In Sermon Illustrations: "Careful"

Spiritual Millionaires

Contributed by C. Philip Green on Feb 5, 2009

SPIRITUAL MILLIONAIRES Obeying the law justifies no one, Jew or Gentile, because no one obeys the law. There is no one righteous, not even one, Romans 3:10 says. Therefore, the law can only condemn us, not declare us righteous. For example, the law is very clear: "Do not write a check for more ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:2-4

Tags: Justification

Denomination: Evangelical Free

God Is A Jealous God

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 12, 2009

GOD IS A JEALOUS GOD A few years ago, I was working in Qatar installing a newsroom set for Al-Jazeera TV. I’d been there for nearly a month and was ready to go home. I can’t describe for you how badly I missed my family. We were nearly finished with the set, and the last thing to be done was to ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 20:5

Tags: Idolatry, Generation

Remember The Duck

Contributed by C Jordan on Nov 1, 2009

REMEMBER THE DUCK A little boy visiting his grandparents was given his first slingshot. He practiced in the woods, but he could never hit his target. As he came back to Grandma’s back yard, he spied her pet duck. On an impulse he took aim and let fly. The stone hit, and the duck fell dead. The ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness General

Denomination: *other

Goldfish Dies From Soap Used To Clean Its ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 5, 2009

Goldfish Dies From Soap Used To Clean Its Tank [KILLER SOAP] Sometimes we consider it our responsibility to correct a brother or sister in Christ. We may notice an action or attitude that is contrary to the teachings of the Bible. So we decide it’s up to us to correct the wrong. We need to be sure, ...read more

Tags: Encouragement, Words

A Pastor Told Of A Woman In His Church That Had ...

Contributed by Ed Sasnett on Jul 8, 2010

A pastor told of a woman in his church that had the spiritual gift of service and mercy. Over and over she was used in situations that brought great honor to the Lord. There was a woman in the community with eight children. The terrible news came to this mother that her husband had been killed ...read more

Tags: Servanthood

Denomination: Baptist

War On Poverty Fails

Contributed by T D on Dec 28, 2010

WAR ON POVERTY FAILS I don't think any of us would consider ourselves to be wealthy when it comes to the top level of money makers in the USA, and while we clearly are not as well off as we were a year ago, our level of wealth and possibilities of being able to make a living far surpasses most of ...read more

Tags: Giving General

Denomination: Evangelical Free

The Face Of God

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 26, 2011

THE FACE OF GOD I heard the story once of a great Cherokee wood carver. He took logs and sat them on a stump outside his back door and sat in front of that log sometimes for hours just staring at it. Finally, he would pick up his carving tools and start carving the most beautiful of things out of ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:1-20

Tags: Birth Of Jesus

Beholden To Money

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 13, 2011

BEHOLDEN TO MONEY In his book How Much Is Enough? Hungering For God In An Affluent Culture author and Founder of Bread for the World: Arthur Simon writes about Bryce and Ellen, "a couple in their mid-thirties. They have two sons and a daughter, and on Sundays the family attends church more often ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:19-34

Tags: Money

Walking On Water In Los Angeles  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 9, 2011

WALKING ON WATER IN LOS ANGELES [James Bryan Smith, The Good and Beautiful Life (InterVarsity Press, 2010), pp. 131-132 | posted 7/05/2010] In the early 1990s, gang violence erupted in Boyle Heights, a section of East Los Angeles. Eight gangs were in conflict in the parish around the Dolores ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:9

Tags: Christian Witness

For The Life Of An Enemy  PRO

Contributed by Derrick Tuper on Feb 14, 2012

FOR THE LIFE OF AN ENEMY A Baptist pastor named Peter Miller was from a small town in Pennsylvania who lived during the American Revolution. And there was another man who lived there named Michael Wittmann, an evil-minded sort who did all that he could to oppose and humiliate the pastor. He made ...read more

Tags: Obedience

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Kyle Idleman: I Cheapened The Gospel  PRO

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Apr 15, 2012

KYLE IDLEMAN: I CHEAPENED THE GOSPEL "Many of the fans turn to go home. I was struck by the fact that Jesus doesn't chase after them. He doesn't soften his message to make it more appealing. He doesn't send the disciples chasing after them with a creative handout inviting them to come back for a ...read more

Scripture: John 6:60-69

Tags: Easter Palm Sunday

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Please Come Home.

Contributed by Ken Henson on Jul 5, 2012

"PLEASE COME HOME." There was a girl named Christina, who lived in a dusty village of Brazil. In her late teens she was upset with her parents because she thought she was restricted. She had this dream of going to Rio De Janeiro, but her mother knew that she will not be able to take care of ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 18:12-14

Tags: Forgiveness For Others

Denomination: *other

Ten Dollars Is Ten Dollars  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 6, 2012

TEN DOLLARS IS TEN DOLLARS A man named Stumpy and his wife Martha went to the state fair every year and every year when Stumpy saw the antique bi-plane he would say, "Martha, I'd like to ride in that airplane." Martha always replied, "I know Stumpy, but that airplane ride costs 10 dollars, and ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 3:1-7

Tags: Marriage Struggle

Abandoned At Seventeen

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Dec 8, 2014

One of the characters in Kent Haruf’s novel Plainsong, is Victoria, a seventeen-year-old girl who is four months pregnant. When her boyfriend finds out about her condition, he breaks up with her. And when her mother finds out, she kicks her out of the house and says to her, “You got yourself into ...read more

Scripture: Ruth 3:1-13

Tags: Support, Abandonment

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Stick With The Basics

Contributed by Richard Tow on Jul 25, 2017

When kids turn sixteen, they often take an in-car driving course to prepare them for their driver’s license test. I want you to imagine with me a driving instructor who meticulously teaches the student how to properly adjust the seat and put on the seat belt, how to adjust the mirrors so that the ...read more

Scripture: Romans 1:16

Tags: Gospel, Essentials Of Faith

Denomination: Charismatic

Who Needs Twitter!

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Aug 20, 2019

We all want our lives to matter, and we believe they only matter if they are noticed by someone. I wonder if this desire for a witness isn't what fuels a lot of blogs, Facebook, and especially Twitter. We want someone, anyone, to take notice … to care about us … to watch us and by their ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 139:1-12

Tags: Communication, Self Esteem, Relationship

Denomination: Pentecostal

Eragon Vs. Galbatorix

Contributed by Joel Pankow on Sep 17, 2020

Years ago I read through a children’s series called Eragon. Eragon was going to face a strong and evil sorcerer named Galbatorix who had taken over the land through murder and violence. Finally, after battle upon battle to get to him, Eragon was able to confront Galbatorix deep within his lair. ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 18:15

Tags: Sin, Confrontation

Denomination: Lutheran

The Answer To My Prayers

Contributed by John Bright on Mar 5, 2021

I don’t see as many vending machines around as I used to see. The ones I see now, you can pay with your phone or your smart watch. In the old days, all the vending machines had the food on metal coils that would rotate and move the food forward when you make your selection. Sometimes, that item ...read more

Scripture: John 14:13, Luke 4:38-44

Tags: God, Prayer, Vending Machine

Denomination: Methodist

Population Control Stats

Contributed by K. Edward Skidmore on Mar 30, 2009

POPULATION CONTROL STATS The God of Israel stood apart in the ancient world as the One and Only God who cares about even the most helpless little infant. Exodus 1:20 says that God rewarded these brave midwives by giving them families of their own. You see, our God sees babies as blessings! ...read more

Tags: Birth Control

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Object Lesson: New Socks

Contributed by Mark Eberly on Apr 13, 2009

OBJECT LESSON: NEW SOCKS One of the things that our church does is that we give out new socks to some of the homeless men and women. You walk around and sleep here and there, and even if you take care of yourself and shower, your socks get dirty. When you’ve been wearing probably the same clothes ...read more

Tags: Born Again

Denomination: Church Of God