In Sermon Illustrations: "Becoming The Church"

Purest Most Average Things In Life Are The ...

Contributed by Peter Loughman on Feb 9, 2010

PUREST MOST AVERAGE things in life are the best. In high school I had the opportunity to spend a week on a working dairy farm with a couple other high school kids from my church. Though it was a family operation it was a big dairy farm. The farm milked cows 24 hours a day. They had so many cows, ...read more

Tags: Purity

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Lucado On Alcoholism

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 23, 2011

LUCADO ON ALCOHOLISM Max Lucado, one of America's great Christian leaders, found that out earlier in his ministry. He once said, "I come from a family of alcoholism. If there's anything about this DNA stuff, I've got it." For more than 20 years, drinking was not a major issue for Lucado, but about ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 3:1-5

Tags: Alcohol

The Relationship Is What Counts  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 24, 2011

THE RELATIONSHIP IS WHAT COUNTS Wayne Cordeiro, a preacher in Honolulu, HI writes: Some time ago some wonderful people in our church gave Anna, my wife, and me a dinner certificate to a nice restaurant for $100. We thought, Wow, a hundred bucks. Let's go for it. We found a free evening. We ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 2:1-7

Tags: Basics Of Christianity

Slaves To Our Words  PRO

Contributed by Jason Bonnicksen on Mar 15, 2011

SLAVES TO OUR WORDS Noted statesman Sir Winston Churchill once said: "We are masters of the unsaid words, but slaves of those we let slip out." Churchill's words echo those penned by King Solomon almost three millennia ago. We're all guilty from time to time; I know I am. There's been times ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 12:22-28

Tags: Wisdom

Denomination: Lutheran

The Preacher And The Farmer  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 5, 2011

THE PREACHER AND THE FARMER Years ago, a young man had just gotten out of Bible College where he’d spent several years learning all the theological terminology that he thought would make him a successful preacher. He’d just been hired at a country church and he was determined to begin bringing new ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 2:1-5

Tags: Evangelism How To

The Last Letter Of Karen Watson

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 18, 2011

THE LAST LETTER OF KAREN WATSON Our International Mission Board is working on a project called "The Last Letter." It’s actually an old tradition of soldiers and missionaries who as they boarded a ship, wrote their family and friends a letter that they think might be their final ...read more

Scripture: Mark 8:34-38

Tags: Missions

Billy Graham's Arena Dreams

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Feb 7, 2012

BILLY GRAHAM'S ARENA DREAMS Billy Graham, in his book "Nearing Home: Life, Faith, and Finishing Well" (pp. 2-3, Thomas Nelson) writes: I have remained a baseball fan, not necessarily of one team over another but of the game itself--the teamwork, the strategy, and the challenge of defeating the ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:28

Tags: Dreams

Denomination: Baptist

John D. Rockefeller's Transformation

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 14, 2012

JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER’S TRANSFORMATION John D. Rockefeller, Sr., was strong and husky when he was a youth. He early determined to earn money and drove himself to the limit. At age 33, he earned his first million dollars. At age 43, he controlled the biggest company in the world. At age 53, he was ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 9:1-15

Tags: Giving General

Jim Buskirk Was Pastor Of Tulsa First Umc For ...

Contributed by Tim Smith on Jul 30, 2012

Jim Buskirk was pastor of Tulsa First UMC for many years. He’s been a mentor in my ministry. I listened to his sermon tapes for years. He once told this story. A man named Henry got off the bus near his church. As he walked up the street, he noticed a young boy sitting by a flower bed near a ...read more

Tags: Widows And Orphans

Denomination: Methodist

Anointing And The Holy Spirit

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Aug 29, 2012

ANOINTING AND THE HOLY SPIRIT In Scripture there seems to be a parallel in the operation of the Holy Spirit and anointing oil: 1. Anointing. The act of anointing indicated the bestowal of authorization through the spirit to act in certain capacities. a. The anointing symbolized the empowerment of ...read more

Tags: Holy Spirit Attributes

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Impersonating A Christian

Contributed by Shawn Miller on Jan 16, 2015

In her recently published book “Dance with the Devil” Barbara Bentley shares her experience with former husband, John Perry, a mysterious man, whose father was supposedly portrayed by John Wayne in a World War II movie. She fell in love with him when He dazzled her and her friends with his heroic ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:21-23

Tags: Hypocrisy, Day Of Judgment, False Believer, Imposter

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Dr Cephas Mashiyach

Contributed by Dr. David Hallum on Sep 28, 2016

Dr Cephas Mashiyach Suppose I were to tell you about a fabulous preacher that I encountered by the name of Dr Cephas Mashiyach? The power of his preaching and his dynamic sermons is unsurpassed. People come from miles around everywhere he goes. Then I told you that Dr Mashiyach was available to ...read more

Scripture: Luke 6:1-26

Tags: Rejection, Rejection Of Jesus, Acceptence

Denomination: Baptist

The Ugliest Suit Ever

Contributed by Jim Butcher on Apr 11, 2018

Note: this story is told from my perspective - Jim Butcher of Madison WV. When I was at Southern Seminary in Louisville, there were a few days in the spring when they offered official photos. It was a professional photographer with a nice backdrop and the prices were reasonable. The seminary ...read more

Tags: Change, Transformation, Appearances

Denomination: Baptist

The Power Of Doubling

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Feb 19, 2021

COME HOME PRODIGAL! COME HOME! COME IN HOPE! COME IN JOY! GOD HAS A BONUS FOR HIS CHILDREN. Zechariah 9:12 Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee; By faith we are prisoners, prisoners that are filled with a hope out ...read more

Scripture: Zechariah 9:12

Tags: Blessings, Double

Denomination: Assembly Of God

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

Jingle Bells At A Funeral?

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Dec 22, 2022

Several years ago, a pretty well-known singing group made a monster mistake at a funeral service. This group traveled all around the USA singing and sharing Christ. One of the men in their home church back in Texas told them that he prayed for them, supported them greatly and loved to hear them ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 1:9

Tags: Christmas, Communication, Confession, Confusion, Embarrassment, Funerals  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Sin No Nym

Contributed by David Dunn on Sep 29, 2025

Sin No Nym Josie loved words. She liked to clap their sounds and spell them out. One day she wrote a big word on her paper: S I N N O N Y M She giggled. “Listen! It sounds like sin–no–name.” --- Word Play at Home Daddy peeked over. “That’s funny,” he said. “What do you think it ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 1:9, Psalm 103:12

Tags: Grace, Forgiveness

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

Soul Food

Contributed by David Dunn on Oct 8, 2025

A certain man who had been absent from church for a long time received an inquiring visit from the Pastor. The man told the Pastor, "I've attended nearly every Sunday for 30 years. In that time, I have heard something like 1,500 sermons. In all of those years, people were shouting ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 103:1-5, Isaiah 40:31, John 6:35

Tags: Worship, Faithfulness, Nourishment

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

No Coasting

Contributed by John Bright on Jan 7, 2026

Whenever the price of gas goes up, people start thinking about saving gas by coasting their cars downhill. I have a vague memory of a news story from way back in the 1970s about a guy who was going downhill and decided to turn the car off to save gas. One little problem – that was when new cars ...read more

Scripture: 2 Peter 1:10-11

Tags: Assurance, Falling

Denomination: Methodist

One Man's Life Provides A Dramatic Answer To The ...  PRO

Contributed by James Dunn on Mar 12, 2002

One man’s life provides a dramatic answer to the question, can God indeed bring positives out of troubled times? This young man’s name is David, and he is an awesome picture of God’s using difficulties for good. For years he viewed trials as something that affected only his external world, and any ...read more

Scripture: 2 Samuel 2:6, 2 Samuel 6:6

Tags: Growth In Christ, Hardship Of Life

Denomination: Baptist