In Sermon Illustrations: "Clergy Appreciation Month"

The Day You Enlisted

Contributed by Andy Grossman on Jun 7, 2011

THE DAY YOU ENLISTED I remember when I enlisted in the U.S. Army. It was at the height of the Viet Nam War. The year was 1967. I had a draft number and was probably going to be drafted – so I went down to the army recruiter and enlisted for three years. I signed on the dotted line, and before ...read more

Tags: Discipleship

Denomination: Holiness

Adoniram Judson Returns To The Lord

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 13, 2011

ADONIRAM JUDSON RETURNS TO THE LORD Adoniram Judson graduated at the top of his class in college, then he headed to New York City to seek fame and fortune as an actor and/or writer. He had left the God of his father, thinking he was beyond such "primitive notions." But such a life was empty for ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 44:22, Isaiah 44:22-44

Tags: Revelation

Losing The Boys

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Jul 24, 2011

LOSING THE BOYS Dr. H Norman Wright tells this story: My wife and I had just arrived home from vacation, and the phone rang. It was our house painter. He said, "I remembered that your son died. My daughter just lost two of her little boys. Can you help her?" We agreed, so my wife and I made an ...read more

Tags: Compassion

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Hypocrisy Of Robert Courtney  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 12, 2011

THE HYPOCRISY OF ROBERT COURTNEY Before his arrest, Robert Courtney served as a deacon at Northland Cathedral, an Assembly of God Church in Kansas City. In 1990, Courtney began purchasing pharmaceuticals on the gray market and using them to fill prescriptions at his pharmacy. In time, he began ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 23:23-28

Tags: Hypocrisy

Making Christmas Special  PRO

Contributed by Sam Higgs on Dec 1, 2011

MAKING CHRISTMAS SPECIAL In the months leading up to the Christmas season, Dan had lost his job. Well, in the city he lived in, most of the workers had to relocate with the company or face unemployment. Dan was one of the unlucky ones who had not been with the company long enough to be asked ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 1:18-21, Galatians 4:4

Tags: Christmas

Denomination: Baptist

King Tut Vs. William Borden

Contributed by Bret Toman on Jan 31, 2012

KING TUT VS. WILLIAM BORDEN In 1922 Howard Carter discovered the burial chamber of King Tutankhamen. King Tut had died at around age 19 and his tomb had been untouched for over 3000 years. Buried with him were solid gold chariots and thousands of golden artifacts. His gold coffin was found within ...read more

Tags: Apologetics Jesus

Denomination: Baptist

Skeletons In Our Closets

Contributed by Tim Smith on Feb 19, 2012

SKELETONS IN OUR CLOSETS The Rockefeller family is considered to be one of the most philanthropic families in the world, helping humanity globally in issues like economics, religion, education and environmental affairs. Yet the Rockefeller family tree is filled with many skeletons. William Avery ...read more

Tags: Sin General

Denomination: Methodist

Go Find Something To Do For God

Contributed by Tim Smith on Feb 19, 2012

GO FIND SOMETHING TO DO FOR GOD Ruth Rettig tells the story of having gone through unsuccessful cancer surgery and following up with chemo in Houston, which meant 500-mile roundtrips from their home in central Texas. The trips were exhausting enough but the chemo made her feel sick to death. She ...read more

Tags: Birth Of Jesus

Denomination: Methodist

Lottery's Biggest Losers

Contributed by Aaron Mishoe on Apr 3, 2012

LOTTERY'S BIGGEST LOSERS Winning the lottery isn’t a guaranteed ticket to the good life, as these previous winners can attest: --Jack Whittaker: This West Virginia businessman won $315 million in the Powerball lottery in 2002, the largest jackpot ever from a single ticket in American history at ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 13:11

Tags: Money

Denomination: Holiness

The Cost Of Trying To Fit In

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 19, 2012

THE COST OF TRYING TO FIT IN Kevin Miller of Wheaton, Illinois wrote the following: Right after I finished 6th grade, my family moved to a new town. As I started junior high that fall, I suddenly found myself in a school I didn’t know, in a town I didn’t know, with people I didn’t know. I felt ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 18:24

Tags: Friendship General

God, Please Save My Son

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 20, 2012

"GOD, PLEASE SAVE MY SON." Imagine what went through Moses’ mother’s heart when she turned her just weaned child over to Pharaoh’s daughter. Pharaoh’s daughter was a stranger, a foreigner, living in an anti-Semitic home, whose father was pursuing genocide, trying to wipe out the Hebrew race. ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 2:1-10

Tags: Prayer Answered

Making Christmas ...

Contributed by Sam Higgs on Dec 6, 2012

Making Christmas Special In the months leading up to the Christmas season, Dan lost his job. Well, in the city he lived in, most of the workers had to relocate with the company or face unemployment. Dan was one of the unlucky ones who had not been with the company long enough to be asked to ...read more

Tags: Christmas

Denomination: Baptist

Dr. R. G. Lee's Mother Told Of Happiest Day And Gave Taste Of Heaven

Contributed by Rick Crandall on Dec 23, 2012

*Dr. R.G. Lee was the much loved pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis from 1927-1960. One day when R.G was a little boy, he asked his mother what was the happiest day of her life. Her name was Elizabeth. And she thought back to the time of the Civil War when she was a little ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 20:1-5, Hebrews 11:30-40

Tags: Heaven, Restoration, Reunion, Joy And Celebration

Denomination: Baptist

Pastoral Ministry Crisis

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 30, 2015

2009 Statistics Of Why Pastors Leave the Ministry by Fuller Institute, George Barna and Pastoral Care Inc, Focus On The Family. 1,500 pastors leave the ministry permanently each month in America. 4,000 new churches start each year in America. 7,000 churches close each year in America. 25% of ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 11:28-29

Tags: Pastoral Leadership, Pastoral Ministry

The Word Was Being Made Real In The Back Of His Church

Contributed by Tim Smith on Aug 13, 2017

Pastor Thomas Tewell tells the story of getting ready for their 11 p.m. Christmas Eve service. As the people were gathering, a man named Jim came in. Jim was a recovering alcoholic, sober just 6 months, but his disease had cost him his family, his job, just about everything. He went in to the ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:1-10

Tags: Christmas, Grace, Ministry, The Word Made Flesh

Denomination: Methodist

Ever-Flowing Stream Of Grace  PRO

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

Ever-flowing Stream Of Grace "Empowerment for Service" Jesus taught, "Christians know His voice." Christians also know, [He] is the Lord [and] He is the everlasting God, the Creator of... the earth. He [does] not grow tired or weary..." (Isaiah 40:28) "Empowerment for Service: We serve the ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 40:8

Tags: Grace

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

How Much Is Enough?

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 11, 2008

HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH? Each week Kevin Tunell was required to mail a dollar to a family he'd rather forget. They sued him for $1.5 million but settled for just $936, to be paid a dollar at a time. The family expected the payment each Friday so Tunell would not forget what happened on the first Friday ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness For Others

Kent Hughes, Who Pastored In Chicago, Tells ...

Contributed by Glenn Durham on Aug 13, 2008

Kent Hughes, who pastored in Chicago, tells something which happened to a dear friend. This lady was a missionary on furlough after a particularly difficult season of service. Now, for the first time since they had been missionaries, they had bought a place of their own to rest and recover. The ...read more

Tags: Mercy

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Kierkegaard's Complacent Duck  PRO

Contributed by Dean O'bryan on Aug 25, 2008

Kierkegaard's Complacent Duck There was a Danish philosopher named Kierkegaard whose writings are weighty and tough to read. But that deep thinker one time told a simple parable that describes how easy it is to slide into complacency. According to his parable, one Spring, a duck was flying ...read more

Tags: Lazy, Sloth, Commitment To Christ, Complacency, Sleep  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

On A Cold Winter Evening A Man Suffered A Heart ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 16, 2008

On a cold winter evening a man suffered a heart attack and after being admitted to the hospital, the man asked the nurse to call his daughter. He explained, “You see, I live alone and she is the only family I have.” The nurse went to phone the daughter. The daughter was quite upset and shouted, ...read more

Tags: Love For God