In Sermon Illustrations: "Christian"

Be Doers Of The Word

Contributed by Brad Beaman on Oct 8, 2022

There is a made-up story about a man who had a dream about heaven. The story is not true but the point it illustrates is true. In this story a man had a dream he died and went to heaven. He toured heaven and it was marvelous just as he imagined it would be. He sees mansions, streets of gold and ...read more

Scripture: James 1:19-25

Tags: Doing, Great Sermons, Doers Of The Word, Practical Faith, Not Hearers Only, Do What It Says, James On Doing  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

He's A Liar!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jul 2, 2023

A missionary to the American Indians was in Los Angeles with an Indian friend who was a new Christian. As they walked down the street, they passed a man on the corner who was preaching with a Bible in his hand. The missionary knew the man represented a cult, but the Indian saw only the Bible. He ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 4:1-5, John 17:17, 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Tags: False Teachers, False Teaching, Spirits, Spirit Of Error, Holy Spirit, Satan, Discernment, Truth  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Three Types Of Suffering

Contributed by John Bright on Feb 25, 2025

“Wesley adopted a traditional Christian distinction between types of suffering: natural, moral, and penal. People suffer because of disease and natural disaster; people suffer because other people harm them; and people suffer because they are punished for wrongdoing. (Natural Suffering) Wesley ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 3:17

Tags: Suffering, Moral, Natural, Penal

Denomination: Methodist

The Church Is Not Selfish - President Kennedy Quote

Contributed by J Jeffrey Smead on Dec 9, 2025

Our society ... the world in which we live ... is a self-first ... a self-oriented society. The big question ... often asks by those in the world is ... "What's in it for me?" or "How will I benefit from this?" However, ... we as followers of the Christ ... are a new ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:4, James 3:8-10, John 13:15, Philippians 2:1-11

Tags: Body, Self, Selfish, Individual, Benefit, Caring, Spirit  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Anglican

[195]. Message From A Poem – Not In Degrees Or Pedigrees But On Your Knees

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Sep 10, 2025

[195]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – NOT IN DEGREES OR PEDIGREES BUT ON YOUR KNEES One thing that used to frustrate me in teaching was to see really good teachers who did not get recognition because they did not have a string of degrees. The Education Department thinks the more qualifications, the ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 2:4-8, Acts 4:13, 2 Timothy 2:15

Tags: Apostle Peter, Poison, Equipped, Qualifications, Academic Degrees, Pedigrees, Holy Spirit, Pride, Appointment, Ability  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[271]. A Message From A Poem – The "I Ams” Of John’s Gospel

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Jan 21, 2026

[271]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – THE “I AMs” OF JOHN’S GOSPEL There are 7 or 8 of the great “I Am” statements in the Gospel of John. I have done these in a Series on SermonCentral – about 18 messages I think - ...read more

Scripture: John 6:20, John 10:7, John 6:35, John 14:6, John 10:11, John 15:1, John 8:12, John 11:25, John 8:58  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Truth, Life, I Am, I Am The Way, I Am The Door, I Am The Bread Of Life, I Am The Good Shepherd, I Am The Resurrection, I Am The Light Of The World, I Am The True Vine, Christian Poetry, Christian Poems, The I Ams Of John  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Late One Summer Evening In Broken Bow, Nebraska, ...  PRO

Contributed by Jeeva Sam on Mar 20, 2001

Late one summer evening in Broken Bow, Nebraska, a weary truck driver pulled his rig into an all-night truck stop. The waitress had just served him when three tough looking, leather jacketed motorcyclists - of the Hell’s Angels type - decided to give him a hard time. Not only did they verbally ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 19:1-16, Galatians 6:7-8

Tags: Forgiveness For Others, Anger, Christian Love, Praise, Love, Judging Others, Giving, Reaping And Sowing, Thankfulness, Worship  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Methodist

[102]. A Message From A Poem – God Sends No One To Hell

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on May 9, 2025

[102]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – GOD SENDS NO ONE TO HELL The Introduction for this poem is longer than average. So as not to be misunderstood, the title of the poem does not mean God has no control over hell. He certainly does but just so that you don’t miss the message of the poem, I need to ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 2:4, Revelation 19:20, Matthew 25:41, Isaiah 30:33, John 3:16, Mark 9:47-48, Revelation 20:14, Matthew 25:31  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Poetry, Sheep And Goats, The Second Coming, The Lake Of Fire, Christian Poems, Wheat And The Tares, Hell, Gehenna, Lazarus  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[179]. A Message From A Poem – Lost Three Things - Lost One Coin

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Aug 27, 2025

[179]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – LOST THREE THINGS - LOST ONE COIN In this trilogy of poems we are looking at three objects lost – a sheep, a coin and a son. All three were loved and precious and the owners knew stress at the lost. When each was found it resulted in great rejoicing. These three ...read more

Scripture: Hosea 11:8, Genesis 6:6, Luke 15:8-10

Tags: Heart Of God, The Heart Of God, Grieved, Christian Poems, Parable, Lost, Lost Coin, Lost And Found, Rejoicing  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

How The Philippian Jailer Got Saved - Crisis

Contributed by Rick Crandall on Oct 2, 2025

How the Philippian jailer got saved - Crisis This Philippian jailer was saved! He was saved by God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ. And if you have never trusted in the Lord, He wants to save you the same way. But let's take a closer look at how the Lord touched the jailer's ...read more

Scripture: Acts 16:16-34

Tags: Crisis, Christian Service, Philippian Jailer, Demon Possession, Spiritual Transformation, Evangelism, Paul, Salvation, Missions, Silas  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

[225]. A Message From A Poem - Psalm 68 Selections

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Oct 11, 2025

[225]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM - PSALM 68 SELECTIONS This poem is a breakdown in Psalm 68, and 12 of the verses have been selected. The heading in the Psalm says “A Psalm of David. A Song,” and is directed to the Choir Director. It would seem this Psalm resulted from a victory David ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:7-10, Psalm 68:18, Psalm 68:14, Luke 16:19-31

Tags: Christian Poems, A Song, A Happy Psalm, Paradise, Victory, Ascension, Psalm Of David, Lazarus In Paradise, Jesus Ascended  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[236]. A Message From A Poem - Romans 5 Exploration

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Oct 30, 2025

[236]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM - ROMANS 5 EXPLORATION The book of Romans is considered to be The Gospel According to Paul, and is the most theological book in the New Testament. Chapter 5 is one some find difficult in the arguments the Holy Spirit makes through the Apostle. I based my poem on ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:8, Romans 5:9, Romans 5:17, Romans 5:19

Tags: Transgression, Justified, Gift Of Righteousness, Second Man Adam, Christian Poems, Death, Life, Reconciliation, Redemption, Adam  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[250]. A Message From A Poem – Thank You Lord

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Jan 3, 2026

[250]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – THANK YOU LORD This is a “Thank You” poem. There is much to thank God for. Should we thank God for our birth that is the start of an eternal relationship in joy, bathed in the love of God? Yes! That is love that God wants to share Himself in so many ...read more

Scripture: Job 2:13, Job 3:1-4

Tags: Thank You Lord, Hope, Life, Word, Giving Thanks, Me, Christian Poetry, Love, Blood, Joy  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Village That Lives By The Bible  PRO

Contributed by Rick Stacy on Mar 9, 2003

The Village that lives by the Bible by Clarence W. Hall It was early in 1945 when, as a war correspondent on Okinawa, I first came upon Shimabuku, the strangest and most inspiring community I ever saw. Huddled beneath its groves of banyan and twisted pine trees, this remote village of some 1000 ...read more

Tags: Bible Influence

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Afghan Spiritual Harvest

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 16, 2011

AFGHAN SPIRITUAL HARVEST In his book What Good Is God?, Philip Yancey writes: "This is a true story from Afghanistan that took place in the early 1970s, before the Russian occupation or the Taliban regime. At the time, the government allowed a small Christian church to service internationals who ...read more

Scripture: Mark 13:9-11, Mark 19:1-20

Tags: Evangelism Fear Of

False Teaching: Sinlessness  PRO

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Jul 1, 2012

FALSE TEACHING: SINLESSNESS The Apostle John wrote: "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense-- Jesus Christ, the Righteous One." Now I want to digress for a moment and address a false teaching ...read more

Tags: Sin Bondage To

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Why Mike Guglielmucci Lied To The World  PRO

Contributed by Paul Wallace on Oct 28, 2008

Why Mike Guglielmucci Lied to the World The Australian musician who wrote "Healer" needed his own healing from a porn addiction. His tragic story should challenge us to embrace purity. I play the song "Healer" all the time in my car. I can't get the tune out of my head. You probably know the ...read more

Tags: Hypocrisy

Denomination: Wesleyan

It Was A Chilly December Evening In Downtown ...  PRO

Contributed by Eric Hickman on Dec 16, 2002

It was a chilly December evening in downtown Chicago, and about a dozen people from a suburban Christian college were Christmas caroling. A few people stopped to listen. A black man edged closer as they sang. His head nodded in rhythm with the melody. He was probably in his 20s, but his tired and ...read more

Tags: Humility, Poverty, Giving General

Denomination: Church Of God

Imagine That You Have A Big House And Lots Of ...  PRO

Contributed by Ed Sasnett on Jun 21, 2005

Imagine that you have a big house and lots of land. Imagine further that a refugee shows up at the door asking if he might camp out in your backyard for a while. You are moved with compassion and grant him permission. A little later he asks if some relatives, who are also homeless, might also ...read more

Tags: Evangelism How To, Evangelism Urgency

Denomination: Baptist

The Gospel Came To Hawaii During The Period In ...  PRO

Contributed by Rick Bartosik on Oct 18, 2005

The Gospel came to Hawaii during the period in American history called "The Second Great Awakening" (1785-1820). Henry Opukaha’ia was the first Hawaiian Christian. In the late 1700s his entire family was killed during a tribal war on the shores of Kealakakua Bay on the Big Island. As he fled from ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16

Tags: Evangelism Urgency, Evangelism How To

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational