In Sermon Illustrations: "Confessions"

You Shall Receive Power After...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 31, 2008

YOU SHALL RECEIVE POWER AFTER... Missionary John Hyde went to India a little over a hundred years ago. John felt a strong calling to the nation of India and began to spend hours in an attempt to learn the local language. Then the day came. It was in 1892 that he boarded a steamer in New York bound ...read more

Tags: Holy Spirit In Believers

Story: Excerpt From ¨loving Mercy" By Simon Ponsonby

Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Aug 12, 2012

Story: When Maddy and I were in Oxford at Wycliffe Hall, we used to go to Church in St Aldates. About 11 years after leaving Wycliffe, I was in Oxford one Sunday and so I decided to go to the evening service at St Aldates (08-07-2012). As I walked in. I looked at the bookrack in the entrance and ...read more

Scripture: John 20:1-19

Tags: Forgiveness, Christian Love

Denomination: Anglican

Forgiveness

Contributed by Steve Malone on Feb 3, 2021

It was in a church in Munich that I saw him, a balding heavyset man in a gray overcoat, a brown felt hat clutched between his hands. People were filing out of the basement room where I had just spoken, moving along the rows of wooden chairs to the door at the rear. It was 1947 and I had come from ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 18:21-35

Tags: Hurt, Forgiveness

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

[105]. A Message From A Poem – Godliness With Contentment Is Great Gain

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Jun 8, 2025

[105]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – GODLINESS WITH CONTENTMENT IS GREAT GAIN This is a one off for me in this particular style. I had in mind to write a song and got this far. The lyrics are not a problem, just the tunes. This poem would be a song for more than one singer as I see the parts in the ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:5-7, 1 Timothy 6:11, Hebrews 13:5, 2 Corinthians 12:10

Tags: Christian Poems, Godliness, Contentment, Gain, Materialism, Difficulty, Christian Poetry  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[237 C]. A Message From A Poem - Scenes From The Gospels - Part 3

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Nov 8, 2025

[237 C]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM - SCENES FROM THE GOSPELS - PART 3 They are here to enjoy! Scenes from the Gospels are very special to me. I love them. They have taken a lot of effort, and many, many months revision to get them as correct as possible with the difficult word limitations. ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 2:1-2, Matthew 2:9-12, Luke 24:13-32, Matthew 14:25-33, Matthew 15:21-28, Matthew 23:23-33, Luke 1:1-4, Matthew 13:10-13  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Parables, Poetry Reading, On The Emmaus Road, The Canaanite Woman, Pharisees, Peter Walks On Water, Stories, The Magi, Christian Poetry, Christian Poems  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Real St. Nick  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 9, 2002

THE REAL ST NICK A vast multitude was imprisoned in every place," wrote an eyewitness. "The prisons -- prepared for murders and robbers -- were filled with bishops, priests, and deacons ... so there was no longer room for those condemned of crimes."[1] You’d hardly expect to find old St. Nick ...read more

Tags: Christmas

The Real Sun King!" Job 37:19-24 Key Verse(S): ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Mar 13, 2005

“The Real Sun King!” Job 37:19-24 Key verse(s): 23:“The Almighty is beyond our reach and exalted in power; in his justice and great righteousness, he does not oppress.” What does it mean to be truly great? There have been many in history who have claimed to be great, even the greatest. People ...read more

Scripture: Job 37:19-24

Tags: Descriptions Of God

Denomination: Lutheran

I Sure Do Miss St. Sanity

Contributed by James Snyder on Aug 17, 2019

The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage and me recently celebrated our 48th wedding anniversary. It sure does not seem we have been married that long. I guess, as you get older, according to my grandmother, time goes faster. If that is true, I must be getting older. We met in September, became ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:6

Tags: Politics, Humor, Sanity

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

It Was One Of Those Weeks

Contributed by James Snyder on Oct 19, 2019

At my stage in life, I have experienced a gazillion weeks. I thought about actually counting how many weeks I have lived, but I don’t have that many fingers or toes. It doesn’t matter how many weeks it is. I have lived enough weeks to know, when you think you have experienced everything there is ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 10:23

Tags: Week Work, Victory

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

If Every Dog Has Its Day I Should Be Barking

Contributed by James Snyder on Nov 2, 2019

Lately, I have been getting behind in my work schedule. Just when I think I am caught up, I discover something I had forgotten about. If only I could forget what I forgot, I would be happy. I am pretty close to being a master at the “O, I simply forgot about that” excuse. Getting away with it ...read more

Scripture: Luke 6:38

Tags: Relationships, Stewartship

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Getting Old Is Not For Sissies

Contributed by James Snyder on Nov 9, 2019

I will not admit to being old, but I am older than I was 10 years ago. Those 10 years have been filled with all kinds of things helping me to get older. I saw an article that said that 60 is the new 40. I have no idea what that means, but I think out in our culture there is an obsession about age. ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 145:7

Tags: Memories, Growing Old

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

In Praise Of Crazy

Contributed by James Snyder on Feb 1, 2020

I made a mistake the other night of complaining out loud. It is one thing to complain under your breath so that nobody hears you or knows what you are complaining about. But when you complain out loud, then you run the chance of somebody hearing you. The somebody I was most concerned about was the ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 3:7-8

Tags: Praise, Crazy

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Casual Is Not Always Appropriate

Contributed by James Snyder on May 2, 2020

If confession is good for the soul, I would like to give my soul a little treat. During this "stay-at-home" phenomenon, the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage and Yours Truly, have been enjoying our time alone. We certainly have taken advantage of it. Not too long ago, my wife came up ...read more

Scripture: Luke 6:31

Tags: Casual, Humor

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Will There Be Television In Heaven?

Contributed by James Snyder on Jun 6, 2020

If anybody can ask hard questions, the award has to go to the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage. She knows how to ask a question and, more importantly, when to ask a particular question. Throughout our marriage, she has become an expert in the area of questionology. There is not a question I can ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 10:4

Tags: Television, Questions, Politicians

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

It’s Not Always What It Seems

Contributed by James Snyder on Jul 11, 2020

There are times when my bad hearing is a blessing. I'm not sure if I'm not listening or not hearing. It’s hard for me to tell. For example, the other night, right after midnight, the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage and I were pretty much sound asleep. There was more sound on the other ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 21:2

Tags: Humor, Storms, Rioting

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

To Scam Or Not To Scam That Is The Phone Call

Contributed by James Snyder on May 22, 2021

One day this past week, I decided to stay home and catch up on a little bit of reading. It's not often that I take a day and not go to the office and just pander around the house. Sometimes it's necessary to do such a thing, and I don’t do it often enough. The Gracious Mistress of the ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 6:7

Tags: Scam, Reading

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

My Body, My Swat

Contributed by James Snyder on Nov 6, 2021

Usually, I am not easily offended, nor do I easily lose my temper. I did lose my temper when I was six years old but have not been able to find it since. Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage is trying to find it but so far, she has not found it. Many people are ticked off by some minor little thing ...read more

Scripture: Song of Songs 2:15

Tags: Patience, Temper, Offended

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

How Much Coffee Is Too Much Coffee?

Contributed by James Snyder on Oct 15, 2022

I will be the first to confess that I love my coffee, especially in the morning. When anybody asks how much coffee is enough, I usually say, “Just one more cup.” My day cannot get started until I’ve had a sufficient amount of coffee. If I don’t have enough coffee when I meet somebody, they will ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 34:8

Tags: Coffee, Serial

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

What’s The Harm With A Little Treat?

Contributed by James Snyder on Sep 23, 2023

The last month has been crazy for me and The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage. Every month has its crazy element, but this past month beats them all. First, my main computer crashed, and I lost a lot of stuff. Second, we had a hurricane that came through; fortunately, it was only thunder, rain ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 28:13

Tags: Truth, Decisions

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Another Jingle Bell Christmas In The Tree

Contributed by James Snyder on Dec 23, 2023

It doesn't seem possible another Christmas has come and gone. They come and go so fast that I'm not sure I can keep up with all of this. Every year, our family has more people, which is never bad. One thing we do is gather as a family around the Christmas tree and enjoy a wonderful time of ...read more

Scripture: Numbers 32:23

Tags: Christmas, Jingle Bell

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance