In Sermon Illustrations: "Children Of God"

The Village Of The Book

Contributed by Perry Greene on Apr 17, 2012

THE VILLAGE OF THE BOOK It was early in 1945. As United States forces pushed deep into Okinawa they came across a village unlike any they had ever seen. Here at Shimabuku they were met and welcomed by two old men who invited the troops in as "fellow Christians." Correspondent Clarence W. Hall ...read more

Tags: Bible Truth

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Happiness Of Heaven

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 7, 2012

THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN In 1871 Fr. J. Boudreau wrote a short story entitled "The Happiness of Heaven." It's a story about a kindhearted king who is hunting in the forest when he discovers a blind, poor orphan boy living there. The king takes the blind orphan to his palace and adopts him as his ...read more

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Tags: Heaven

Worship: It Takes Time To Warm Up

Contributed by Tim Smith on Jul 1, 2012

WORSHIP: IT TAKES TIME TO WARM UP When I was a kid in Kansas City, we lived next door to a family who owned a publishing company. They had an old 4 door Mercedes that they would let their son drive to school. He was 3 years older than me and also named Tim. On those winter mornings when the ...read more

Tags: Worship General

Denomination: Methodist

How To Send An Ultra Top Secret ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 24, 2012

HOW TO SEND AN ULTRA TOP SECRET MESSAGE There is a distinguished British gentleman by the name of Sir Oliver Franks. He had been a professor of philosophy at Oxford, and president of a couple of different colleges during the turbulent years of the 1960s and following. He had also been the chairmen ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Tags: Preaching

Anointing And The Holy Spirit

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Aug 29, 2012

ANOINTING AND THE HOLY SPIRIT In Scripture there seems to be a parallel in the operation of the Holy Spirit and anointing oil: 1. Anointing. The act of anointing indicated the bestowal of authorization through the spirit to act in certain capacities. a. The anointing symbolized the empowerment of ...read more

Tags: Holy Spirit Attributes

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Carrying What I Don't Need  PRO

Contributed by Kelly Benton on Jan 29, 2013

CARRYING WHAT I DON'T NEED I think back to my Army days. All those foot marches and all the pain associated with them. As a young private I packed pretty much everything I could before we went out. I wanted to make sure I had all the comforts to help make life easier. I made sure to have extra ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness General

Denomination: Other

Susie The Savior  PRO

Contributed by Ken Pell on Mar 30, 2013

SUSIE THE SAVIOR The story is told of a certain 9-year-old who is sitting at his desk in school when all of a sudden there is a puddle between his feet, and the front of his pants are wet. He thinks his heart is going to stop, because he knows when the boys find out, he'll never hear the end of ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 53:4-5

Tags: Atonement

Denomination: Nazarene

The Hobbit: Denying Yourself  PRO

Contributed by Ken Pell on Jun 15, 2013

The Hobbit: Denying Yourself In the movie “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” there is a scene where the Bilbo Baggins, the Hobbit who is accompanying 13 dwarves on a mission, unexpectedly disappears and seems to have abandoned the dwarves during a crucial battle. They were losing. Bilbo does ...read more

Scripture: Luke 9:23-25

Tags: Dying To Self, Deny Self

Denomination: Nazarene

A Christmas Carol

Contributed by Davon Huss on Dec 22, 2014

Not that it is in the Bible but a story familiar around this time of the year is Ebenezer Scrooge. Ebenezer is a man incapable of joy. Scrooge is rich, but he lives alone in squalor. He takes pleasure in nothing and is indifferent to human suffering. On Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by a ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 1:15

Tags: Christmas, Joy, Scrooge, Joy And Gospel

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Loving Neighbour

Contributed by Don Berry-Graham on Feb 29, 2016

A Little Pointer on Keeping a Balance Here’s a little bonus tip that I’ve found helpful to keep my wits about me as I live next to these wild Vikings we call sinners, pagans, and wacko unbelievers while keeping my vertical relationship with God strong. It’s called “whimsical holiness,” which is ...read more

Scripture: Luke 7:34

Tags: Witnessing Tools, Loving Neighbor

Denomination: Baptist

Basic Training

Contributed by John Telgren on Feb 11, 2017

I hated shining shoes in Basic Training. There were other things I would rather be doing instead of sitting on the floor with a brush and mounds of cotton balls stained with black Kiwi shoe polish! If our boots and dress shoes were not perfect we paid for it dearly! During one of our trips to the ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 2:15, 2 Timothy 2:15

Tags: Diligence, Diligently, Diligent

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Dimensions Of The New Heaven

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Oct 28, 2019

The exact dimensions of the New Heaven are measured by an angel and reported to be 12,000 stadia, the equivalent of 1,400 miles or 2,200 kilometers, in length, width, and height (Revelation 21:15-16). Even though these proportions may have symbolic importance, this doesn’t mean they can’t be ...read more

Scripture: John 14:1-6, Revelation 21:1-7

Tags: Revelation, Heaven, Second Coming, The New Heaven, The New Jerusalem  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Just A Touch

Contributed by Dr. Ronald Shultz on Dec 17, 2020

Mar 5:27 When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. 28 For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. 29 And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. 30 And Jesus, ...read more

Scripture: Mark 5:27-34

Tags: Faith, Desire, Touch, Crowds

Denomination: Baptist

Rejoice, We Conquer!

Contributed by Roger Byrd on Jul 18, 2021

In the year 490 B.C., the Persian Army, seeking to invade Greece, landed a large force 26 miles outside of Athens. The huge army disembarked from their warships and gathered on the plains of a place called Marathon. There they prepared to attack the Greek Army and establish their presence in ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 2:15

Tags: Victory, Historical

Denomination: Baptist

Mountain Stream

Contributed by Roy Fowler on Sep 30, 2021

Where I was Pastoring at the time I got 5th Sunday off. I had a favorite fishing hole. The water wasn’t very deep so I could wade in the water. That was fun for me. It had big trees that hung over the water and the sun would shine through them and made it look beautiful. It was great, this river ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 1:1-6

Tags: Becoming Finished, Facing Storms

Denomination: Independent/Bible

The Good Samaritan Is A Portrait Of Jesus

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Apr 2, 2022

The Good Samaritan bears the features of the Lord Jesus Christ who comes to seek and save the lost. (1). "He came where he was." Christ comes to us right where we are. In our stripped and wounded condition we could do nothing for ourselves (Ro 5:6). (2). "He had compassion on ...read more

Tags: Neighbor, Kindness, Good Deeds, Good Samaritan, Types Of Christ, Ministry  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

We’re Not Always Headed In The Direction We Think We Are

Contributed by Glynda Lomax on May 30, 2022

Once while living in Dallas, I witnessed to someone I worked with who proceeded to tell me they believed they just needed to be a good person to go to Heaven. Though I explained what the Bible says about being saved, they rejected my witness and went on with their life. It was clear to me they were ...read more

Scripture: Jonah 1:17, Proverbs 3:6

Tags: Deception, Truth, Right Path, Wrong Doctrine

Denomination: Charismatic

On The Anvil

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Jun 26, 2022

With a strong forearm, the apron-clad blacksmith puts his tongs into the fire, grasps the heated metal, and places it on the anvil. His keen eye examines the glowing piece. He sees what the tool is now and envisions what he wants it to be - sharper, flatter, wider, longer. With a clear picture in ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 1:6-7

Tags: Character, Suffering, Grief, Iron Sharpens Iron

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Night Before Cassie Bernal Was Murdered At Columbine

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Nov 6, 2022

On Tuesday April 20, 1999, Cassie Bernal was in the Columbine Colorado high school library reading her Bible when the two students burst in carrying guns. According to one of the witnesses, her friend Josh, one of the killers pointed his gun at Cassie and asked, "Do you believe in ...read more

Tags: Faith, Death, Persecution, Heaven, Satan, Testimony, Terrorism, High School, Last Words, Martyrs, Columbine  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Patience Makes It Happen

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 12, 2023

"The history books are full of stories of gifted persons whose talents were overlooked by a procession of people until someone believed in them. To name a few ... "Einstein was four years old before he could speak and seven before he could read". Einstein became one of the greatest ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:22-23

Tags: Long Suffering, Flesh Vs Spirit, Endurance, Patience, Fruit Of The Spirit, Spirit Filled Life  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational