In Sermon Illustrations: "Chained By Satan"

By The Power Of His Holy Spirit Filling And ...

Contributed by R. David Reynolds on Jul 2, 2007

By the power of His Holy Spirit filling and empowering us, let us fulfill the fervor of Dorothea Day’s poem “My Captain”: Out of the night that dazzles me, Bright as the sun from pole to pole, I thank the God I know to be For Christ the conqueror of my soul. Since His the sway of ...read more

Tags: Commandments Steal

Denomination: Methodist

Picked From The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 1, 2010

Picked From the Fire John Wesley never forgot a terrible night of his childhood. He was only six years old at the time, and he had awakened in the family’s old rectory to find it ablaze from top to bottom. Everyone else had been dragged from the building, but by some extraordinary oversight he had ...read more

Scripture: Zechariah 3:1-5

Tags: Hell, Fire

The Gospel Tract Dispenser

Contributed by Tim Smith on Oct 20, 2010

THE GOSPEL TRACT DISPENSER Mike Slaughter tells the story of rushing through the airport to catch his connecting flight. He ran into the bathroom and went into a stall. And when he began to pull on the toilet paper, and a Gospel tract fell out onto the floor. He picked it up and began to read ...read more

Tags: Evangelism How To

Denomination: Methodist

Angels - Do You Believe?

Contributed by John Bright on Mar 20, 2026

Please raise your hand if you believe in angels. Thanks, put your hand down. Please raise your hand if you believe in demons. Thanks, put your hand down. If you raised your hand both times, you have a Biblical view of angels. Too many church members have a view of angels that contains New Age ...read more

Scripture: 2 Peter 2:10-16, Jude 1:8-11

Tags: Angels, Demons, Billy Graham

Denomination: Methodist

In Texas Last Week, An 18 Year Old Man Was ...

Contributed by Art Good on Jun 7, 2007

In Texas last week, an 18 year old man was arrested for wearing a noose in public. As Jewelry. Seems kind of morbid doesn’t it? A noose is an instrument of an agonizing death. It represents vigilante law, I would never be proud to wear a noose. What about an electric chair? Did you know you ...read more

Denomination: Wesleyan

The Joy Of Her Silence

Contributed by Bobby Bodenhamer on Dec 27, 2008

THE JOY OF HER SILENCE Listen to this case history that appears in Dr. Paul Tournier's book, "The Strong and the Weak." It is the story of a family in which there were father, mother and several children. The father had a problem with one of his daughters, a little girl who was very quiet, very ...read more

Denomination: *other

Bound: Brother Andrew And The Gibbon

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Nov 22, 2010

BOUND: BROTHER ANDREW AND THE GIBBON In God’s Smuggler, Brother Andrew tells the story of his early life. One section deals with his hell-for-leather days in the Dutch army in Indonesia. While serving in that area, fighting against Sukarno in the late 1940s, he bought a young ape, a gibbon, which ...read more

Tags: Guilt

Denomination: Brethren

In His Book The Renew Mind (Bethany House, ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

In his book The Renew Mind (Bethany House, 1981), Larry Christiansen tells a story that is a perfect illustration for our sermon text for today. I’d like for you to imagine that you live in a run down apartment. As I describe this, I actually picture in my mind my apartment in St. Paul I shared ...read more

Tags: Jesus Temptation

[058]. A Message From A Poem – Delusionalism Contradicts What’s Truth

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Mar 12, 2025

[058]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – DELUSIONALISM CONTRADICTS WHAT’S TRUTH I believe Christians who ignore what is happening in the world are living in a bubble. We must understand current events and especially as they line up with the last days and biblical prophecy. We live in the days of ...read more

Scripture: Luke 21:28, Colossians 2:4, 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18, 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12

Tags: Deception, Truth, Redemption, Delusion, Current Events, Strong Delusion, Deluding Influence  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Head-Up And Head-On! (11.10.05--Christian ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Nov 8, 2005

Head-Up and Head-On! (11.10.05--Christian Soldiers!--James4:7) When you are afraid to take an action, it’s the first step that’s the hardest one to take. Our little dachshund Webley is a living example of that. Webley has always been afraid of stairs. It doesn’t matter if he is going up or coming ...read more

Scripture: James 4:7

Tags: Fear And Worry

Denomination: Lutheran

The Eskimo's Are Among The Greatest Hunter's Of ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

The Eskimo’s are among the greatest hunter’s of the world, but there is one animal that is the most difficult for them to catch. This animal has the greatest intellect, keenest smell, and the sharpest eyesight. And yet for the Eskimo’s to survive they must trap and kill this animal before it ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 140:5, Genesis 19:1-26

Tags: Sin Bondage To, Sword Of The Spirit

Sins Are Habits  PRO

Contributed by John Sattler on Feb 18, 2013

SINS ARE HABITS I’m reading a book right now called "The Power of Habit" (http://charlesduhigg.com/the-power-of-habit/) about how so much of our daily life is lived by habit. We have to. Our brain needs habits in order for us to be able to function. Just about everything we do is habitual. How ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:28, Romans 12:2

Tags: Temptation General

Denomination: Lutheran

Sifted Like Wheat

Contributed by Sam Mccormick on Dec 15, 2016

A rooster’s crow announced the dawn. This dawn was not the sunrise, still hours away, but the dawn of Peter’s realization of what he had done. Like the first rays of the sun slicing through the night’s darkness, Peter awakened to his sin and its gravity. It cut him to the core of his being, and ...read more

Scripture: Luke 22:31-32

Tags: Peter, Betrayal Of Christ, Sifted, Rehabilitation

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Outwit, Outplay, Outlast

Contributed by Todd Catteau on Nov 18, 2020

Over the pandemic I reunited with an old friend – Survivor. That’s right, the father of all reality shows and I had been apart for several years when the shutdown brought us back together. I had faithfully watched the first few seasons, but, as it is with many relationships, we drifted away over ...read more

Tags: Faith, Endurance, Wait, Parousia, Patience, Coming, Second, Waiting  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

God Still Has One More Move

Contributed by Jm Raja Lawrence on Sep 22, 2023

This is a story about a painting in a famous art gallery in France. The painting depicts two chess players, one of whom is Satan, who appears arrogantly confident, and the other is a man who looks forlorn. If Satan wins, he wins the man's soul. (The painting is now popularly known as ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 23:4, 1 Corinthians 10:13, James 4:7, Ephesians 6:11, 1 Peter 5:8-9  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Painting, Control, Player, Chess

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[078]. A Message From A Poem – Failure Leads To Hurt And Sorrow

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Apr 12, 2025

[078]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – FAILURE LEADS TO HURT AND SORROW This poem was written one Sunday morning while waiting for a church service to start. It flowed quickly. It was around the time I was speaking on a series in the life of Peter. Identify yourselves if you have never failed the ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 1:7-10

Tags: Hurt, Forgiveness, Sin, Failure, Sorrow  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[114]. A Message From A Poem – Have You Studied A Fish’s Head?

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Jun 22, 2025

[114]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – HAVE YOU STUDIED A FISH’S HEAD? Perhaps the title of this poem seems strange but the fact of it is not strange. God has put His stamp on all creation. All is so intricately designed and interlocked. Man can not create even a flea yet alone some godless evolution ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 14:1-2, Genesis 1:20-21

Tags: Symmetry, Christian Poetry, Christian Poems, God Is The Creator, Fish Head, Evolution, Design, Perfection, Darwin, After Their Kind  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[247]. A Message From A Poem – Spiralling Downwards

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Jan 2, 2026

[247]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – SPIRALLING DOWNWARDS There is nothing sadder than to see a light plane on fire and spiralling downwards to the ground. We know that is a tragedy that ends in death. Any spiralling downwards will be a disaster and death. This poem looks at the state of the world ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 60:1-3, Zechariah 14:16-17, Zechariah 14:9

Tags: Immorality, Deep, Spiral, Gross, Christian Poetry, Christian Poems, World, Night, Evil, Darkness  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[291]. A Message From A Poem – The Stamp On Our Lives As Christians

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Feb 18, 2026

[291]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – THE STAMP ON OUR LIVES AS CHRISTIANS This poem is set out with three sets of three making 9 stanzas. The final line in the stanza marks what set it is in. The title means the ownership of our lives by God, similar to the wax seal that used to be applied in days ...read more

Scripture: Romans 14:7-9, 2 Corinthians 1:21-22

Tags: Belong, Holy Spirit, Sealed, Own, Stamp, Christian Poems, Lord  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[302]. A Message From A Poem - They All Forsook Him And Fled

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Mar 3, 2026

[302]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM - THEY ALL FORSOOK HIM AND FLED Did the disciples really forsake the Lord, or was it a natural, human action of fear? The Gospels are clear on this. Their peace and happiness of three years was shattered when their Lord was taken by the vile religious leaders to be ...read more

Scripture: Mark 14:26-29, Zechariah 13:7, Mark 14:49-50, Matthew 26:56

Tags: Betrayal, Scattered, Christian Poetry, Fled, Christian Poems, Fear, Disciples, Sheep  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational