In Sermon Illustrations: "Close At Hand"

No Future Without Forgiveness

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Nov 12, 2009

NO FUTURE WITHOUT FORGIVENESS Archbishop Desmond Tutu cited the crucifixion as his inspiration. Tutu, daily living in the shadow of apartheid, said that the newly empowered South African blacks readily forgave their white persecutors, because they followed "the Jewish rabbi who, when he was ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness For Others

Denomination: Catholic

Mercy Is A Fascinating Thing. Let's Try To ...

Contributed by Dale Pilgrim on Mar 28, 2010

Mercy is a fascinating thing. Let's try to understand it better. I want you to remember a time when a friend or someone close to you avoided you, shrugged you off for some reason. Now imagine that person being in all kinds of trouble or having a lot of problems because of a bad choice that included ...read more

Tags: Mercy

Denomination: Salvation Army

Are You ...

Contributed by Larry Wilson on Jul 30, 2010

Are you crazy? When viewed from an earthly perspective, the man seems crazy. If we were as close to God as Ezra, it would be seen that his world was crazy. Crazy to think that one could defy God’s laws and yet escape God’s judgment! Indeed, the one pulling his hair out was one of the few sane ...read more

Tags: Sin Exposed

Denomination: Baptist

The Colonel Who Served As Inspector General In A ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 21, 2011

The colonel who served as inspector general in a particular base paid close attention to how personnel wore their uniforms. On one occasion he spotted a junior airman with a violation. "Airman," he bellowed, "what do you do when a shirt pocket is unbuttoned?" The startled airman replied, "Button ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:3-8

Tags: Humility

You Need Someone, Someone Needs You

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Sep 16, 2011

YOU NEED SOMEONE, SOMEONE NEEDS YOU A rooster minus a hen equals no baby chicks. Kellogg’s minus a farmer equals no corn flakes. If the nail factory closes what good is the hammer factory? Beethoven’s genius wouldn't have amounted to much if the piano tuner hadn't showed up. A cracker maker will ...read more

Tags: Friendship General

Denomination: Brethren

Getting Along

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Feb 7, 2023

I read this account from Readers Digest: To save money, I suggested to one of my grown sons that we all live together in one house. I could tell he didn’t think it would be cost-effective when he asked, Who’s going to pay the therapist? That is something to think about. We love our families, but ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:15

Tags: Conflict, Gossip, Harmony, Arguments, Bickering  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Independent/Bible

What Presidents Have In Common With O.t. ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 11, 2009

What Presidents Have in Common with O.T. Heroes What do the following presidents all have in common. James A. Garfield (1881) 20th Herbert Hoover (1929-1933) 31st Harry S. Truman (1945-1953) 33rd Gerald Ford (1974-1977) 38th Ronald Reagan (1981 -1989) 40th George H.W. Bush (1989-1993) 41st Bill ...read more

Scripture: Judges 3:1-31

Tags: Leadership General

The Bachs Were One

Contributed by Ken Henson on Sep 24, 2012

THE BACHS WERE ONE Anna married John when he was thirty-seven. She was only twenty. He had already married and had seven children. His first wife died. Anna bore him thirteen more children. She assisted him in his music work. She learned to copy out his manuscripts so that his students could take ...read more

Tags: Love, Marriage, Oneness, Intimacy, Marriage General  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: *other

May 11, 2005 "Sunshine Following The Rain!" ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on May 9, 2005

May 11, 2005 “Sunshine Following the Rain!” Philemon: 17-19 Key verse(s) 18:“If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me.” There is that precious, opportunistic moment; when a gentle hand by a touch on the shoulder is able to magically remove the sting of failure from the ...read more

Scripture: Philemon 1:17-19

Tags: Faith, Christian Love, Compassion

Denomination: Lutheran

Real Pearls

Contributed by Eric Ferguson on May 7, 2008

REAL PEARLS The cheerful girl with bouncy curls was almost five. Waiting with her mother at the checkout stand, she saw a circle of glistening white pearls in a pink foil box. "Oh please, Mommy. Can I have them? Please, Mommy, please?" Her mother checked the back of the little foil box and said, ...read more

Tags: Fulfillment

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

I'll Go Back And Tell Them Again.

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 30, 2011

"I'LL GO BACK AND TELL THEM AGAIN." In a book entitled "Jungle Harvest," written by a missionary named Ruby Scott, she describes some of her experiences in reaching a people group known as the Tila Indians who lived in a remote village in the jungles of south Mexico, just north of the Guatemalan ...read more

Scripture: Luke 14:25-35

Tags: Evangelism Urgency

[060]. A Message From A Poem – Do Not Trust Ourselves – Trust God

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Mar 14, 2025

[060]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – DO NOT TRUST OURSELVES – TRUST GOD When you think you know it all: Then you don't. When you think you’ll do it all; Then you won’t. I find this a delightful poem (for myself) and I am sharing my own experience here in writing it. Often we think we know best ...read more

Scripture: John 6:7-10, 2 Corinthians 12:10

Tags: Trust Ourselves, Weakness, Strong, Weak, Poetry, Poem, Human Strength, Trust, Strength  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

While Leaving Our Small-Town Carnival, Our Sons, ...

Contributed by Mark Eberly on Aug 22, 2007

While leaving our small-town carnival, our sons, ages six and two, were walking hand-in-hand behind my husband and me. We overheard Tyler tell his younger brother, Cory, "This is what heaven is like—except it’s ...read more

Tags: Children

Denomination: Church Of God

James Montgomery Boice On Eternal ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 30, 2010

James Montgomery Boice on Eternal Security James Montgomery Boice has a wonderful picture to show how Jesus preserves believers for all eternity: I have sometimes thought that what Jesus did in uttering these words was like something a carpenter often does. Sometimes in rough carpentry a workman ...read more

Scripture: John 10:27-29

Tags: Security

I Saw This Incredible Answer To Prayer For Healing

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Apr 13, 2024

While pastoring a Southern Baptist church in Texas, one day I heard that one of our church members was in the hospital after being bitten by a brown recluse spider. It was a pretty serious situation. The doctor had told the young mom that they may have to amputate her hand if the swelling did not ...read more

Tags: Holy Spirit, Healing, Satan, Prayer, Unity, Anointing, Testimony, Elders, Miracle  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Receiving Signal  PRO

Contributed by Tylor Cates on Jan 24, 2004

Receiving Signal Prop: A cell phone In our church we have a 5-minute kid story in the big church before we take the kids over to the Junior Church so I’ll tell you how I did it and you can adapt it to your needs. Good morning boys and girls today I’m going to teach you an important lesson. (I ...read more

Tags: Holy Spirit Attributes

Denomination: Baptist

Few People Have Encountered A Lion On Its Terms ...  PRO

Contributed by Jeffrey Ebert on Dec 22, 2005

Few people have encountered a lion on its terms and lived to tell about it. One who did was Beryl Markham. In her autobiography West with the Night she tells of the time as a little girl growing up in Africa in the early 1900’s when she came face to face with a lion. She was running playfully ...read more

Tags: Descriptions Of God

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

A Man Has A Dream, He Dies And Goes To Hell!  PRO

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Mar 28, 2003

A MAN HAS A DREAM, HE DIES AND GOES TO HELL! While in hell the man notices there are many tables and starving people are sitting all around the great tables. There is hot food of all taste on the table. In Hell, they are starving with food tortuuring them right before their eyes. While all this ...read more

Tags: Giving General

Denomination: Assembly Of God

I Served As A U.s. Marine In Iraq During 2004. ...  PRO

Contributed by Troy Mason on Mar 4, 2005

I served as a U.S. Marine in Iraq during 2004. One day, I traveled with an Army unit to a border checkpoint between Iraq and Syria. We were "officially" turning over control of the border crossing to the Iraqi Border Police. To celebrate their newly regained authority, the Iraqi officers invited ...read more

Scripture: John 13:26

Tags: Bread, Lord's Supper

Denomination: Baptist

God's Currency

Contributed by Alison Bucklin on Mar 19, 2023

Jesus might have asked, when presented with the coin with Caesar's image on it: "Whose image do you bear, whose image is stamped on you?” And the answer would have been - or should - have been: "We are carrying God’s image, we are carrying God’s name.” He coined us in his image. He ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 25:34-40, Matthew 22:19-21

Tags: Coin, Image Of God, Jesus The Stranger, Circulation, Joseph G Donders  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed