In Sermon Illustrations: "Buildings"

John Rigas Served In An Armored Infantry ...

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Sep 7, 2008

John Rigas served in an armored infantry division in WW II. He worked his way up from being an employee in a Sylvania plant to own a movie theatre which he parlayed over time into the Adelphia cable system, which also employed his sons. He was a religious man. He was the backbone of his small ...read more

Tags: Sin Exposed

Denomination: Catholic

Take It All, It's Worth Nothing

Contributed by Ovidiu Radulescu on Oct 10, 2008

Take It All, It's Worth Nothing Like the story my grand father told me about of Nicolae, one his neighbors. In 1946, after WWII, the Russians were the masters of Eastern Europe. They nationalized the banks, flooding the market with endless paper money. Nicolae sold a property, and my grandfather ...read more

Tags: Hypocrisy

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

The Story Is Told Of An Aspiring Artist Who Was ...

Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Jan 26, 2009

The story is told of an aspiring artist who was commissioned to do a large sculpture for a famous museum. At last he had the opportunity to create the masterpiece he had long dreamed of. After laboring over the work for many years, he saw it grow not only in shape but in beauty. But when it was ...read more

Tags: Salvation

Denomination: Other

If You Really Want To Earn The Respect Of Others, ...

Contributed by Mark Eberly on Mar 17, 2009

If you really want to earn the respect of others, you begin by respecting yourself. This means doing what is right in God’s eyes. Not cutting corners. Not engaging in lifestyles and activities that you know would be wrong in God’s eyes. Lying, cheating, stealing, being selfish, outbursts of rage ...read more

Tags: Righteousness

Denomination: Church Of God

Have A Heart

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Apr 28, 2023

HEARTBEAT? DO WE EVER SAY: THANK YOU? DO WE EVER GET TIRED AND WEARY? DO WE EVER LISTEN TO HEAR THE HEART BEAT OF GOD? John 13:23 Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved. On the average your heart beats around 70 times a minute, 100,800 TIMES A DAY. ...read more

Scripture: John 13:23

Tags: Heart, Faithful

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Prejudice Is Forming Opinions Before You Know Facts

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jan 28, 2024

In 1884 a young man died, and after the funeral his grieving parents decided to establish a memorial to him. With that in mind they met with Charles Eliot, president of Harvard University. Eliot received the unpretentious couple into his office and asked what he could do. After they expressed their ...read more

Tags: Favoritism, Prejudice, Partiality, Judgementalism

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The House God Moved

Contributed by David Dunn on Nov 12, 2025

The story of that little church in Swan Quarter, North Carolina, still stirs my heart. In 1874 the congregation built a modest wooden building, but the land they truly wanted had been refused by its owner. Two years later a storm struck the town, the kind of storm that tears apart homes and ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 3:7-8, Psalm 127:1

Tags: Guidance, Providence

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

The Church

Contributed by Mitchell Leonard on Jan 16, 2026

“The Church” “You don’t have to agree with me today. You don’t have to like me and what I have to say. You can go home ANGRY, but I really hope that you can See that I LOVE YOU, and that’s why I’ve shown you God’s plan. It’s a CHURCH, a group of BELIEVERS, that honor and glorify JESUS It’s NOT ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 16:18

Tags: The Church, Glorifying God

Denomination: Baptist

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

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

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

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

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

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