In Sermon Illustrations: "Come Aside"

When I Was Studying Interpersonal Communication ...

Contributed by Kory Wilcoxson on Feb 19, 2005

When I was studying Interpersonal Communication at Ohio University, I took a class called Diffusion of Innovations, which is just a fancy way of saying the class was about how new ideas get out and get accepted. For example, when the microwave oven was first available, you had the early adapters ...read more

Tags: Salvation, Repentance

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Late Mike Royco Wrote A National Column Out ...  PRO

Contributed by Timothy Smith on Feb 22, 2005

The late Mike Royco wrote a national column out of the Chicago Tribune and he once told about a friend of his who was falling in love and his friend said that he was going to take his girl to a Seaside resort, stay for the week-end. And he said, "If it clicks, "I’m going to ask her to marry me." ...read more

Tags: Marriage Commitment, Marriage Obligations

Denomination: Christian Church

During The Time Of The Second Great Awakening In ...  PRO

Contributed by Scott Malone on Mar 1, 2005

During the time of the Second Great Awakening in America, Charles Finney was the foremost among the great evangelists. Many people know him. However few know the name, Daniel Nash. Nash was a lackluster pastor in upper New York State who, at the age of 48, dedicated his life to prayer. Long ...read more

Tags: Prayer Persistence, Prayer Adoration

Denomination: Baptist

A Look At The Parade  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 18, 2005

A LOOK AT THE PARADE The parade route begins near the twin towns of Bethpage and Bethany, less than two miles from Jerusalem and winds into the Holy City. The Grand Marshal is an unlikely hero – a rustic from a blue-collar town up north, the son of a woodworker. In keeping with his “common man” ...read more

Scripture: Mark 11:1-11

Tags: Easter Palm Sunday

Bobby Knight The Indiana Basketball Coach Thought ...

Contributed by Timothy Smith on Mar 26, 2005

Bobby Knight the Indiana basketball coach thought he’d been treated unfairly.. He thought a referee had given his team a bad call.. And he lost his composure. (Those of you who know Bobby Knight probably find that hard to believe.) But he stormed around the gym, he cussed out this referee in public ...read more

Tags: Christian Disciplines

Denomination: Christian Church

A Fellow Stopped At A Gas Station And, After ...  PRO

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Apr 19, 2005

A fellow stopped at a gas station and, after filling the tank on his car, he paid the bill and bought a soft drink. He stood by his car to drink his cola and he watched a couple of men working along the roadside. One man would dig a hole two or three feet deep and then move on. The other man ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 3:6, 1 Corinthians 3:6

Tags: Church Purpose Of

Denomination: Independent/Bible

John Was A Very Lonely, Wealthy Old Man. He Had ...  PRO

Contributed by Gaither Bailey on Jun 20, 2005

John was a very lonely, wealthy old man. He had worked hard all his life and built a great business and made loads of money. But, he was all alone. One Sunday evening as he was talking a walk to clear his head, he was drawn to a church where he heard wonderful, joyous music. It was a spiritual ...read more

Tags: Gifts Giving

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Dragging My Sin  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 6, 2005

DRAGGING MY SIN In this award winning film called “The Mission,” Robert DeNiro plays a mercenary who has taken asylum in the local church after killing his brother in a fit of jealous rage. He eventually leaves the church and heads to a mission post located above the waterfalls in a South American ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 32:1-11, Psalm 32:1-11, Mark 5:1-19, Mark 5:1-19

Tags: Forgiveness General, Forgiveness For Others, Character

One Day Out Of The Blue An Old Friend Of Mine ( I ...

Contributed by Jeff Leigh on Jul 23, 2005

One day out of the blue an old friend of mine ( I will call him Keith) phoned me to say he was in town and wanted to catch up. We hadn’t seen each other for over 15 years - I wasn’t a Christian when we were friends. Him and I were hell raisers, we were into anything and everything not good. Anyway ...read more

Tags: Evangelism How To, Sharing My Testimony

Denomination: Pentecostal

As A 5 Year Old I Would Pretend To Fall Asleep ...  PRO

Contributed by James Doyle on Aug 22, 2005

As a 5 year old I would pretend to fall asleep during the evening worship service! If I did, I knew my dad would carry me home. I would do this becasue we walked to and from church. It was about 1 each way. Being little wasn’t my problem. The length wasn’t my problem. I enjoyed the walk ...read more

Scripture: John 14:1-6, John 14:1-10

Tags: Funerals Christian

Denomination: Baptist

We Bought Our House From John And Donna Jackson. ...

Contributed by Davon Huss on Oct 24, 2005

We bought our house from John and Donna Jackson. The Jackson’s have a son named Ben. Ben is mentally and physically challenged. In Ben’s room, he wrote in ink into the drywall, "Ben has the best daddy in the world." There were also wrestling pictures in permanent marker on the same wall. When ...read more

Tags: Sin Exposed, Sin General

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

As I Was Growing Up One Of My Favourite Books Was ...  PRO

Contributed by Warner Pidgeon on Oct 31, 2005

As I was growing up one of my favourite books was ‘The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.’ I can’t wait for 9 December 2005 when the new film hits our screens! (UK) Early on in the book I remember that Lucy finds her way to a fantasy world called Narnia. She meets a fawn called Tumnus, and while ...read more

Scripture: John 12:46, John 8:12

Tags: Narnia

Denomination: Anglican

Proverbs According To Kids  PRO

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Dec 6, 2005

Proverbs According To Kids A first grade teacher collected old, well known proverbs. She gave each kid in her class the first half of a proverb, and had them come up with the rest. These are great: As You Shall Make Your Bed So Shall You... Mess It Up. Better Be Safe Than... Punch A 5th ...read more

Tags: Children

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

A Young Man Enlisted, And Was Sent To His ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 16, 2005

A young man enlisted, and was sent to his regiment. The first night he was in the barracks with about fifteen other young men, who passed the time playing cards and gambling. Before retiring, he fell on his knees and prayed, and they began to curse him and jeer at him and throw boots at him. So it ...read more

Tags: Evangelism Fear Of

Let Me Tell You A Story About Honest Labor. There ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Jan 15, 2006

Let me tell you a story about honest labor. There was a boy named Harry who worked for a Scottish shoemaker named Dan. It was his chief responsibility to pound out and dry leather for shoe soles. It seemed an endless operation to him, and he wearied of it many times. "What made my task worse was ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 3:17

Tags: Character

Denomination: Lutheran

Belief In Life After Death, Like The Existence Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 3, 2006

Belief In Life After Death, like the existence of God, is widely embraced by American adults. According to a new Barna Research poll 81% believe in an afterlife of some sort. Another 9% say they are not certain. Just 10% contend there is no form of life after death. 79% agree, “Every person has a ...read more

Tags: Heaven

The Story Is Told Of A Young Man Who Had Just ...  PRO

Contributed by John Visser on Feb 20, 2006

The story is told of a young man who had just started his new job in the produce department of a grocery store, when a woman came up to him asking to buy a half head of lettuce. As politely as he could, the young man said that “In this store, we don’t sell half heads of lettuce, we sell whole ...read more

Tags: Dealing With Conflicts

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

What Chain Letters, Many Multi-Level Marketers ...

Contributed by Michael Gardner on Mar 2, 2006

What chain letters, many multi-level marketers and pyramid schemes have in common is this. They appeal to greed. It is the theology of Wall Street. In that film, Michael Douglas’ character, Gordon Gecko delivers this speech, “…greed -- for lack of a better word -- is good. Greed is right. ...read more

Tags: Money

Denomination: Methodist

This Reminds Me Of Two Elderly Sisters Who Lived ...  PRO

Contributed by K. Edward Skidmore on Apr 12, 2006

This reminds me of two elderly sisters who lived in Arcadia during my youth ministry days. One named Alpha, was always sick with some sort of ailment or another, the other, named Virginia, still worked in a county office even though she was in her late 70’s and never seemed to suffer from any kind ...read more

Scripture: John 11:1-40

Tags: Death

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Will Rogers Was Known For His Laughter, But He ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 17, 2006

Will Rogers was known for his laughter, but he also knew how to weep. One day he was entertaining at the Milton H. Berry Institute in Los Angeles, a hospital that specialized in rehabilitating polio victims and people with broken backs and other extreme physical handicaps. Of course, Rogers had ...read more

Tags: Sin General