In Sermon Illustrations: "Books"

Women And Proverbs

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on May 16, 2013

WOMEN AND PROVERBS From Chronological Life Application Bible: "Proverbs has a lot to say about women. How fitting that the book ends with a picture of a woman of strong character, great wisdom, many skills, and great compassion. Some people have the mistaken idea that the ideal woman in the ...read more

Tags: Women

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The "Group-Think" Impulse  PRO

Contributed by Robert Joseph on Jun 1, 2013

THE "GROUP-THINK" IMPULSE Stand up for the truth. Romans 12:2 says, "...Do not be conformed to this world..." [NKJV] People today show a stong tendency to adjust their opinions to match those of the group. This goes a long way towards explaining why only a fraction of the educated population ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:2

Tags: Homosexuality, Peer Pressure, Truth Absolute

Denomination: Pentecostal

Busyness  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 3, 2013

BUSYNESS Busyness is no sign of spirituality or any kind of a full life. In fact, it’s more likely the sign of an empty life. Tim Kreider, in an article he wrote for The New York Times called The Busy Trap put it this way: “If you live in America in the 21st century, you’ve probably had to listen ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 11:28-30

Tags: Complaining

Love  PRO

Contributed by Roger Whipp on Dec 31, 2014

Love is one of the most powerful emotions we have. The actress Joan Crawford once said “Love is a fire but whether it warms your heart or burns your house down, you can never tell!” Love can motivate, give pleasure, hurt even destroy. It can make us do bold, even stupid things. During the 17th ...read more

Scripture: John 14:15-31, Romans 5:8

Tags: Love, Holy Spirit, Love And Obedience

Denomination: *other

Is It Death Or Really Life?

Contributed by Tim Smith on Feb 11, 2015

Robin Norwood in her book, “Why Me? Why This? Why Now?” writes, “A very wise old fried of mine who has just celebrated his 100th birthday said to me about a recent news broadcast he recently heard about 73 people losing their lives in a plan crash: “Don’t they know we can’t lose our lives? We can ...read more

Scripture: Luke 23:32-43

Tags: Death, Eternal Life

Denomination: Methodist

Novelist Herman Wouk Has Written Of A Meeting...

Contributed by Davon Huss on May 17, 2016

Novelist Herman Wouk has written of a meeting he had with David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first president. Ben Gurion urged him to move to the newly established nation. This was 1955, and terrorists were still bringing regular bloodshed to the citizens. Ben Gurion had left office and had begun his ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:1

Tags: Freedom, Free To Serve, Stop Playing It Safe, Freedom From Fear

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

President Leslie Lynch King????

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Aug 12, 2019

Leslie Lynch King, Jr. was born on Monday, July 14, 1913 in Omaha, Nebraska. His parents separated sixteen days after his birth and were divorced the following December. His father was abusive and had a drinking problem. His mother took her baby and moved back to her parents’ home in Grand Rapids, ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:17-21

Tags: Salvation, New Life, Adoption Into God's Family

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Pentecostal Dog

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Sep 24, 2019

. A Baptist preacher and his wife decided they needed a dog. Ever mindful of their congregation, they knew the dog must also be Baptist. They visited an expensive kennel and explained their needs to the manager, who assured them he had just the dog for them. When the dog was produced, the manager ...read more

Scripture: Acts 2:1-13

Tags: Healing, Charismatic, Pentecostal

Denomination: Independent/Bible

The Importance Of Preaching

Contributed by David Parks on Aug 27, 2020

March 4, 1881 was a beautiful spring day in Washington D.C. James Garfield stood on the Capitol steps, placed a hand on the Bible, another on his heart, faced a crowd of thousands, and was sworn in as the 20th President of the United States. Like every Inauguration, it was a day ripe with ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 4:1-5

Tags: Truth, Preaching, Minister

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

How Hard Do You Prepare For Sermons?

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 4, 2021

Howard Hendricks shares this insight about the value of preparing and study for sermons... " When I was a college student—I worked in the college dining hall, and on my way to work at 5:30 am. every morning I walked past the home of one of my professors. Through a window I could see the ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Timothy 4:1-3, 2 Timothy 2:15

Tags: Sermons, Shepherding, Feeding The Flock, Sermon Preparation, Studying The Word  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Emphasis On The Resurrection Of Jesus

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Dec 4, 2023

Notice the repeated emphasis on the Resurrection of Christ throughout the book of Acts. How can we do any less today in our preaching and teaching! Do you frequently mention the resurrection of Christ from the dead? If not, you should preach like Peter and Paul! 1. The pivotal point in Peter's ...read more

Tags: Jesus, Easter, Resurrection, Pentecost, Preaching, Acts, Resurrection Of Christ  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Sign Of Jonah Was The Resurrection Of Christ, Not A Solar Eclipse.

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Apr 6, 2024

As far as the claim that the solar eclipse happened at the exact same time Jonah was in Nineveh, astronomers do confirm that it’s possible that within a ten-year window at approximately the same time period Jonah was in Nineveh there was an eclipse. However, that’s not precisely the exact same ...read more

Tags: Jonah, Resurrection, Prophecy, Second Coming, Rapture, Tribulation, False Teaching, Nineveh, False Prophets, Return Of Christ, Solar Eclipse  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Power To Be The Light

Contributed by Joshua Blackmon on Jun 3, 2024

Smartphones are amazing pieces of technology. Everything my generation went to RadioShack to purchase is now all together in the palm of our hand, including our flashlights. My grandfather loved flashlights. It was okay to get him a new one each year for Christmas or his birthday. He would take a ...read more

Scripture: Acts 1:8, John 15:5

Tags: Light, Holy Spirit, Power

Denomination: Pentecostal

Forgiveness

Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Oct 24, 2025

One of my heroes of the faith is the late Richard Wurmbrand who died in February 2001. Wurmbrand was born in Rumania in 1920 as a Jew and became a Christian when he encountered Christ at an early age. He shared his faith with the occupying troops in the 1940’s and the Germans threw him in prison ...read more

Scripture: Luke 11:4

Tags: God's Underground, Wurmbrand

Denomination: Anglican

Building Bridges

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Jan 8, 2026

WILL ALLEN DROMGOOLE, 1860 TO 1934. She wrote over 7,500 poems and 5,000 essays. Her works are recorded in 13 books. My Dad, Wade M. Hughes (1931) committed this poem to memory and would often use it when speaking to leaders. I love this poem. ***THE BRIDGE BUILDER AN OLD MAN, GOING DOWN A LONE ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:6-12, Philippians 4:11-13

Tags: Bridge, Build

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Good Won’t Get You There, Feda H. ...  PRO

Contributed by A. Todd Coget on Oct 11, 2001

[Good Won’t Get You There, Feda H. Babinski] I’m standing there in front of gates like none I’ve ever found They shine like golden ribbons as they glide across the ground I see the stairs that never end how brilliantly they glow I start to climb and realize there’s nothing down below Then ...read more

Tags: Faith Vs. Works, Judgment

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Unexpected Grace  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 26, 2002

UNEXPECTED GRACE I left work early so I could have some uninterrupted study time right before the final in my Youth Issues class. When I got to class, everybody was doing their last minute studying. The teacher came in and said he would review with us for just a little bit before the test. We went ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:4-10

Tags: Grace, God's Provision

Michael Yaconelli's "Messy Spirituality"  PRO

Contributed by David Selleck on Oct 26, 2006

Michael Yaconelli’s, "Messy Spirituality" Vincent’s story about grace graciously given in the messiest of circumstances from Michael Yaconelli’s book Messy Spirituality. In a book aby New Zealand author Mike Riddell, Vincent has met and fallen in love with a young girl named Marilyn. Neither one ...read more

Denomination: Methodist

The Story Of Squanto  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 26, 2007

The Story of Squanto Most of us know the story of the first Thanksgiving -- at least, we know the Pilgrim version. But how many of us know the Indian viewpoint? No, I’m not talking about some revisionist, politically correct version of history. I’m talking about the amazing story of the way God ...read more

Longsuffering  PRO

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

Longsuffering Galatians 5:22 tells us that longsuffering is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. The Greek word for longsuffering means, "patience, forbearing, perseverance, being constant, steadfast, and enduring." The practical application of this fruit is that God's Holy Spirit gives obedient ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:22

Tags: Longsuffering, Fruit Of The Spirit

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational