In Sermon Illustrations: "Building"

The Story Is Told By Dr. John R. Rice That Once ...

Contributed by Ajai Prakash on May 9, 2008

The story is told by Dr. John R. Rice that once he was preaching in a conference with the late Gypsy Smith. After the service he walked out of the building to catch a cab back to his motel. Once in the cab, he began to witness to the driver, whereupon the driver with tears in his eyes, told him ...read more

Tags: Evangelism How To

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Spit On The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 28, 2009

SPIT ON THE PICTURE When North Korea fell to the Communists, all the Christians in a small village were ordered to go at once to their church. The building was plain and simple, and the people had placed a picture of Christ on the wall. When the soldiers walked in, they took it down and put it on ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 2:13

Tags: Persecution

In One Community -- The Village Atheist Was Not ...

Contributed by Karl Popke on May 28, 2010

In one community -- the Village atheist was not a bad man. He just didn’t believe. He wasn’t interested in church…and there was only one in the area. And this church was,-- well, mostly a social club. Heartlessly and spiritually dead—no conversions or decisions for Christ had been made for some ...read more

Tags: Pentecost, Fire

Denomination: Baptist

The Mansion Builder

Contributed by David Dunn on Oct 7, 2025

A story is told of a believer who arrived in heaven and was greeted by an angel who offered to show him his new home. They walked down golden streets lined with breathtaking mansions. Each home seemed larger and brighter than the one before—until they reached a small, simple cottage at the end of ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:19-21, Revelation 22:12, 1 Timothy 6:18-19, Luke 12:33-34

Tags: Eternity, Stewardship, Faithfulness, Generosity

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

When A Bar Had More Faith Than The Church!

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Mar 8, 2022

DO YOU BELIEVE IN PRAYER? A tale is told about a small town that had historically been “dry,” but then a local businessman decided to build a bar. A group of believers from a local church were concerned and planned an all-night prayer meeting to ask God to intervene. It just so happened that ...read more

Tags: Church, Prayer, Humor, Jokes

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[169]. A Message From A Poem – Lessons We Learn From Spiders

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Aug 18, 2025

[169]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – LESSONS WE LEARN FROM SPIDERS The word “spider” is mentioned in the Old Testament in the following verses, all of which have a common theme – {{Job 8:13 “So are the paths of all who forget God, and the hope of the godless will perish, whose confidence is fragile, ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 59:5-6, Job 27:18, Job 8:13

Tags: Nature, Spiders, Christian Poems, Spider Webs, Clever Teachers  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

I Heard The Story Of The Minister Who Was Leading ...  PRO

Contributed by Lynn Malone on Sep 12, 2005

I heard the story of the minister who was leading a building campaign in his church and need to raise some additional funds. Sound familiar? One day, the minister was checking the store room (we know this isn’t a story about Benton United Methodist Church because there ain’t no store room!), and ...read more

Tags: Gifts General

Denomination: Methodist

A Light Named Al  PRO

Contributed by Ken Sauer on Sep 2, 2002

A LIGHT NAMED AL On the morning of September 11, Jeannie Braca switched on the television to check the weather report, only to hear that a plane had just hit the World Trade Center. Jeannie’s husband, Al, worked as a corporate bond trader for Cantor Fitzgerald. His office was on the 105th ...read more

Scripture: Romans 1:16-17, Mark 8:34-37

Tags: Sermon On The Mount, Sharing Your Faith, Evangelism Urgency

Denomination: United Methodist

What To Do When There's No Fireworks

Contributed by John Herrmann on Jun 21, 2011

WHAT TO DO WHEN THERE'S NO FIREWORKS Around sunset one very hot summer’s eve when we (in the Army Chaplaincy) were in Iraq, about forty miles north of Baghdad, we saw the military police pull up in the building just next door. Out came two Iraqi Prisoners of War, their hands were shackled behind ...read more

Tags: Independence Day

Denomination: Lutheran

Puzzles And The Christian Life

Contributed by Greg Nance on Dec 28, 2011

PUZZLES AND THE CHRISTIAN LIFE At our traditional family Christmas gathering with Jenny's side of the family, somebody always brings a puzzle (usually 1000 piece) to put together as part of the festivities. Later, Jenny's mom will frame it and put it on the wall in their family room where there ...read more

Tags: Discipleship

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

When I Look At History I Think Of Another Time ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 21, 2001

When I look at history I think of another time when America faced a crisis. The year was 1857. America was at both an economic and spiritual low. Attendance in churches had dwindled and there was a cynicism among many concerning religion. It was in the midst of this spiritual crisis that God gave a ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:18-27

Tags: Vision, God's Sovereign Will, God's Omniscience

The Good Samaritan  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 8, 2002

Luke 10:30-37 John Darley and Daniel Batson are two Princeton University psychologists. Some years ago they decided to conduct a study, inspired by the story of the Good Samaritan. They conducted the study at Princeton Theological Seminary. They met with a group of seminarians and asked each one ...read more

Scripture: Luke 10:30-37

Tags: Compassion, Christian Love

Last Season's New Tv Reality Show "The ...

Contributed by Gregg Svalstad on Nov 3, 2004

Last season’s new TV reality show “The Apprentice” centering around Donald Trump was a big hit. The 58 year old Trump commands an empire of over 100 companies, billions of dollars, and some of the most illustrious buildings in the world. The newest addition to the Trump kingdom is a massive ...read more

Tags: Call Of The Disciples

Denomination: Baptist

Contractor

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Contractor There was once a contractor who built homes in a small town somewhere in Europe. He built most of the homes for the people who lived in the village and was a gifted carpenter. Unfortunately, he was never able to afford a home of his own. One day, the wealthiest man in town came to the ...read more

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

My Wife Loves Hgtv. (It Drives Me Nuts, But She ...

Contributed by Grant Sisson on Apr 17, 2010

My wife loves HGTV. (It drives me nuts, but she doesn’t watch football with me either.) But once in a while I will sit down with her and watch it. The other night there was a show about the HGTV “good guy” construction expert going into a home that was left supposedly 95% complete when a ...read more

Tags: Repentance

Separation Of Church And State...?

Contributed by Jeff Strite on May 30, 2011

SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE...? God has promised: "Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD." But... wait a minute. I thought those same founders wanted to separate the Church from the State! How many of you have ever heard that phrase? Of course you have. And I'll give a hundred dollar ...read more

Tags: America

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Law, The Whole Law, And Nothing But The Law.

Contributed by Larry Turner on Jun 5, 2016

There is a story about a student at Cambridge University in England who entered the classroom on exam day and asked the proctor to bring him cakes and ale. The proctor refused, expressing astonishment at the young student’s audacity. At this point the student read from the four-hundred-year-old ...read more

Scripture: Deuteronomy 22:5-8

Tags: The Law, Bound By The Law, Judged By The Law

Denomination: Foursquare

What Are You Willing To Camp Out For?

Contributed by Austin W. Duncan on Apr 17, 2026

A few years ago, a Chick-fil-A opened up in Murfreesboro and they ran that “First 100” promotion. The first 100 adults through the doors at 6 a.m. would get free Chick-fil-A for a year, basically a free meal every week. So people did what people do when something is on the line. They showed up ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:25-27

Tags: Priorities, Spiritual Discipline

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Mountain Stream

Contributed by Roy Fowler on Sep 30, 2021

Where I was Pastoring at the time I got 5th Sunday off. I had a favorite fishing hole. The water wasn’t very deep so I could wade in the water. That was fun for me. It had big trees that hung over the water and the sun would shine through them and made it look beautiful. It was great, this river ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 1:1-6

Tags: Becoming Finished, Facing Storms

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Jim Cymbala Began At The Brooklyn Tabernacle As ...  PRO

Contributed by James Wilson on Nov 27, 2000

Jim Cymbala began at the Brooklyn Tabernacle as an ill-equipped, under-educated, time-strapped preacher who led a second congregation in New Jersey. The Brooklyn church had no money to pay him, a ramshackle building, and barely enough attendance to bother with weekly meetings. Today, the ...read more

Scripture: 2 Chronicles 7:14, Jeremiah 8:1-6

Tags: Revival, Prayer Persistence, Prayer General, Prayer

Denomination: Baptist