In Sermon Illustrations: "Beginning" showing 1,301-1,320 of 2,135

No Hate For Evil

Contributed by Davon Huss on Mar 10, 2010

NO HATE FOR EVIL Story taken from Dr. David Jeremiah: The Ortiz family ministers to a small congregation in Ariel, about 40 miles north of Jerusalem. On the Feast of Purim, gifts of food and drink are sent to friends. As if in celebration of the holiday, a gift basket was delivered to the Ortiz ...read more

Tags: Cross

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Sola Fide: By Faith Alone

Contributed by Timothy Brown on Mar 14, 2010

SOLA FIDE: BY FAITH ALONE To prove his point Paul includes a quotation from Habakkuk 2:4, "The just shall live by faith." It was this text--quoted by Paul in Romans 1:17--that ultimately shook Martin Luther to the core and brought him to saving faith in Jesus Christ. On this point, I quote from a ...read more

Tags: Faith

Denomination: Baptist

The Great Violinist, Niccolo Paganini Willed His ...

Contributed by Jason Miller on Mar 29, 2010

The great violinist, Niccolo Paganini willed his marvelous violin to city of Genoa on condition that it must never be played. The wood of such an instrument, while used and handled, wears only slightly, but set aside, it begins to decay. Paganini’s lovely violin has today become worm-eaten and ...read more

Tags: Parable Talents

Denomination: Mennonite

The Secret To Success

Contributed by Pastor Gbenga Shadare on May 4, 2010

THE SECRET TO SUCCESS We see the secret to the success of the Man Jesus. He saturated himself with the divine and consequently he excelled. You don't degrees, qualification or a good family name to excel. You need only Christ. Christ is enough! Christ is sufficient! Your excellence is found in ...read more

Tags: Character

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Frederick And The Confession

Contributed by Dennis Davidson on Jan 18, 2011

FREDERICK AND THE CONFESSION Truth is we can't please God, that is, not on our terms. Nor does it do any good to try and hide our sin. Like Isaiah, we can only be used by God when we're willing to admit, "I am a person of unclean lips." It reminds me of the story of KING FREDERICK II, an ...read more

Tags: Confession Of Sin

Denomination: Baptist

The Hitchhiker

Contributed by Thomas Cash on Mar 3, 2011

THE HITCHHIKER There was a man the side of the road hitch hiking on a very dark night in the middle of a storm. It was late at night and no cars were passing. The storm was so strong he could hardly see a few feet ahead of him. Suddenly, he saw a car coming towards him and stop. Without further ...read more

Tags: Fear And Worry

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Hidden Prayer Results In Revival

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 22, 2011

HIDDEN PRAYER RESULTS IN REVIVAL I heard Brother John Harrell of Bridge City, Texas tell of a church up in the piney woods of east Texas that began to have a tremendous breakthrough revival. An evangelist came in and they started their series of meetings and from the beginning of the meeting, all ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:18

Tags: Prayer Persistence

The Born-Again Vase

Contributed by Michael Walther on May 18, 2011

THE BORN-AGAIN VASE A number of years ago I had the opportunity to tour the Villeroy and Boch porcelain factory in Torgau, Germany. Porcelain is one of the most beautiful and enduring things that human beings can make. Even today much of what we know about ancient cultures comes from what they ...read more

Tags: Bible Truth

Denomination: Lutheran

Pizarro's Critical Moment

Contributed by Dennis Davidson on May 19, 2011

PIZARRO'S CRITICAL MOMENT All great undertakings begin with a critical moment--a moment when a decision is made and someone launches himself into a never-to-be forgotten enterprise. FRANCISCO PIZARRO, the noted Spanish explorer, faced such a moment. He languished with his men on a small island ...read more

Tags: Action

Denomination: Baptist

One Scheme Of The Devil Is To Create A Twisted ...

Contributed by Michael Walther on May 25, 2011

One scheme of the devil is to create a twisted view of God. USA Today ran an article on a very comprehensive religion survey conducted by Baylor University. This survey showed that 96% of Americans believe in some view of God. But of this group 40% , or almost half, believe in a God who does not ...read more

Tags: False Teaching

Denomination: Lutheran

Craving Milk

Contributed by K. Edward Skidmore on Oct 26, 2011

CRAVING MILK I remember our grandkids had ravenous appetites towards mother's milk and they all grew fat as over-stuffed ticks. All 4 of them were roly-poly by 3 months of age. There was an obvious direct corollary between milk ingested and weight gain. Likewise, spiritual infants who crave ...read more

Tags: Basics Of Christianity

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Great Boston Fire Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 27, 2012

THE GREAT BOSTON FIRE OF 1872 In the great Boston fire of 1872, sixty-five acres of land was destroyed. The damage totaled up to $75 million but in our day would be somewhere in the neighborhood of $3 billion. Hundreds of businesses were destroyed. Someone came along and wrote a message on a rough ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:28

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Don't Worry Be ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 8, 2012

DON’T WORRY BE HAPPY The song Don’t Worry Be Happy was a late 80’s chart buster as it gained phenomenal success for such a simple song. The lyrics written by Bobby McFerrin were copied from original Indian sage from the late 1800’s whose mantra was one of peace. I remember the first time I heard ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:25-34

Tags: Worry

The Missionary Service Of Henry ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 16, 2012

THE MISSIONARY SERVICE OF HENRY MARTYN Henry Martyn had already done more than his share of missionary service in India by his late 20s when he announced he was going to Persia. Doctors had told him that the heat would kill him if he stayed in India, and the heat in Persia was worse. Martyn ...read more

Scripture: Mark 10:42-45

Tags: Servanthood

Inspiration: Ten Feet At A Time

Contributed by Dave Clark on Dec 11, 2012

INSPIRATION: TEN FEET AT A TIME Being a provoker doesn’t mean you have to be a perfect person, it just means you have to be a person doing your best in the situations where you find yourself. Several years ago after a devastating California earthquake, the news camera panned a devastated ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 15:1

Tags: Restoration

Denomination: Disciples Of Christ

The Hilarious Baptism Experience!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Mar 2, 2014

I remember the time I came to the platform to officiate in a formal wedding. I had just come out of the bathroom and didn't realize until I was in front of all those people that stuck to my shoe and trailing behind was an eight-foot stream of toilet paper I remember the time I looked down in ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:19-20

Tags: Baptism, Easter, Humor, Pastors

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Heizer Creek Baptism

Contributed by Jim Butcher on Apr 11, 2018

Note: this story happened to me - Jim Butcher of Madison WV. One of my favorite baptism stories comes from a friend of mine who owns a house on Heizer Creek. He had a nice spot on his property to do baptisms and told the nearby country churches they were welcome to use it anytime, which a few of ...read more

Tags: Change, Transformation, Cursing, Baptism

Denomination: Baptist

Don't Monkey Around With Eternity!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on May 31, 2022

I once heard about how animal catchers used to catch wild monkeys for zoos. I was told that they would set an empty glass pop bottle in an open field with a peanut dropped into it. Then they'd hide in the bushes and wait. After a while, a monkey would sneak up to the pop bottle, squeeze its paw ...read more

Tags: Eternity, Commitment, Satan, Discipleship, Temptation, Possessions  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Greedy Little Monkey

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Nov 28, 2022

I once heard about how animal catchers used to catch wild monkeys for zoos. I was told that they would set an empty glass pop bottle in an open field with a peanut dropped into it. Then they'd hide in the bushes and wait. After a while, a monkey would sneak up to the pop bottle, squeeze its paw ...read more

Scripture: Luke 14:25-35, 1 Timothy 6:10

Tags: Money, Greed, Discipleship, Riches, Kingdom, Parables  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

3 Temptations Satan Uses Against Us

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 27, 2023

Eve’s descent into depravity is an illustration of James 1:14-15: “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” This is the Bible’s description of sin’s slippery ...read more

Scripture: James 1:14-15

Tags: Eve, Sin, Satan, Temptation, Garden Of Eden, Backsliding  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational