In Sermon Illustrations: "Bill Bendert"

A Little Boy Who Lived Far Out In The Country In ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 8, 2005

A little boy who lived far out in the country in the late 1800s had reached the age of twelve and had never in all his life seen a circus. You can imagine his excitement, when one day a poster went up at school announcing that on the next Saturday a traveling circus was coming to the nearby ...read more

Tags: Kingdom Of God

The Word Was Being Made Real In The Back Of His Church

Contributed by Tim Smith on Aug 13, 2017

Pastor Thomas Tewell tells the story of getting ready for their 11 p.m. Christmas Eve service. As the people were gathering, a man named Jim came in. Jim was a recovering alcoholic, sober just 6 months, but his disease had cost him his family, his job, just about everything. He went in to the ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:1-10

Tags: Christmas, Grace, Ministry, The Word Made Flesh

Denomination: Methodist

Inspiration Of Scripture

Contributed by Kerry Haynes on Feb 23, 2020

Consider Bill, who was just a young man at the time. He had tried preaching, but didn’t always feel the power of God or see any results. One of his contemporaries, Charles Templeton, got into academia and started to believe scripture as flawed and outdated. Bill wondered about all of this. A ...read more

Scripture: 2 Peter 1:16-21, 2 Timothy 3:16

Tags: Word Of God, Inspired Word, Inspiration Of Scripture, Inspiration Of The Bible

Denomination: Baptist

You Be The Judge?  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 10, 2002

YOU BE THE JUDGE? "A money belt is one thing you just can’t do without," my friend told me. ’Make sure you take travelers’ checks with you and maybe a few twenties, and tuck them in your money belt before you leave. And don’t ... DON’T go pawing through your money when you’re out on ...read more

Scripture: Luke 21:1-4

Tags: Character, Disease, Compassion, Faith, Leprosy, Obedience  (view more)  (view less)

How To Receive The Lord's Righteousness - A Terrific Trade

Contributed by Rick Crandall on Sep 29, 2025

This is David's message to us in Psalm 37:5-6, where he tells us to trust in the Lord. David said, "Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass. He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday." *How is the Lord ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 37:1-11, 2 Corinthians 5:21

Tags: Horrible Times, Shelter, God's Peace, Rest, Hardships, Cares, Cast Your Cares, Evil, Trust, Suffering, Trusting God, Righteousness, Rejoice, Pain, Peace  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Crying Out  PRO

Contributed by Kenneth Squires on Jan 17, 2003

CRYING OUT A father tells this story: I was $20,000 in debt with unsecured loans. For two years I had been trying to sell some land to cover the debt, but I couldn’t even get a phone call of interest. I tried Realtor after Realtor without success. Finally, in desperation, I walked into the woods ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:26-27

Tags: Prayer Adoration, Prayer In The Spirit

Denomination: Pentecostal

No Contest  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 28, 2004

NO CONTEST When we get to heaven, there will be no contest to see who was the most deserving of God’s grace because no one deserves it. There will only be one contest in heaven. When we look back and see what we were before, when we see the pit from which he rescued us, when we recall how ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 20:1-16, Galatians 2:20-21, Matthew 20:1-16

Tags: Promises Of God, Parable Vineyard, Grace

How To Get The Most Out Of Your Bible

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 26, 2007

How to Get the Most Out of Your Bible In Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith, Kathleen Norris recounts the story of a South Dakota rancher and his bride who received an expensive Bible as a wedding gift from his grandfather. They wrote a thank-you note and stowed the Bible away on a closet ...read more

Battling The Temptation To ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 9, 2010

Battling the Temptation to Steal Listen to the man who was tempted: A man in a responsible position, entrusted with large sums of money, was one day tempted to put some of the cash to his own account. He knew that it would be a long time before his theft could be discovered. He resisted the ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:13

Tags: Temptation Power

Abolishing Slavery: Wilberforce And Moses

Contributed by Ken Pell on Mar 21, 2011

ABOLISHING SLAVERY: WILBERFORCE AND MOSES I found myself reading William Wilberforce’s speeches to the British Parliament the other day, particularly his speeches to abolish the slave trade. I was struck by the tenacity, patience, and confidence that he showed. He was convinced that this evil ...read more

Tags: Endurance

Denomination: Nazarene

A Christmas Letter To God  PRO

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Feb 14, 2012

A CHRISTMAS LETTER TO GOD A small boy was writing a letter to God about the Christmas presents he wanted. "I've been good for six months now," he wrote. After a moment's reflection, he crossed out "six months" and wrote "three." After a pause he changed that to "two weeks." There was another pause ...read more

Scripture: Luke 16:1-8

Tags: Prayer General

Denomination: Baptist

Lost In The Noise

Contributed by Tim White on Apr 2, 2012

LOST IN THE NOISE A youth pastor wanted to illustrate something to his students. He placed some valuable objects on small tables around the room. On one of the tables was a Bible. There was a $5 bill on another table. There was a kids' meal from a fast-food restaurant on one table. Other tables ...read more

Tags: Bible Influence

Denomination: Baptist

Grace Is A Free Gift

Contributed by Daniel King, D. Min. on Aug 2, 2018

Main Idea: If you pay for a free gift, it is no longer free. Verse: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV). Illustration: Once there was a husband who gave a beautiful ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:8-9

Tags: Faith, Grace, Salvation

Denomination: Charismatic

Who Tore Down The Walls Of Jericho??

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jan 4, 2021

A pastor entered a class as the lesson was in progress and asked, "Who broke down the walls of Jericho?" A lad answered, "Not me, sir." The pastor turned to the teacher and asked, "Is this the usual behavior in this class?" The teacher replied, "I believe ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Timothy 4:1-3

Tags: Bible, Scripture, Jericho, Humor, Miracles, Unbelief, Ignorance Of Scripture  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Third And Fourth Graders In A Christian School ...

Contributed by Ned Bartlebaugh on Oct 21, 2007

Third and Fourth graders in a Christian school were asked to complete this sentence: “By faith I know that God is…” 1. By faith I know that God is forgiving because he forgave in the Bible and he forgave me when I went in the road on my bike without one of my parents. 2. By faith I know that God is ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

How God Treats Repentant Sinners

Contributed by Guy Mcgraw on Mar 12, 2009

HOW GOD TREATS REPENTANT SINNERS When Billy Graham was driving through a small southern town, he was stopped by a policeman and charged with speeding. Graham admitted his quilt, but was told by the officer that he would have to appear in court. The judge asked, "Guilty, or not guilty?" When Graham ...read more

Tags: Grace

As Long As God Is Awake  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 12, 2009

AS LONG AS GOD IS AWAKE A mother and her little four-year-old daughter were preparing to retire for the night. The child was afraid of the night. The child was afraid of the dark, and the mother, alone with the child, felt fearful also. When the light was out, the child caught a glimpse of the ...read more

Scripture: Joshua 1:9, Joshua 1:6-9

Tags: Fear And Worry

Churches Closed Due To Lack Of Power!

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jan 10, 2023

Bill Crowder gives us a pithy Illustration of Need for Power. The first winter that my wife Marlene and I were married was marked by severe blizzards. I can vividly remember one Sunday when we awoke to find that the electricity had been knocked out by an ice storm. Huddled around a ...read more

Scripture: Acts 1:8

Tags: Church, Holy Spirit, Pentecost, Power, Acts  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

I Had Been In Full Time Ministry For Eight Years ...  PRO

Contributed by Dan Cormie on Sep 26, 2003

I had been in full time ministry for eight years when I felt God calling me to come to Winnipeg and do a church plant. For a long time my family, my brother, and his wife were the only congregation I had. We met in my basement. I worked a number of secular jobs to pay the bills, while putting my ...read more

Tags: Examples Of Faith

Denomination: Mennonite

Pulling Together At Christmas

Contributed by Tim Smith on Aug 13, 2017

One morning in December 2009, Bill McDonald read in the paper that a local man, Joe Day, was sick with small-cell lung cancer. That meant Day couldn’t assemble the magnificently lit, handcrafted Christmas displays that had made his house in Versailles, Indiana, an annual holiday pilgrimage site for ...read more

Scripture: Titus 3:4

Tags: Christmas, Service, Advent, Serving

Denomination: Methodist