In Sermon Illustrations: "Condition"

Don't Ever Tell John "Tex" Teixeria That Prayer ...  PRO

Contributed by Dana Visneskie on Feb 13, 2004

Don’t ever tell John “Tex” Teixeria that prayer doesn’t work. Tex spent his life as a fisherman in the channels of the Hawaiian Islands. On a deceptively calm night in 1967, Tex guided his 40-foot fishing boat toward the beach of an otherwise inaccessible canyon on the north side of Molokai. He had ...read more

Tags: Prayer Adoration

Denomination: Pentecostal

A Little Boy's Knots!" Revelations 19:11-17 Key ...

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Mar 15, 2005

“A Little Boy’s Knots!” Revelations 19:11-17 Key verse(s): 16:“On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KINGS OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” There’s something about being rescued this is so completely satisfying. A number of years ago (pre-cell phone days) I was driving along the ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 19:11-17

Tags: God's Provision, God's Forgiveness, God Cares, Protector, Provider, Strengthen  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Lutheran

Delusional Spiritual Myopithy!" John 15:26-John ...

Contributed by Mark Brunner on May 12, 2005

“Delusional Spiritual Myopithy!” John 15:26-John 16:4 Key verse(s) 26:“When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.” Oh that dreaded sign! “Caution––Men Working!” Normally I am pretty good about ...read more

Scripture: John 11:45-53

Tags: Holy Spirit Attributes, Holy Spirit In Believers

Denomination: Lutheran

Anyone Can Do That...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 17, 2009

"ANYONE CAN DO THAT..." There was a man named Doug Nichols who went to India to be a missionary. While he was just starting to study the language, he became infected with tuberculosis and had to be put in a sanitarium. It was not a very good place to be. It was not very clean and conditions were ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:43-48

Tags: Christian Love

The Power Of The Holy Spirit To Change Lives

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Aug 27, 2023

Dr. Harry A. Ironside the great evangelist and Bible teacher was living in the San Francisco Bay area working with a group of believers called “Brethren.” One Sunday as he was walking through the city he came upon a group of Salvation Army workers holding a meeting on the corner of Market and Grant ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 19:7-9

Tags: Changed Lives, Power Of The Holy Spirit, Henry Ironside, Holy Spirit, Transformation, Agnosticism  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Unintentionally Humorous Texts: The "Bad Axe” Incident

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on May 3, 2024

Introduction: This is a follow up to the story of Elisha being asked, maybe as an afterthought?, to go with student prophets as they built a new facility. One of these men had borrowed an axe but something awful happened. By the way, this story has nothing whatsoever to do with the city of Bad ...read more

Scripture: 2 Kings 6:1-7

Tags: Elisha, Jordan River, Sons Of The Prophets, Axes

Denomination: Baptist

Let Me Close With This Story, At First You May ...  PRO

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Oct 31, 2002

Let me close with this story, at first you may not catch my point, but hang in there, when I land you will see a wonderful point. I had been teaching in Virginia, and I resigned my position and accepted a pastorate of a mission work in eastern Kentucky. The area was very poor, and the little church ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:42-44

Tags: Funerals Christian, Death

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Let Me Give You Something Else From Corrie Ten ...

Contributed by Brian La Croix on Jan 4, 2008

Let me give you something else from Corrie ten Boom: After the war she returned to Germany to declare the grace of Christ. “It was 1947, and I’d come from Holland to defeated Germany with the message that God forgives. It was the truth that they needed most to hear in that bitter, bombed-out ...read more

Denomination: Wesleyan

Hurricane Victims' Suffering Lead Them To ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 10, 2010

Hurricane Victims’ Suffering Lead Them to Christ 38-year-old Carlotta Bennett was riding out Hurricane Katrina in her attic with her family. The winds had blown her house way off its foundation, and the rising water was threatening to flood the house to the roof and drown the five people in the ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:28

Tags: Suffering Joy In

World War Ii Prison Camp Inmates In Burma ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 6, 2010

World War II Prison Camp Inmates in Burma Transformed by God’s Love and Grace, the Case of Ernest Gordon Ernest Gordon was serving as a captain in the British army during the Second World War when he was captured by the Japanese, marched with other prisoners into the Southeast Asian jungles, and ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:43-48

Tags: Christian Love

The Durer Brothers: No One Makes It Alone

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 23, 2011

THE DURER BROTHERS: NO ONE MAKES IT ALONE Back in the fifteenth century, in a tiny village near Nuremberg, lived a family with eighteen children. Eighteen! In order merely to keep food on the table for this big family, the father and head of the household, a goldsmith by profession, worked almost ...read more

Scripture: John 15:12-13

Tags: Giving Yourself

Unsung Heroes: The Four Great Men Of Samaria

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Nov 11, 2022

Introduction: There was war between the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, where Israelites on each side fought, died, were captured and who knows what else. In this battle, the northern kingdom of Israel had won a great victory and were headed back home, loaded with the spoils of war. But that joy ...read more

Scripture: 2 Chronicles 28:12-15

Tags: Ahaz, Pekah, Unsung Heroes, Oded, Captives  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Misapplied Scriptures: Genesis 6:3

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Sep 14, 2023

Introduction: There is any number of Scriptures that have been used out of context or simply misapplied over the years. A Christian magazine listed about a dozen of these back in the early 1980’s and, I must say, some of the author’s insights were something I had never thought of before. Maybe I ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 6:1-8

Tags: Flood, Noah, Misapplied Scripture

Denomination: Baptist

I Want To Tell You About A Practicing Christian, ...  PRO

Contributed by Bobby Scobey on May 22, 2007

I want to tell you about a practicing Christian, a public figure who lives out his faith in Jesus Christ. Here is a behind-the-scenes story. There was a lot of excitement in watching the Indianapolis Colts, led by Head Coach Tony Dungy, win their trip to the Super Bowl this past January. A TV ...read more

Scripture: Daniel 1:1

Tags: Peace, Heaven, Chance, Hope, Assurance, Forget, Expectancy, Renew  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Pentecostal

Shorted-Sightedness  PRO

Contributed by Dru Ashwell on Dec 16, 2001

SHORTED-SIGHTEDNESS "Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons." --Popular Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of science, 1949 "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers." --Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943 "I have traveled the length and ...read more

Tags: Post Easter, Memorial Day, Leadership General, Reason, Purpose, Endurance, Emmaus Road, Answer, Workplace Evangelism  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Corrie Ten Boom And Her Family Secretly Housed ...  PRO

Contributed by A. Todd Coget on Oct 31, 2003

Corrie Ten Boom and her family secretly housed Jews in their home during WW II. Their "illegal" activity was discovered, and Corrie and her sister Bessie were sent to the German death camp, Ravensbruck. There Corrie would watch many, including her sister, die. After the war she returned to Germany ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness For Others

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Broken Hearts Not Broken Glass!" Proverbs 19:1 ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Apr 18, 2005

“Broken Hearts Not Broken Glass!” Proverbs 19:1 Key verse(s) 1:“Better a poor man whose walk is blameless than a fool whose lips are perverse.” It’s time to rise up and take a christian stand! Christians are being persecuted worldwide. There is no doubt of this even in the minds of the ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 19:1

Tags: Christian Disciplines, Peace

Denomination: Lutheran

Mud-Gazing?" Luke 12:13-15 Key Verse(S) ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on May 3, 2005

“Mud-Gazing?” Luke 12:13-15 Key verse(s) 13:“Someone in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” Do you sing because you are happy; or are you happy because you sing? You’ve met the person. They always seem to have a positive attitude about nearly ...read more

Scripture: Luke 12:13-15

Tags: Peace, Joy, Christian Love

Denomination: Lutheran

The Bet — Anton Chekhov

Contributed by Philip Harrelson on Sep 7, 2006

The Bet -- Anton Chekhov We live in a world that knows little about what’s truly valuable. People all around us are pursuing things that have no lasting value. That pursuit is ably treated by Anton Chekhov in his classic short story The Bet. This story gives us great insight into the value system ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 8:28-38, Matthew 8:5-13

Denomination: Pentecostal

Leo Tolstoy Had A Marvelous Metaphor About The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Leo Tolstoy had a marvelous metaphor about the need for us to set definite boundaries on our own appetites. It is called “How Much Land Does a Man Need?" There was a peasant named Pahom who worked hard and honestly for his family. He always remained poor and thought, "If only we had our own land, ...read more

Tags: Commitment To Christ