In Sermon Illustrations: "Coming Soon"

The Visitor Experience

Contributed by Perry Greene on Mar 29, 2012

THE VISITOR EXPERIENCE Back in the 1980s, a man visited 18 different churches of differing beliefs to find out what churches are really like. The man said that he sat near the front. After each service he walked slowly to the rear; then returned to the front; and then back to the foyer using ...read more

Tags: Outreach

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Travelers Vs. Tourists

Contributed by Tim Hinrichs on Mar 29, 2012

TRAVELERS VS. TOURISTS Canadian Pastor Mark Buchanan in his book "Your Church is Too Safe" points out the radical difference between a traveler and a tourist. "A traveler literally means 'one who travails.' He labors, he suffers, endures. A traveler -- travailer - ...immerses himself in a culture, ...read more

Tags: Discipleship

Denomination: Lutheran

Jesus Freaks

Contributed by Joe Bertone on Jul 23, 2012

JESUS FREAKS In the book, Jesus Freaks, is the story of the Hine family. They lived in Cambodia during the Vietnam War. At that time it was very dangerous to be Christian in Cambodia. They were arrested one day for being Christians and thus enemies of the revolution and bad blood. One morning ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:13-14, Hebrews 11:1-40

Tags: Sacrifice, Paradise, Dying, Sacrifices, Martyr  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Albert Einstein On ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 3, 2012

ALBERT EINSTEIN ON CREATION In his book on Albert Einstein, author Walter Isaacson told of a dinner party in Berlin where everybody assumed Einstein was an atheist and he said, “No, I have a deep feeling of faith, a deep religiosity that comes from my appreciation of the way the Lord made the ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 19:1-6

Tags: Creation

We Should Be Striving On A Daily Basis To Worship ...

Contributed by Mark Thometz on Aug 27, 2012

We should be striving on a daily basis to worship God in new, loving and exciting ways. It's very easy to become comfortable in our worship. We have that thing on Sunday and sometimes Wednesday and we may even dust off our Bible every now and then to read it. What about feeding the hungry as ...read more

Tags: Evangelism How To

Denomination: Christian Church

"Barbarians" And The Gospel

Contributed by Bret Toman on Mar 14, 2013

"BARBARIANS" AND THE GOSPEL It is said that one of the greatest disasters in the history of Christianity took place in 1271. Nichelo and and Matteo Polo, the father and the uncle of Marco Polo, were visiting the Kubla Kahn. At that time, Kubla Kahn was a world ruler. He ruled all of China, all of ...read more

Tags: Evangelism The Lost

Denomination: Baptist

On Shepherds  PRO

Contributed by Tim Smith on May 11, 2014

What do we know about the shepherd's life? It's a full time commitment. Sheep are helpless to defend themselves against attack from their natural enemies: lions, bears, wolves, hyenas and foxes which can come in both the day and night so there is never a moment a shepherd can relax. Sheep must be ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:1-10

Tags: Shepherd, Shepherd's Life

Denomination: Methodist

Robes Of Righteousness

Contributed by Suresh Manoharan on Feb 28, 2015

Dr Ravi Zacharias came up with a true witty story of a New Zealand Shepherd who was happy on a Christmas morning, sad in the afternoon but once again happy in the evening. What exactly contributed to his mood swings? Here goes…in the morning two of his ewes’ “A” and “B” gave birth to two lambs “a” ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 61:10

Tags: Grace, Gratitude, God's Righteousness, Grimy

Denomination: *other

When Good Intentions Go Wrong

Contributed by Jeremiah Menyongai on Mar 14, 2016

Illustration 2: In Tanzania, two guys went for an interview. One was smarter than the other but they were good friends and willing to work together so the less smarter could pass. The educated one said if he went first, he would come back with the answers to the interview questions. It happens that ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 26:1-33

Tags: Examine, Dull, Dummy, Ax, Evaluate, Test, Independent, Follower, Repeat, Mess, Ignorant, Stupid, Intention  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Charismatic

Cast Your Net On The Right Side

Contributed by Herb Pulse on Jun 28, 2017

I come from a fishing family. When I became old enough to walk, I became old enough to experience the wonderful world of fishing. One of things I particularly love is throwing a shad net. Often times it becomes very draining work, and at the tender age of 12 I became the primary go-to-guy for ...read more

Scripture: John 21:6

Tags: Jesus, Net, Cast

Denomination: Christian Church

Before The Water

Contributed by Jim Butcher on Nov 15, 2018

Scott Harrison, founder of charity:water, shares this story: "I recently had the chance to visit charity:water's very first project. It was a well that we had funded on my thirty-first birthday and then built in the IDP camp of Bobi, Uganda. "The sprawling camp of 31,000 people had cleared out, ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:1-7

Tags: Birth Of Christ, Christmas, Jesus, Easter, Crucifixion  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Grace Of God

Contributed by Sunitha Justin on Dec 30, 2018

Once a man died & went to the gates of heaven. AS he was about to enter in to heaven, Peter stands by the gates and refuses to let him in. Peter says.. tell me why I should let you into heaven. You list out your reasons. I will score you. And If you score 100 points, then I will let you in. So ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:10

Tags: Grace, Heaven

Denomination: Charismatic

Foot Of The Cross

Contributed by Steve Kinnard on Feb 15, 2019

AT THE CROSS Many years ago, I got a job at a paper mill. There was an older man working there who was a very dedicate Christian. My first few weeks there they had me working with him, He was the greatest guy I’d ever known. He asks me if I was a Christian, I replied that I was. One day I let words ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:18-25

Tags: Commitment, Shame

Denomination: Pentecostal

Let God's Grace Find You

Contributed by Steve Kinnard on Mar 1, 2019

LET GOD’S GRACE FIND YOU, IT WILL COME WHERE YOU ARE 1.GOD’S Grace went to the mountain top for Abraham when he was about to sacrifice Isaac; GOD provided a ram 2.GOD’S Grace went to the prison where Joseph was; Found Him and made Him second in command in all Egypt 3.GOD’S Grace went to the ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:8-9

Tags: Grace, Mercy

Denomination: Pentecostal

God's Miracle Book

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 4, 2021

The Bible is referred to in many different ways. We speak of it as God's Word, the Good Book, the Holy Scriptures, and the Sword of the Spirit. It is also known as the Book of books and the Living Word. Some call it simply THE Book, for nothing else seems necessary. It stands alone, towering ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Timothy 4:1-3

Tags: Bible, Scripture, Miracles, Inerrancy, Inspiration Of The Bible  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Great Quotes On The Sovereignty Of God

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 8, 2021

R.C. SPROUL: “If there is one single molecule in this universe running around loose, totally free of God’s sovereignty, then we have no guarantee that a single promise of God will ever be fulfilled.” MATT CHANDLER: “Trying to figure out God is like trying to catch a fish in the Pacific Ocean ...read more

Scripture: Daniel 4:34-35

Tags: Lord, Will Of God, Sovereignty Of God, Attributes Of God

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Bridge Builder

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Jan 20, 2022

THE BRIDGE BUILDER By Will Allen Dromgoole An old man going a lone highway. Came, at the evening cold and gray, To a chasm vast and deep and wide. Through which was flowing a sullen tide The old man crossed in the twilight dim, The sullen stream had no fear for him; But he turned when safe ...read more

Scripture: Luke 10:29

Tags: Builder, Bridge

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Make Room For The Tide!

Contributed by Joshua Blackmon on Mar 12, 2022

"Years ago, a wealthy businessman from London chartered a bus to carry a busload of urban children to the coast. There, the children spent a wonderful day at the ocean. Many of the children had never left the city. Most had never seen the ocean. For one blissful day, they ran unfettered over ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:18

Tags: Make Room, Spirit Filled, Ocean, Full, Tide  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Pentecostal

New Church Treasurer

Contributed by Davon Huss on Apr 4, 2022

The day the old church treasurer resigned, the church asked the local grain elevator manager to take the position. He agreed under 2 conditions: 1. No treasurer’s report would be given for the first year 2. No questions be asked about finances during that year The people were surprised but finally ...read more

Scripture: Malachi 3:10

Tags: Money, Giving, Tithing

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Self Control - The Conductor Of Your Orchestra!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 27, 2023

Let’s face it. We’ve been created with a multitude of moods, passions, and desires. They all need managing. They must be under control or they will end up controlling us. Lewis Smedes says that self-control is like the “conductor of a symphony orchestra.” Under the conductor’s baton the multitude ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:22-23

Tags: Works Of The Flesh, Self Control, Spirit Filled Life, Holy Spirit, Lust, Spiritual Warfare, Fruit Of The Spirit, Spiritual Victory, Desires  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational