In Sermon Illustrations: "Corrie Ten Boom"

The Best Gift

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 28, 2008

THE BEST GIFT Bobby was getting cold sitting out in his back yard in the snow. Bobby didn't wear boots; he didn't like them, and anyway he didn't own any. The thin sneakers he wore had a few holes in them, and they did a poor job of keeping out the cold. Bobby had been in his backyard for about ...read more

Tags: Compassion

65279;have You Ever Had One Of Those Days? ...  PRO

Contributed by Joanna Loucky-Ramsey on Nov 4, 2002

Have you ever had one of those days? Perhaps you can identify with this fellow: I am writing in response to your request for additional information. In block number 3 of the accident reporting form, I put “Poor planning” as the cause of my accident. You said in your letter that I should ...read more

Tags: Hardship Of Life

Denomination: Baptist

Famous Businessman Practices ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 30, 2009

Famous Businessman Practices Tithing One Famous Business man: About a 100 plus years ago a young man had to leave home because his family could not afford to feed and house him. On his way to his future he met an old friend who was captain of a canal boat. The Captain asked where he was off to. He ...read more

Scripture: Malachi 3:6-18

Tags: Tithes

At What Age Should A Pastor Retire?

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jun 3, 2020

AT WHAT AGE SHOULD A PASTOR RETIRE? TEN DIAGNOSTIC QUESTIONS There are a lot of Baby Boomer pastors and Christian leaders around. And it’s cliché, but they aren’t getting any younger. It’s a quiet question that many are asking, but they are asking it nonetheless: What age should I ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 4:7-8, Hebrews 12:1-3

Tags: Retirement, Aging, Pastors, Missionaries, Paul And Timothy, Baby Boomers  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

88% Of Americans Gamble In Some Form. 95% Lose ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 10, 2001

88% of Americans gamble in some form. 95% lose more than they bet. Winners get back less than half of what they bet. No one in his or her right mind would invest in anything with such a loss record. Statisticians have shown that a person is more likely to survive 88 rounds of Russian roulette than ...read more

Unselfish And Happy  PRO

Contributed by David Yarbrough on Feb 4, 2002

UNSELFISH AND HAPPY A fascinating study on the principle of the Golden Rule was conducted by Bernard Rimland, director of the Institute for Child Behavior Research. Rimland found that "The happiest people are those who help others." Each person involved in the study was asked to list ten ...read more

Tags: Joy, Christian Disciplines

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

In 1900, In Bangor, Ireland, A Group Of Salvation ...  PRO

Contributed by Robert Massey on Apr 8, 2002

In 1900, in Bangor, Ireland, a group of Salvation Army youth were conducting a street meeting. A young man named Billy Nicholson who had desired to do great things for God passed by. Several of the ones in the Salvation Army troop knew that Billy professed Christianity so they invited him to ...read more

Tags: Confession Of Sin, Commitment To Christ

Denomination: Church Of God

The Journey From Heaven To Dump  PRO

Contributed by A. Todd Coget on Nov 29, 2002

THE JOURNEY FROM HEAVEN TO DUMP Author and pastor Leith Anderson writes: Several years ago I was visiting Manila and was taken, of all places, to the Manila garbage dump and saw something beyond belief. Tens of thousands of people make their homes on that dump site. They’ve constructed shacks out ...read more

Scripture: John 1:1-18

Tags: Christmas Advent

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Unsatisfied  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 30, 2002

UNSATISFIED French author, Guy de Maupassant was one of the greatest writers of short stories the world has ever known. Within ten years he rose from relative obscurity to fame. Just what he thought he’d always wanted. His material possessions showed a life of affluence…a yacht in the ...read more

Tags: New Year's Day, Peace, Finding Fulfillment

On The Wall Beside My Desk I Have A 1996 Poster ...

Contributed by Dan Cormie on Oct 24, 2003

On the wall beside my desk I have a 1996 poster size Tim Horton’s Coffee calendar, which I took and had dry mounted, so it would last forever. The picture above the months shows a father wearing a goalie stick and gloves guarding a hockey net that stands in front of the garage door of the family ...read more

Tags: Children, Parenting

Denomination: Mennonite

A Young Salesman Walked Up To The Receptionist ...

Contributed by Charles R. Swindoll on Sep 27, 2004

A young salesman walked up to the receptionist and asked to see the company’s sales manager. Ushered into the office, he said, "I don’t suppose you want to buy any life insurance, do you?" "No," replied the sales manager curtly. "I didn’t think so," said the salesman dejectedly, getting up to ...read more

Tags: Workplace, Workplace Integrity

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

I Want To Begin This Morning With A Clip From The ...

Contributed by Richard Tow on Sep 22, 2005

I want to begin this morning with a clip from the movie, Cheaper by the Dozen. In this movie Coach Tom (played by Steve Martin) and his wife Kate (Bonnie Hart) have twelve kids. They are doing fine until opportunity knocks—an opportunity for Tom to pursue his dream of coaching a successful Top ...read more

Tags: Peace, Parenting

Denomination: Charismatic

Griping Is Not An Unusual Trait Shared By A Good ...  PRO

Contributed by Denise Raterta on Oct 31, 2005

Griping is not an unusual trait shared by a good number of believers whether they are at work, at home or in church—demanding bosses, nagging wives, stubborn kids, boring preachers, incompetent government, rising prices, the list of our objects of complaint goes on and on. If we fined ourselves ...read more

Tags: Joy

Denomination: *other

An Impressive Coat Of Wool

Contributed by John Harvey on Dec 7, 2006

Take for instance the story of Shrek. Now this is not about an ogre who is friends with a talking donkey, but about a wild sheep in New Zealand. Shrek was a young sheep when he escaped form his shepherd. This is not an uncommon occurrence, because sheep are notorious for wandering off. What is ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

John Bunyan On Hell  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

The great John Bunyan wrote, "In hell thou shalt have none but a company of damned souls, with an innumerable company of devils, to keep company with thee. While thou art in this world, the very thought of the devil’s appearing to thee, makes thy flesh to tremble, and thine hair ready to stand ...read more

Tags: Hell

Our Body Is Murphy's Law In Action: If Anything ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Our body is Murphy’s Law in action: if anything can go wrong, it will. Five diseases - heart disease (29%), cancers (22.9%), stroke (6.8%), chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (5.1%), and diabetes (3%) - claimed 1.6 million lives or more than two-thirds of all deaths in the United States. Not ...read more

Tags: Easter Resurrection

A Flippant Youth Asked A Preacher, "You Say That ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

A flippant youth asked a preacher, “You say that unsaved people carry a weight of sin. I feel nothing. How heavy is sin? Is it ten pounds? Eighty pounds?” The preacher replied by asking the youth, “If you laid a 400-pound weight on a corpse, would it feel the load?” The youth replied, “It would ...read more

Tags: Cults

Rebellion In China

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Illustration from Tai Ping Rebellion in China We don’t learn much world history anymore in school. Back in the 1860s, a man arose in China who claimed to be a Messiah. [11] His name was Hong Xiuquan. Hong was this disturbed young salesman who read a bunch of heretical Christian literature, ...read more

Tags: Second Coming

An Ellison Research Study Finds 90% Of Americans ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 15, 2008

An Ellison Research study finds 90% of Americans feel the law should support religious groups renting public property, such as a public school gym or a library room, for meetings if non-religious groups are allowed to do so. 89% say it should be legal for a public school teacher to permit a “moment ...read more

Tags: Law

The Bbc ...

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Jan 5, 2009

The BBC (news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3157570.stm) did a study five years ago and published some interesting conclusions. According to the October 2, 2003 article, the happiest localities in the world are (in order): Nigeria, Mexico, Venezuela, El Salvador and Puerto Rico. What might surprise ...read more

Tags: Happiness

Denomination: Independent/Bible