In Sermon Illustrations: "Better Faith"

Earlier That Same Year, 1885, Three Christian ...  PRO

Contributed by Steve Hereford on Oct 30, 2001

"Earlier that same year, 1885, three Christian boys had shed their blood for Christ in Uganda. The king had ordered the arrest of these page boys in an effort to stamp out Christianity. The eldest was fifteen and the youngest was eleven-year-old Yusufu. They held fast their faith and staked their ...read more

Scripture: John 14:1-12, John 14:12, 2 Timothy 4:7-8

Tags: Christian Disciplines, Forgiveness In Jesus

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Live Churches Verse Dead Churches! (Adapted, ...  PRO

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Jul 10, 2003

LIVE CHURCHES VERSE DEAD CHURCHES! (adapted, WRITER UNKNOWN) Live churches constantly change, --- dead churches resist and refuse change... Live churches love to try, dead churches feel they don’t have to... Live churches have youth that are noisy and can’t be still, dead churches are very ...read more

Tags: Leadership General, Church General

Denomination: Assembly Of God

The Movie ‘shrek 2,' Includes An Obnoxious, For ...

Contributed by Jim Kane on Jan 12, 2007

The movie ‘Shrek 2,’ includes an obnoxious, for lack of a better word, but faithful donkey by the name of ‘donkey.’ The movie is a humorous and satirical take on our favorite childhood fairy tales and includes a trip to that magical place of ‘Far Far Away’ complete with a Hollywood type sign which ...read more

Denomination: Church Of God

How Not To Market The Church

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 10, 2011

HOW NOT TO MARKET THE CHURCH When we speak of marketing the church (writes David Wells) we are not referencing such things as advertising church events, providing excellence in church programming, being kind to visitors, or providing ample parking. No one is arguing the importance and value of ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 3:14-16

Tags: Church Practices

Refining Sap To Maple Syrup  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 3, 2011

REFINING SAP TO MAPLE SYRUP Dr. David Osborn at Denver Seminary says, "Too often we try to use God to change our circumstances, while He is using our circumstances to change us." (Compass, April 2003) You see, God is right now in the process of making us like Christ. Think of the process of ...read more

Scripture: James 1:2-4, Psalm 13:1-6, Psalm 34:15-16

Tags: Sanctification

The Light Of Hope  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 28, 2008

THE LIGHT OF HOPE As Craig T. Kocher in his commentary on our text states, "Christian hope is fundamentally different from optimism. Christian hope locks its steely eyes on the devastation of the world around it, and readily acknowledges that things may not get better. Christian hope does not bury ...read more

Scripture: John 1:9

Tags: John The Baptist

A [recent] Study By The Barna Group Shows That ...

Contributed by Don Parmely on Sep 11, 2006

A [recent] study by The Barna Group shows that despite an intense surge in religious activity and expression in the weeks immediately following 9/11 the faith of Americans is virtually indistinguishable today compared to pre-attack conditions. The director of the Barna study, David Kinnaman, put ...read more

Tags: Christian Values

Denomination: Pentecostal

Education Pays: The Unemployment Rate For All ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

Education Pays: The unemployment rate for all people with a bachelor’s degree or better was just 2.9% in February, vs. 8.5% for people with less than a high school ...read more

Tags: Workplace

If You Make A Product Good Enough Even Though ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 11, 2007

"If you make a product good enough even though you live in the depths of the forest, the public will make a path to your door, says the philosopher. But if you want the public in sufficient numbers, ...read more

Tags: Business And Marketplace

It Is Really Something Of A Feat To Have Lived ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"It is really something of a feat to have lived 75 years, in spite of illnesses, germs, accidents, disasters and wars. And now every fresh day finds me more filled with wonder ...read more

Tags: Hardship Of Life

Not A Mad Dash

Contributed by Tony Abram on May 7, 2008

NOT A MAD DASH God’s Word often refers to the Christian experience as a walk, seldom as a run, and never as a mad dash. We can walk much better if we ...read more

Tags: Trust

Christina Recently Gave Birth To Our First ...

Contributed by Chris Surber on Jun 17, 2010

Christina recently gave birth to our first daughter. After three sons I am very pleased to have a little girl. Recently I was speaking to the academic dean of the seminary where I am pursuing doctoral studies. The school had asked for individual and family photos of students like me who are ...read more

Tags: Suffering Joy In

Denomination: Christian Church

Black Eye Theology

Contributed by Todd Catteau on Sep 12, 2023

With football season in full swing, I often think of my high school football days. I wasn’t very good at all but, as the saying goes, the older I get the better I was. One of my few highlights from those days was a kickoff return. You may be thinking that my story is about a game winning return but ...read more

Scripture: Acts 5:41, 1 Peter 4:16

Tags: Trials, Persecutions, Persecution, Endurance, Trial, Ridicule  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Let's Talk About The Differences Inherent In ...

Contributed by Clark Tanner on Nov 1, 2008

Let’s talk about the differences inherent in being son or servant in any household. Now it may seem more than a stretch to draw from a modern fantasy tale for my illustration, but the story line of Batman offers very good examples of our point. In that story, the boy who will eventually ...read more

Tags: Servanthood

Denomination: Orthodox

Forgiveness

Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Oct 24, 2025

One of my heroes of the faith is the late Richard Wurmbrand who died in February 2001. Wurmbrand was born in Rumania in 1920 as a Jew and became a Christian when he encountered Christ at an early age. He shared his faith with the occupying troops in the 1940’s and the Germans threw him in prison ...read more

Scripture: Luke 11:4

Tags: God's Underground, Wurmbrand

Denomination: Anglican

If You Were Remodeling Your Home And Were Going ...

Contributed by Wm. Darryl Scott Sr D.d. on Sep 6, 2003

IF YOU WERE REMODELING YOUR HOME AND WERE GOING TO ADD AN EXTRA BEDROOM, BUT THE ONLY TOOL YOU HAD WAS A SCREWDRIVER, WOULD YOU WORK AND STRUGGLE TO BUILD THE ROOM WITH ONLY A SCREWDRIVER? OR WOULD YOU GO OUT TO THE STORE AND PAY THE PRICE FOR THE PROPER TOOLS TO GET THE JOB DONE EFFICIENTLY AND ...read more

Tags: Basics Of Christianity, Growth In Christ

Denomination: Baptist

Seeking The Feet Of Jesus On The Farm During ...

Contributed by Tony Abram on Aug 30, 2005

Seeking the feet of Jesus on the farm during prayer so that I might one day hear Him say “Well done good and faithful servant”. Instead He spoke to my heart, that if I wanted to be a “good and faithful servant”, one thing I would have to do all the days of my life and that is to follow where His ...read more

Tags: Discipleship, Call Of The Disciples

Jimmy Carter On Evidence Of Genuine ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 11, 2009

Jimmy Carter On Evidence of Genuine Faith In his book Living Faith Jimmy Carter writes: A group of Christian laymen involved in missionary work approached a small village near an Amish settlement. Seeking a possible convert, they confronted an Amish farmer and asked him, “Brother, are you a ...read more

Scripture: Luke 3:7-18

Tags: Repentance

We Have A Word In Africa - ‘ubuntu’ ...  PRO

Contributed by Emile Wolfaardt on Jul 13, 2001

We have a word in Africa - ‘ubuntu’ - ubuntu says that I can only know myself as I see myself through your eyes - so the closer you stand to me, the better I can ...read more

Tags: Church Small Groups, Church Body Of Christ, Compassion

Denomination: *other

Every So Often We Hear People Clamor For A ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 11, 2007

"Every so often we hear people clamor for a change. Lets change the Constitution, change the form of Government, change everything for better or worse except to change the only thing that needs changing ...read more

Tags: Change