In Sermon Illustrations: "Broken Family"

Someone Once Said That, As A Child When He ...  PRO

Contributed by Morris Mott on Sep 27, 2001

Someone once said that, as a child when he thought of Heaven, he thought of a very cold ominous place with an innumerable amount of faceless angels. As years went by, one of his siblings died. When he then thought of Heaven, he pictured this family member, very lonely, standing in this ominous ...read more

Tags: Heaven, Death

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Author Leo Buscaglia Tells This Story About His ...

Contributed by Scott Bradford on Nov 15, 2002

"Author Leo Buscaglia tells this story about his mother and their "misery dinner." It was the night after his father came home and said it looked as if he would have to go into bankruptcy because his partner had absconded with their firm’s funds. His mother went out and sold some jewelry to buy ...read more

Tags: Joy, Human Body

Denomination: United Methodist

A Federal Reserve Survey Released On 1/15/00 ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 10, 2006

A Federal Reserve survey released on 1/15/00 reports that U.S. families median net worth jumped from $60,900 in ’95 to $71,600 in ’98, the survey’s latest year. A rise of nearly 18%! 48.8% of families owned stock in ’98, up from 40.4% in ’95. The median net worth of households with incomes of ...read more

Tags: Money

Pushover Parents: A Recent Study Found That 24% ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2006

Pushover Parents: A recent study found that 24% of teens say their parents have given them alcohol, and 21% have been to a party where alcohol was supplied by the parents. Focus on the Family’s Dr. Bill Maier attributes the problem to what he calls pushover parents. “Unfortunately, there are a ...read more

Tags: Children

In January, 1984, I Was Painting The Home Of An ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 17, 2006

In January, 1984, I was painting the home of an 89 year-old lady in Spokane. She had a large family Bible prominently displayed on the coffee table and remarked that it was 116 years old and a priceless heirloom. I commented on how remarkable that was, and added, "It doesn’t matter how old the ...read more

Tags: Bible Influence

I Met My Best Friend In A Texas High School In ...

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Mar 10, 2008

"I met my best friend in a Texas high school in 1981. We were both military brats who’d spent time in Germany so we had some stuff in common. "While my mom was organizing old photos in 1986, we discovered that my family and my best friend’s family had stayed at the same hotel in Munich during the ...read more

Denomination: Independent/Bible

What Will They Say?

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Nov 23, 2010

WHAT WILL THEY SAY? A minister, a priest and a rabbi die and go to heaven for orientation. They are all asked, "When you are in your casket, and friends, family, and congregants are mourning over you, what would you like to hear them say?" The minister says, "I would like to hear them say that I ...read more

Tags: Death

Denomination: Brethren

Persecution In Nigeria

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Oct 10, 2011

PERSECUTION IN NIGERIA Muslim extremists carried out new attacks on villages in Nigeria’s Plateau state in September, killing more than 100 Christians, including entire families, according to Compass Direct News. On Sept. 10, 2011, Muslim extremists stormed Vwang Fwil village at 3 a.m., killing ...read more

Tags: Persecution

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Chuck Swindoll In His Book, Improving Your Serve, ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 1, 2001

Chuck Swindoll in his book, Improving Your Serve, gives a memorable illustration: Let’s pretend that you work for me. In fact, you are my executive assistant in a company that is growing rapidly. I’m the owner and I’m interested in expanding overseas. To pull this off, I make plans to travel ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 3:1-13

Tags: Call Of The Disciples, Discipleship, Faith

Let’s Play ‘let’s ...  PRO

Contributed by Darren Ethier on Jul 11, 2001

Let’s play ‘Let’s Pretend’. Let’s pretend that you work for me. In fact, you are my executive assistant in a company that is growing rapidly. I’m the owner and I’m interested in expanding overseas. To pull this off, I make plans to travel abroad and stay there until a new branch office gets ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 26:1-16, James 2:11

Tags: Discipleship, Faith, Bible Study

Denomination: Pentecostal

Erma Bombeck Wrote This Essay Entitled, When God ...  PRO

Contributed by Aaron Burgess on Sep 26, 2002

Erma Bombeck wrote this essay entitled, When God Created Women. “By the time the Lord made mothers, he was into his sixth day of working overtime. An Angel appeared and said "Why are you spending so much time on this one?" And the Lord answered and said, "Have you seen the spec sheet on her? She ...read more

Tags: Mother's Day, Parenting, Love, Share

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Let's Play ‘let's Pretend'. Let's Pretend That ...  PRO

Contributed by Charles R. Swindoll on Oct 13, 2004

Let’s play ‘Let’s Pretend’. Let’s pretend that you work for me. In fact, you are my executive assistant in a company that is growing rapidly. I’m the owner and I’m interested in expanding overseas. To pull this off, I make plans to travel abroad and stay there until a new branch office gets ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 3:1-13, Matthew 25:14-30, Matthew 17:1-13, James 1:22, John 19:30-31, John 11:1-45, John 11:45-57  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Faith

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Let's Play 'let's Pretend'. Let's Pretend That ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 31, 2008

Let's play 'Let's Pretend'. Let's pretend that you work for me. In fact, you are my executive assistant in a company that is growing rapidly. I'm the owner and I'm interested in expanding overseas. To pull this off, I make plans to travel abroad and stay there until a new branch office gets ...read more

Tags: Action

Didn't You Get My Letters?

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 16, 2008

DIDN'T YOU GET MY LETTERS? Let's play “Let's Pretend". Let's pretend that you work for me. In fact, you are my executive assistant in a company that is growing rapidly. I'm the owner and I’m interested in expanding overseas. To pull this off, I make plans to travel abroad and stay there until a ...read more

Tags: Discipleship

This Baby Is For You

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 17, 2011

THIS BABY IS FOR YOU Pastor and author Richard Foster writes about genuine, joyous giving. "Giving with a glad and generous heart has a way of rooting out the tough old miser within us. Just the very act of letting go of money or some other treasure does something great within us."1 Such genuine, ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 9:2-7

Tags: Birth Of Jesus

Growth Takes Time

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Jul 18, 2018

GROWTH IS RARELY AN ACCIDENT, GROWTH HAS A PLAN… GROWTH REQUIRES EFFORT… THE MORE EFFORT THE MORE THE GROWTH WILL THRIVE… Blessed is he who expects nothing for he shall get exactly what he expected. Les Brown tells a wonderful illustration that we need to consider… There is a tree that grows in ...read more

Tags: Plan, Growth

Denomination: Assembly Of God

The Price Has Been Paid For You

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Aug 28, 2024

The story is told of a young man who left the old country and sailed to America to make a new life in the new world. Before he left, his father pressed some money in his hand. It wasn't much, but it was all he had. He hoped it would tide the boy over until he found a job. His mother handed him ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:13-14

Tags: Good News, Barriers, Intimacy With God, Missing Out

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

There Were 20,099 Foreign Adoptions By American ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2006

There were 20,099 foreign adoptions by American families in 2002. (Foster Letter ...read more

Tags: Abortion

59% Of Today's New Adult Believers Came To Faith ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 13, 2009

59% of today’s new adult believers came to faith through family or ...read more

Tags: Evangelism How To

The First Object Of My Heart Is My Own Country. ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"The first object of my heart is my own country. In that is embarked my family, my ...read more

Tags: Patriotism