In Sermon Illustrations: "Come Thou Fount"

Mysterious Life Principle

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 28, 2011

MYSTERIOUS LIFE PRINCIPLE A wise old professor of biology stood before his class of eager students. The Professor held a little brown seed in his hand. Quietly he spoke to his class. "I know just the composition of this seed. It has nitrogen, hydrogen, and carbon. I know the exact proportions. I ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 1:22-25

Tags: Creation

You Are My Best Gift

Contributed by Suresh Manoharan on Dec 28, 2011

YOU ARE MY BEST GIFT A daughter of a renowned preacher, who was used to gifts her loving dad used to purchase and bring for her after every overseas' trip, was once in for a major disappointment. Due to a mess-up in the airport customs, the gift was lost and her doting Dad landed home without a ...read more

Tags: Gifts General

Denomination: *other

Three Turtles Decided To Go On A Picnic. They ...

Contributed by Johnny A. Palmer Jr. on Feb 10, 2012

Three turtles decided to go on a picnic. They were the best of friends. Before long it started to rain, they decided that one of them should go back and get some umbrellas. One turtle agreed to go but only if the other two promised not to begin eating until he returned. They promised. He headed ...read more

Tags: Action

Denomination: Baptist

God Pursues You  PRO

Contributed by Lalachan Abraham on Jan 10, 2013

GOD PURSUES YOU God is constantly initiating and seeking man to come to him. Malcolm Muggeridge, socialist and philosophical author, wrote, "I had a notion that somehow, besides questing, I was being pursued." C.S. Lewis said he remembered, "...night after night, feeling whenever my mind ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 118:1-2

Tags: God's Love

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Focus On God's Purposes, Not Yours  PRO

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Feb 7, 2013

FOCUS ON GOD'S PURPOSES, NOT YOURS Blackaby states in Experiencing God, "You never find God asking persons to dream up what they want to do for Him" (28, workbook) He adds, "To live a God–centered life, you must focus your life on God’s purposes, not your own plans. You must seek to see from ...read more

Tags: God's Sovereign Will

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Kyle Idleman On Surrendering Everything

Contributed by Kevin Karhoff on Mar 19, 2013

The reason Jesus is so adamant about followers surrendering everything is because the reality is this: the one thing we are most reluctant to give up is the one thing that has the most potential to become a substitute for him. Really what we’re talking about here is idolatry. When we are to be ...read more

Scripture: Luke 9:61-62

Tags: Surrender, Jesus Christ

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

You Don't Know How To Get To The Post Office!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 13, 2014

Dr. Billy Graham tells the story of a time early in his ministry when he arrived in a small town to preach a sermon. Wanting to mail a letter in those days, he asked a young boy where the post office was. When the boy told him, Dr. Graham thanked him and said, "If you will come to church ...read more

Scripture: John 14:1-6, 1 Timothy 4:16

Tags: Evangelism, Outreach, Heaven, Humor, Billy Graham, Great Commission  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Buster, Get Your Heart Right!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 29, 2014

A professor from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth, Texas was preaching in Nevada. The normally reserved professor put his whole heart into the sermon and called for people in the congregation to repent and get their hearts right with God. At the end of his message, he ...read more

Scripture: 2 Chronicles 7:14

Tags: Revival, Repentance, Confession Of Sin, Change Of Heart

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Pecans

Contributed by Davon Huss on Oct 9, 2015

We might be used by God to produce fruit we will never see. Takes time to take a fruit tree from a sapling to a mature, fruit producing tree. Down South, a young man, walking along a dirt path, comes upon an old man bowed to the ground planting pecan trees in a field. He stops and asks the old ...read more

Scripture: John 15:16

Tags: Bearing Fruit, Everlasting, Fruit Of The Vine

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Christ Emptied Himself

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Nov 25, 2019

Kenosis: “The term kenosis comes from the Greek word for the doctrine of Christ’s self-emptying in His incarnation. The kenosis was a self-renunciation, not an emptying Himself of deity nor an exchange of deity for humanity. Philippians 2:7 tells us that Jesus “emptied Himself, taking the form of a ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 2:5-11

Tags: Christmas, Incarnation, Kenosis, Christ's Humility, Emptying  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Jesus And I

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 4, 2021

When missionary Dan Crawford's body was found, a well worn New Testament was found in the coat pocket of that great missionary to Africa. Inside he had penned the words of a man unashamed of the testimony of His Lord: I cannot do it alone! The waves dash fast and high; The fog comes chilling ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 1:12, Romans 1:16

Tags: Fellowship, Communion, Discipleship, Suffering, Testimony, Ashamed Of Christ  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Book Of Re-Evaluation!!!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 1, 2022

Charles Schulz consistently provided helpful and humorous insights through his Peanuts comic strip. In one run he showed Charlie Brown's sister, Sally, struggling with her memory verse for Sunday. She was lost in her thoughts trying to figure it out when she recalled, "Maybe it was ...read more

Tags: Repentance, Evaluation, Seven Churches, Church, Revival  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Facts About Storms Of Life

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Nov 7, 2022

Here are 5 facts about storms of life that we need to remember: 1. Storms are INEVITABLE (John 16:33). 2. Storms are UNPREDICTABLE. You don’t know what tomorrow will bring. (James 4:14). 3. Storms are IMPARTIAL. It rains on the unjust and not just the "just"! (Matthew 5:45). 4. Storms ...read more

Tags: Tests, Trials, Storms Of Life, Faith, Fear  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

We Are His Hands And Feet.

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 27, 2023

After World War II, a group of German students volunteered to help rebuild an English cathedral that had been severely damaged by German bombs. As work progressed, they became concerned about a large statue of Jesus, whose arms were out-stretched and beneath which was the inscription: “Come unto ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 11:28-30

Tags: Witnessing, Outreach, Ministry, Lost, Service, Discipleship  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

How Does The Worm Get Inside An Apple?

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Mar 12, 2023

How does a worm get inside an apple? Perhaps you think the worm burrows in from the outside. No, scientists have discovered that the worm comes from inside. But how does he get in there? Simple! An insect lays an egg in the apple blossom. Sometime later, the worm hatches in the heart of the ...read more

Scripture: Romans 3:23

Tags: Death, Adam, Salvation, Sin, Sinners, Sinful Nature, Temptation  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Lead By Example

Contributed by John Bright on Oct 3, 2025

Lead by example. This is different than ordering folks around. When James and John ask for places of authority, Jesus warns them against acting like the world. Jesus describes what it will look like in the church: Mark 10:43-45 “43 Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become ...read more

Scripture: Mark 10:43-45

Tags: Jesus, Example, Authority

Denomination: Methodist

Prayer

Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Oct 21, 2025

Story: A friend of mine, Alun Morris was a pastor in a Swiss Pentecostal Church for many years. One day, he went to a funeral and saw a man who he knew to be an atheist come into church and bow his head for about a minute in front of the altar as he came in. It seemed to Alun that the man was ...read more

Scripture: Luke 18:9-14

Tags: Atheist, Prayer

Denomination: Anglican

Little Speherd Boy

Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Oct 24, 2025

At the turn of the 19th Century, there was a little Shepherd boy who used to come to Sunday school but was not very good in learning. His Sunday school teacher taught him the first five words of the 23rd Psalm. "The Lord is my Shepherd" (on "Shepherd" make a fist with your ...read more

Tags: Trust, Shepherd Boy

Denomination: Anglican

What Does Living By Faith Mean Today? It Means ...  PRO

Contributed by Owen Bourgaize on Oct 18, 2000

What does living by faith mean today? It means deciding what is the controlling principle in our lives. Is it luck or chance? I had just parked my car at the office and a lady came up to me and said, "That’s a nice car but I wouldn’t want to drive it!" I was rather puzzled and asked "Why not?" ...read more

Tags: Faith General

Denomination: Baptist

When Abraham Lincoln Was A Boy He Husked Corn For ...  PRO

Contributed by Jonathan Lucas on May 11, 2001

When Abraham Lincoln was a boy he husked corn for three days to pay for a second-hand copy of “The Life of Washington.” After he had read the book he said, “I don’t always intend to delve, grub, shuck corn, split rails, and the like.” “What do you want to be now?” asked Mrs. Crawford. “I’ll be ...read more

Scripture: Luke 13:1-9

Tags: Workplace Evangelism, Peace, Leadership General

Denomination: Pentecostal