In Sermon Illustrations: "Christmas Present"

In 1988, Author Robert Fulghum Had A Book ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 31, 2008

In 1988, author Robert Fulghum had a book published entitled, “All I really need to know I learned in Kindergarten”. The idea behind the little book was that since the basics of human social behavior are taught us as young children, such as kindness, fairness, cleaning up after yourself, sharing ...read more

Tags: Worry, Burden

You May Or May Not Be Familiar With Earl, So For ...

Contributed by Jay Winters on Jun 28, 2008

You may or may not be familiar with Earl, so for those of you who have never watched it, you can find Earl on NBC. He’s been on TV for about 2 years now. In each and every episode he goes through and tries to right some wrong that he had committed earlier in his life. This has led him to do such ...read more

Tags: Sin Bondage To

Denomination: Lutheran

A Thanks Offering For His Plans For Us  PRO

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

A Thanks Offering For His Plans for Us Jeremiah 29:11-13 says, "For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 29:11-13, 1 Corinthians 12:12-31

Tags: God's Plan, God's Timing, God's Direction, Wisdom Of God, God's Sovereign Will  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Andrée Seu (Pronounced, Ahn'-Dray Soo) Wrote ...

Contributed by Glenn Durham on Sep 17, 2008

Andrée Seu (pronounced, Ahn’-dray Soo) wrote about it in an article in World Magazine a couple of weeks ago: “I was accustomed to thinking of discouragement as something that happens to a person. But on closer examination…I have been taken aback by how volitional or ‘active’ it is. To go around ...read more

Tags: Dead To Sin

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Nature Of Unbelief

Contributed by Timothy Darling on Jan 21, 2009

The Nature of Unbelief In Ernest Hemmingway’s Green Hills of Africa, he hunts for sable. He shoots a large chestnut-colored cow, and then sees an immense black bull, which he shoots but badly. He finds the cow, but he and his team of trackers and porters search all day for the bull. The language ...read more

Tags: Unbelief

Denomination: Mennonite

A Study Released This January From The Barna ...

Contributed by Dillon Burroughs on Mar 9, 2009

A study released this January from the Barna organization revealed that 73% of today’s youth have been involved in some form of psychic or witchcraft related activity. The most popular of these activities includes playing with Ouija boards and the reading of witchcraft and Wicca related books. In ...read more

Tags: Supernatural

Denomination: Baptist

Italian Composer Antonio Rossini Didn't Know Why ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 20, 2009

Italian Composer Antonio Rossini Didn’t Know Why His Watch Was So Valuable You cannot go forward when you have plenty when you are empty on the inside. Harry Emerson Fosdick said that, “No horse gets anywhere until he is harnessed. No stream or gas drives anything until it is confined. No Niagara ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 2:16

Tags: Salvation, Cup Of Salvation

Answered Prayer Helps Persuade Agnostic While ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 28, 2010

Answered Prayer Helps Persuade Agnostic While F.B. Meyer on Oceanliner While crossing the Atlantic on an oceanliner, F.B. Meyer was asked to address the first class passengers. At the captain’s request he spoke on "Answered Prayer." An agnostic who was present at the service was asked by his ...read more

Scripture: Luke 18:1-8

Tags: Prayer Persistence

I Am Suffering At The Moment With A Cold, ...

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Apr 10, 2010

I am suffering at the moment with a cold, coughing and spluttering and my brain feels like it is packed tightly in sponge and being bounced down the slope of a mountain. A good friend said she is praying in Jesus Name for healing and believing for me to be well by Monday. I am believing for this ...read more

Tags: Compassion

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Tozer: God's Tools

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 21, 2011

TOZER: GOD'S TOOLS A.W. Tozer once talked about God's tools: "The HAMMER is a useful tool. But the nail, if it had feeling and intelligence, could present another side of the story. For the nail knows the hammer only as an opponent a brutal, merciless enemy who lives to pound it into submission, ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 51:20-24

Tags: Discipleship

A Blow To A Priceless Jewel

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 28, 2011

A BLOW TO A PRICELESS JEWEL Many years ago, there was found in an African mine the most magnificent diamond in the world’s history. It was presented to the king of England to blaze in his crown or state. The king sent it to Amsterdam to be cut. It was put into the hands of an expert lapidary: a ...read more

Scripture: James 1:2-8

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

The Stress Of Uncertainty

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 10, 2012

THE STRESS OF UNCERTAINTY Daniel Gilbert (a psychologist at Harvard), citing a recent Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, said "that Americans are smiling less and worrying more than they were a year ago, that happiness is down and sadness is up, that we are getting less sleep and smoking more ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:19-34

Tags: Fear And Worry

The Box Was Not Empty

Contributed by Perry Greene on Jul 3, 2012

THE BOX WAS NOT EMPTY "We often learn the most from our children. Some time ago a friend of mine punished his 3-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. Money was tight, and he became infuriated when the child tried to decorate a box to put under the tree. Nevertheless, the ...read more

Tags: Children

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Basic Training

Contributed by John Telgren on Feb 11, 2017

I hated shining shoes in Basic Training. There were other things I would rather be doing instead of sitting on the floor with a brush and mounds of cotton balls stained with black Kiwi shoe polish! If our boots and dress shoes were not perfect we paid for it dearly! During one of our trips to the ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 2:15, 2 Timothy 2:15

Tags: Diligence, Diligently, Diligent

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Joy Of Hearing Your Name

Contributed by Todd Catteau on Apr 26, 2023

This week is the National Football League Draft, a day that thousands of young men have been anticipating for years. I love to watch as the player hears his name called. The smiles. The hugs. Going to the platform and being congratulated by the commissioner. And then donning the jersey and cap of ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:18

Tags: Heaven, Reward

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Beyond Fiction

Contributed by Jung Lee on Jan 20, 2024

In a humorous yet thought-provoking comment, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson critiqued movies like 'Armageddon' and 'Moonfall' for violating more laws of physics per minute than any other movies. This observation serves as an interesting analogy for our spiritual lives. Much like ...read more

Scripture: Romans 6:23

Tags: Fiction, Physics, Gift Of God, Neil Degrasse Tyson, Eternal Consequences, Movie Analogies, Spiritual Life, Reality, Jesus Christ, Eternal Life, Disobedience, God's Law, Forgiveness, Sin, God, Salvation, Gift, Redemption, Faith, Death, Sacrifice, Christ  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

There Is An Old Sermon Illustration That I Have ...  PRO

Contributed by Timothy Smith on Dec 11, 2002

There is an old sermon illustration that I have heard many times but recently I learned that the illustration has a basis in fact. A man by the name of John Griffith, lived in Oklahoma in 1929 and lost all he had in the stock market. He moved to Mississippi where he took a job as bridge tender for ...read more

Tags: God's Love, Forgiveness In Jesus

Denomination: Christian Church

Soldier Explains How Song Sung By Enemy Changed ...  PRO

Contributed by Brad Bailey on Aug 9, 2004

SOLDIER EXPLAINS HOW SONG SUNG BY ENEMY CHANGED HIM One Christmas Eve, Ira D. Sankey was traveling by steamboat up the Delaware River. Asked to sing, Mr. Sankey sang the "Shepherd Song." After the song was ended, a man with a rough, weatherbeaten face came up to Mr. Sankey and said: "Did you ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness For Others

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

I Was In A Christian Bookstore In St. Louis Not ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 2, 2004

I was in a Christian bookstore in St. Louis not that long ago. I was walking around looking at the different books on the shelves and trinkets that you could buy. I really didn’t see much that I thought was worth my attention, so I started heading to the door. Before I got to the door, however, ...read more

Scripture: John 19:28-30

Tags: Misconceptions

Showing Forgiveness To Jim Bakker  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 16, 2001

SHOWING FORGIVENESS TO JIM BAKKER Former televangelist Jim Bakker speaks of events that occurred immediately after his release from prison: When I was transferred to my last prison, Franklin [Graham] said he wanted to help me out when I got out-with a job, a house to live in, and a car. It was my ...read more

Scripture: Luke 14:8-11

Tags: Forgiveness For Others, God's Provision, God's Forgiveness