In Sermon Illustrations: "Bible Translation"

The Importance Of A Name

Contributed by Ovidiu Radulescu on Sep 21, 2010

THE IMPORTANCE OF A NAME I went to a doctor for some pain here, upper side of my stomach… in those days I used to eat 6 times a day like for 3 people… But my doctor was sick too, staying home, another doctor replacing him. His name was Vlad Tzepelea – in translation THE IMPALER… like Dracula… Vlad ...read more

Tags: Commandments God's Name

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

Middle Management

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 8, 2011

MIDDLE MANAGEMENT Cyril Barber, in his commentary on Nehemiah, transfers this principle into all of life; "Middle management involves being able to translate the ideals of one’s superiors into practice and, at the same time, knowing how to motivate one’s subordinates. It necessitates keeping ...read more

Scripture: Mark 3:13-19

Tags: Leadership General

Medicine For ...

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

“Medicine for America” “Peculiar People” Titus 2:14 says, “[Christ] …gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good.” The King James Bible says the Lord will purify unto Himself a “peculiar people.” ...read more

Scripture: Titus 2:14

Tags: Patriotism

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Revelation And Ovaltine

Contributed by Johnny Wilson on Jun 27, 2009

REVELATION AND OVALTINE The word often translated "revelation" or as I translated it, "unveiling," could also be understood as "decoding." Ever heard of those Ovaltine Decoder Rings in the '40s? Ovaltine drink advertisements used to have a coded message on them (as did some of the Ovaltine radio ...read more

Tags: Holy Spirit In Believers

Denomination: *other

The Masai Tribe In West Africa Have An Unusual ...  PRO

Contributed by Lynn Floyd on Nov 18, 2001

The Masai tribe in West Africa have an unusual way of saying "thank you." Translators tell us that when the Masai express thanks, they bow, put their forehead on the ground and say, "My head is in the dirt." When members of another African tribe want to express thanks, they sit for a long time in ...read more

Scripture: Luke 17:11-19

Tags: Joy, Humility, Thanksgiving Holiday

Denomination: Baptist

Remember Robin Williams In That Hilarious Movie, ...

Contributed by Bud Rose on Nov 26, 2005

Remember Robin Williams in that hilarious movie, "Mom Forever?" What? Don’t remember that one? Well, that’s what they call it in Italy, anyway. We know it better as Mrs. Doubtfire. Some American-made movies and TV shows end up with very different names by the time they reach foreign turf. Often, ...read more

Tags: Dealing With Conflicts

Denomination: Pentecostal

Clarence Jordan, Author Of The "Cotton Patch" New ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 22, 2005

Clarence Jordan, author of the “Cotton Patch” New Testament translation and founder of the interracial Koinonia farm in Americus, Georgia, was getting a red-carpet tour of another minister’s church. With pride the minister pointed to the rich, imported pews and luxurious decoration. As they stepped ...read more

Tags: Humility

The Most Common Reasons Donors Discontinue ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 6, 2006

The most common reasons donors discontinue giving: · 53% Don’t have the money · 30% Don’t know how the money is used · 27% Don’t know the ministry accomplishments · 23% Ministry spends too much on fund raising · 22% Don’t understand the ministry’s purpose Of course every reason has a reason behind ...read more

Tags: Giving General

Evangelism?

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 14, 2009

EVANGELISM? A 4-year study funded by the Lily Endowment designed to identify and analyze highly effective examples of evangelism by congregations in 7 mainline denominations reached two primary findings: (1) Of the 30,000 churches that qualified for the Mainline Evangelism Project, only 1/2 of 1% ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:16-20

Tags: Evangelism The Lost

That Cross Alone

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on May 29, 2011

THAT CROSS ALONE Clarence Jordan, author of the "Cotton Patch" New Testament translation, and founder of the interracial Koinonia farm in Americus, Georgia, was getting a red-carpet tour of another minister's church. With pride the minister pointed to the rich, imported furnishings and luxurious ...read more

Tags: Cross

Denomination: Methodist

Child-Speak

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 6, 2010

CHILD-SPEAK Someone had noticed that the word "father" appears in the dictionary just before the word "fatigued" and just after the word "fathead." So to all us fatigued, fathead fathers, Happy Father's Day! *** One time a little boy was asked to define Father's Day and he said, "It's just like ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 22:6

Tags: Father's Day

Nate Saint And Fellow Missionaries Jim Elliot, Ed ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Haines on Jan 20, 2001

Nate Saint and fellow missionaries Jim Elliot, Ed McCully, Pete Fleming, and Roger Youderian had set up camp on a little sandbar in hopes of making contact with the primitive Aucas, known for their fierce infighting and hatred of outsiders. The five missionaries had a deep burden to share the ...read more

Tags: Christian Love, Christian Disciplines, Compassion

Denomination: Wesleyan

Carey: God's Sovereign Will  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 14, 2011

CAREY: GOD'S SOVEREIGN WILL William Carey, who is called the father of modern missions, began his missionary career to India in 1793. He served the Lord in that country for 40 years, never once returning to his home in England. And throughout those years he translated portions of the Bible into ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 46:10

Tags: Gods Will, Still God, God's Sovereign Will, I Can Do All Things

My Resolve For This Vision Is Reflected In The ...  PRO

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Dec 23, 2003

My resolve for this vision is reflected in the prayer below: More than anything else in heaven or on earth, I pray for the power to love my fellow person, to break through the condemning bigotry, the crippling prejudice, the stifling self-centeredness that smothers God’s Spirit within me, and to ...read more

Scripture: John 16:24

Tags: Prayer Adoration, Prayer Supplication

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

With One Accord

Contributed by Marianne Unger on May 28, 2009

WITH ONE ACCORD But notice one very important phrase that some of the translations left out: "They were all with one accord in one place." This word in the Greek, "Homothumadon" has two parts to it--a sense of coming together, but in unison, in one accord. This word in the T.R., Homothumadon, ...read more

Scripture: Acts 1:14

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Denomination: *other

Ignoring The Warnings  PRO

Contributed by David Parks on Feb 24, 2005

Ignoring the Warnings. Several years ago, a close frind gave me a old hand bill. It was one of thousands that were supposed be dropped over Japan before the first Atomic bombs were droped. One side was a picture of bombers dropping thier deadly cargo. The other side was in Japanese and the third ...read more

Scripture: 2 Peter 3:9-14

Tags: Second Coming

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Silent Night Holy Night

Contributed by Jm Raja Lawrence on Dec 20, 2023

"Silent Night" is one of the most beloved Christmas carols, known for its serene and tranquil melody. The story behind the song begins in the small Austrian village of Oberndorf bei Salzburg in 1818. The lyrics were written by Joseph Mohr, a young priest, and the music was composed by ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 1:16-25, Matthew 2:1-12, Luke 2:4-20

Tags: Silent Night Holy Night, Stille Nacht, Christmas, Christmas Season, Carols, Birth Of Jesus Christ  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Greek Origin Of The Word "Compassion" Is ...

Contributed by Brian Stevenson on Nov 24, 2006

The Greek origin of the word “compassion” is splangkh-nid’-zom-ahee (Splagchnizomai – Splagchnon means bowels or intestines). German Theologian, Karl Barth gives us a revealing look at to what this Greek word means: “The term obviously defies adequate translation. What it means is that the ...read more

Denomination: Vineyard

Reformed Pastor Michael Horton, In His Book, "A ...  PRO

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Jun 30, 2004

Reformed Pastor Michael Horton, in his book, "A Better Way: Rediscovering the Drama of God-Centered Worship writes: We are repeatedly told these days that music is the most important thing we do in worship. In fact, "worship" usually means singing or enjoying the singing of others. "Let’s just ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 100:1-5, Nehemiah 8:1-18, Nehemiah 8:1-18

Tags: Worship Definition, Worship Purpose

Denomination: Independent/Bible

The Point: To Get Serious Results To Prayer, Get ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 8, 2007

[The Point: To get serious results to prayer, get serious about prayer.] Acts 12:1-19 (Herod imprisons Peter; prayer releases him.) Here are various translations of verse 5: "Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him." (KJV) "So Peter ...read more