In Sermon Illustrations: "Book Of Acts"

Thoughts On The Church

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Jun 20, 2012

THOUGHTS ON THE CHURCH Here are some thoughts on The Church from a few 30 on down in age, individuals from the book "The Relevant Church": Quotes: Tyler Watts, "I think I disconnect from the Gospel of Jesus Christ when I'm not involved in close relationships with other believers." Philip Evans, ...read more

Tags: Church General

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

There's A Familiar Story About The New Bride Who ...

Contributed by Paul Barreca on Jan 11, 2014

There's a familiar story about the new bride who is cooking a big family dinner. As the ladies are gathered in the kitchen, the bride puts the roast in the pan and asks her mother why we always cut the end of the roast and put it in another pan? They ask grandma who says, "well honey, I cut the ...read more

Scripture: James 1:1-2

Tags: Newlywed, Tradition, Ritual, Misunderstandings

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Don't Quit

Contributed by Richard Tow on Jul 18, 2017

Ignace Jan Paderewski, the famous pianist, was scheduled to perform at a great concert hall in America. It was a high-society extravaganza. Present in the audience that evening was a mother and her fidgety nine-year old. She had brought him in the hopes that when he heard the great composer play, ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 18:9-15, 1 Peter 4:12, Hebrews 11:11

Tags: Perseverance, Discouragement, Disappointment

Denomination: Charismatic

The Sound Of Silence

Contributed by Matt Neace on Sep 23, 2018

In their song The Sound of Silence, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel sing the words, "The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls and the tenement halls and whispered in the sounds of silence." But their friendship has come to replicate the sound of silence. Paul Simon gave his final ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:26-27, Ephesians 4:32, Proverbs 24:17, Hebrews 12:14

Tags: Resentment, Bitterness, Unforgiveness, Grudges

Denomination: Baptist

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 One of his contemporaries, Charles Templeton, got into academia and started to believe scripture as flawed and outdated.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

Honor Thy Father & Mother

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Jan 15, 2022

The reader may ask me why I did not try to escape what was in store for me after Hitler had occupied Austria. Let me answer the question by recalling the following story. Shortly before the United States entered WWII, I received an invitation to come to the American consulate in Vienna to pick up ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:1-2, Exodus 20:12, Matthew 15:4

Tags: 10 Commandments, Honor, Family, Obedience, Courage  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Grief

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on May 17, 2022

On Death and Loss… He was 50 years old. The cancer was aggressive and relentless. The pain was unmanageable and agonizing. In two months he was gone. I didn't have the opportunity to say good-bye and if I did, what would I say? Could I get the words out? Our last communication, me in Port ...read more

Scripture: John 11:25, Psalm 90:1-12, 2 Corinthians 1:1-7

Tags: Death, Grief, Sickness

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

A Drastic Decline Among Americans Who Live With A Biblical Worldview

Contributed by Timothy Lueking on Mar 30, 2023

The year was 1999 and George Barna just wrapped up his latest study on the status of the Worldview of American adults. He was shocked to discover that only 12% of American adults were living their life with a Biblical worldview. He knew that if this trend did not change then it would mean a rapid ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 2:6, Matthew 9:37-38

Tags: Evangelism, Harvest, Statistics, Biblical Worldview, American Adults  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

No More Sin!

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Jul 8, 2023

David Brooks in his book “The Road to Character” says this about sin... Today the word sin has lost it's power and awesome intensity. It’s now used to refer to desserts... fattening desserts. Most people in daily conversation don’t talk much about individual sin. If they talk about human ...read more

Scripture: Romans 3:23, Romans 1:18-20, Ephesians 2:1-3

Tags: Sin, Salvation, Gospel, Depravity, The Cross  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

12 Rules For Raising Delinquent Children

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jul 8, 2024

TWELVE RULES FOR RAISING DELINQUENT CHILDREN (HOUSTON, TEXAS POLICE DEPT., 1960) 1. Begin with infancy to give the child everything he wants. In this way he will grow up to believe the world owes him a living. 2. When he picks up bad words, laugh at him. This will make him think he's cute. ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 22:6

Tags: Children, Parents, Mothers, Home, Training, Police, Discipline, Fathers  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Thine Is The Glory!

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Aug 12, 2024

If you seek your own glory you will lose that, and His. But, if you seek His, you will get yours directly from Him. We are all tempted, like the youth Narcissus in the Greek fable, to bend over the brook and fall in love with ourselves, and we get changed into flowers, and fade in an hour. But he ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:9-15

Tags: Ministry, Glory, Worship, Praise, Power, Kingdom, Lord's Prayer, Glory Of God, Judgment Seat Of Christ  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Last Supper By Leonardo Da Vinci

Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Oct 21, 2025

Story: Leonardo da Vinci took seven years to paint his famous picture the "Last Supper". He used living people to depict the figures representing the Twelve Apostles and Christ. He started the fresco with Jesus Christ himself. It is reputed that he viewed hundreds and hundreds of ...read more

Scripture: Luke 18:9-14

Tags: Last Supper, Leonardo Da Vinci

Denomination: Anglican

What Is Death Like

Contributed by John Hamby on Jun 1, 2026

In his book “A Man Called Peter” Peter Marshall tells the story of a little boy he knew who was suffering from a terminal illness. At first, he didn’t understand what was happening to him, but as the months passed, and he had to stay inside while his friends went outside to play, the truth ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 9:27

Tags: Death, Die

Denomination: Baptist

Firestorms

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 10, 2011

FIRESTORMS I was at Boy Scout Camp when I discovered the terrible damage a fire storm could do to my life. It was a lazy afternoon very hot and dry. John and I were sent back to camp to start dinner for the guys. When I got back to camp, I discovered that the camp fire looked as if it had gone ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 3:1-22, 1 Samuel 11:3-7

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Unsung Heroes: Ebed-Melech, A Man Who Helped Jeremiah The Prophet

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Sep 9, 2021

Introduction: The Old Testament prophets sometimes faced severe persecution. Jeremiah certainly had his share of troubles and in this instance, he had preached God’s message but was thrown into a cistern! Most likely he was going to be left there to die, but an unsung hero helped rescue Jeremiah. ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 38:7-13, Jeremiah 39:15-18

Tags: Jeremiah, Persecution, Ebedmelech

Denomination: Baptist

David Wilkerson's Founder Of Teen Challenge ...  PRO

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Jan 30, 2004

David Wilkerson's founder of Teen Challenge states from his book Sipping Saints: 1. Drinking is the world's most staggering problem. We face the horrible statistics of more than a million young Americans becoming alcoholics. Six million of their parents are already there. We have become a sodden ...read more

Tags: Addiction

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

My In-Laws—harold And Dorothy Wills—retired Here ...

Contributed by Doug Lyon on Jul 23, 2006

My in-laws—Harold and Dorothy Wills—retired here to the Bloomsburg area back in 1987. They knew of Bloomsburg because their daughter, Kathy, married Charlie and Kay Dyer’s son, Charlie. Barb and I were living in Washington, DC when Barb’s parents moved to Bloomsburg. And so we would make an ...read more

Denomination: Independent/Bible

When Was The Last Time You Took Some Time Out To ...

Contributed by Keith Broyles on Oct 3, 2007

When was the last time you took some time out to play the age-old children’s game, “Who am I? Well, after the sermon this morning you will be able to tell all of your friends that you last played it at church during the worship service. That is how we are going to start out this morning, with a ...read more

Denomination: Methodist

The Little ...

Contributed by Eric Ferguson on Jun 3, 2008

The Little Fireman In Phoenix, Arizona, a 26-year old mother stared down at her 6 year old son, who was dying of terminal leukemia. Although her heart was filled with sadness, she also had a strong feeling of determination to HANG ON. Like any parent, she wanted her son to grow up and fulfill ...read more

Tags: Opportunity

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Society's Slide Into Sexual Immorality  PRO

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Jun 25, 2008

Society's Slide Into Sexual Immorality We are now some 30 years into the sexual revolution that began in the 1960s. What has been the impact on society? What are the implications for the future? Sex is everywhere. It permeates the movies and the television programs we watch, the music we hear, ...read more

Tags: Immorality, Adultery

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational