In Sermon Illustrations: "Church Hopping"

The Burning Of The Brands

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Mar 7, 2011

THE BURNING OF THE BRANDS British style writer Neil Boorman has decided to burn every branded thing in his possession. "I am addicted to brands," he confessed in a magazine article: "From an early age, I have been taught that to be accepted, to be lovable, to be cool, one must have the right ...read more

Tags: Materialism

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Colossian Philosophy: "Borrowed" Features

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 6, 2011

COLOSSIAN PHILOSOPHY: "BORROWED" FEATURES I used to collect basketball cards. This was way back in the early 90s, though I still have held on to them. Basketball cards took off well after baseball cards, and each brand over time had its own unique features. Some were UV coated, others had gold ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 1:15-23

Tags: False Teaching

What Is Your Purpose?

Contributed by Rodelio Mallari on Apr 13, 2011

WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE? Many years before Abraham Lincoln was elected president, he was a store-keeper in Salem, Illinois. Abe had a rifle displayed in his store that was one of the most beautiful rifles ever made. The barrel was made from the finest steel, the stock from the best walnut wood; and a ...read more

Tags: God Brings Purpose

Denomination: *other

I Don't Want To Be A Fireman

Contributed by Chuck Sligh on Apr 20, 2011

I DON'T WANT TO BE A FIREMAN I recall a conversation I once had with a precocious little boy we once had in the church I pastored for 10 years in Wiesbaden. I asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up. "Well," he replied, "I don't want to be a fireman." I'd never had a kid tell me what ...read more

Tags: Discipleship

Denomination: Baptist

Forgiveness: Like A Bell Tolling

Contributed by Alison Bucklin on Jun 18, 2011

FORGIVENESS: LIKE A BELL TOLLING Corrie ten Boom once told of being able to forget a wrong that had been done to her. She had forgiven the person, but she kept rehashing the incident and so couldn’t sleep. Finally, she cried out to God for help in putting the problem to rest. She wrote this about ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness General

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Singing For The Girls

Contributed by Guy Mcgraw on Jun 22, 2011

SINGING FOR THE GIRLS Last Sunday night I preached in a town called San Miguel. It was known for witch doctors and demonic things going on. We had a constant string of problems happening one after another. The church was crowded with every seat taken and faces looking through the back doors and ...read more

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Working For Food

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 10, 2011

WORKING FOR FOOD I like the story of the rich executive who announced to his church one morning that he was going to give up all he owned so that he had to depend on his faith in God for everything he needed. He sold everything, gave it to the poor, and moved into a rented home down on the bad ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:19-34

Tags: Prayer Of Faith

The Beautiful Sounds Of The Stradivarius

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 11, 2011

THE BEAUTIFUL SOUNDS OF THE STRADIVARIUS Years ago, there was a master violinist in Europe. He would play in concerts, and he had a magnificent Stradivarius violin, extremely expensive. He would play the Stradivarius violin in concert and everyone would whisper in the crowd, "Listen to the ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 38:20, Isaiah 38:1-8

Tags: Born Again

A Very Young Christian Family

Contributed by Richard Koskela on Oct 24, 2011

A VERY YOUNG CHRISTIAN FAMILY While traveling as a missionary on home assignment, I had the privilege of eating an evening meal with a young couple with two small children. When it was time for the children to go to bed, they asked me if I wanted to go with them to the children’s bedroom while ...read more

Tags: Family

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Your First Love

Contributed by Chuck Sligh on Oct 28, 2011

YOUR FIRST LOVE Jesus' first remedy for the Church in Ephesus was too "REMEMBER." Rev. 2:5 says, "Remember therefore from where you are fallen..." Remember what it was like during the honeymoon stage? Go back in your mind to a time when passion prevailed in your spiritual life. Relive it and ...read more

Tags: Love For God

Denomination: Baptist

Once Shaved  PRO

Contributed by Davon Huss on Nov 7, 2011

ONCE SHAVED A fellow got up one morning and decided he no longer was going to shave himself; he was instead going to the barber for his morning shave. The town barber also happened to be the local preacher in town. When the guy walked into the barber shop the barber/preacher was not there, he was ...read more

Tags: Calvinism

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Gift Of A Cross

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Nov 29, 2011

THE GIFT OF A CROSS Story: Woman Led to Christ through an Act of Kindness Craig Groeschel, The Christian Atheist (Zondervan, 2011). p. 210 It's amazing what a difference the little things will make. For example, years ago when I was a new believer, I always wore a tiny cross pin on my shirts. ...read more

Tags: Evangelism The Lost

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Joanne Shetler Spent Years In The Philippines ...

Contributed by Tim Spear on Dec 3, 2012

Joanne Shetler spent years in the Philippines with the Balangao people, translating the Bible into their language and trying to tell them the good news of the Savior. But it was slow going. One day Ama, a man who had “adopted” her as his Balangao daughter, picked up an English New Testament from ...read more

Tags: Missions

Denomination: Baptist

Remove The Hate — Be Pure  PRO

Contributed by Ken Pell on Mar 30, 2013

REMOVE THE HATE -- BE PURE "And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood (Hebrews 13:2)." Three years ago, Chris Simpson led a white pride march. Two years ago, he abandoned the white supremacist movement. This past April (2012), he was ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 13:2

Tags: Holiness

Denomination: Nazarene

Position Versus Discipleship

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 7, 2013

POSITION VERSUS DISCIPLESHIP C. Gene Wilkes, in his book Jesus on Leadership, says, "Confusion arises when you equate higher 'positions' with leadership . . . As long as 'position' is honored above discipleship -- being a follower -- church leaders will honor the ambitious over the obedient." We ...read more

Scripture: James 2:14-26

Tags: Faith Vs. Works

The Word Of God Sent Through The Prophets

Contributed by Pastor Amos Dele Dada on Jun 7, 2013

THE WORD OF GOD SENT THROUGH THE PROPHETS You want success - believe the word of God he has sent through his prophets. Period. Imagine The German Army and the USA Army and United Kingdom Army gathered against Canadian Army. And God sends Pastor Dada, call him a Prophet for this purpose to the ...read more

Tags: Basics Of Christianity

Denomination: Pentecostal

Forced To Kill  PRO

Contributed by Davon Huss on Jul 1, 2013

FORCED TO KILL Around the time of the Korean War, Kim Joon-gon had seen 2,000 out of 20,000 people on Chunnam Island murdered by the Communists. They dragged he and his family outside their village where Kim’s father and wife were beaten to death and Kim was left for dead. When he revived and ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:17-21, Matthew 5:7

Tags: Mercy, Salvation, Revenge, Vengeance

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Hilarious Baptism Experience!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Mar 2, 2014

I remember the time I came to the platform to officiate in a formal wedding. I had just come out of the bathroom and didn't realize until I was in front of all those people that stuck to my shoe and trailing behind was an eight-foot stream of toilet paper I remember the time I looked down in ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:19-20

Tags: Baptism, Easter, Humor, Pastors

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Jesus Loves The Little Children

Contributed by Davon Huss on Oct 24, 2014

I had a preacher friend, Carl Etchinson, who had several children. These children grew up and then began having children so Carl had many grandchildren. One of his sons was having another baby. The baby was born late at night and Carl’s son did not call Carl. They forgot the next morning to ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 3:1

Tags: God The Father, Heavenly Father

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Pastor And Leadership Speaker John Maxwell Te...

Contributed by Tim Smith on May 28, 2015

Pastor and Leadership speaker John Maxwell tells the story of his brother who was called to active duty during the Pueblo crisis in Korea. He says he could remember standing in his father’s office when my father found out the news and went to his brother, hugged him and said, “Larry, I’m going to ...read more

Scripture: Luke 22:33-38

Tags: Perseverance, Conversion

Denomination: Methodist