In Sermon Illustrations: "Compassion For Souls"

Go Where The People Are  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 8, 2002

GO WHERE THE PEOPLE ARE The latest movie from the writer and director of “The Sixth Sense” is titled “Unbreakable.” In this movie, Bruce Willis discovers that he has a special gift, but he doesn’t yet know how to use it. So his new friend, played by Samuel L. Jackson gives him this advice: “Go ...read more

Tags: Sharing My Testimony, Love Of The Disciples, Compassion

You Be The Judge?  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 10, 2002

YOU BE THE JUDGE? "A money belt is one thing you just can’t do without," my friend told me. ’Make sure you take travelers’ checks with you and maybe a few twenties, and tuck them in your money belt before you leave. And don’t ... DON’T go pawing through your money when you’re out on ...read more

Scripture: Luke 21:1-4

Tags: Character, Disease, Compassion, Faith, Leprosy, Obedience  (view more)  (view less)

Forgiving My Enemies  PRO

Contributed by Gordon Kroeker on Aug 16, 2002

FORGIVING MY ENEMIES Growing up in the Congo as a missionary kid, we were caught in the middle of the 1964 Communist rebellion. I was 8 years old at the time, and remember it well. When we received word that the rebels, (who were anti-white and anti-missionary) had burned out the bridge on one ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness For Others, Compassion, Sharing My Testimony

Denomination: Mennonite

I've Fallen, And No One Will Help Me Out!  PRO

Contributed by Christopher Stanley on Aug 30, 2002

I'VE FALLEN, AND NO ONE WILL HELP ME OUT! I was watching The West Wing one day and heard this story from Leo McGarrey, the Chief of Staff. I have adapted it for use in a sermon with The Good Samaritan. A man is walking down the street one day when he falls into a hole. He cries out for help ...read more

Tags: Jesus Teachings, Parable Good Samaritan, Compassion

Denomination: Methodist

The Parable Of The Good Muslims  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 14, 2002

THE PARABLE OF THE GOOD MUSLIMS It is difficult to imagine more bleak circumstances; the young mother and her small children, truck packed full of all of their belongings, were in process of moving from rural North Carolina to the mother’s childhood home in Connecticut. Life had taken a tragic ...read more

Tags: Parable Good Samaritan, Christian Love, Compassion

There Are Some People That We Might Consider To ...  PRO

Contributed by John Williams Iii on Feb 10, 2003

There are some people that we might consider to be a freak because of their disfigured appearance. Consider the story of John Merrick who was known more by his disfigured appearance and labeled as the "Elephant man". "John Merrick was born in Leicester, England in 1862. He suffered from a severe ...read more

Tags: Friendship New Friends, Forgiveness General, Compassion

Denomination: United Methodist

Welcoming Misfits  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 19, 2004

WELCOMING MISFITS Ryan Johnson, minister in Glen Elder, Kansas, shares this story: I was heading north out of Salina, Kansas when I saw him. His name was Charlie. Charles was sitting in the ditch with large army bags. The cold misty rain was drenching him and his bags. He wore his Vietnam ...read more

Scripture: Luke 14:12-24

Tags: Kingdom Of God, Parable Great Banquet, Compassion

Hero In Black  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 26, 2004

HERO IN BLACK Victor Yap tells this story: A few years ago I saw a truck in front of me roaring fiercely about to turn the corner into the freeway ramp. In the driver’s seat of the humongous truck was a man in his late 20s ramming his engine and blasting his stereo. The guy had dark glasses and ...read more

Scripture: Luke 10:25-37

Tags: Compassion, Forgiveness General, Parable Good Samaritan

Throwing A Life Away?  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 26, 2004

THROWING A LIFE AWAY? Lost behind the story of Seabiscuit, the most celebrated racehorse of the 20th century, and the jockey played by Spiderman’s Tobey Macguire was the story of its peculiar trainer, Tom Smith. When the rich man played by Jeff Bridges decided to turn to horse racing, he needed ...read more

Scripture: Luke 10:25-37

Tags: Parable Good Samaritan, Forgiveness General, Compassion

Defining A Neighbor  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 26, 2004

DEFINING A NEIGHBOR It’s been said, "One cannot define one’s neighbor; one can only be a neighbor." Haddon Robinson said, "Your neighbor is anyone whose need you see, whose need you are able to meet." A neighbor is someone who says, "What is mine is God’s and what is God’s belongs to my ...read more

Scripture: Luke 10:25-37

Tags: Compassion, Forgiveness General, Parable Good Samaritan

The Compassionate Catch  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 26, 2004

THE COMPASSIONATE CATCH On Aug. 8, 2004, the Vietnamese community of Westminster, California, celebrated one of the kindest and bravest acts performed by a stranger on them. On Nov. 13, 1985, ninety-six Vietnamese refugees despaired for their lives and their families' lives when the engine of the ...read more

Scripture: Luke 10:25-37

Tags: Parable Good Samaritan, Forgiveness General, Compassion

Somewhere I Read The Story Of A Family With A ...  PRO

Contributed by Jelle Horjus on Nov 1, 2005

Somewhere I read the story of a family with a small boy, his parents and his grandfather. It happened that every evening when the family was having dinner at the table, the old grandfather spilled the food on his clothes. He was old, his hands were trembling and he could not move the spoon to his ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 25:35-45

Tags: Judgment, Mercy, Forgiveness For Others, Forgiveness, Compassion  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Giving Out Of Need

Contributed by Glynda Lomax on Dec 27, 2014

“Hunger also changes the world when eating can’t be a habit, then neither can seeing.” - Maxine Hong Kingston It had been a tough year and it didn’t appear to be getting any easier. She wasn’t working and he wasn’t working much. They had two teenage children to feed and bills to pay. The car ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 9:7

Tags: Compassion, Poverty, Generosity, Giving Out Of Need

Denomination: Charismatic

I Just Cried With Her

Contributed by Loyd C. Taylor on Feb 23, 2024

I Just Cried With Her A little girl came home and told her mom that her best friend's grandma had died over the weekend. Her mom said, "That's so sad." The little girl said, "Yes it was Mommy. She just sat in her chair and cried and cried." ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 18:24

Tags: Compassion, Friendship, Tears, Friends, Burdens, Children  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Courageous Husband?

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Jan 22, 2025

A woman and her husband interrupted their vacation to go to the dentist. "I want a tooth pulled, and I don't want Novacaine because I'm in a big hurry," the woman said. "Just extract the tooth as quickly as possible, and we'll be on our way." The dentist was quite ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:22-33

Tags: Marriage, Compassion, Courage, Hurry, Double Standard  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Independent/Bible

A Ww2 Story Tells Of How Some Soldiers Brought ...  PRO

Contributed by Guy Mcgraw on May 25, 2001

A WW2 story tells of how some soldiers brought the body of a dead friend to a French Cemetary. The priest asked if the dead man had been a catholic, but they did not know. The priest said that the man could not be buried in the graveyard. They men took their friend and buried him outside the ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 55:1-8

Tags: Funerals Non-Christian, Friendship General, Compassion, Faith

We Have A Word In Africa - ‘ubuntu’ ...  PRO

Contributed by Emile Wolfaardt on Jul 13, 2001

We have a word in Africa - ‘ubuntu’ - ubuntu says that I can only know myself as I see myself through your eyes - so the closer you stand to me, the better I can ...read more

Tags: Church Small Groups, Church Body Of Christ, Compassion

Denomination: *other

Animals Can Do Some Pretty Amazing Things  PRO

Contributed by Ray Navarro on Dec 7, 2001

Animals can do some pretty amazing things. For example, what happened one day in the state of Maryland. Believe it or not, this is a true story. The Atlantic Ocean converts into many rivers and streams that paint the state of Maryland much like a leaf of a palm tree that extends in many ...read more

Tags: Friendship New Friends, Compassion, Church Small Groups

Denomination: Adventist

Outside Of A Dog, A Book Is A Man's Best Friend. ...  PRO

Contributed by Dru Ashwell on Dec 16, 2001

Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. Inside a dog it is too dark to read. ...read more

Tags: Church Small Groups, Compassion, Friendship New Friends

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

A Story In The Denver Post Came Out In 1958 That ...  PRO

Contributed by Ray Ellis on Mar 22, 2002

A story in the Denver Post came out in 1958 that illustrates self-less love. June 7, 1958 the Air National Guard’s jet precision team was performing outside of Dayton, Ohio. Five precision flyers made up the Minute Men team. Colonel Walt Williams was the leader of the Denver-based F-86 Sabre-jet ...read more

Tags: Love, Compassion, Christian Disciplines, Healing, Forgiveness In Jesus  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Free Methodist