In Sermon Illustrations: "Christian Patterns"

Serving Others

Contributed by Glynda Lomax on Dec 27, 2014

“True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever the cost”. - Arthur Ashe In a small, dusty town in western Oklahoma one November there lived a young single mother struggling to make ends meet. ...read more

Scripture: John 13:12-14

Tags: Humility, Christian Service

Denomination: Charismatic

Solving Problems; It's In The Angle

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 15, 2015

“With 900 million members worldwide and growing, Facebook is building its first European data storage facility—60 miles south of the Arctic Circle in Lulea, Sweden. The reason: natural air conditioning. Some Internet “server farms” spend as much to cool the machines as power them. Facebook’s Nordic ...read more

Scripture: John 15:1-12

Tags: Fruitfulness, Christian Growth

Banana Man

Contributed by Daniel King, D. Min. on Jul 25, 2018

Main Idea: Explains why believers in Christ are called Christians. Verse: “the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch” (Acts 11:26 NKJV). One day a man carrying bananas walked by a house in Central America. A woman cried out, “Hey, banana man!” His name is not banana man. Why does he ...read more

Tags: Christians, Name Change

Denomination: Charismatic

Story Of The Bears

Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Oct 21, 2025

Story: One day Bill Morris went out hunting in the woods just outside Prince George in British Columbia, Canada. It had been a slow day and he hadn’t found any game to shoot. Suddenly, he heard a noise behind him. He whirled around and saw two ferocious looking bears coming towards him. He ...read more

Scripture: Luke 17:11-19

Tags: Christian Bears, Hunting

Denomination: Anglican

Two Ships In The Night! (07.18.05--Pride--Numbers ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Jul 14, 2005

Two Ships in the Night! (07.18.05--Pride--Numbers 22:29) There’s a time to be right and a time to be righteous. That’s what the old farmer told me as I hefted the last hay bale into the loft. I had just had an encounter with a bully at school and I was feeling both peeked and embattled at the ...read more

Scripture: Numbers 22:29

Tags: Wait, Worship, Christian Love, Christian Disciplines, Patience  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Lutheran

One Man I Admire Greatly Is Maximilian Kolbe ...  PRO

Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Aug 28, 2001

One man I admire greatly is Maximilian Kolbe (1894-1941) Maximilian Kolbe was a Catholic priest, who was put in a Nazi concentration camp for his faith. On May 28, 1941, he was transferred to the concentration camp at Auschwitz. During his time there, he would share his meagre rations of food ...read more

Tags: Parable Good Samaritan, Christian Love, Christian Disciplines

Denomination: Anglican

We're On The Same Team  PRO

Contributed by Gaylon Clark on Dec 9, 2013

Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin had every reason as teammates to be friends, but they were not. Incognito harassed and bullied Martin. He called him a racial slur in a voicemail played by every media outlet in the country. He threatened to kill him and his family. Incognito claimed all of this ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-6, John 17:20-23, Colossians 3:12-17, Psalm 133:1-3

Tags: Teamwork, Christian Unity, Church Unity, Christian Friendship

Denomination: Baptist

[109]. A Message From A Poem – Groaning Takes Its Toll On Me (Psalm 6)

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Jun 18, 2025

[109]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – GROANING TAKES ITS TOLL ON ME (Psalm 6) This poem is a retelling in poetic form of Psalm 6. We can gather from the Psalm that David was having a dreadful time. This is the beauty of the Psalms, for they cover the whole range of human emotions and failures, and ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 6:2-3, Psalm 6:6-8, Psalm 6:9-10

Tags: Christian Poems, Despair, Upset, Weeping, Christian Poetry  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[115]. A Message From A Poem – Have You Trusted The God Of Faithfulness?

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Jun 27, 2025

[115]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – HAVE YOU TRUSTED THE GOD OF FAITHFULNESS? God is faithful in proven circumstances. Have you actually proven the faithfulness of God in your life? We have a faithful God so we can anchor our faith in the faithfulness of God. {{Psalm 119:90 “YOUR FAITHFULNESS ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:9, Lamentations 3:22-23, Deuteronomy 32:3-4, Psalm 119:90

Tags: Christian Poems, God, Trust, Faithful, Christian Poetry  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[239]. A Message From A Poem – Sing To The Greatness Of The Lord

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Dec 18, 2025

[239]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – SING TO THE GREATNESS OF THE LORD How can I describe this poem? It is a fact and praise poem. I wanted to start the poem with praise, for our God is greatly adored, and has done so much for helpless sinners. The metre used here, 5 - 7 - 5 – 7, gives the poem ...read more

Scripture: 1 Chronicles 16:23-29

Tags: Sing, Greatness Of God, Christian Poetry, Christian Poems

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[113]. A Message From A Poem – Have You Seen A Gouldian Finch?

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Jun 19, 2025

[113]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – HAVE YOU SEEN A GOULDIAN FINCH? I keep finches including the gouldian finch, one of the most beautiful finches in the world, if not the most beautiful. If you have not seen one, go do a search on the internet. This poem covers a number of subjects. When you look ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:8, Acts 17:30-31, John 1:3

Tags: Creation, Evolution, Repent, Colors, Christian Poetry, Christian Poems, Gouldian Finches, Wise Designer  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[108]. A Message From A Poem – Grace Is The Key To Holiness

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Jun 18, 2025

[108]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – GRACE IS THE KEY TO HOLINESS This is a poem that has to be read carefully for understanding because of the construct of the poem. The subject is certainly GRACE, but grace can never be in isolation. There is a strong but harmonising relationship with LOVE, ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 8:9, Revelation 22:21, Ezra 9:8, Ephesians 2:8

Tags: Peace, Holiness, Christian Poetry, Christian Poems, Grace, Love  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[194]. A Message From A Poem– No Other Is So Worthy

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Sep 9, 2025

[194]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM– NO OTHER IS SO WORTHY This is a worship and praise poem. When we ascribe majesty to Jesus we are worshipping Him. I have tried to do that because He is INDEED worthy of our feeble praise. When we are in heaven one day as part of the whole redeemed Church, our ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 99:9, Psalm 95:6, Psalm 29:1-2, Revelation 5:9

Tags: Jesus Is Worthy, Christian Poetry, Christian Poems, Worship, Praise  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[237 A]. A Message From A Poem - Scenes From The Gospels - Part 1

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Oct 31, 2025

[237 A]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM - SCENES FROM THE GOSPELS - PART 1 They are here to enjoy! Scenes from the Gospels are very special to me. I love them. They have taken a lot of effort, and many, many months revision to get them as correct as possible with the difficult word limitations. ...read more

Scripture: Luke 8:26-39, Luke 15:11-32, John 2:1-11, Luke 10:38-42, Matthew 14:22-31, Luke 1:1-4, Matthew 13:10-13  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Stories, Christian Poetry, Christian Poems, Poetry Reading, Parables  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[263]. A Message From A Poem – The Elephant And The Lily

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Jan 14, 2026

[263]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – THE ELEPHANT AND THE LILY I am repeating the whole scripture passage that was the inspiration for this poem. It speaks about God’s providential care for all His creation. This world is not a haphazard chaos of flukiness, but is ordered in universal laws, all ...read more

Scripture: James 1:5-6, 1 Timothy 6:6-7, Matthew 6:25-34

Tags: Anxiety, Dependence, Christian Poetry, Christian Poems, Lilies Of The Field  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

F. B. Meyer Once Said, "I Used To Think That ...  PRO

Contributed by Mitchell Skelton on Apr 1, 2003

F. B. Meyer once said, “I used to think that God’s gifts were on shelves one above the other; and that the taller we grew in Christian character, the easier we could reach them. I now find that God’s gifts are on shelves one beneath the other. It is not a question of ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 1:4-6, Jeremiah 1:4-10, Philippians 2:5-11

Tags: Christian Disciplines, Forgiveness General

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

What Is Your Colt?  PRO

Contributed by David Yarbrough on Apr 14, 2003

What is Your Colt? Bill Wilson pastors an inner city church in New York City. His mission field is a very violent place. He himself has been stabbed twice as he ministered to the people of the community surrounding the church. Once a Puerto Rican woman became involved in the church and was led to ...read more

Tags: Easter Resurrection, Christian Disciplines

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

John Piper Wrote, "What Is God Looking For In ...  PRO

Contributed by Dana Chau on Apr 17, 2003

John Piper wrote, "What is God looking for in the world? Assistants? No. The gospel is not a help-wanted ad. It is a help-available ad. God is not looking for people to work for ...read more

Tags: God The Father, Christian Disciplines

Denomination: *other

Andrew Carnegie, The Multimillionaire, Left $1 ...  PRO

Contributed by Donnie Martin on May 1, 2003

Andrew Carnegie, the multimillionaire, left $1 million for one of his relatives, who in return cursed Carnegie thoroughly because he had left $365 million to public charities and had cut him off with just one measly million. Samuel Leibowitz, criminal lawyer and judge, saved 78 men from the ...read more

Tags: Growth In Christ, Becoming A Christian

Denomination: Baptist

Establishing A Memorial  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 11, 2003

ESTABLISHING A MEMORIAL NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim May 15, 2003, as Peace Officers Memorial Day and May 11 through May 17, 2003, as Police Week. I call on all Americans to observe these events with appropriate ceremonies and ...read more

Tags: Holidays Civic, Christian Disciplines