In Sermon Illustrations: "Called Out"

Some Years Ago, Dr. Karl Menninger, Noted Doctor ...

Contributed by Mark Ferrante on Feb 10, 2007

Some years ago, Dr. Karl Menninger, noted doctor and psychologist, was seeking the cause of many of his patients’ ills. One day he called in his clinical staff and proceeded to unfold a plan for developing, in his clinic, an atmosphere of creative love. All patients were to be given large ...read more

Denomination: Assembly Of God

The Purpose Of Testing Your Faith Is To Help You ...  PRO

Contributed by Tim George on Feb 5, 2001

The purpose of testing your faith is to help you to see whether or not your faith is real and how strong that faith is. A jeweler gives as one of the surest tests for a true diamond what is called the water test. An imitation stone is never ever so brilliant as a genuine stone. A genuine diamond ...read more

Scripture: James 1:2-3

Tags: Growth In Christ, Doubt

Denomination: Baptist

Cheap Grace  PRO

Contributed by Tony Abram on Apr 21, 2008

CHEAP GRACE Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, ...read more

Tags: Grace

Charles Swindoll Has This To Say About This Gift ...

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Oct 26, 2008

Charles Swindoll has this to say about this gift called grace that came from Jesus: "To show grace is to extend favor or kindness to one who doesn’t deserve it and can never earn it. Receiving God’s acceptance by grace always stands in sharp contrast to earning it on the basis of works. Every time ...read more

Tags: Grace

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Unpitied

Contributed by C Vincent on Sep 22, 2009

UNPITIED Spurgeon quote "…if ……we have been warned, if our ministers have been faithful, if they have aroused our conscience, and have constantly and earnestly called our attention to the fact of the wrath to come, if we have not attended to their message, if we have despised the voice of God, if ...read more

Tags: Truth

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Ask Me Later

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Jul 6, 2010

ASK ME LATER Clear-thinking people are often interesting people. One woman shares this story: When my 88-year-old mother was called for jury duty, she had to submit to questioning by the opposing lawyers. "Have you ever dealt with an attorney?" asked the plaintiff's lawyer. "Yes. I had an ...read more

Tags: Future

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Honesty

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Feb 7, 2022

Blaise Pascal observed that human life is nothing but perpetual delusion; human relationships are based on mutual deception. Martin Buber wrote of the uncanny game of hide and seek we play - in which the soul seeks to hide from itself. Thomas Merton - our minds are deformed with a contempt for ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 20:16, Ephesians 4:15, Matthew 5:33-37

Tags: Deception, Truth, Integrity, Misinformation

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Cluttered Closet

Contributed by Ken Pell on Jul 19, 2008

THE CLUTTERED CLOSET Mark 12:29-31 Object: Picture of a cluttered closet Objective: Sometimes we must take the time to pull all the "stuff" out of the closet and go through it piece by piece if we want to bring order to chaos. In my house there is a closet that I call the "junk closet." This ...read more

Tags: Commandments General

Denomination: Nazarene

We're Don't Always Know Who We're Talking To

Contributed by Glynda Lomax on Mar 2, 2025

Proverbs 10:19 - 19 In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise. Sometimes we are so busy talking that we aren’t even talking to who we think we are talking to. I have to tell yall a story about my sweet little Southern Mama who is now in heaven with ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 10:19, Proverbs 13:3, Ephesians 4:29

Tags: Words, Tongue

Denomination: Charismatic

There Is An Account Of A Whaling Ship In 1891 ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

There is an account of a whaling ship in 1891 called the Star of The East. The ship spotted a large sperm whale and sent out 2 boats with harpoons to attack the whale. One of the boats was capsized by the whale and a sailor named John Bartley could not be found. The whale escaped. Later that day, ...read more

Tags: Doing God's Will

Tying Off The Tap Root  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 3, 2011

TYING OFF THE TAP ROOT The Japanese introduced a tree to the world that is called a Bonsai tree. It is measured in inches instead of feet as other trees are measured. It is not allowed to reach anywhere near its full growth potential but instead grows in a stunted miniature form. The reason for ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 2:1-7

Tags: Prayer General

Do You Think God Knows What He Is Doing?

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on May 4, 2022

A young woman prepared for missionary service on foreign fields. She had been appointed by the mission board and was ready to sail when she received a telegram saying that her sister had died in a western state. She cancelled her reservation and went home. The sister left four little children ...read more

Tags: Evangelism, Missions, Trusting God, Providence, Will Of God, Missionaries, Sovereignty Of God  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

God's Way Is The Best.

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on May 31, 2022

I read the story about a young woman who had prepared for missionary service on foreign fields. She had been appointed by the mission board and was ready to sail when she received a telegram saying that her sister had died in a western state. She cancelled her reservation and went home. The ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:28

Tags: Faith, Trust, Obedience, Purpose, Providence, Will Of God, Sovereignty Of God  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Kurtis Warner: Christlike Love  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 28, 2009

KURTIS WARNER: CHRISTLIKE LOVE You never know when an encouraging act of kindness will bring about change in a person’s life for the better. In a supermarket, Kurtis, the stock boy, was busily working when a new voice came over the intercom asking for a carry out at checkout register 4. Kurtis ...read more

Scripture: John 13:34-35

Tags: Christian Love

The If/Then Of Easter  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 7, 2004

THE IF/THEN OF EASTER It’s Easter time. Time to eat all the candy and marshmallow eggs. Time to pig out. There’s gotta be a nicer word for pig out. A euphemism, as it were. Hey, try to think up a nicer word for euphemism. And while you’re at it, think up a shorter word for abbreviation. And a ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:1-20, Matthew 28:1-20

Tags: Easter Resurrection, Go Quickly, Tell

One Day God Was Looking Down At Earth And Saw All ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 8, 2005

One day God was looking down at Earth and saw all of the evil that was going on. He decided to send an angel down to Earth to check it out. So he called one of His best angels and sent the angel to Earth for a time. When the angel returned she told God, yes it is bad on Earth, 95% is bad and 5% ...read more

Tags: Sin General

When Covid-19 Is Over.....

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Mar 30, 2020

When this coronavirus Is over and life returns to normal, may we never, ever take for granted again..... * A handshake or a kind word from a stranger * A hug from a friend * Worshipping with other believers in a crowded church service * A boring night at home * Full shelves at the grocery ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:28, 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Tags: Revival, Thankfulness, Gratitude, Blessings, Remembering, Coronavirus  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

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

Evil Has Arrived

Contributed by Dr. Ronald Shultz on Sep 7, 2021

I am afraid that if Paul Revere rode through our towns crying, "The evil is coming! The evil is coming" Church folks would go back to sleep instead of rising to arms and in the morning have him arrested for disturbing the peace. The same works for revival. The call may come and God ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 2:5, Romans 13:11, Ezekiel 33:6-7

Tags: Candlestick, Awake, Hell, Soul, Sleep, Watchman  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

New Hope From Nothing  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 10, 2002

NEW HOPE FROM NOTHING In Jim Cymbala’s book, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, there is the story of a woman named Roberta Langella. A story she tells in her own words. At the age of 16 she left a broken home to move to New York City where she began living with a man twice her age. A man that got her into ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:5

Tags: Faith, God Brings Hope