In Sermon Illustrations: "Daily Christian Practice"

Questions On ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 11, 2008

QUESTIONS ON SUFFERING Steven Curtis Chapman is one of the best known singer-songwriters of contemporary Christian music. Over the last 15 or 20 years, his songs have blessed millions of people. Recently tragedy struck the Chapman home, and Michelle Malkin wrote about it: “Steven Curtis Chapman’s ...read more

Tags: Suffering Joy In

Love Your ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 2, 2008

LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR Fred Douglas Shepard was born on September 11, 1855 in Ellenburg, New York in Clinton County. His father died while he was very young and his mother spent most of her adult life as an invalid. It was probably through this that Fred became associated with illness and caring for ...read more

Scripture: Mark 12:28-34

Tags: Neighbor

Is God Waiting For You?  PRO

Contributed by Paul Dietz on Sep 12, 2008

Is God Waiting for You? Koinonia is the Greek phrase which describes this spiritual intimacy that is born through having the true knowledge of who God is in a personal way. I must confess, I am the one who made the choice not to experience Koinonia for all those years in my spiritual way with the ...read more

Tags: Disciplines General

Denomination: *other

The Joy Of John 3:16  PRO

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Dec 19, 2008

The Joy of John 3:16 Max Lucado's thoughts: A twenty-six word parade of hope: beginning with God, ending with life, and urging us to do the same. Brief enough to write on a napkin or memorize in a moment, yet solid enough to weather two thousand years of storms and questions. If you know nothing ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16

Tags: Joy

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Twin Brothers And A Dollar

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 11, 2009

TWIN BROTHERS AND A DOLLAR In his book, The Preaching Event, John Claypool tells a poignant story about identical twin brothers who never married because they enjoyed each other’s company so much. When their father died, they took over his store and ran it together in a joyful collaboration. But ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness General

Don't Forget About Marsha

Contributed by Mark Tonkery on Feb 21, 2009

DON'T FORGET ABOUT MARSHA The story is about one day when a woman named Louise fell asleep in her bed, and dreamed a very frightful dream. She dreamed that someone in Hell wrote a letter to her, and it was to be delivered to her by a messenger. The messenger passed between the lakes of Hell, and ...read more

Tags: Evangelism The Lost

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Mendelssohn And Rembrandt: Artists In Christ

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 10, 2009

MENDELSSOHN AND REMBRANDT: ARTISTS IN CHRIST This past Tuesday we noted the 200th anniversary of the birth of the composer Felix Mendelssohn. Mendelssohn was born into a family with deep spiritual roots. His grandfather Moses Mendelssohn was a rabbi and a philosopher. But Felix’s parents, ...read more

Tags: God Brings Hope

God Just Needs A Voice  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 13, 2009

GOD JUST NEEDS A VOICE John Stott, a well-known British pastor and theologian, was invited to preach at the University of Sydney in Australia; but after he got there, he lost his voice. He describes his experience as follows: "What can you do with a missionary who has no voice? We had come to ...read more

Scripture: Luke 21:14-15, Matthew 1:18-24

Tags: God Brings Purpose

The Power In Touching The Untouchable  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 14, 2009

THE POWER IN TOUCHING THE UNTOUCHABLE Jesus, the Christ, is still in the business of touching the untouchable! You may feel like you are too dirty or too wicked for Jesus, the Christ, to touch you with His forgiveness today! As an illustration, you may remember the move enitled "The Elephant ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:8

Tags: Grace

A Lesson Of Grace From A Can Of Soda

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 29, 2009

A LESSON OF GRACE FROM A CAN OF SODA The Apostle Paul wrote these words to the Christians in Corinth. "For God made Jesus who had no sin to be sin for us so that in him we might be righteous, holy and forgiven in God's sight." In the world of psychology this is called "transference." God ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:21

Tags: Grace, Sinner, Saved

What Is The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 11, 2009

What is the Church? They tell me the story that long ago there was a small church, in a small town, in a small county, where a small congregation had tried for years to get the biggest “sinner” in town, Sam, to come to church. Sam the sinner would have nothing to do with the church. He wouldn’t ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 1:22-23

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Spiderman Pajamas Don't Attract Attention, ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 30, 2009

Spiderman Pajamas Don’t Attract Attention, Disappointing a Little Boy Last January, Kristy and I took the boys up to Big Bear on a little vacation to play in the snow. We had lots of nice snow cloths for the boys, but no thermal underwear. So, we figured their pajamas resemble thermal underwear, ...read more

Tags: Parable Sower And Seed

Former Convict And Judge Together At ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 22, 2010

Former Convict and Judge Together at Communion A large prosperous city church had three mission churches under its care that it had started. On the first Sunday of the New Year all the members of the mission churches came to the city church for a combined Communion service. In those mission ...read more

Scripture: Luke 5:1-11

Tags: Lord's Supper

Same, Same

Contributed by Scott Wakefield on May 17, 2010

Found at http://www.christianstandard.com/articledisplay.asp?id=783 In an article for Christian Standard magazine, preacher and college president Matt Proctor reflects on the Incarnation: My 5-year-old, Carl, and my 3-year-old, Conrad, love it when I dress like them. After they put on jeans and a ...read more

Tags: Incarnation, Humanity Of Christ

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Prayer And Conviction Of Sin In The Life Of A ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 29, 2010

Prayer and Conviction of Sin in the Life of a Gambler R. A. Torrey in his book The Holy Spirit tells how the elders and deacons of Moody Church met every Friday night for supper and to go over the church rolls to see which people needed attention. At one meeting, an elder expressed a concern: ...read more

Scripture: John 16:5-16

Tags: Prayer Answered

Phantom Guilt

Contributed by Larry Wilson on Jul 9, 2010

PHANTOM GUILT Amputees often experience some sensation of a phantom limb. Somewhere, locked in their brains, a memory lingers of the nonexistent hand or leg. Invisible toes curl, imaginary hands grasp things, a "leg" feels so sturdy a patient may try to stand on it. For a few, the experience ...read more

Tags: Guilt

Denomination: Baptist

Story: In The Late Nineteenth Century In South ...

Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Oct 16, 2010

Story: In the late nineteenth Century in South Africa, an old man was digging for gold in a river bed. He had been at it for many years. Every now and then he found a little bit of gold, not enough to make him rich – but just enough to maintain his interest. The part of the river in which he ...read more

Tags: Prayer Persistence

Denomination: Anglican

Prayer Transforms A Workplace  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 27, 2011

PRAYER TRANSFORMS A WORKPLACE Brandon A. Bradley told his story in Pray! Magazine some time back about an opportunity in his life: "I am a surgical assistant--the surgeon's right-hand man. At one point in my career, I lost my passion. I wanted a job with spiritual significance, and I prayed for ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 4:2-6

Tags: Prayer General

The More Precious Gift

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 2, 2011

THE MORE PRECIOUS GIFT It is not easy always for people to understand the significance of a gift, or the sacrifices that went behind it. Two students shared a room in college. After returning from the Christmas' winter break, Andrew asked his roommate what presents he has received for ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:1-20

Tags: Christmas

The Impact Of Fatherlessness  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 11, 2011

THE IMPACT OF FATHERLESSNESS Several years ago the TV show 60 Minutes ran a segment that tells us something important about fatherlessness. The park rangers at a South African wildlife preserve were concerned about the slaughter of 39 rare white rhinos in their park. It turned out that the rhinos ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 4:14-21

Tags: Father's Day