In Sermon Illustrations: "Blaming Others"

Whose Hands Are You Thankful For?  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 26, 2011

WHOSE HANDS ARE YOU THANKFUL FOR? "A Thanksgiving Day editorial in the newspaper told of a school teacher who asked her first graders to draw a picture of something they were thankful for. She thought of how little these children from pour neighborhoods actually had to be thankful for. But she ...read more

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Tags: Thanksgiving Holiday

De-Sanctified Churches

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 19, 2011

DE-SANCTIFIED CHURCHES Not too long ago, a real estate listing in Dallas had the simple headline: "Converted Church." In other words, what had once been a church facility is now somebody's house. The listing under the heading had this description: "The altar has been adapted for use as a granite ...read more

Scripture: 2 Thessalonians 1:3-4

Tags: Church Purpose Of

Faith Connection  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 18, 2012

FAITH CONNECTION Spurgeon use to tell a story about two men in a boat. They were caught in a very, very severe rapids and they were going to a place where there was a waterfall and even worse rapids and there was really no way, if they ever hit those rapids, that they would ever live. And they ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 1:3-8

Tags: Faith

To Whoever Finds This...i Love You  PRO

Contributed by Davon Huss on Nov 19, 2012

TO WHOEVER FINDS THIS...I LOVE YOU Several years ago there was a girl in an orphanage. She was unattractive and had mannerisms that were not very attractive either, and so she was disliked and shunned by the other children and was not liked by her teachers. The head of the institution looked for ...read more

Scripture: Mark 9:30-40

Tags: Kids, Child, Children, God's Love

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Christ Is The Wind, Christianity Is The Sail  PRO

Contributed by Ken Pell on Mar 2, 2013

CHRIST IS THE WIND, CHRISTIANITY IS THE SAIL Does the practice of our religion reflect the God we serve? In Shane Hipps' book, "Selling Water by the River: A Book about the Life Jesus Promised and the Religion that Gets in the Way," he uses an analogy from sailing to express what has happened in ...read more

Scripture: James 1:26-27

Tags: Religion

Denomination: Nazarene

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

Wife Died

Contributed by Davon Huss on Jul 3, 2015

Booth-Tucker preached in Chicago one day, and out from the throng a burdened laborer came and said to him, before all the audience, "You can talk like that about how Christ is dear to you, and helps you; but if your wife was dead, as my wife is, and you had some babies crying for their mother who ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 1:10

Tags: Grief, God's Comfort, Christ's Sufficiency, The Comforter

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Car Keys

Contributed by Nickolas Kooi on Sep 7, 2017

“You shall not steal,” the Seventh Commandment. Not only do we not take what is not ours, we actually help to improve and protect the possessions and income of other people. I had this done to me a few weeks. I was finishing up something at home on a Friday, and Dawn came to pick me up in the ...read more

Tags: Theft, Seventh Commandment

Denomination: Lutheran

Justification, Propitiation, And The Very Early Church

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Sep 30, 2019

The early church understood propitiation, the atoning work of Jesus, and justification by faith, not works: from The Epistle of Mathetes to Diognetus, Chapter IX, about 200 A.D. But when our wickedness had reached its height, and it had been clearly shown that its reward, punishment and death, ...read more

Scripture: Romans 3:21-31, Romans 5:8, 1 Corinthians 15:1-5

Tags: Reformers, Penal Atonement, Cross, Justification, Propitiation, Reformation, Grace Alone, Faith Alone, Atonement  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Grace Story/Joke

Contributed by Bruce Blythe on Apr 13, 2021

There are not many stories/jokes that illustrate Grace (plenty of definitions of Grace though!) so I made this one up for my sermon on Romans 11 (Reciprocity No, Grace Yes). Hope people find it helpful. Blessings. Bruce A Jew, an Islamic and a Christian were drinking coffee on a ship. Then the ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:8-9

Tags: Grace Alone, By Grace We Are Saved, Reciprocity

Denomination: Baptist

Love Is Like Candy

Contributed by John Bright on May 22, 2021

I’m talking about love that is a real, tangible – like candy! Since you are watching on video (or reading this at home), you will have to imagine I have a big bag of Hershey Kisses right here. I have LOTS OF CANDY! So - I can claim to be full of candy. What if this candy is the love we have to ...read more

Scripture: Luke 6:27-36

Tags: Love, Enemies

Denomination: Methodist

Cycles Of Dying Churches

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jan 16, 2022

Almost all churches go through “lifecycles” - they start with a MAN, a visionary leader has a passion to to accomplish a God-given Vision -- then they become a MOVEMENT. At this stage the people are nearly 100% committed. They spend time together at each other’s homes and in Bible studies. Then ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 3:1-6

Tags: Dying Churches, Church, Revival, Seven Churches

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Who Is Praying For Me?

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jan 31, 2022

Pastor Jim Cymbala's daughter had been running from God for a long time. Chrissy had rebelled against her family, had left home, and was living as far from God as she could. But one night, this teenager awoke with the distinct feeling that someone was praying for her. And someone was. The ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 33:3, James 4:1-2

Tags: Petition, Intercessory Prayer, Interceding For Sinners, Prayer

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

At The Head Table In The Cafeteria, One Of The ...

Contributed by Christian Cheong on Aug 21, 2005

At the head table in the cafeteria, one of the teachers had placed a big bowl of bright red, fresh, juicy apples. Beside the bowl, she placed a note that read, "Take only one. Remember, God is watching." At the other end of the table was a bowl full of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, still ...read more

Tags: Promises Of God

Denomination: Independent/Bible

In A Recent Canada Survey, Is It Reported That ...

Contributed by Dale Pilgrim on Aug 25, 2005

In a recent Canada survey, is it reported that one out of every 10 Canadians aged 15 and over, about 2.6 million people, reported symptoms consistent with alcohol or illicit drug dependence, or illnesses from major depression, mania disorder, panic disorder, agoraphobia (open spaces), social ...read more

Tags: Emotions

Denomination: Salvation Army

Raise Sales By 20% Without Attracting Any New ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 6, 2006

Raise Sales by 20% without attracting any new customers? Leo J. Shapiro & Assoc., a Chicago market research firm, says supermarkets can do just that by, among other things, making sure they don’t run out of stock and providing better help to customers looking for goods. If ...read more

Tags: Evangelism How To

The La Times Recently Stated "Pastors Are The ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 6, 2006

The LA Times recently stated “Pastors are the single most occupationally frustrated group in America.” Eventually 30%-40% of religious leaders drop out of the ministry and about 75% go through a period of stress so great that they consider quitting. Incidents of mental breakdown are so high that ...read more

Tags: Church General

According To The Israeli Press, Psychiatrists Are ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 9, 2006

According to the Israeli press, psychiatrists are expecting an increase in a condition the have labeled, “Jerusalem Syndrome.” For many years mental heath workers have treated tourists who become emotionally overwhelmed by a visit to the Holy Land. Although some are only temporarily caught up in an ...read more

Tags: Character

Your Church Magazine Reports Staff Compensation ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 10, 2006

Your Church magazine reports staff compensation accounts for more than 40% of an average church’s budget. Churches with budgets over $500,000 spend 40% while smaller budget churches spend closer to 46% on compensation. Church facilities expenses account for 20%, Missions receives 16%, church ...read more

Tags: Giving General

Prayer Helps: A Recent Survey By Aarp And The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

Prayer Helps: A recent survey by AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving finds that 75% of U.S. caregivers cope with the demands of Caregiving through prayer. 61% talk with friends and relatives, 44% read books on Caregiving, 41% exercise to work off stress and 33% cope by going on line for ...read more

Tags: Prayer Adoration