In Sermon Illustrations: "Control"

On December 17, 1903, Orville And Wilbur Wright ...  PRO

Contributed by Alan Tison on Dec 10, 2005

On December 17, 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright made their first flight of an airplane at Kitty Hawk NC. On their 5th attempt, the plane under the control of Orville, embarked on a 12 second flight. Wilbur rushed to the local telegraph office and sent the following message – WE HAVE FLOWN FOR 12 ...read more

Tags: Christmas

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

God Ain't Dead

Contributed by Tim Zingale on Jun 26, 2006

A pastor wrote: "Some time ago I saw a picture of an old burned-out mountain shack. All that remained was the chimney...the charred debris of what had been that family’s sole possession. In front of this destroyed home stood an old grandfather-looking man dressed only in his underclothes with a ...read more

Tags: Faith General

Denomination: Lutheran

Heaven Bound

Contributed by David Rogers on Jan 29, 2007

Heaven Bound Walking through the storms of life Facing all the strife I realize that I am all alone Facing the lighting and the crash of thunder Oh How I wonder Is there no hope of me ever going home I was walking through the storm all alone. Fear and despair all around No hope could be ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

I Remember When I First Began In The Ministry. I ...

Contributed by Chris Surber on Apr 28, 2007

I remember when I first began in the ministry. I was a young Marine Sergeant living in Yuma, Arizona. I had gotten involved with a retired Pastor. He and I would lead a chapel service every Sunday at various retirement communities, assisted living facilities, and at rescue shelters. I was ...read more

Denomination: Christian Church

When We Think Of Power And Strength We Have ...

Contributed by Dale Pilgrim on May 6, 2007

When we think of power and strength we have images like WWF and body-slamming 250 pounds on the mat! Or husbands suggesting something to our wives and they agree – now that’s power! It is short-lived but we’ll take whatever we can get! It’s the picture of “My Big, Fat, Greek Wedding” – the husband ...read more

Denomination: Salvation Army

Way Back In The 80's, Apple Corporation, Or Apple ...

Contributed by Jordan Lumbard on Jun 5, 2007

Way back in the 80’s, Apple Corporation, or Apple Computers really took off and grew as a company. - Yes even before the iPod. Steve Jobs was the founder and President of Apple, and he realized that he didn’t know how to run such a big company. - So he recruited one of the most famous CEO’s at that ...read more

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The People There Were A Labor Of Love For Paul, ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

The people there were a labor of love for Paul, and now, it looked like things might fall apart because of some insignificant argument or offense. Have you ever been there? You’ve put your heart and soul into some project or person, and something so small that it goes unnoticed or ignored gets in ...read more

Tags: Peace

Let Me Tell You A Story About A Man. This Man ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Let me tell you a story about a man. This man grew up in the north end residential area of Tacoma, Washington. He graduated from the University of Washington and attended the University of Washington Law School. His friends considered him suave, debonair, handsome, and smooth with the ladies. He ...read more

Tags: Evangelism How To

Max Lucado: People On A Plane And People On A Pew ...  PRO

Contributed by Bobby Scobey on Jun 19, 2007

Max Lucado: People on a plane and people on a pew have a lot in common – All are on a journey. Most are satisfied with a predictable experience. We like to say, “It was a nice flight/It was a nice worship service.” We exit the same way we enter, and we’re happy to return next time. But a ...read more

Denomination: Pentecostal

Naval Aviation Training Includes An ...  PRO

Contributed by Austin Mansfield on Sep 18, 2007

Naval aviation training includes an indoctrination session in what looks like a ride from some amusement park. The device takes up an entire huge room, and has individual containers attached to a larger wheel, allowing the person inside to be spun in multiple directions as the main wheel spins ...read more

Tags: Big, Large, Larger

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

One Day A Farmer's Donkey Fell Down Into ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Opperman on Jan 21, 2008

-ILLUS: One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally he decided the animal was old and the well needed to be covered up anyway , it just wasn’t worth the effort to retrieve the donkey. He invited all his ...read more

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Ignoring The Warnings  PRO

Contributed by Bobby Scobey on Apr 28, 2008

IGNORING THE WARNINGS Listen to this description of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster in northern Ukraine: "There were two electrical engineers in the control room that night, and the best thing that could be said for what they were doing is they were 'playing around' with the machine. They ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 3:22-25, Ruth 1:1-15

Tags: Obedience

Denomination: Pentecostal

Let's Talk About The Differences Inherent In ...

Contributed by Clark Tanner on Nov 1, 2008

Let’s talk about the differences inherent in being son or servant in any household. Now it may seem more than a stretch to draw from a modern fantasy tale for my illustration, but the story line of Batman offers very good examples of our point. In that story, the boy who will eventually ...read more

Tags: Servanthood

Denomination: Orthodox

Come Hell Or High Water

Contributed by Davon Huss on Mar 2, 2009

COME HELL OR HIGH WATER Glen and Jo Ann live in Orange County, California in a low lying area. It flooded one year and the local newspaper sent a reporter, in a boat, out to Glen and Jo Ann’s neighborhood. The reporter found Jo Ann, sitting on their roof watching large objects floating by, so he ...read more

Tags: God's Sovereign Will

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Rights Vs. Responsibilities, Owners Vs. ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 8, 2009

Rights vs. Responsibilities, Owners vs. Stewards While scouting locations for a popular TV series, an advance team came upon the perfect site for an action scene—an impressive house with a beautiful, large, lush, green lawn. The script called for the cars to be spinning out of control and crashing ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 25:14-30

Tags: Stewardship

The Kudzu Vine

Contributed by Bruce Rzengota on Dec 4, 2010

THE KUDZU VINE Kudzu was introduced to the United States in 1876 at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Countries were invited to build exhibits to celebrate the 100th birthday of the U.S. The Japanese government constructed a beautiful garden filled with plants from their ...read more

Tags: Evangelism Urgency

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Chippie's Story  PRO

Contributed by Scott Spencer on Nov 14, 2011

CHIPPIE'S STORY Max Lucado shares the story of a parakeet named Chippie. Chippie’s owner decided to clean his cage...with a vacuum cleaner. She was almost finished when the phone rang, so she turned around to answer it. Before she knew it, Chippie was gone. In a panic she ripped open the vacuum ...read more

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Denomination: Calvary Chapel

Christ Is The Wind, Christianity Is The Sail  PRO

Contributed by Ken Pell on Mar 2, 2013

CHRIST IS THE WIND, CHRISTIANITY IS THE SAIL Does the practice of our religion reflect the God we serve? In Shane Hipps' book, "Selling Water by the River: A Book about the Life Jesus Promised and the Religion that Gets in the Way," he uses an analogy from sailing to express what has happened in ...read more

Scripture: James 1:26-27

Tags: Religion

Denomination: Nazarene

Where The Pharisees Went Wrong

Contributed by Davon Huss on Jul 9, 2013

WHERE THE PHARISEES WENT WRONG Robert Coleman talks about where the Pharisees went wrong: "The Pharisees had so much respect for the original set of scriptures and wanted to protect them so desperately that they started adding to them. Then, after a while, it not only seemed helpful to make ...read more

Scripture: Mark 7:1-23

Tags: Tradition, Man Made Rules, Pharisees, Fast

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Don't Come Home?

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Feb 26, 2021

We have hope. We walk in blessed assurance that Jesus died for us. The 7 years coming on this world will be THE GREAT TRIBULATION. Current, prayed up and ready Christians have nothing to fear. God is in control. We have hope. As the world goes into a paradigm or pattern change the dead in Christ ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 24:21-22

Tags: Second Coming, Be Ready

Denomination: Assembly Of God