In Sermon Illustrations: "Black Plague"

Reporters And City Officials Gathered At A ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Reporters and city officials gathered at a Chicago railroad station one afternoon in 1953. The person they were meeting was the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize winner. A few minutes after the train came to a stop, a giant of a man - six feet four inches with bushy hair and a large mustache stepped from the ...read more

Tags: Faith

Grim Reaper

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Grim Reaper According to an old fable, a man made an unusual agreement with Death. He told the Grim Reaper that he would willingly accompany him when it came time to die, but only on one condition—that Death would send a messenger well in advance to warn him. Weeks passed into months, and months ...read more

Tags: Death

There Is Always A Thrill In Belonging To A Noble ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

There is always a thrill in belonging to a noble company. Eric Linklater in his autobiography tells of his experience in the disastrous March retreat in the First World War. He was with the Black Watch. They had come out of the battle with one officer, thirty men, and a piper left of the ...read more

Tags: Anger

Naval Aviation Training Includes An ...  PRO

Contributed by Austin Mansfield on Sep 18, 2007

Naval aviation training includes an indoctrination session in what looks like a ride from some amusement park. The device takes up an entire huge room, and has individual containers attached to a larger wheel, allowing the person inside to be spun in multiple directions as the main wheel spins ...read more

Tags: Big, Large, Larger

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

Make Sure We Were Abiding

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 13, 2009

MAKE SURE WE WERE ABIDING Stuart Briscoe, author and long-time pastor of Elmbrook Church in Brookfield, Wisconsin, tells about the time he traveled to Poland during the cold war. He was involved in several weeks of itinerant ministry, and one winter day his sponsors drove him in the dead of night ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:13

Tags: Jesus Teachings

Who Has Abortions?

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 13, 2009

WHO HAS ABORTIONS? Fifty-two percent of U.S. women obtaining abortions are younger than 25: Women aged 20-24 obtain 33 percent of all abortions, and teenagers obtain 19 percent. Black women are more than 3 times as likely as white women to have an abortion, and Hispanic women are 2 1/2 times as ...read more

Tags: Abortion

Growing ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 14, 2009

GROWING PLURALISM Most Americans don’t believe their religious tradition is the only way to eternal life, even if their denomination teaches otherwise, finds a Pew Forum study. 57% of evangelical church-attenders believe many religions can lead to eternal life. 70% of Americans with a religious ...read more

Scripture: Luke 13:22-30

Tags: Salvation

Richard Wumbrand

Contributed by Ajai Prakash on Jun 3, 2009

RICHARD WUMBRAND Richard Wumbrand was sent to study Marxism in Moscow, but returned clandestinely the following year. Pursued by Siguranþa Statului (the secret police), he was arrested and held in Doftana prison. Wurmbrand subsequently renounced his political ideals. He started to preach Christ. ...read more

Tags: Discipleship

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Hymn Story: Precious Lord, Take My Hand By Thomas ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 1, 2009

Hymn Story: Precious Lord, Take My Hand by Thomas Dorsey Thomas Dorsey was a black jazz musician from Atlanta who was known in the early 1920’s for the suggestive lyrics he combined with original music. Then God touched his life and in 1926 he gave up the suggestive music and began to write ...read more

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Tags: Death

Converted Motorcycle Gang Member Volunteers To ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 6, 2009

Converted Motorcycle Gang Member Volunteers to Work in Church Nursery Volunteering - Elmer Towns tells about a member of a motorcycle gang who was converted to Jesus Christ dramatically and the first Sunday he did the only thing he knew he should do and so he went to church. Nobody in the church ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 2:4

Tags: Servanthood

A Truly Humble Man Is Hard To Find, Yet God ...

Contributed by Bobby Scobey on Dec 21, 2009

A truly humble man is hard to find, yet God delights to honor such selfless people. Booker T. Washington, the renowned black educator, was an outstanding example of this truth. Shortly after he took over the presidency of Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, he was walking in an exclusive section of town ...read more

Tags: Humility

Denomination: Pentecostal

Deceiver  PRO

Contributed by Michael Walther on May 25, 2011

DECEIVER Ephesians 6.10-12 Especially, "schemes of the devil..." Here Paul explains the realities of evil in this world. How different this is from popular ideas about evil. There is a comical view of evil -- the character who wears a red suit and carries a pitch fork. Then there is the ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-12

Tags: Satan

Denomination: Lutheran

The Path Of Rescue—follow The Light

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 3, 2011

THE PATH OF RESCUE--FOLLOW THE LIGHT Bob Russell shared an interesting illustration about darkness and light several years back with the Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY. He said: "Every once in a while we get a bird inside this sanctuary. He doesn't really want to be in here, but ...read more

Scripture: John 8:12

Tags: Salvation

Whose Boy Are You?  PRO

Contributed by Jimmy Haile on Sep 29, 2011

WHOSE BOY ARE YOU? "I was about 12 years old when a new preacher came to my church. I would always go in late and slip out early. But one day the preacher said the benediction so fast I got caught and had to walk out with the crowd. I could feel every eye in church on me. "Just about the time I ...read more

Tags: God The Father

Denomination: Baptist

Trading Places

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Feb 7, 2014

Several years ago, a Baptist camp in Texas was having the annual softball game between counselors and campers on the last day of church camp. The teams divided up and went at each other. After the game started, a teenager in center field chased a long fly ball and hurt his ankle. His pastor was ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:17-21

Tags: Atonement, Forgiveness, Cross, Blood Of Christ

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Take Me Home

Contributed by Dr. Ronald Shultz on Sep 23, 2019

Take Me Home I've been everything that I want to be. I've seen everything that I want to see. All over this world I did roam. Now, I'm asking you, Jesus, please take me home. I can hear my spirit within me groan. I wan to be sitting at the foot of Your throne. I've had my fill ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 19:13-14, Philippians 1:23-24

Tags: Sorrow, Despair, Homesick, Success, Failure, Loneliness  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Dilemma Of American Atheist Society  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 2, 2002

DILEMMA OF AMERICAN ATHEIST SOCIETY For some reason, Christians feel intimidated by atheism. They assume that the atheist and the intellectual are on the same level. The assumption is groundless: A recent article published by the American Atheist Society was written by a zealous but discouraged ...read more

Tags: Descriptions Of God, Apologetics God

Unsung Heroines-Naaman’s Maid

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Apr 30, 2022

Introduction: Sometimes children know more than we think they do. This “little maid” knew about Elisha the prophet, and how God performed miracles through him. We know nothing more about her than what’s mentioned in these verses but through her one recorded sentence, she brought hope to a hopeless ...read more

Scripture: 2 Kings 5:1-4

Tags: Naaman, Unsung Heroines, Maids, Leprosy

Denomination: Baptist

There Is A Book By Michael Lewis Entitled The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 8, 2008

There is a book by Michael Lewis entitled The Blind Side. It is a true story based in Memphis which is my hometown. The central character is a black athlete named Michael Oher (pronounced ’oar’). Oher now plays left tackle for the University of Mississippi and is a pre-season All American and ...read more

Baptism Of Ivan The Great Tsar Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 8, 2009

Baptism of Ivan the Great Tsar of Russia Ivan the Great was Tsar of Russia during the Fifteenth Century. He brought together the warring tribes into one vast empire. As a fighting man he was courageous. As a general he was brilliant. He drove out the Tartars, establishing peace across the ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 3:21

Tags: Baptism