In Sermon Illustrations: "Changed Lives"

Praying The Armor Of God

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Aug 12, 2019

PRAYING THE ARMOR OF GOD This is a prayer I shared with our congregation after teaching a series on Spiritual Warfare based upon an exposition of Ephesians 6:10-18. "Good morning, Lord. It’s going to be a great day because I am preparing to win spiritual battles for Your glory and ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-18

Tags: Spiritual Warfare, Prayer

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Do You Know How To Use The Sword Of The Spirit?

Contributed by Doug Fannon on Oct 26, 2020

Many years ago when I was in Army basic training, I spent many hours on the rifle range. Not just an afternoon on the range like many of you who experience Air Force Basic Training. I spent quite literally two-thirds of my training time on the rifle range. I was issued an M-16 assault rifle for ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:17, 2 Timothy 2:15

Tags: Bible, Scripture, Word Of God, Armor Of God, Sword Of The Spirit  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Bee The Body Of Christ

Contributed by Dr. Bradford Reaves on Jan 14, 2022

My dad has bees. Today I went to his house and he showed me all of the honey he had gotten from the hives. He took the lid off of a 5 gallon bucket full of honey and on top of the honey there were 3 little bees, struggling. They were covered in sticky honey and drowning. I asked him if we could ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:27, Galatians 6:2

Tags: Family, Body Of Christ, Helping, Caring, Bees, Love, Church  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Brethren

The Greatest Building Disaster In History

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Apr 2, 2022

In 1174, the Italian architect Bonnano Pisano began work on what would become his most famous project: a separately standing eight-story bell tower in the city of Pisa. There was just one “little” problem: builders quickly discovered that the soil was much softer than they had anticipated, and the ...read more

Tags: Foundations, Eternity, Obedience, Rock, Sand, Word Of God, Parables  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Giving

Contributed by Brad Beaman on Apr 17, 2022

Henry Parsons Crowell contracted tuberculosis when a boy and could not go to school. His Father and brother died of tuberculosis, and he should have died of it too. He made a contract with God. If he were spared he would use his abilities to amass large sums of money for evangelism. For the next 50 ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 9:7-8

Tags: Giving, Purpose Of Giving, Cheerful Giver

Denomination: Baptist

12 Rules For Raising Delinquent Children

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jul 8, 2024

TWELVE RULES FOR RAISING DELINQUENT CHILDREN (HOUSTON, TEXAS POLICE DEPT., 1960) 1. Begin with infancy to give the child everything he wants. In this way he will grow up to believe the world owes him a living. 2. When he picks up bad words, laugh at him. This will make him think he's cute. ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 22:6

Tags: Children, Parents, Mothers, Home, Training, Police, Discipline, Fathers  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Last Supper By Leonardo Da Vinci

Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Oct 21, 2025

Story: Leonardo da Vinci took seven years to paint his famous picture the "Last Supper". He used living people to depict the figures representing the Twelve Apostles and Christ. He started the fresco with Jesus Christ himself. It is reputed that he viewed hundreds and hundreds of ...read more

Scripture: Luke 18:9-14

Tags: Last Supper, Leonardo Da Vinci

Denomination: Anglican

The Business Executive

Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Oct 25, 2025

Story: A business manager went on holiday to an island in Greece. One day, while he was on the beach, he was called up on his mobile phone by his secretary, wanting some help. He gave her some instructions and told her to call him back when she had finished. As he was pacing up and down ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:16-20

Tags: Fisherman, Business Manager

Denomination: Anglican

Rebellion At The Heart Of Mankind (Funny Story)

Contributed by J Jeffrey Smead on Nov 20, 2025

When my granddaughter was about three years old, ... my wife Lee and I ... were babysitting our grandchildren in Morton Illinois. Anna wanted to go outside and play on our own. I thought this was a good teaching moment. So, ... I knelt down beside her ... so that we could look at each other ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 6:12-23, Romans 6:16-18, John 8:34, John 8:31-32  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Slave, Mortal, Freedom, Sin, Heart, Teach, Rebellion  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Anglican

If There Is No God, Who Decides?

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Mar 6, 2026

In 1882, the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche wrote a short parable that still echoes through Western culture. He imagines a man running into a crowded marketplace in broad daylight, holding a lantern. He cries out, “Where is God? I will tell you—we have killed Him. You and I. We are His ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 2:15-17, Judges 2:10-15

Tags: Evil, Culture, Meaning, Good, Values, God Is Dead  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Union With Christ

Contributed by John Bright on Jul 12, 2026

“Scripture uses metaphors that further support the reality of our union with Christ: Jesus is the Vine, and we are the branches (John 15:5). Jesus is the Head, and we are His body (Colossians 1:18). Jesus is the Cornerstone, and we are the living stones built upon Him (1 Peter 2:4–7). He is the ...read more

Scripture: John 15:5, 1 John 2:3-6

Tags: Justification, Sanctification, Glorification, John Piper, Union With Christ  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Methodist

The Other Woman By David ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 27, 2010

THE OTHER WOMAN by David Farrell. Prov. 23:22 - "Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old." After 21 years of marriage, I’ve discovered a new way of keeping the spark of love and intimacy alive in my relationship with my wife: I’ve recently started ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 23:22

Tags: Mother's Day, Honor Parents

[055]. A Message From A Poem – Death For The Christian

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Mar 12, 2025

[055]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – DEATH FOR THE CHRISTIAN We deal with a subject today we often like to forget about. When we are young we give it little thought but when we are old, it tends to preoccupy our minds a lot more. This poem is not so much about the subject of death itself, as it is ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 1:18, 2 Corinthians 5:8, Hebrews 9:27

Tags: Death, Fear, Egypt, Poetry, Poem, Christian Death, Absent From The Body, Keys Of Death And Hades  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Root Beer Thirst --- ...

Contributed by Peter Loughman on Apr 3, 2010

Root Beer Thirst --- --- As a kid in High School, I loved to go to amusement parks, and so did my friends. We only had a couple of amusement parks in the SF Bay Area and my high school buddies and I were able to convince our parents to drop us off at one of these amusement parks that was like a six ...read more

Tags: Stress

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Hudson Taylor Learns About ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 10, 2010

Hudson Taylor Learns About Giving One wonderful testimony of faith from church history is that of Hudson Taylor, the first missionary to the interior of China (in the mid-1800s). He was a great evangelist because he learn “to move man, through God, by prayer alone.” To prepare for the loneliness ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:16

Tags: Giving Yourself

Charles Finney And Daniel Nash--Evangelism And ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 5, 2012

CHARLES FINNEY AND DANIEL NASH--EVANGELISM AND PRAYER Charles Finney is a name known to everyone who has studied the mighty movements of God in country. A former lawyer turned preacher by the call of God, Charles Finney was one of the key figures during the Second Great Awakening in 19th Century ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 4:2-6

Tags: Evangelism How To

Christmas Giving To Others

Contributed by Tim Smith on Aug 13, 2017

Ann Voskamp writes, “It’s almost a dozen years now, nothing under the Christmas tree here. Strange, the way children teach adults. It started at bedtime one year, I do remember that. Smoothing back hair, kissing foreheads, pulling up the blankets over my kids. Tucking them in. Prayers said all in a ...read more

Scripture: Titus 3:4

Tags: Christmas, Gift Giving

Denomination: Methodist

The Valley Of the Shadow Of Death

Contributed by Rev Purvi Satvedi on Oct 27, 2023

An experience Peter Marshall, the great Scottish preacher, related during his ministry: On Sunday morning, December 7, 1941, Peter Marshall preached to the regiment of midshipmen in the Naval Academy at Annapolis. A strange feeling which he couldn’t shake off led him to change his announced topic ...read more

Tags: Death, Funeral, Valley

Denomination: Brethren

Handel's Messiah-The Back Story

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Dec 9, 2023

George Frideric Handel's Messiah is one of the most beautiful musical renditions of Scripture ever created. What we don’t often hear about is the troubled back story during the writing of the Messiah. It was at this time that Handel was struggling financially because there was a shift in music, ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 9:1-7, Isaiah 53:3, 1 Timothy 6:15-16

Tags: Christmas, King Of Kings, Handel's Messiah, Rejected, Despised  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Only A Few Days Ago I Saw A Video Of The Bradford ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Holdcroft on Nov 8, 2003

Only a few days ago I saw a video of the Bradford City fire disaster, as part of a fire training exercise at work. I was eight years old when it happened, and had heard about it, but I had never seen the footage, that was captured live, by a shocked camera crew who just kept filming. On Saturday ...read more

Tags: Knowing God's Will, Doing God's Will

Denomination: Pentecostal