In Sermon Illustrations: "Built On Sand"

Cost Of Giving In To Temptation

Contributed by Edward Hardee on Aug 14, 2024

Illustration: Cost of Giving in to Temptation There is a cost when we give into temptation. Here I have a sample of a wall. This is a wall of sheetrock. Looks good when painted. Most houses are made of this. What do you think would happen if I take this hammer and knock a hole in it? ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:13

Tags: Temptation, Character, Damage

Denomination: Church Of God

Stats On Grace

Contributed by John Shearhart on Aug 14, 2006

STATS ON GRACE How many gallons of water are in the ocean? Answer: 3.612 x 10²º gallons of sea water in the ocean. That is 3.612 x 1 with 21 zeros. How many stars are in the known universe? Answer: 70 sextillion (7 followed by 22 zeros) was calculated by a team of stargazers based at the ...read more

Tags: Christian Values

I Recently Heard A Radio Report About A Group Of ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Nov 29, 2005

I recently heard a radio report about a group of young men in Holland who were trying to break the world’s record for domino toppling. For many weeks they plied their skills, setting up one domino after another until there were ten’s of thousands in place. Knowing that all it would take is one ...read more

Scripture: 2 Chronicles 1:11-12

Tags: Wisdom

Denomination: Lutheran

Eddy Stone Lighthouse Rebuilt On Rock And ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 10, 2009

Eddy Stone Lighthouse Rebuilt on Rock and Survives The first beacon of the Eddy Stone Lighthouse for the English Channel off the coast of Plymouth was placed there over 250 years ago to warn ships of the dangerous reefs. Winstanley, the architect who built it, was so confident of it’s strength ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 127:1

Tags: Affliction

Everything I Need To Know I Learned From Noah  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 4, 2011

EVERYTHING I NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED FROM NOAH In 1988, Robert Fulghum published his best-selling book, Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. Recently, somebody suggested another book title: Everything I Need to Know I Learned from Noah. For example... * Don't miss the boat. * Plan ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 11:7

Tags: Noah

No Faith In The Future, No Power For The Present

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 12, 2012

NO FAITH IN THE FUTURE, NO POWER FOR THE PRESENT Years ago, a small town in Maine was proposed for the site of a great hydroelectric plant. Since the dam would be built across the river, the entire town would be submerged. When the project was announced, the people were given many months to ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 29:10-14, 1 John 3:3

Tags: Future

Forgotten Lifeboat

Contributed by David Dunn on Nov 3, 2025

When the church stops rescuing the lost, it loses its reason to exist. God calls us from comfort back to mission. Years ago, a small village sat along a rocky coastline where shipwrecks often happened. Volunteers built a tiny rescue hut and kept watch, rowing out whenever a distress call came. ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:4, Matthew 28:19

Tags: Complacency, Mission

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

There Were Two Brothers. They Had Not Spoken For ...  PRO

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Aug 1, 2002

There were two brothers. They had not spoken for many years. The Father had given them adjoining land, they had built houses and farmed their land and raised their families together. BUT! There had been hurt and pain and disappointment and misunderstanding between the two brothers. They had not ...read more

Tags: Family

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Hold Up The Light  PRO

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Sep 11, 2003

Illustration: Hold Up the Light The famous Eddystone lighthouse off the coast of Cornwall, England, was first built in a fanciful way, by the learned and eccentric Winstanley. On its sides he put various boastful inscriptions. He was very proud of his structure, and from his lofty balcony used ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:24-27

Tags: Christian Love, Faith, Holiness

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Two Angry Brothers?

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Jan 20, 2022

ACCIDENTLY, COINCIDENCE OR ON PURPOSE? There were two precious brothers. They loved each other. Their parents owned a huge farm. The brothers worked in harmony alongside their mom and dad for years. Suddenly and unexpectedly the father and mother died. One brother went to a lawyer about the ...read more

Scripture: Luke 10:29

Tags: Anger, Forgive

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Shut Up: He Who Guards His Lips Guards His Soul

Contributed by Tony Abram on Jan 25, 2007

Shut Up, He who guards his lips guards his soul. A Church in Kansas City has as its slogan: Wake up, sing up, preach up, pray up and pay up, but never give up or let up or back up or shut up ...read more

Let No One Or Anything Stand Between You And ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"Let no one or anything stand between you and the difficult task, let nothing deny you the rich chance to gain strength by adversity, confidence by mastery, success by deserving it. Do it better each time. Do it better than anyone else ...read more

Tags: Becoming A Christian

Antwone Fisher: "Who Will Cry For The Little ...

Contributed by Rickey Bennett on Aug 15, 2009

Antwone Fisher: "Who Will Cry for the Little Boy" Based on a true story, the film Antwone Fisher tells of a young man who grew up in an abusive foster home. Over the years, Antwone grew bitter towards his natural family for giving him up. By the time he enlisted in the Navy, his anger got him into ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness For Others

Denomination: *other

The Keeper Of The Springs By Peter Marshall  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 8, 2012

THE KEEPER OF THE SPRINGS by Peter Marshall Once upon a time, a certain town grew up at the foot of a mountain range. It was sheltered in the lee of the protecting heights, so that the wind that shuddered at the doors and flung handfuls of sleet against the window panes was a wind whose fury was ...read more

Scripture: John 4:4-42

Tags: Holy Spirit In Believers

The Keeper Of The Springs

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Dec 2, 2020

THE KEEPER OF THE SPRINGS by Peter Marshall Once upon a time, a certain town grew up at the foot of a mountain range. It was sheltered in the lee of the protecting heights, so that the wind that shuddered at the doors and flung handfuls of sleet against the window panes was a wind whose fury was ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 1:1-10

Tags: Sin, Purity, Righteousness, Holiness

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

God Honors Radical, Risk-Taking ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Beaird on Nov 6, 2000

"God honors radical, risk-taking faith. When arks are built, lives are saved. When soldiers march, Jerichos tumble. When staffs are raised, seas still open. When a lunch is shared, thousands are fed. And when a garment is touched -- whether by the hand of an anemic woman in ...read more

Scripture: 2 Kings 4:8-37, 1 Samuel 1:8-16

Tags: Faith General, Faith

Denomination: Pentecostal

It Is Not Our Affluence, Or Our Plumbing, Or ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"It is not our affluence, or our plumbing, or our clogged freeways that grip the imagination of others. Rather, it is the values upon which our system is built. These values imply our adherence not only to liberty and individual freedom, but also to international peace, law and ...read more

Tags: Christian Values

Demolish The Old, Build Something New

Contributed by Jerry Blaxton on Mar 1, 2010

DEMOLISH THE OLD, BUILD SOMETHING NEW I like watching those video clips of buildings being demolished with dynamite. The people that do that spend hours planning and setting the dynamite in place and wiring everything, so that everything will just kind of fall in on itself, without affecting ...read more

Tags: Born Again

Denomination: Baptist

Biblical Proof The Creator Of Heaven And Earth Wrote The Bible

Contributed by Raymond Petzholt on Aug 25, 2025

Biblical Proof the Creator of Heaven & Earth also Wrote the Bible Hebrews 3:4 “For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God.” A house does not build itself. A creation cannot create itself! Christ has built all things for He is God! (John 1:1-3; Col. 1:16-17; ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 3:4

Tags: Inspiration Of The Bible, Science In The Bible

Denomination: Baptist

There Is A Plaque On A Church Building In England ...  PRO

Contributed by Timothy Smith on Aug 22, 2004

There is a plaque on a church building in England that reads like this: "In the year 1653, when all things sacred throughout the land were either demolished or profaned, Sir Robert Shirley built this church. His singular praise is this: To have done the best of things in the worst of times." In ...read more

Tags: Love Of The Disciples

Denomination: Christian Church