, Snow

Battle Dress For Spiritual ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 26, 2009

Battle Dress for Spiritual Warfare Marine recruits were each issued a service bag filled with clothing, in addition to a rifle, a cartridge belt, a bayonet, and a heavy steel helmet. Since those just arriving on base did not know how to care for themselves, recruits were also issued basic supplies ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:13-18

Tags: Spiritual Warfare, War

The Battle Is ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 28, 2009

The Battle is Over Theologians tell a story to illustrate how Christ’s triumph presently benefits our lives: Imagine a city under siege. The enemy that surrounds the city will not let anyone or anything leave. Supplies are running low, and the citizens are fearful. But in the dark of the night, a ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 8:28-34

Tags: Supernatural

Mosquito Repellent Hides A Person From The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 17, 2009

Mosquito Repellent Hides a Person from the Insects Sensors In Hebrew the word ñÈúÇø (say’-ther) literally means “a hiding place - to cover, to hide covertly or secretly”. In fact Psalm 32:7 it is translated as “hiding place” - “You are my hiding place: you will protect me from trouble and surround ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 91:1-16

Tags: God's Provision

Leeches In Burma Fall Off Traveler In Herbal ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 23, 2009

Leeches in Burma Fall Off Traveler in Herbal Bath William Arnot wrote this: "A traveler in Burma, after fording a certain river, found his body covered all over by a swarm of small leeches, busily sucking his blood. His first impulse was to tear them from his flesh: but his servant warned him that ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 18:21-35

Tags: Forgiveness, Forgiveness In Jesus

The Goal Of Bible Study  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 6, 2010

The Goal of Bible Study J. Robertson McQuilkin said, "The goal of all Bible study is to apply the truth of Scripture to life. If that application is not made, all the work put into making sure of the author’s intended meaning will have gone for naught. In fact, to know and not do, doubles the ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 119:18

Tags: Bible Study

I Simply Came To Give...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 21, 2010

"I SIMPLY CAME TO GIVE..." In the middle of President Lincoln’s Presidency, an elderly lady made an appointment to see him. As she entered his office, he inquired, "How can I be of service to you, Madam?" The lady answered, "Mr. President, I know you are a very busy man, and I have not come to ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:6-7

Tags: Gratitude

Feelings Aside

Contributed by Rodelio Mallari on Dec 12, 2010

FEELINGS ASIDE A man once came to a preacher and said, "I was filled with joy in the meeting yesterday. Now it has all gone—all—and I do not know what to do. It is as dark as night." "I am so glad," was the preacher's reply. He looked at the servant of Christ with astonishment and said, "What ...read more

Tags: Assurance Of Salvation

Denomination: *other

The Gentleman Cat

Contributed by Guy Mcgraw on Jun 22, 2011

THE GENTLEMAN CAT Two men sought to prove to their king whether a man had to be "born a gentleman" or could become one by "discipline and training." The one told the other that he would prove his point regarding "training" by showing the king his cat, which he had trained to stand on its back ...read more

Tags: Allegory

All By Myself?

Contributed by Perry Greene on Dec 27, 2011

ALL BY MYSELF? The story is told of an old lady who had moved to the United States from Europe when she was a child, but now she wanted to officially become a citizen of this country. After months of going through all the necessary red tape, she was finally ready to take the required ...read more

Tags: Confidence

Denomination: Independent/Bible

The Holy Spirit Compared To Hydroelectric ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 9, 2012

THE HOLY SPIRIT COMPARED TO HYDROELECTRIC POWER As Christians we may be compared with a reservoir for producing electrical power, like one of those you see when you drive to Niagara Falls. When we accept Christ, construction of our reservoir is complete. We now have the potential to be useful and ...read more

Scripture: Acts 1:8

Tags: Holy Spirit In Believers

Like A Child

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 17, 2012

LIKE A CHILD Yo-Yo Ma, one of the most famous cellists in our day, once said, "When people ask me how they should approach performance, I always tell them that the professional musician should aspire to the state of the beginner. In order to become a professional," he says, "you need to go through ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 18:4

Tags: Humility

We Humans Tend To Come To Blockages And Stop. ...

Contributed by Andrew Moffatt on Dec 28, 2012

We humans tend to come to blockages and stop. The other day I was using a vacuum cleaner, the nice new yellow one here at the hall, I turned it on and it worked (tuned it on made all the right noises). But it had no suck. It had become blocked and jammed with hay where the hose met its body, thanks ...read more

Tags: Prayer Hardship

Denomination: Salvation Army

Transformed Versus Conformed -- The Case Of The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 5, 2013

TRANSFORMED VERSUS CONFORMED -- THE CASE OF THE JAPANESE WATERMELON Farmers in Zentsuji, Japan, are preparing full-grown watermelons for shipment -- only these are no ordinary melons: they're square! They were placed in tempered-glass cubes while they were still growing. Why would anyone want a ...read more

Scripture: James 12:1-2

Tags: Sanctification

How The Mighty Fall

Contributed by Tim Smith on May 12, 2013

HOW THE MIGHTY FALL Jim Collins has written a book called "How the Mighty Fall" about businesses who at one time were strong and effective and yet went from hero to zero during the last decade. Motorola was number one in cell phones in the world in 2004 and today they are on the edge of ...read more

Tags: Pride, Attitude General, Temptation General

Denomination: Methodist

Not Ordinary

Contributed by T.j. Conwell on Apr 18, 2017

When we describe our kitchen to other people we always talk about new appliances, or new counters, or even our new silverware. But, we never describe the wall color to someone. The reason is simple: it is ordinary. Everyone has it, it’s not worth mentioning, and so we don’t even consider ...read more

Scripture: Acts 2:24

Tags: Jesus, Jesus Christ, Ordinary, Extraordinary

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Disguised

Contributed by Glynda Lomax on Aug 15, 2018

I live in Arkansas. I LOVE when autumn comes and fall leaves drift down on autumn breezes. But in Arkansas, you have to be careful about those leaves on the ground because some of them conceal SERPENTS. There are lots of Copperhead Snakes here. Copperheads are venomous Pit Vipers that strike you ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 11:14, Genesis 4:7, Genesis 3:1, Proverbs 23:27, Proverbs 22:14, Ecclesiastes 7:26  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Discerning, Affairs, Snares, Sin, Deception, Serpent, Adultery, Deceive, Disguise  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Charismatic

How Do You Give Without Enabling?

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Apr 2, 2022

How do you give biblically and with a Christ-like approach to needy people, yet not enable the person to become co-dependent on your giving heart? (1) Learn to distinguish between DIVINE appointments and drive-by-guiltings (Luke 10:33/ 1 Timothy 5:8/ Deuteronomy 15:11 and Galatians 6:10/ ...read more

Tags: Needs, Enabling, Wisdom, Discernment, Giving, Finances, Tithing, Good Samaritan, Sacrifice  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational