In Sermon Illustrations: "Blessings Vs. Curses" showing 61-80 of 2,318

Hurt Vs. Harm

Contributed by Kerry O'neill on Mar 12, 2010

HURT VS. HARM There is a wonderful book entitled "Boundaries" in which the authors differentiate two words - Hurt and Harm. Think of these examples. If I were to eat an entire 2 pound bag of peanut M&M's (which I sadly am fully capable of doing!) would it hurt me? No, it would feel great! ...read more

Tags: God In The Hardships

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Abraham Vs. Balaam

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Apr 19, 2010

ABRAHAM VS. BALAAM Whosoever possesses these three qualities belongs to the disciples of Abraham our father: a generous eye, a humble spirit, and a meek soul. But he who possesses the three opposite qualities--an evil eye, a proud spirit, and a haughty soul--is of the disciples of Balaam the ...read more

Tags: False Teaching

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Tolerance Vs. Absolute ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 21, 2010

Tolerance vs. Absolute Truth Throughout Scripture and until our present day, many people have a problem with TRUTH. In fact, it is not politically correct today to say that there is even such a thing as absolute truth! Stanley Grenz, a well-known spokesman for this new tolerance, says that “truth ...read more

Scripture: John 17:17

Tags: Tolerance, Truth Absolute

Prayer: Form Vs. ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 3, 2010

Prayer: Form vs. Substance There was a man who would start his day by kneeling beside his bed and spending an hour or so in prayer. But he had a cat that would disturb him and would nuzzle up against him. So to keep his cat from disturbing his prayer time, he would tie the cat to his bedpost. His ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:1-18

Tags: Prayer General

Listening Vs. Hearing

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Nov 24, 2010

LISTENING VS. HEARING A school music teacher asked her class the difference between listening and hearing. At first there was no response. Finally a hand went up and a youngster ...read more

Tags: Leadership Listening

Denomination: Brethren

Fact Vs. Faith

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Nov 27, 2010

FACT VS. FAITH A pastor was speaking to his people on the relationship between fact and faith. He said, "That you are sitting before me in this church--is fact. That I am standing here, speaking from this ...read more

Tags: Faith General

Denomination: Brethren

Humility Vs. Humiliation

Contributed by Bobby Stults on Feb 9, 2011

HUMILITY VS. HUMILIATION Have you ever thought about the difference between 'humility' and 'humiliation'? There is a significant difference. Humility is the voluntary and willful choice to accept one’s place and position, whereas, humiliation is the forcing of an unwilling participant into their ...read more

Tags: Humility

Denomination: Baptist

Man Vs. Milkshake

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Feb 27, 2011

MAN VS. MILKSHAKE James Dobson author, psychologist, and founder of Focus on the Family tells the story of a friend of his during their days in medical school. One day this man was walking across campus laden with books and briefcase. He passed by a fast food stand, and ordered something to eat ...read more

Tags: Confidence

Denomination: Brethren

Sales Vs. Management

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 17, 2011

SALES VS. MANAGEMENT A pastor, an avid golfer, was once taking part in a local tournament. As he was preparing to tee off, the organizer of the tournament approached him and pointed to the dark, threatening storm clouds which were gathering. "Preacher," the organizer said, "I trust you’ll see to ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 1:3

Tags: Leadership General

Grant Vs. Custer  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 2, 2011

GRANT VS. CUSTER There is a story of two Civil War Generals: George A. Custer and Ulysses S. Grant. Both graduated from West Point--Gen. Grant, being the oldest, graduated in the 1840's and Gen. Custer in 1861. Grant fought in several wars and was a field General in every sense of the word. In ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 23:1-11, Matthew 23:23-24

Tags: Humility, Pride, Show Off, Comparison

Wishing Vs. Hoping  PRO

Contributed by Thomas Clawser on Dec 3, 2011

WISHING VS. HOPING Eugene Peterson (Living the Message: Daily Help for Living the God-Centered Life) points out that what a lot of people call hope is in reality something different. It's wishing, not hoping: and wishing and hoping are not the same thing. "Wishing," Peterson says, "is something ...read more

Tags: Christmas Advent

Denomination: Other

Travelers Vs. Tourists

Contributed by Tim Hinrichs on Mar 29, 2012

TRAVELERS VS. TOURISTS Canadian Pastor Mark Buchanan in his book "Your Church is Too Safe" points out the radical difference between a traveler and a tourist. "A traveler literally means 'one who travails.' He labors, he suffers, endures. A traveler -- travailer - ...immerses himself in a culture, ...read more

Tags: Discipleship

Denomination: Lutheran

Anger Vs. Annoyance  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 3, 2012

ANGER VS. ANNOYANCE A young girl who was writing a paper for school came to her father and asked, "Dad, what is the difference between anger and annoyance?" The father replied, "It is mostly a matter of degree. Let me show you what I mean." With that the father went to the telephone and dialed a ...read more

Scripture: James 1:19-20, Ephesians 4:26

Tags: Anger

Commitment Vs. Surrender  PRO

Contributed by Christian Cheong on Jun 30, 2012

COMMITMENT VS. SURRENDER In The Incredible Power of Kingdom Authority there is an account of a conversation between the late Adrian Rogers and Rev Josef Tson, the Romanian pastor, author, and president of the Romanian Missionary Society who survived years of persecution and exile under cruel ...read more

Tags: Lordship Of Christ

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Authority Vs. Power  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 12, 2014

AUTHORITY VS. POWER There's a difference between power and authority. If you have authority, but no power, your authority is useless. A government man was taking geological readings for the Department of the Interior. He approached one farmer and said, "I've been authorized by the government to ...read more

Scripture: Acts 1:1-8

Tags: Great Commission, Authority

Knowledge Vs Wisdom

Contributed by Pastor Randall Timblin on Aug 20, 2018

There is a big difference between knowledge and wisdom. First, let us understand that there is no such thing as wisdom unless it pertains to wisdom from God. All other earthly wisdom is foolishness, according to God. Now that we have that straight, what exactly is the difference. Well, my ...read more

Tags: Wisdom, Knowledge, Foolishness

Denomination: *other

Joy Vs. Happiness

Contributed by Kerry Haynes on Dec 15, 2019

Joy (used in "Joy Born at Christmas" sermon - 12/11/2019) From Isaiah 35:8-10 (verses below) Someone once said, “The difference beween happiness and joy is that happiness comes from happenings and joy comes from Jesus.” A few years ago Michael Bublé wrote a song that became very ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 35:8-10, Philippians 4:4

Tags: Christmas, Advent, Joy

Denomination: Baptist

Apathy Vs. Ignorance

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Mar 16, 2020

I asked one man what the difference was between ignorance and apathy. You know what he told me? “I ...read more

Scripture: Numbers 15:27-31

Tags: Apathy, Ignorance

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Eragon Vs. Galbatorix

Contributed by Joel Pankow on Sep 17, 2020

Years ago I read through a children’s series called Eragon. Eragon was going to face a strong and evil sorcerer named Galbatorix who had taken over the land through murder and violence. Finally, after battle upon battle to get to him, Eragon was able to confront Galbatorix deep within his lair. ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 18:15

Tags: Sin, Confrontation

Denomination: Lutheran

Character Vs Reputation

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 2, 2023

"Be more concerned with your character than with your reputation. Your character is what you really are while your reputation is merely what others think you are. " - ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 2:12-14

Tags: Witness, Example, Discipleship, Character, Reputation  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational