In Sermon Illustrations: "Clergy Appreciation Month"

Childlike Forgiveness

Contributed by Ramon Canals on Jun 5, 2009

CHILDLIKE FORGIVENESS A few months ago, I was in El Paso holding an evangelistic meeting, and the young people were serving dinner to the mothers being that it was Mother’s Day. I was seating in a chair watching what was going on, and right in front a four-year-old girl pushed a two-year-old boy, ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness General

Denomination: Adventist

Two-Year-Old Boy Addicted To Smoking In ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 8, 2010

Two-Year-Old Boy Addicted to Smoking in Indonesia An Indonesian father claims his two-year-old son is addicted to cigarettes, a newspaper reported. Mohammad Rizal, from the Southeast Asian country’s Musi Banyuasin province, said his son Rizal is hooked on tobacco after having his first cigarette at ...read more

Scripture: Deuteronomy 6:1-9

Tags: Parenting

Arranging Your Departure

Contributed by Christian Cheong on Dec 2, 2010

ARRANGING YOUR DEPARTURE A young man works as a photographer for a magazine. In 1981 he was flown into an Alaskan wilderness to photograph the natural beauty and some rare flowers. He had everything prepared - photo equipment, 500 rolls of film, and several days of provisions. He kept a diary ...read more

Tags: Preparation

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Abolishing Slavery: Wilberforce And Moses

Contributed by Ken Pell on Mar 21, 2011

ABOLISHING SLAVERY: WILBERFORCE AND MOSES I found myself reading William Wilberforce’s speeches to the British Parliament the other day, particularly his speeches to abolish the slave trade. I was struck by the tenacity, patience, and confidence that he showed. He was convinced that this evil ...read more

Tags: Endurance

Denomination: Nazarene

Are You Planting The Right Seed?

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 11, 2011

ARE YOU PLANTING THE RIGHT SEED? Some time ago "Reader’s Digest" told the story about a company who mailed out some special advertising business post cards with a mustard seed glued to it with the following caption that went something like this: "If you have faith as small as this mustard seed in ...read more

Scripture: Mark 4:16-34

Tags: Kingdom Of God

Unaware Of The King's Presence  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 4, 2012

UNAWARE OF THE KING’S PRESENCE Steve Brown tells the frustrating story of some British social scientists. Following the end of British rule in India in the 1940s, a group of researchers wanted to study the impact of the end of British rule on the life of the nation. After six months, the British ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 21:1-16

Tags: Easter Palm Sunday

Where Will Our Jobs Go?

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Aug 13, 2012

WHERE WILL OUR JOBS GO? Futurist Thomas Frey blogs, "People are seriously worried. I've been in a number of conversations recently where people are very worried about our coming era of automation where fewer and fewer jobs will be left for people to do. A few months ago I predicted that over 2 ...read more

Tags: Future

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Billy Graham: Strong Statements

Contributed by Davon Huss on Aug 20, 2012

BILLY GRAHAM: STRONG STATEMENTS The preacher to the Presidents, Billy Graham, now 93 years old, has come out with some surprising statements in the past few months. Recently, Mr. Graham quotes his late wife Ruth as saying, "If God doesn't punish America, He'll have to apologize to Sodom and ...read more

Tags: Judgment

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Jaymalis Davis Was Highlighted In The ...

Contributed by Tim Smith on Oct 21, 2012

Jaymalis Davis was highlighted in the Times-Picayne series entitled, “Louisiana Incarcerated.” He lives in central city surround by drugs, crime and unemployment. His mother is crack addicted and largely absent from his home and his father, who was in and out of jail for drugs and car theft and ...read more

Tags: Grace

Denomination: Methodist

Framed

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Nov 11, 2019

A cow and a chicken were framed and thrown into prison. They knew they had to get out to bring the criminals to justice so they spent weeks designing escape plans. Finally, a month after they had been thrown in, they escaped in the middle of the night. However, they weren't silent enough and ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 39:1-23

Tags: Framed, Accused

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Coach Bear Bryant Had A Purpose In Life.

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Dec 13, 2022

The famous and very successful football coach Bear Bryant often told reporters, "I’d croak in a month if I quit coaching." After twenty-five years as the head coach at his alma mater, Bryant announced he would be stepping down at the end of the season. On December 29, 1982, he coached his ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 9:27, Philippians 1:21

Tags: Careers, Death, Sports, Men, Retirement, Purpose  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

You Can Change

Contributed by Richard Tow on Mar 27, 2023

Colin Smith tells the story of a friend who had a severe heart attack. The man said it felt like an elephant on his chest. He survived, but the doctor told him he would have to change his diet. Colin asked the man what he ate before the heart attack. The man said he loved cheeseburgers, fries, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:6, 2 Timothy 2:22, Luke 6:21

Tags: Habits, Hunger, Addiction, Righteousness, Health, Eating  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Charismatic

Christmas Suicide Myth

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Feb 3, 2024

It is a myth that suicide rates increase during the holidays. It is true that deaths rise around Christmas and New Year’s Day. Authorities are not sure why, but some suspect it is because people delay addressing health concerns until after the holidays and/or because hospitals, nursing homes, and ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:1-20

Tags: Christmas, Suicide, Christmas Myth

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Today's Pitcairn Island Population Is Descended ...

Contributed by W F on Mar 31, 2007

Today’s Pitcairn Island population is descended from British sailors and Tahitians. The mutineers of the HMS Bounty settled the island [first discovered by world explorers on 2 July 1767 by midshipman Pitcairn aboard the HMS Swallow] in 1790, along with their Tahitian women and a few Tahitian men. ...read more

Denomination: *other

Today's Pitcairn Island Population Is Descended ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Today’s Pitcairn Island population is descended from British sailors and Tahitians. The mutineers of the HMS Bounty settled the island [first discovered by world explorers on 2 July 1767 by midshipman Pitcairn aboard the HMS Swallow] in 1790, along with their Tahitian women and a few Tahitian men. ...read more

Tags: Motivation, Apologetics The Bible

Ken Blanchart And Barbara Glands Did Some ...  PRO

Contributed by Guy Mcgraw on Jan 21, 2008

Ken Blanchart and Barbara Glands did some training with three thousand front-line workers at grocery stores and retail outlets across the country. They talked about the power of words and how what you say really does make a difference in people’s lives. A month later, Barbara said she got a call ...read more

Misfired Twice!

Contributed by Davon Huss on Aug 19, 2024

Story from Bob Hostetler in Red Letter Prayer Life: Two of my dearest friends in the world, Dave and Becky, told me the amazing story of their mission trip some years ago to the mountain town of San Luis, Honduras. They traveled as part of a combined medical and evangelistic team that served the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:13

Tags: Protection, Deliverance

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

In Her Book Mystery On The Desert, Maria Reiche ...

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Nov 21, 2005

In her book Mystery on the Desert, Maria Reiche describes a series of strange lines made by the ancient Nazea people in the plains of Peru, perhaps as early as 200 years before the time of Christ. The area where the lines are covers over 37 miles. It is impossible to make out what these line ...read more

Tags: God's Omniscience, Endurance

Denomination: Methodist

Fathering Is Hard Work: According To The 6/10/03 ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 3, 2006

Fathering Is Hard Work: According to the 6/10/03 issue of Family Circle magazine in its national poll of fathers finds: · 94% feel building a family is the hardest and most important thing a man can do. · 71% say fatherhood is more demanding than they expected, while 88% say fatherhood is more ...read more

Tags: Parenting

Today Christ The King Calls You And Me To "Be His ...

Contributed by R. David Reynolds on Nov 25, 2006

Today Christ the King calls you and me to “be His witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth until He comes in final victory, and we feat at His table for ever.” I deeply love, appreciate, and respect the ministry of Chicago Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, the Founder and ...read more

Denomination: Methodist