In Sermon Illustrations: "Chosen In Christ"

Unfaltering Perseverance (Verse 18, Hebrews ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 28, 2008

Unfaltering Perseverance (verse 18, Hebrews 12:11) Joshua fought for a long time with the kings. As we read the accounts of the war it may seem short, but in reality, it took Joshua seven years to complete the final conquest. There must have been times during these seven years of fighting that ...read more

Tags: Endurance

Life Is Not Like A Vcr

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 28, 2008

LIFE IS NOT LIKE A VCR Tim Brown, professor of preaching at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan tells a story about one of his former students who was also named Tim. The former student was a successful young man who called one day to tell the professor that he was sick and in the ...read more

Tags: Dealing With Conflicts

The Temple We Are Building Is Not One Of Stone, ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 28, 2008

The Temple we are building is not one of stone, cedar and gold. It is a living Temple made of living stones, built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, aligned with our chief cornerstone, Jesus Christ. As with the Temple of Haggai’s day, perhaps the working group most subject to ...read more

Tags: Prophecy

I Was Reading The Other Day How Some Computers ...

Contributed by Michael Russell on Jan 12, 2009

I was reading the other day how some computers get taken over as slaves. The owner doesn’t know it, but somehow their computer gets used to send lots of email ads, or to try and gain credit card numbers and passwords to steal money. All sorts of evil goes on, your computer is a slave,, and you ...read more

Tags: Sin Bondage To

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

Solong's Faith

Contributed by Anne Benefield on Feb 4, 2009

SOLONG'S FAITH I gave blood on Friday. A lovely woman named Solong sampled my blood to insure that I had enough iron. We struck up a conversation, and it turns out she is a Christian. She told me that in 2006 she felt God calling her to go back to school. She didn't have enough money to go, but ...read more

Tags: Examples Of Faith

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Cohabitation ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 10, 2009

COHABITATION STUDIES The Australian Institute of Family Studies had a Family Formation Project cited in this government report. The study found that after five years of marriage, 13 percent of those who had cohabited were divorced, compared to 6 percent of those who had not cohabited - that ...read more

Tags: Marriage General

Obedience And ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 12, 2009

OBEDIENCE AND LEADERSHIP In the 11th Century, King Henry III of Bavaria was fed up the set up of being King. He applied to be a contemplative at the local monastery, via Prior Richard. The King told the Prior of his struggle, personal battles. The Prior said, "My King, do you understand that the ...read more

Tags: Obedience

Lazarus Churches That Are Dead And Stinketh!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 31, 2022

Vance Havner once commented that ministries often begin with a man who has a vision. That vision is captured by others and becomes a movement. As the movement gains followers and momentum, it becomes a machine. After a while, people forget all about the vision and what was once a movement ...read more

Scripture: 2 Chronicles 7:14

Tags: Book Of Acts, Backsliding, Dying Churches, Church, Holy Spirit, Revival, Repentance  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Door Is Always Unlocked When You Come Home...

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Mar 15, 2022

J. C. Ryle tells of a mother whose daughter ran away and lived a life of sin. For a long time, no one knew where she was, but she finally came back, turned to Christ in repentance, and believed in Him. Someone asked the mother what she had done to bring her daughter back and she replied, “I prayed ...read more

Tags: Parables, Rebellion, Lost, Lost Sheep, Prodigal Son, Daughters, Parents, Mothers, Repentance  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

An Empty Agnostic Who Wanted To Believe

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Apr 4, 2022

T.H. Huxley, a well-known agnostic, was with a group of men at a weekend house party. On Sunday morning, while most of them were preparing to go to church, he approached a man known for his Christian character and said, "Suppose you stay at home and tell my why you are a Christian." The ...read more

Tags: Witnessing, Atheism, Great Commission, Agnostics, Evangelism, Gospel  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Pastor, Please Don't Stop Preaching On Hell.

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Apr 18, 2022

"Preachers must not neglect preaching on the reality of Hell and the catastrophic consequence of rejecting Christ. When you abandon preaching on Hell, you ignore the accent in the Epistles on the coming judgment, you will need to skip large portions of Jesus’ teaching in the Gospels, and you ...read more

Tags: Judgment, Preachers, Preaching, Pastors, Repentance, Salvation, Hell  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Moody's Attitude Toward Death

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Dec 13, 2022

Thousands came to faith in Christ through Moody’s meetings. As he approached the end of his life, he viewed Heaven as something to anticipate. Moody wrote: “Some day you will read in the papers that D.L. Moody of East Northfield, is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it! At that moment I shall be ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 9:27

Tags: Salvation, Death, Heaven, Funerals

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Jesus Called Us To Be Witnesses, Not Lawyers!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 10, 2023

As Adrian Rogers once said "We are to be witnesses. Now Jesus didn’t call us to be lawyers. A lot of you say, “Well, you know, I just can’t witness.” Of course you can. Suppose you saw an accident, and they brought you into the courtroom, and they said, “Tell us what you saw.” You ...read more

Scripture: Acts 1:8

Tags: Revival, Acts, Holy Spirit, Great Commission, Evangelism, Witnessing  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Getting "me" Out Of The Way

Contributed by Jerry Cosper on Feb 13, 2023

If we were all honest, we would probably have to admit that we are all guilty of reading a text while we're driving. We see it all the time. People are swerving from their lane into our lane and almost hitting other cars. It can be a serious situation. The way we live can also impact those ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:23-33

Tags: Selflessness, Selfishness

Denomination: Baptist

Order From Chaos

Contributed by Alison Bucklin on Mar 17, 2023

The late Harvard mathematician and philosopher, Alfred North Whitehead, maintained that the whole scientific enterprise of the western world rested upon the belief that at the bottom of things science would find order rather than chaos. Where animists were afraid to probe a world enchanted with ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 1:17, John 1:1

Tags: Alfred North Whitehead, Logos, Science, Reason

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Your Unsaved Friends Want You To Talk About Jesus!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Mar 19, 2023

73% of Christians believed it was their responsibility to share their faith. Yet only 52% of them had actually shared their faith at least once with someone in the last year. Millennials were the only age group where the percentage of those evangelizing was increasing. Only 29% of ...read more

Scripture: Romans 3:23

Tags: Evangelism, Cross, Sin, Salvation, Roman Road, Unchurched, Justification, Lost, Witnessing  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Door To The Father's House Is Always Open (Father's Day Story)

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jun 7, 2023

JC. Ryle tells of a mother whose daughter ran away and lived a life of sin. For a long time, no one knew where she was, but she finally came back, turned to Christ in repentance, and believed in Him. Someone asked the mother what she had done to bring her daughter back and she replied, “I prayed ...read more

Tags: Prayer, Prodigal Son, Mothers, Fathers, Father's Day, Families, Children  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Jesus Loves Me—and I Love Jesus!

Contributed by John Bright on Apr 8, 2025

Sociology professor Anthony Campolo recalls a deeply moving incident that happened in a Christian junior high camp where he served. One of the campers, a boy with spastic paralysis, was the object of heartless ridicule. When he would ask a question, the boys would deliberately answer in a halting, ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 3:15

Tags: Evangelism, Testimony

Denomination: Methodist

Every December, My Wife Diane Wears A Little ...  PRO

Contributed by Rick Bartosik on May 29, 2001

Every December, my wife Diane wears a little golden pin on her United Airlines uniform. It’s a beautiful pin depicting the three Wise Men following the star to Bethlehem. In her work as a flight attendant, people will sometimes comment on the beauty of the pin. She uses those situations as ...read more

Tags: Birth Of Jesus, Apologetics General, Christmas

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

In The Foreward Of His Book, Inside Out, Larry ...  PRO

Contributed by Jeffery Lindsay on Aug 11, 2001

In the foreward of his book, Inside Out, Larry Crabb writes this: “Modern Christianity, in dramatic reversal of its biblical form, promises to relieve the pain of living in a fallen world. The message, whether it’s from fundamentalists requiring us to live by a favored set of rules or from ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:18-24, 2 Corinthians 4:7-18

Tags: Emotions, Blessed, Blessing, Hardship Of Life, Heaven  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed