In Sermon Illustrations: "Better Life"

Walking On Water In Los Angeles  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 9, 2011

WALKING ON WATER IN LOS ANGELES [James Bryan Smith, The Good and Beautiful Life (InterVarsity Press, 2010), pp. 131-132 | posted 7/05/2010] In the early 1990s, gang violence erupted in Boyle Heights, a section of East Los Angeles. Eight gangs were in conflict in the parish around the Dolores ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:9

Tags: Christian Witness

What Occupies Your Heart?

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 12, 2011

WHAT OCCUPIES YOUR HEART? I squirmed a bit as I forced myself to listen to my friend cataloging her problems. After three hours, I interrupted her gently to ask, "If you were to draw a circle to represent your life, what would be in the center?" She thought a moment, then said, "My problems." My ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 26:3

Tags: Death Nearness

Spiritual Consumerism

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 15, 2011

SPIRITUAL CONSUMERISM In February 27 2009 article from the website “Slate” titled, “Why American churchgoers like to shop around” also caught my attention. That article cited statistics from a Barna Group survey that revealed that one in seven adults changes churches each year, and another one in ...read more

Scripture: John 4:19-24

Tags: Church Practices

Yogi Berra: Determination And Direction

Contributed by Perry Greene on Sep 20, 2011

YOGI BERRA: DETERMINATION AND DIRECTION My favorite sports quotations, though, come from Yogi Berra: "Nobody goes to that restaurant any more -- it's too crowded." "If people don't want to come out to the ball park, nobody's going to stop them." Someone asked Yogi what time it was; he said, ...read more

Tags: Discipleship

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

God's Promises And Urban Legends  PRO

Contributed by Scott Carson on Nov 20, 2011

GOD'S PROMISES AND URBAN LEGENDS Do you really believe that being godly is great gain and not financial gain, but something that really matters and lasts? If you believed that, wouldn’t it change your life? Most people believe that if you smoke, you’ll get lung cancer. Many of you quit smoking ...read more

Tags: Christian Values

Denomination: Independent/Bible

A Bad Day  PRO

Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on Jan 17, 2012

A BAD DAY Mr. Insured had just purchased a new 7509cc Honda motorcycle. After a few leisurely trips around the block to become acquainted with this powerful new machine, he parked the cycle in front of his home to show it off to his neighbors. It started to rain, however, and not wanting to get ...read more

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

First Phil And First Phyllis

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Feb 11, 2012

FIRST PHIL AND FIRST PHYLLIS Some years ago, I asked the leaders of our church to do a little exercise with me. I fabricated two imaginary people, one a man and the other a woman. Since this is First Presbyterian Church, I named the man "First Phil" and the woman "First Phyllis." I suggested that ...read more

Tags: Discipleship

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Two Women Praying

Contributed by Robert Sickler on Mar 6, 2012

TWO WOMEN PRAYING There were two widow women, each with only a single son. The two young men both got involved in drugs and they both ended up in prison. The women were devout Christians and both had been in constant prayer for many years. When their two boys were sent to prison the one woman ...read more

Tags: Prayer Answered

Denomination: Christian Church

Kyle Idleman: I Cheapened The Gospel  PRO

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Apr 15, 2012

KYLE IDLEMAN: I CHEAPENED THE GOSPEL "Many of the fans turn to go home. I was struck by the fact that Jesus doesn't chase after them. He doesn't soften his message to make it more appealing. He doesn't send the disciples chasing after them with a creative handout inviting them to come back for a ...read more

Scripture: John 6:60-69

Tags: Easter Palm Sunday

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

An Honors Student In Fort Worth, Texas, Was Sent ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 17, 2012

An honors student in Fort Worth, Texas, was sent to the principal's office and punished for telling a classmate that he believes homosexuality is wrong. Holly Pope said she was "absolutely stunned" when she received a telephone call from an assistant principal at Western Hills High School ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:10-16

Tags: Persecution

The Focus Of The Prayer Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 9, 2012

THE FOCUS OF THE PRAYER OF JABEZ In the year 2000, Bruce Wilkinson of Walk Through the Bible Ministries turned the obscure character in 1 Chronicles 4:9-10 into an international phenomenon with his little book, The Prayer of Jabez. Not only did it become a runaway hit and a longtime New York Times ...read more

Scripture: 1 Chronicles 4:9-10

Tags: Prayer General

What Kind Of Heart Do You Have?  PRO

Contributed by Ken Henson on Sep 23, 2012

WHAT KIND OF HEART DO YOU HAVE? I was reading this week an article by Bryan Doyle. It talks about hummingbirds. Hummingbirds have race car hearts that eat oxygen at an eye-popping rate. Their hearts are built of thinner, leaner fibers than ours. Their arteries are stiffer and more taut. Their ...read more

Tags: Heart

Denomination: *other

H: The Aspirate Word

Contributed by Suresh Manoharan on Jan 22, 2013

H: THE ASPIRATE WORD When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him.....No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be AbraHam, for I have made you a father of many Nations.- Genesis 17:5 God also said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her ...read more

Tags: Restoration

Denomination: *other

Spurgeon On Experiencing Fullness In Heaven

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 8, 2013

SPURGEON ON EXPERIENCING FULLNESS IN HEAVEN The renowned 19th-century English preacher C. H. Spurgeon told this story about King Cyrus, the man who conquered Babylon and freed the Jews from captivity: A visitor who was admiring Cyrus' gardens said it gave him much pleasure. "Ah," said Cyrus, ...read more

Scripture: John 4:34-38

Tags: Evangelism Urgency, Husbands Love

Do Not Trust Your Eyes

Contributed by Tim Smith on May 12, 2013

DO NOT TRUST YOUR EYES The enemy's strategy is to be invisible, so we have to always be on guard. Mike Slaughter tells the story of his mission trip back to Darfur and traveling from their compound in Ed Daein to Adilla Town, which is a six-hour round trip over rough desert terrain. On this ...read more

Tags: Satan

Denomination: Methodist

Somebody Help The Boy

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Jun 28, 2013

SOMEBODY HELP THE BOY I was at home alone with Ryan one morning when I suddenly realized that it had been approximately two minutes since my little explorer had made any noise. (When one babysits with Ryan, silence is definitely not golden.) I immediately began looking for him, searching each room ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 2:20

Tags: Marriage, Parenting

Denomination: Baptist

What Are You Feeding On?  PRO

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 9, 2014

WHAT ARE YOU FEEDING ON? I really enjoy visiting Yellowstone. In fact, one of these days, when Jesus comes back, I've got dubs on Yellowstone! Come and visit me for a while! Once when I was visiting the greatest national park in America, I heard a story about bears that was amazing. In the ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 12:1-13, Exodus 12:1-51

Tags: Sanctification, Lamb Of God, Spiritual Growth, Growth In Christ

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Is Heaven Real?

Contributed by Tim Smith on May 11, 2014

The Bible uses the word heaven 532 times in the Bible. The Hebrew word for "heaven" is shamayim and is plural meaning "heights," "elevations." It is found in the first verse of the Bible. "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" and in Gen 2:1 "Thus the heavens and the earth were ...read more

Scripture: John 14:1-7

Tags: Heaven

Denomination: Methodist

Feed Them

Contributed by Andrew Moffatt on Sep 12, 2016

The thing is that Jesus did perform the miracle, but he didn’t feed the five thousand. You may be thinking here; Andrew you’re just being a bit silly about this. But for Jesus disciples this was one of those great learning moments. The disciples rock up with a problem and Jesus says we'll solve it, ...read more

Scripture: Mark 6:35-44

Tags: Equipped For Service, Miracle, Hands On, Service, Feeding 5000  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Salvation Army

Follow The Light

Contributed by Tim Baker on Jan 5, 2018

When I flew airplanes regularly landing at night was very different than daylight. I would use the instruments to guide me to the airport over most of the trip, but since I was a VFR pilot I would use my eyes outside of the cockpit to land the plane. In the daylight using your eyes to land was ...read more

Tags: Light, Light And Darkness, Light For Our Path

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational