In Sermon Illustrations: "Bitter Root"

The May 1984 National Geographic Showed Through ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

The May 1984 National Geographic showed through color photos and drawings the swift and terrible destruction that wiped out the Roman Cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in 79 A.D. The explosion of Mount Vesuvius was so sudden that the residents were killed while in their routine: men and women were ...read more

Tags: Sin Bondage To

Easter Is To Our Faith What Water Is To The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Easter is to our faith what water is to the ocean, what stone is to the mountain, what blood is to your body. It is the unique substance of redemptive reality. It is the first and final word in the dictionary of God. It says that Christ is the Author and Finisher of our faith. —Raymond I. ...read more

Tags: Faith General

Double Message Noted

Contributed by Richard Goble on Nov 18, 2007

Double Message Noted A man sat down to supper with his family and said grace, thanking God for the food, for the hands which prepared it, and for the source of all life. But during the meal he complained about the freshness of the bread, the bitterness of the coffee, and the sharpness of the ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Why The Dead ...

Contributed by Bill Butsko on Jul 11, 2009

“Why the Dead Sea?” We have heard of dead people, dead beasts, dead trees and dead flowers, but is there such a thing as a dead sea? There is and they call it dead because it receives all and gives nothing. This body of water – the most remarkable in the world – is at the southern end of the ...read more

Tags: Sin, Dead To Sin

Denomination: Christian Church

Listen To This True Story. Rabbi Michael ...  PRO

Contributed by Melvin Newland on Jan 28, 2001

ILL. Listen to this true story. Rabbi Michael Weisser lived in Lincoln, Nebraska. And for more than 3 years, Larry Trapp, a self-proclaimed Nazi & Ku Klux Klansman, directed a torrent of hate-filled mailings & phone calls toward him. Trapp promoted white supremacy, anti-Semitism, & other ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:20, Galatians 3:1-14

Tags: Racism, Pearl Harbor, Forgiveness For Others, Compassion

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Church Service Ended At The Lutheran Church ...  PRO

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Jun 1, 2003

The church service ended at the Lutheran Church in New Sweden, Maine as everyone “passed the peace.” It was the first Sunday after Easter, and the 50 people in attendance headed to the fellowship hour to have some coffee. Some of the people complained that the coffee was bitter, but people ...read more

Tags: Giving General

Denomination: Methodist

Make A Friend, Find A Friend!" Proverbs 18: 24 ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Nov 11, 2004

“Make a Friend, Find a Friend!” Proverbs 18: 24 Key verse(s): 24: “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” I am reminded of the story of the great patriot John Randolph of Virginia. Known for his intelligence and generosity, ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 18:24

Tags: Friendship New Friends

Denomination: Lutheran

Do You Want To Be Right, Or Do You Want To Be ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 11, 2011

DO YOU WANT TO BE RIGHT, OR DO YOU WANT TO BE WELL? Dr. David Seamands tells the story about a young woman he counseled in college several years ago. She had suffered every kind of abuse in her own home--psychological, sexual and physical. The very place that was supposed to be nurturing was ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 18:21-35

Tags: Forgiveness For Others

Christian Conviction: Roger Williams

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 30, 2011

CHRISTIAN CONVICTION: ROGER WILLIAMS Roger Williams was a graduate of Cambridge University, where in order to receive his degree he was forced to sign articles declaring that the king was by right the head of the English Church, that worship according to the Book of Common Prayer and church ...read more

Scripture: Romans 13:1-7

Tags: Christian Witness

The Page That's Been There Since 1597

Contributed by Austin W. Duncan on Apr 18, 2026

In my office there hangs a framed page positioned strategically so that it's the last thing I see as I leave and the first thing that catches my eye when I sit down each day. It's a page from a Geneva Bible. The Geneva Bible is the first mass-produced Bible with verse numbers, and this ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 3:23, 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Tags: Scripture, Calling

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

James Hunter In His Book "The Servant" Presents A ...  PRO

Contributed by Paul Newell on Aug 29, 2001

James Hunter in his book “The Servant” presents a powerful picture of what it really means to be a leader/servant. He shares: leadership is ultimately rooted in our will. Not forcing our will on others, but demonstrating our will to serve. There is a big difference between leading through power ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 12:1-12, Matthew 23:1-12

Tags: Authority, Servanthood, Servant, Power, Leadership General, Leadership  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

There Is The Story Of A Young Man Who Went Off ...  PRO

Contributed by John Williams Iii on May 8, 2003

There is the story of a young man who went off to college and defied some of the values of his rearing that he had acquired in a Christian home. He had pornographic pictures on the walls. One day his mother came to visit him. She saw his walls but said nothing. Instead, she sent him a picture of ...read more

Tags: Parenting

Denomination: United Methodist

Numbers 24:17 Had Predicted That "A Star Will ...  PRO

Contributed by Joel Pankow on Aug 20, 2004

Numbers 24:17 had predicted that “A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel.” That star was a young boy by the name of Jesus - who would save His people from their sins. Every evening when you wake up you can look at the stars and depend on the fact that it will be in the ...read more

Scripture: John 4:25-26

Tags: Lordship Of Christ, Humanity Of Christ

Denomination: Lutheran

Have You Ever Seen A Billy Mays Commercial? He ...

Contributed by Sterling Franklin on Jul 2, 2010

Have you ever seen a Billy Mays commercial? He has unfortunately passed away, but he was known for endorsing a lot of products, always keeping a loud voice volume, and enthusiastically selling some of the most ridiculous items on the market. One of the items he endorses is called the Awesome ...read more

Tags: Power

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

That's What The Wind Is For

Contributed by Ronnie Miller on Jul 27, 2011

THAT'S WHAT THE WIND IS FOR A few years ago I planted a row of spruce pines to the east of our home for a couple of reasons. One to keep the dust from a neighboring field from blowing onto our house. The other reason was to keep the wind down. They were just about 3 feet high when I bought them, ...read more

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Denomination: Baptist

There's A Bit Of Verse In The Form Of A Prayer ...

Contributed by Bob Joyce on Oct 10, 2007

There’s a bit of verse in the form of a prayer that I think is appropriate: Slow me down, Lord. Ease the pounding of my heart by the quieting of my mind, Steady my hurried pace with the eternal reach of time, Give me amid the confusion of the day the calmness of the everlasting hills, Break the ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

The Heartbeat And Bloodline Of Praying African American Mothers

Contributed by Jessie Manuel on May 8, 2025

Legacy of Blood and Heartbeat From the heartbeat of ancestors long gone, Rises a rhythm—a sacred song, Passed through blood, through bloodlines deep, A legacy rooted in faith to keep. Mothers praying in quiet nights, Holding on through struggles and fights, Their voices rising, fierce ...read more

Tags: Poem, Call To Action

Denomination: Methodist

[212]. A Message From A Poem - Everything In Its Season

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Sep 26, 2025

[212]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM - EVERYTHING IN ITS SEASON This poem covers a lot of ground. Broadly it is connected with the state of things, being the season of man. God created all of us and we live our lives in this world, but all of us are accountable for our actions. Some of that is ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 15:18, Genesis 12:3, Joel 3:2, Isaiah 5:20-21, Ecclesiastes 3:1-5  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Death, Season, Evil, Curse Israel And Be Cursed, Christian Poems, Charlie Kirk, Israel, Birth, Good, Time For Everything, United Nations, Palestinians  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Leonardo Da Vinci, Just Before He Commenced Work ...  PRO

Contributed by Jeeva Sam on Mar 20, 2001

Leonardo Da Vinci, just before he commenced work on his "Last Supper" had a violent argument with a fellow painter. Leonardo was so bitter that he determined to paint the face of his enemy, the other artist, into the face of Judas, and thus take his revenge by handing the man down in infamy and ...read more

Scripture: Luke 6:27-36

Tags: God's Forgiveness, Forgiveness For Others, Forgiveness General

Denomination: Methodist

Writer & Speaker Joni Erickson Tada Was Paralyzed ...  PRO

Contributed by Steve Malone on Apr 5, 2001

Writer & speaker Joni Erickson Tada was paralyzed from the neck down in a diving accident. In her book Secret Strength, Joni wrote about facing temptation. I was in my late 20’s, single, and with every prospect of remaining so. Sometimes lust or a bit of fantasizing would seem so inviting and so ...read more

Scripture: Luke 5:18-26, Luke 5:1-7

Tags: Prayer Hardship, Sin General, Temptation Resisting

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ