In Sermon Illustrations: "Christmas Stories"

Little Girl Doesn't Understand Cleansing ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 26, 2009

Little Girl Doesn’t Understand Cleansing Symbolism of Baptism Pastor Bob Beasley shares a true story told by a father in his church: “Our three-year-old daughter, Rena, sat with us during the baptismal service…which was a new experience for her. She exclaimed in surprise, ‘Why did he push that guy ...read more

Scripture: Acts 2:38

Tags: Baptism

Miraculous Protection Of Missionary John G. ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 17, 2009

Miraculous Protection of Missionary John G. Paton John G. Paton was a missionary to the New Hebrides. He had aroused the enmity of the local native chief by his successes in the Gospel, the chief hired a man to kill the missionary. The man went to the missionary’s house, but instead of murdering ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 91:1-16

Tags: Missions, Angels

English Deist, Anthony Collins' Question To A ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 30, 2009

English Deist, Anthony Collins’ Question to a Commoner, "Is your God a great or a little God?" A well-known English deist, Anthony Collins of the seventeenth century, was walking one day when he crossed paths with a commoner. “Where are you going?” asked Collins. “To church, sir.” “What are you ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:1-2

Tags: Worship General

Anchor During Life's Storms  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 7, 2009

ANCHOR DURING LIFE'S STORMS In October of 1991, a storm stronger than any in recorded history hit the coast off of Gloucester, Massachusetts. This storm created an almost apocalyptic situation in the Atlantic Ocean, where boats encountered waves of 100 feet - the equivalent of a ten story building ...read more

Scripture: Acts 27:21-36

Tags: Hardship Of Life

Samson Confused With ...

Contributed by Bruce Rzengota on Dec 28, 2009

Samson confused with He-man http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snufwP5SO-Y&NR=1 He-Man is a heroic fictional character in the Masters of the Universe franchise. He is the alter ego of Prince Adam and also the twin brother of She-Ra. He-Man and his friends defend Eternia and the secrets of Castle ...read more

Tags: Ot Judges

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Encouragement Can Change A Life  PRO

Contributed by Jorge Acevedo on Feb 17, 2010

ENCOURAGEMENT CAN CHANGE A LIFE Stuart Briscoe tells a story of something that happened to Howard Hendricks when he was in elementary school. Howard had come from a broken family and was a problem kid. During his first day in fifth grade the teacher said, 'Oh, Howard Hendricks. I've heard a lot ...read more

Tags: Encouragement

Denomination: Baptist

The "Yes" Face

Contributed by Jorge Acevedo on Feb 17, 2010

THE "YES" FACE I read a story about our 3rd president, Thomas Jefferson, him and his companions were traveling the countryside when they came upon a river that had overran its banks because of heavy rain. The bridge had been washed out and they had to cross the river on horseback fighting against ...read more

Tags: Communication General

Denomination: Baptist

No Rest For The Unforgiving

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Mar 19, 2010

NO REST FOR THE UNFORGIVING Somewhere in the recesses of my memory is the recollection of a movie. It’s a Western; I know that much. I can’t remember the title of the movie, but I remember the story line. The hero is a law man, and he is transporting a convicted murderer across the treacherous ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness For Others

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Switching Off The Message  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 9, 2010

SWITCHING OFF THE MESSAGE The Word will protect us. No soldier is going to go to battle without his armor and his weapons. Yet many Christians today rarely even pick up their bible. A former park ranger at Yellowstone National Park tells the story of a ranger leading a group of hikers to a fire ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:17

Tags: Bible Influence

Philip Henry's ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 29, 2010

Philip Henry’s Romance D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones tells the story of Philip Henry, the father of Matthew Henry the commentator. He and a young lady had fallen in love with each other. She belonged to a “higher” level of society than he did, and although she had become a Christian and therefore regarded ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 1:1-23

Tags: Christian Values

When My Hat Is Here...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 21, 2010

WHEN MY HAT IS HERE... So, it’s not true that you can be just as good a Christian without going to church. You can’t simply say "Well, I’m there in Spirit… but I don’t have to be there in body." It’s kind of like the true story of an incident that took place at a University. This university had a ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 10:23-25

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

The Town Gossip

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2011

THE TOWN GOSSIP Many years ago the Moody Church News carried a humorous story about a woman in a small town who was known for being a gossip. One day on vacation she visited the offices of The Chicago Daily News. She was wearing a white dress and inadvertently leaned against a wall where a freshly ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 20:19

Tags: Tongue

A Child's View Of God

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Feb 26, 2011

A CHILD'S VIEW OF GOD Many of you know that I did not grow up in the church. My family was not religious, and so, we seldom spoke of God. Still in all, even as a child, I had some conception of God. I don’t know where I got it or how I picked it up, but I had an undeveloped, primitive theology. I ...read more

Tags: Descriptions Of God

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Jesus Freaks Are Here

Contributed by Noel Atkinson on Mar 16, 2011

THE JESUS FREAKS ARE HERE I remember doing street ministry a few years ago. I was with an organisation called Drug Arm in the city. We would set up a van and give coffee and doughnuts to drug addicts along with contact phone numbers for the local drug rehabilitation centres. I remember one night ...read more

Tags: Servanthood

Denomination: Baptist

Afraid Of The Grave  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 24, 2011

AFRAID OF THE GRAVE Cemeteries can be spooky places. I heard a funny story about a guy in Scotland we'll call Ian McGregor. After a long evening in the pub, Ian took a shortcut to his house that took him through a dark cemetery. He accidentally fell into a freshly dug grave. Ian tried to climb ...read more

Scripture: Luke 24:1-12

Tags: Easter Resurrection

Burning The Cargo

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 29, 2011

BURNING THE CARGO There’s a story of two paddleboats that left Memphis about the same time, travelling down the Mississippi River to New Orleans. As they travelled side by side, sailors from one vessel made a few remarks about the snail’s pace of the other. Words were exchanged. Challenges were ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 4:1-2

Tags: Salvation

Cast The First Stone  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 11, 2011

CAST THE FIRST STONE A woman named Marilyn Helleberg told about being a teenager at church camp. She said an ugly rumor got started there about two of the counselors and it quickly became the talk of the camp. The next day, at Morning Prayer, the minister read the story of the adulterous woman. ...read more

Scripture: James 3:1-12

Tags: Tongue

What Do You Do In Disaster?

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Aug 31, 2011

WHAT DO YOU DO IN DISASTER? What do you do when you are faced with a disaster that strikes home at your heart? Do you respond or do you try to blame others? Do you ignore it? Pretend it’s just a story? Nehemiah finds out how bad the city of Jerusalem is from a recent news report. It perplexes ...read more

Tags: Nehemiah

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Wanting To Give Up

Contributed by Brad Henry on Sep 1, 2011

WANTING TO GIVE UP "In 1965 a divorced mother of two found a classified ad offering a restaurant for sale. She mortgaged her house to purchase the restaurant, the original Chris's steakhouse. In 1976 a fire forced her to relocate. Under the original purchase agreement, the name 'Chris Steak House' ...read more

Tags: God Brings Hope

The Three Stone-Carriers  PRO

Contributed by Davon Huss on Oct 3, 2011

THE THREE STONE-CARRIERS Many years ago in a church in England, a preacher entered the pulpit and said: "Brethren, before I preach, allow me to tell this story. Many years have passed since I was in this place. On that evening there came three young men, not only with the intention of ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:18, 1 Chronicles 16:22

Tags: Grace

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ