In Sermon Illustrations: "Combustion Engine"

A Railroad Fireman's Jump  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 12, 2003

A RAILROAD FIREMAN’S JUMP On September 29, 1907, the three older children of the Dixon family, living about one mile from Seward, started for school. Baby Gladys Dixon, who was only nineteen months old, went with them a little distance. Away the children ran, and Gladys was soon left behind. Still ...read more

Tags: Christian Disciplines, Holidays Civic

The Wrong Oil  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 8, 2011

THE WRONG OIL Phil (a member of our congregation) owns a stunning sports car. It's a Viper. It's a thing of beauty. And it has a powerful engine with 10 cylinders. Most of us common folks have cars with 6 and 8 cylinders... but this car has TEN cylinders. I'm pretty sure it can take you anywhere ...read more

Scripture: Jude 1:3-4

Tags: Doctrine

When A Train Goes Through The Tunnel And It ...  PRO

Contributed by Aaron Householder on Sep 30, 2004

"When a train goes through the tunnel and it gets dark, you don’t throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still ...read more

Tags: Perseverance, Faith General

Denomination: Baptist

Less Than 1/3 Of American Women Are Studying In A ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 3, 2006

Less than 1/3 of American women are studying in a field that will prepare them for work in science, engineering, or information technology. ...read more

Tags: Women

Repeat After Me

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Nov 27, 2010

REPEAT AFTER ME A pilot was flying a plane-load of passengers to their destination when suddenly the rudder malfunctioned. He radioed the control tower in panic, and shouted, "The RUDDER has malfunctioned! What shall I DO?" The air traffic controller radioed back, "Keep calm, Captain. Just ...read more

Tags: Prayer General

Denomination: Brethren

Honesty And Bending The Truth

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Feb 11, 2025

An Engineer, a physicist, an economist and a Planner were being interviewed for a position as chief executive officer of a large Local Authority. The Engineer was interviewed first, and was asked a long list of questions, ending with: "How much is two plus two?" The Engineer excused ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:7, 1 Timothy 3:8, Ephesians 4:15, Zechariah 8:16, John 8:44  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Truth, Corruption, Honesty, Situation Ethics, Absolute Truth  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Biased Info: Only 1 In 6 Of Internet Search ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2006

Biased Info: Only 1 in 6 of Internet search engine users can tell the difference between unbiased search results and paid advertisements, a new survey finds. The Pew Internet and American Life Project reports only 38% of Web searchers even know of the distinction, and of those, only 47% say they ...read more

Tags: Communication General

One Of The Most Pressing Problems Of Our ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 11, 2007

"One of the most pressing problems of our country today is the urgent need for new creative talent. It is not enough that we train more engineers, scientists, or ...read more

Tags: Art

When We Do Our Duty, Not For Duty's Sake, But ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"When we do our duty, not for duty's sake, but because we believe that God is engineering our circumstances in that way, then at the very point of ...read more

Tags: Faith

We Learn An Impt Lesson About Change In General ...

Contributed by John Perry on May 11, 2010

We learn an impt lesson about change in General Stonewall Jackson's famous valley campaign. Jackson's army found itself on one side of a river when it needed to be on the other side. After telling his engineers to plan and build a bridge so the army could cross, he called his wagon master in to ...read more

Tags: Action

Denomination: Pentecostal

Built Out Of Junk

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 8, 2011

BUILT OUT OF JUNK Did you hear about the homeless man in Brazil who built his own car out of junk? Orismar de Souza is a homeless man in Brazil who decided to build the car using junk, spare parts and a hammer and chisel. Four years later, the "shrimpmobile" has him back on his feet. Souza, 35, ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Tags: Born Again

Not By Might! (10.08.05--Beginning Again!--2 ...

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Oct 6, 2005

Not By Might! (10.08.05--Beginning Again!--2 Kings 5:12) “That’s simple--too simple!” I thought. I had been looking for a simple solution to overcoming a seemingly complex problem for a long time now. How could I get better mileage and performance on an engine that was nearly 40 years old? I had ...read more

Scripture: 2 Kings 5:12

Tags: Sin General, Sin Wages Of

Denomination: Lutheran

The Vacuum Salesman  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 8, 2012

THE VACUUM SALESMAN A vacuum salesman down in rural Tennessee. He had a his vacuum cleaner and all of this tools and everything, and he went out there and he told a lady, "I’ve got the most exciting vacuum cleaner you have ever seen. It will clean your house from top to bottom...you only have to ...read more

Scripture: Luke 24:44-49, Mark 9:48-50, Leviticus 2:12-14

Tags: Power

My Last Girdle Was Called The Constrictor 747. ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"My last girdle was called the Constrictor 747. It was mechanically engineered to take inches off your waist and hips. There was a brochure that came with it that said, Please familiarize ...read more

Tags: Human Body

Pornographic Sites Comprise 12% Of All Websites ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2006

Pornographic Sites comprise 12% of all websites and provide links to 372 million pages of porn fulfilling 68 million daily search engine requests. ...read more

Tags: Addiction

To Build A Bridge

Contributed by Bruce Howell on Apr 4, 2005

Illus.: “To Build a Bridge” The Brooklyn Bridge is truly a miracle bridge. In 1863, a creative engineer named John Roebling was inspired by an idea for this spectacular span. Bridge-building experts throughout the world told him it was a crazy idea and that he should forget it. It couldn’t be ...read more

Tags: Hardship Of Life

Denomination: Wesleyan

Complicated Directions

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 15, 2011

COMPLICATED DIRECTIONS Matt Woodly, a father of four, talks about buying his children a swing set, about 15 years ago, as an early Christmas present. It was an extra long metal set with two swings, a two-seater swinging bench, a slide, monkey bars, and a series of hanging rings. He thought the ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 9:9-10

Tags: Learning

Improving On A Good Design...or Not

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 8, 2011

IMPROVING ON A GOOD DESIGN...OR NOT Years ago I bought a Chevy Caprice at a used car lot. It was a thing of beauty. It was big and stylish and it purred as I drove it down the road. Well, it purred for the first few days. Then it began to cough and sputter and I had difficulty getting above 30 ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 1:27-30

Tags: Church General

The Vow To God

Contributed by Larry Turner on Nov 12, 2014

A businessman was traveling on a plane for the first time. He had always been terrified of flying but his next appointment required him to do so. The flight was going well when suddenly the plane shuddered. The pilot came over the intercom and announced that the engines on the right side had ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:33-37

Tags: Promise, Vow

Denomination: Foursquare

Stop Pushing Your Car And Step On The Gas!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Nov 6, 2022

The Argentine evangelist, Santiago Garaballe, once gave an illustration of a man who bought a new car. He had never owned a car in his life. The car came with a powerful engine under the hood. What if the man then spent the rest of his life pushing it around! Come on family let's go for a ride! ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 2:20

Tags: Holy Spirit, Resurrection, Victory, Flesh, Defeat, Spirit Filled Life  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational