In Sermon Illustrations: "Christmas Meaning"

Why Muslims Convert

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 23, 2010

WHY MUSLIMS CONVERT Fuller seminar asked 750 former Muslims to fill out an extensive questionnaire about how they came to decide to become a Christian. The respondents were from 30 countries and 50 ethnic groups, representing every major region of Islam. They were asked to rank the relative ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:14-16

Tags: Christian Witness

God's Standard For Sin

Contributed by K. Edward Skidmore on Dec 30, 2010

GOD'S STANDARD FOR SIN At a former church, a youth leader came up to me one day and said, "I'm trying to figure out the way God judges sin. The best I can figure it, I assume he grades on the curve like they do at school. You know, 70% good is a passing grade." I had bad news for him. God has a ...read more

Tags: Judgment

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Harry Potter: Temptation

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Jul 30, 2011

HARRY POTTER: TEMPTATION Every great story has great characters. And in truly great stories, the characters go through significant change. This change is called a character arc. For example, if you’re familiar with the Harry Potter series, you know that Harry starts off in the story as an ...read more

Tags: Temptation General

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

What Makes Your Face Shine?  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 2, 2011

WHAT MAKES YOUR FACE SHINE? A Hindu trader in India once asked a missionary, "What do you put on your face to make it shine?" With surprise the man of God answered, "I don’t put anything on it!" His questioner began to lose patience and said emphatically, "Yes, you do! All of you who believe in ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 2:14-16

Tags: Christian Witness

Americans: Flabby Faith  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 16, 2011

AMERICANS: FLABBY FAITH A dozen or so years ago, a Romanian pastor came to visit the church I belonged to. He had gotten to know my pastor, John Vawter, who had been involved in a Bible-smuggling ministry when the Iron Curtain was still up. John asked him what he thought of our country, and of the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:11-16, Romans 12:1-6

Tags: Discipleship

Sure You Want To Win The Lottery?

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Jun 1, 2012

SURE YOU WANT TO WIN THE LOTTERY? When William "Bud" Post won $16.2 million in a 1988 lottery, one of the first things he did was try to please his family. Unfortunately, his kin was of the unfriendly sort. Post's brother hired a hit man to kill him, hoping to inherit some money. Other family ...read more

Tags: Money

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Worship Warrior  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 17, 2012

WORSHIP WARRIOR I like the way songwriter and worship leader, Brian Doerksen, puts it. He says, "Becoming a worshipper means becoming a warrior... And by toning that down...we have sent men and women away from the church in droves. It's time to call them back," Doerksen says, "as worshiping ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:1-2

Tags: Worship Definition

Joining For The Perks

Contributed by Stephen Belokur on Nov 13, 2012

JOINING FOR THE PERKS Lay down our lives? You mean total sacrifice? Partial commitment is not allowed. I remember a man in a church I attended long ago who had a grandson who was in the Army and his grandson was about to be deployed into a war zone. This man got up in church and with tears ...read more

Tags: Commitment To Christ

Denomination: Nazarene

"Knowing" Christ  PRO

Contributed by Paul Barreca on Jan 6, 2013

"KNOWING" CHRIST In today's world of Smart Phones, tablets and instant Internet access, there are many things that we can "know." If someone asks the questions, "how long is the Verrazano Bridge," a nimble person with a 4 G connection and an Iphone can ask Siri, "How long is the Verrazano ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 3:10

Tags: Jesus Christ, Knowing God

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

What Will Your Legacy Be?  PRO

Contributed by Jeff Van Wyk on Feb 24, 2013

WHAT WILL YOUR LEGACY BE? I visited the home of Elvis in Graceland, Tennessee. After so many years after his death, I was amazed at the crowds of people that take the tour and listen to his life’s story. The sad thing is, the story will never change, because he has lived his life and what he has ...read more

Tags: Opportunity

Denomination: Charismatic

Grace And Matthew

Contributed by Kevin Karhoff on Mar 12, 2013

GRACE AND MATTHEW These days people don't know Matthew as a failure and embarrassment who sold his soul to the Romans for a job. We know Matthew as a follower of Jesus who wrote the first book of the New Testament. It's important to understand that the grace of God doesn't simply invite us to ...read more

Scripture: Luke 5:27-31

Tags: Grace, Jesus Christ

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Wooden Legged Friend  PRO

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jan 30, 2014

WOODEN LEGGED FRIEND Two farmers were talking about their livestock when a pig walked by them that had a wooden leg. One farmer was amazed and said, "Is that your pig? Why does he have a wooden leg?" The other farmer smiled and said, " That pig is my best friend! He saved my life." ...read more

Scripture: John 15:1-10

Tags: Friendship, Christian Friendship

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

What Alcoholics Can Teach Us

Contributed by Davon Huss on May 31, 2014

Philip Yancey interviewed a young alcoholic who had formerly been an active church member, but had allowed Alcoholics Anonymous to replace the church. When questioned why, the young man responded, "Mainly I'm trying to survive, and AA helps me in that struggle far better than any church." ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:5

Tags: Accountability, Authenticity, Dependency, Self-Righteousness

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

A Wrist Watch And A Big Bang

Contributed by Ron Freeman, Evangelist on Mar 24, 2019

Shake it together! If we placed the parts of a wrist watch in a bag and began to shake it; how long do you think it would be, before it came together, and function properly? Both the world and the watch had a creator, designer, and maker. The world did not begin as a result of a big bang. God ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 1:1, Hebrews 1:10, John 1:1-3, Psalm 14:1, Psalm 53:1  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Evolution Theory, Wrist Watch Created, Creation, God Created, Big Bang, Darwins Theory  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Have You Burned Your Ships Yet?

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Feb 9, 2020

When the Spanish explorer Hernando Cortez landed at Vera Cruz, Mexico in 1519 he was intent on conquest. To assure the devotion of his men, Cortez set fire to his fleet of eleven ships! With no means of retreat, Cortez’s army had only one direction to move, into the Mexican interior. Cortez ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:1-12, James 1:8

Tags: Commitment, Discipleship, Following Jesus, Counting The Cost

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Saint Or Sinner

Contributed by John Bright on Feb 19, 2021

In the “Freedom in Christ” course, Neil Anderson and Steve Goss, share an illustration that I just love – “You know the fairy tale of the princess who decided to kiss a frog? When she kissed the frog, he changes into a handsome prince. Now imagine they go out to a fancy restaurant to celebrate ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:2

Tags: Princess, Prince, Sinners, Saints, Frog  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Methodist

God Can't Take His Eyes Off Of Me!

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Feb 13, 2022

There were 2 boys playing one day when they got bored. Little Johnny turned to his buddy, Billy, and said, "You know something, I'm bored. Let's go to the store and steal some candy!" Billy says: "Oh no! I can't do that! God is watching me!“ Little Johnny replies: ...read more

Tags: God's Love, Dishonesty, Heavenly Father, God's Providence, Children  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Motherhood And Compassion

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Apr 19, 2022

Motherhood and Compassion. A few days ago, I made a marvelous discovery. In the Hebrew language of the Old Testament the word for “compassion” comes from the root word, “womb.” The picture is of a birthing. It is also the picture of a faithful mother giving all she's got to bring a little ...read more

Tags: Children, Compassion, Women, Mothers, Mother's Day, New Birth  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Language Is A Great Gift From God That Sets Us ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Language is a great gift from God that sets us apart from every other creature. But sometimes our words are misunderstood or mistranslated; for example, I found some commercial slogans that had been translation into other languages of course they didn’t translate the same: Kentucky Fried Chicken, ...read more

Tags: Ot Characters

In His Took Elton Trueblood Quotes A Letter From ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

In his took Elton Trueblood quotes a letter from a school girl who probes the depth of her soul. She writes, "I’ve been thinking much this year about the importance of caring, of the passion of life. I’ve often realized that it takes courage to care. Caring is dangerous. It leaves you open to hurt ...read more

Tags: Faith