In Sermon Illustrations: "Chosen People"

Greek Words For God's Love

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Aug 8, 2011

GREEK WORDS FOR GOD'S LOVE The Hebrew words for love are more meaningful than the Greek ones, especially two of them. aheb, "...The intensity of the meaning ranges from God's infinite affection for his people to the carnal appetites of a lazy glutton..." (Theological Wordbook of the Old ...read more

Tags: God's Love

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Fear Of Witnessing

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 31, 2011

FEAR OF WITNESSING Leighton Ford, Good News is for Sharing, 1977, David C. Cook Publishing Co., Page 15: In preparing for this book, I have talked to a lot of people, and the fear issue comes up front again and again. What makes people hesitate to share their faith? Here are some of the fears ...read more

Scripture: John 20:21-22

Tags: Evangelism Fear Of

Wynton Marsalis: Someone To Play With

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 8, 2011

WYNTON MARSALIS: SOMEONE TO PLAY WITH People are preoccupied with their own thoughts and interests. When we show interest and concern for another person’s interest or concern, it meets a deep need. People feel cared for and valued. Wynton Marsalis is a recognized musician. He is invited to teach ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 2:1-4

Tags: Humility

Who Do You Say I Am—in England?

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 9, 2011

WHO DO YOU SAY I AM--IN ENGLAND? A teaching assistant accused of looting. An 11 year old girl appears in court and admits breaking windows in Nottingham. Teenagers appear before Magistrates with no parent in attendance. Magistrates ask, "Where are their parents?" Two girls interviewed by the BBC ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 3:4-10

Tags: Sin Exposed

Unusual Laws In Kansas

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 27, 2011

Unusual Laws in Kansas Laws are important in any society in order to keep peace and order. But there are laws and then there are laws. Here are some laws that are still on the books in our state of Kansas. • In Derby, it is illegal to hit a vending machine that stole your money. • In Dodge City, it ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 3:4

Tags: Law, Ten Commandments

He Keeps Knocking On The Door

Contributed by Chuck Sligh on Oct 28, 2011

HE KEEPS KNOCKING ON THE DOOR Despite their self-sufficiency, and despite their self-deception and despite their lukewarmness, Jesus is patiently knocking on the door of the Laodicean church anyway--knocking on a door of people who made Him sick! Isn’t that amazing? I remember a lady in our ...read more

Tags: Lukewarm

Denomination: Baptist

The Rise, Fall And Posthumous Rise Of Jim Thorpe

Contributed by Suresh Manoharan on Dec 16, 2011

The rise, fall and posthumous rise of Jim Thorpe Jim Thorpe! Does it ring a bell? Well arguably he was the greatest athlete of 20th century. Blessed with abundant natural talent in those days of amateurism, Thorpe virtually “torpedoed” the competition into submission by winning the gold medals in ...read more

Tags: Dealing With Conflicts

Denomination: *other

A Darkened Mind

Contributed by Andy Grossman on Feb 15, 2012

A DARKENED MIND The god of this age, Satan, wants people to be blinded to the Truth. He loves a darkened mind. Sean Sellers was a willing mind. His parents were long haul truckers from Colorado. Sean filled the empty hours with the occult. He began with Dungeons and Dragons. The he began ...read more

Tags: Cults

Denomination: Holiness

Shannon's Sacrifice

Contributed by Greg Nance on Feb 25, 2012

SHANNON'S SACRIFICE It was March 24, 1998 in Westside Middle School near Jonesboro, Arkansas. A total of five people, four female students and a teacher, were killed at a school shooting. Ten people, nine students and one teacher, were injured. The perpetrators of the shooting were two students, ...read more

Tags: Sacrifices

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Ram And The Cowboy

Contributed by Perry Greene on Apr 4, 2012

THE RAM AND THE COWBOY A couple of years ago in the Rocky Mountains a bighorn ram approached the home of a man named Ed Bailey while he was watching football on television. The bighorn stopped suddenly, seeing its reflection in a plate glass window. Thinking it was another ram, the bighorn bowed ...read more

Tags: Self

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

How Leprosy ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 9, 2012

HOW LEPROSY WORKS According to the Jewish Encylopedia: Priests were in charge of the diagnosis of all diseases. They were not allowed to live in a community that didn’t have a doctor. Those who were diagnosed with the curable strain of leprosy had to appear before a priest every 7 days. Once ...read more

Scripture: Numbers 12:4-15

Tags: Affliction

Joanne Shetler Spent Years In The Philippines ...

Contributed by Tim Spear on Dec 3, 2012

Joanne Shetler spent years in the Philippines with the Balangao people, translating the Bible into their language and trying to tell them the good news of the Savior. But it was slow going. One day Ama, a man who had “adopted” her as his Balangao daughter, picked up an English New Testament from ...read more

Tags: Missions

Denomination: Baptist

The Majesty Of God

Contributed by David Simpson on Jan 18, 2013

Just how can we comprehend the Majesty of God? By removing thoughts that limit the greatness, the Majesty of God. We need to show the majesty of God in our words and actions every day and start letting people know where we stand. It is not with great trumpets - or magnificent choirs - but it is ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 71:19, Psalm 33:8

Tags: Outreach, Blessing, Majesty Of God, Workplace Evangelism

Denomination: Christian Church

Remove The Hate — Be Pure  PRO

Contributed by Ken Pell on Mar 30, 2013

REMOVE THE HATE -- BE PURE "And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood (Hebrews 13:2)." Three years ago, Chris Simpson led a white pride march. Two years ago, he abandoned the white supremacist movement. This past April (2012), he was ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 13:2

Tags: Holiness

Denomination: Nazarene

Brother Lee: Jesus Calmed The Storm  PRO

Contributed by Rick Crandall on Nov 29, 2013

Brother Lee: Jesus Calmed the Storm In 1993, I had the honor of preaching the funeral for Bro. Moses Lee. He was 93 when he went home to be with the Lord. Some of you may have known Bro. Lee. He served for many years as a pastor in Franklin, Tensas and Winn Parishes. At the graveside, Bro. Lee’s ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 14:22-33

Tags: Divinity Of Christ, Humanity Of Christ, Miracles Of Jesus, Jesus Calms Storm

Denomination: Baptist

Sweet Surrender  PRO

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 17, 2014

Abraham laid down his Isaac. Lay down your Isaac today and remember the words of Andrew Murray: God is ready to assume full responsibility for the life wholly yielded to Him. Bruce Larson tells how he helped people struggling to surrender their lives to Christ: "For many years I worked in New ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 22:1-18, Genesis 22:8

Tags: Surrender, Consecration, Testing Faith, Abraham And Isaac

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Absentees In The Upper Room

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 9, 2014

ABSENTEES IN THE UPPER ROOM Written by Dr. Larry Petton One of the curious questions I have always had concerns the people who actually saw Christ after His resurrection. I would love to have been part of that group to see Jesus in His glorified, resurrected body! But, for some reason, that ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:1-15

Tags: Church, Holy Spirit, Resurrection, Power

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Living Now

Contributed by Glynda Lomax on Dec 27, 2014

“Most men pursue pleasure with such breathless haste that they hurry past it.” - Soren Kierkegaard We all know at least one person that, when given something really beautiful as a gift, will open a closet and store it away for “a special day” or “for when company comes over.” When you gave that ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:34

Tags: Procrastination, Focused Living, Living Now

Denomination: Charismatic

The Heizer Creek Baptism

Contributed by Jim Butcher on Apr 11, 2018

Note: this story happened to me - Jim Butcher of Madison WV. One of my favorite baptism stories comes from a friend of mine who owns a house on Heizer Creek. He had a nice spot on his property to do baptisms and told the nearby country churches they were welcome to use it anytime, which a few of ...read more

Tags: Change, Transformation, Cursing, Baptism

Denomination: Baptist

The Problem With Church 200 Years Ago

Contributed by Jim Butcher on Apr 11, 2018

I was recently reading an interesting book about life in America 200 years ago. One intriguing detail that the author shared was that back then most people only bathed once a year. It made me think of how unpleasant it would have been to gather on a sultry August Sunday morning in a sanctuary ...read more

Tags: Church, Worship, Sin, Sinfulness

Denomination: Baptist