In Sermon Illustrations: "Being Real"

The Durability Test

Contributed by Antonio Silveira on Jan 8, 2011

THE DURABILITY TEST Endurance is a quality that God expects us to manifest. If you go to an IKEA store, you will find somewhere in the chair department a glass box with what is called the durability test. They have a mechanism that simulates someone sitting on the chair, and they say the chair was ...read more

Tags: Perseverance, Endurance, Struggles, Trial

Denomination: Baptist

Christians Still Persecuted

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 23, 2011

CHRISTIANS STILL PERSECUTED * Last year (July 2009), Catherina Cenzon-DeCarlo, a nurse at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City was told that she would help a doctor perform an abortion or be fired. Even though the hospital knew it was against her Christian values. * In September of 2009 at Pace ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 6:9-11

Tags: Persecution

Hope Is The Dream Of A Soul

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 14, 2011

HOPE IS THE DREAM OF A SOUL When a member of my congregation, 18-year-old Heidi, was thrown from a car back in May and suffered a head injury, it was a real miracle that she recovered and was soon in rehab at Crystus Santa Rosa. She was learning to walk again through rehab and therapy when a young ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 17:17

Tags: Friendship New Friends

De-Sanctified Churches

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 19, 2011

DE-SANCTIFIED CHURCHES Not too long ago, a real estate listing in Dallas had the simple headline: "Converted Church." In other words, what had once been a church facility is now somebody's house. The listing under the heading had this description: "The altar has been adapted for use as a granite ...read more

Scripture: 2 Thessalonians 1:3-4

Tags: Church Purpose Of

The Bible Is The Blueprints

Contributed by Sean Harder on Aug 5, 2011

THE BIBLE IS THE BLUEPRINTS Can you build a real house without blueprints? Sure you can throw up a square storage shed maybe without them, but do you not need to have some kind of visual plan of the dimensions, how many rooms, where the rooms go, and so on in order to start building an actual ...read more

Tags: Bible Influence

Is God Good?

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 25, 2011

IS GOD GOOD? Randy Alcorn talks about what happened to his friend, Ethel Herr in his new book, What Good is God. She had had a double mastectomy. Then two months later, doctors discovered that the cancer had spread. One of Herr's friends in shock asked her, "And how do you feel about God now?" ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 4:12-19

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Defusing A Bomb

Contributed by Tim Hinrichs on Nov 29, 2011

DEFUSING A BOMB The setting is modern day Iraq. A soldier specially trained is cautiously approaching a large cigar-shaped bomb capable of destroying the lives of anyone within half a block. He has good intentions of defusing it and making peace instead of destruction. But the bomb is a real ...read more

Tags: Dealing With Conflicts

Denomination: Lutheran

God, Send Us Bigger Rattlesnakes  PRO

Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on Mar 26, 2012

GOD, SEND US BIGGER RATTLESNAKES There was a farmer who had three sons: Jim, John, and Sam. No one in the family ever attended church or had time for God. The pastor and church members tried for years to interest the family in the things of God, but to no avail. Then one day, a rattlesnake bit ...read more

Tags: Prayer Supplication

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Rain Man Doesn't Understand Inheritance

Contributed by David Ward on Feb 25, 2016

"Rain Man" was the top moneymaking film of 1988, and also won the Oscar for Best Picture. It tells the story of an abrasive and selfish wheeler-dealer named Charlie (Tom Cruise), who discovers that his estranged father has died and bequeathed all of his multimillion-dollar estate to his other son, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:19-34

Tags: Priorities, Wealth And Riches, Eternal Inheritance, Treasures In Heaven

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Last Samurai

Contributed by Jordan Lumbard on Jun 5, 2007

PLAY VIDEO CLIP – THE LAST SAMURAI The Battle of Thermopylae took place in 480 B.C, - With only 300 Spartan Warriors defending their post against a 1 Million man Persian army. - The Spartans put up the most brave and determinied resistance, taking their stand on a little hill, and fighting in a ...read more

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Justin Armour

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Justin Armour The September/October 1996 Issue of Campus Life ran a story about Justin Armour, wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills. Before he played his first pro game, Justin joined some teammates for a night on the town. They ended up by the docs, where one by one his teammates started ...read more

Tags: Temptation Resisting

Let Me Give You An Example Of The Kind Of Faith ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Let me give you an example of the kind of faith and trust that is necessary to become a Christian. The world-famous acrobat, Blondin, was born in France in 1824. His real name was Jean Francois Gravalet. Over the years, he became famous throughout Europe and America. In London he once played a ...read more

Tags: Apologetics General

Its Critical That We Keep In View Were We Are ...

Contributed by Richard Francis on Feb 29, 2008

Its critical that we keep in view were we are going, on a recent trip to the USA I made a mistake on not doing that. I wanted to travel to Bloomington, so booked the flights arrived at the airport, stood for an hour in freezing winds waiting for a taxi, was praying for one to arrive and for me to ...read more

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Metamorphosis

Contributed by Paul Dietz on Aug 16, 2008

Metamorphosis In a world filled with sweet scents and blue sky, Lives the gentle, uplifting butterfly, Whose metamorphosis has this truth to teach: Our aspirations are within our reach. For this fluttering flyer of soaring worth Was at one time a creature that crawled the earth. When she climbed ...read more

Tags: Growth In Christ

Denomination: *other

In The 1500s, Martin Luther Wrote "The Bondage Of ...

Contributed by Glenn Durham on Sep 30, 2008

In the 1500s, Martin Luther wrote "The Bondage of the Will" to defend the Biblical teaching of the depravity of our nature and our slavery to sin. Luther's work was in answer to the writings of Erasmus on free will. Of Erasmus' defense of free will, Luther wrote: "Your book struck me as so ...read more

Tags: Calvinism

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Lee Strobel Story

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 28, 2008

LEE STROBEL STORY I have been fascinated by the testimony and story of Lee Strobel. Lee was a journalist for the Chicago Tribune. By his own testimony he was ruthless. He liked his high end lifestyle of work, travel and partying. By his own admission he was an atheist. He had no time for his ...read more

Tags: Hypocrisy

Love Is Like Candy

Contributed by John Bright on May 22, 2021

I’m talking about love that is a real, tangible – like candy! Since you are watching on video (or reading this at home), you will have to imagine I have a big bag of Hershey Kisses right here. I have LOTS OF CANDY! So - I can claim to be full of candy. What if this candy is the love we have to ...read more

Scripture: Luke 6:27-36

Tags: Love, Enemies

Denomination: Methodist

Obstacles To The Goal

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Oct 29, 2021

COLLEGE: WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU ARE HIT REAL HARD. ROY RIEGELS WILL FOREVER BE KNOWN AS “WRONG WAY ROY.” Roy played for the University of California from 1927 to 1929. Back then freshmen and sophomores never played on varsity. On January 1, 1929 Roy played in the ROSE BOWL. The GOLDEN ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 12:12-15, Matthew 13:45

Tags: Goal, Obstacle

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Death

Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Oct 24, 2025

Paul writing from a prison cell and probably knowing that he would soon die by the sword writes to the Philippians, “I give thanks to my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German pastor imprisoned in 1943 for his political and Christian opposition to the Nazi regime, was ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 1:3

Tags: Death, Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Denomination: Anglican

Duckswaddle?

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Apr 3, 2026

Hear a lesson: THERE WAS A GROUP OF DUCKS THAT LOVED THE LORD, THEY LOVED THEIR DUCK CHURCH AND THEY LOVED THEIR DUCK PASTOR. The ducks waddled to church three times a week. Their duck preacher had heard from the Lord and the duck preacher had a revelation. So the duck preacher preached ...read more

Scripture: Jonah 4:9, Galatians 6:9

Tags: Heavy, More, Fly High

Denomination: Assembly Of God