In Sermon Illustrations: "Darkness Falls"

Beauty

Contributed by Tim Smith on Sep 25, 2016

Pastor Randy Kanipe tells the story of a Sabbath time away from his church while he was struggling with failure. He happened to be walking by a cow pasture and stopped to gaze over the fence, pondering the ’green pastures’ that he imagined God leading him through - my attention was drawn down to a ...read more

Scripture: James 3:2, John 1:5

Tags: Failure, Failures, Poop

Denomination: Methodist

The Lord Hears You

Contributed by Don Carpenter on Mar 2, 2021

Will Smith and Gene Hackman star in the 1998 movie, Enemy of the State. The concept is that whether you deserve it or not, the Government has immense capabilities to spy on every minute detail of your life. As unnerving as the film was, technology has only grown more ...read more

Scripture: Deuteronomy 1:31-36, Exodus 16:9-12

Tags: Testimony, Accountability, Speech

Denomination: Baptist

Understanding The Spirit Named Pan

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jan 31, 2022

THE SPIRIT NAMED PAN Many creatures, or demonic spirits, that have been called mythological gods are not mythological at all. They are real in the kingdom of darkness. Pan’s appearance in mythology is with horns, ears, and legs of a goat on a man’s body. His sudden appearance was supposed to ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:11-18

Tags: Prayer, Demons, Panic, Fasting, Pandemic, Spirits, Satan, Spiritual Warfare  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Mortification  PRO

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

Mortification Romans 8:13 says, "For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live." (King James) Mortification is the special ministry that enables the child of God to overcome those evil desires that could destroy the ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:13

Tags: Holiness

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

People Need To Be Scared

Contributed by Brian Harvison on Nov 12, 2008

PEOPLE NEED TO BE SCARED As Christians today we tend to blend in with the world. We don’t want to be seen as a fanatic. We should want to be considered a fanatic. The shorten form of the word fanatic is fan, Which in sports or entertainment is a compliment. We are not ashamed to be considered a ...read more

Tags: Christian Witness

Denomination: Baptist

The Light Of Hope  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 28, 2008

THE LIGHT OF HOPE As Craig T. Kocher in his commentary on our text states, "Christian hope is fundamentally different from optimism. Christian hope locks its steely eyes on the devastation of the world around it, and readily acknowledges that things may not get better. Christian hope does not bury ...read more

Scripture: John 1:9

Tags: John The Baptist

The Light That Saves

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 28, 2008

THE LIGHT THAT SAVES The story is told of a remarkable event that took place a little more than 30 years ago in the Gulf of Mexico. Darrel Dore was working on an oil rig when the rig suddenly started to wobble. Before too long, the rig tipped to one side and crashed into the water. Darrel found ...read more

Tags: Evangelism How To

Singing When I Am Hurt?

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Jul 16, 2024

WHEN I AM HURT? GO FIGURE? I LOVE BIRDS. I LOVE TO WATCH BIRDS. EACH FAMILY OF BIRDS HAVE THEIR OWN DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS. In my limited study of birds I ran across WHAT IS CALLED ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SONG BIRDS. This SINGING BIRD is unique in many ways. This special little bird is ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 137:1-3

Tags: Hope, Sing, Song In The Night

Denomination: Assembly Of God

[120]. A Message From A Poem – He Has Done All This

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Jul 2, 2025

[120]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – HE HAS DONE ALL THIS What has the Lord done for you? Do you take time to run through what God has made you, and what great promises He has given you, and what future promises await you? It is an excellent exercise because we must always be mindful of our dear ...read more

Scripture: Mark 5:19-20

Tags: Great Things, Christian Poetry, Christian Poems

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Spiritual Warfare

Contributed by John Bright on Oct 3, 2025

We need to be engaged in Spiritual Warfare. First, we need to acknowledge that there is both a physical realm (fallen) and a spiritual realm (good & bad). This is clear in Ephesians 6, where Paul is describing our battle gear: Ephesians 6:11-12 “11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:11-12

Tags: Spiritual Warfare, Angels, Demons, Physical Realm, Spiritual Realm  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Methodist

Car Trouble Opens An Opportunity To Be A Good ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 26, 2010

Car Trouble Opens an Opportunity to be a Good Samaritan This was written by a Metro Denver Hospice Physician: I was driving home from a meeting this evening about 5, stuck in traffic on Colorado Blvd., and the car started to choke and splutter and die. I barely managed to coast, cruising, into a ...read more

Scripture: Luke 10:29-37

Tags: Compassion, Angels Unaware

Lazy -Apathy Cost

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Jul 22, 2022

STORY: ONE EVENING THERE WAS AN OLD WISE MAN SITTING ON HIS PORCH WHEN A YOUNG MAN APPROACHED HIM. The young man said: HOW I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE YOUR WISDOM, UNDERSTANDING AND RICHES. The sun was setting. The old man said saddle that horse. The young man saddled the horse. The old man gave him two ...read more

Scripture: Luke 12:17-19

Tags: Unfaithfulness, No Passion

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Newton's Story

Contributed by David Dunn on Nov 21, 2025

The story of John Newton and the hymn Amazing Grace. Newton’s hymn has grown so familiar to us that we sometimes forget the depth of the testimony behind it. Those lines were not crafted by a saint who lived an unblemished life. They were written by a man who walked through the same spiritual ...read more

Scripture: 2 Chronicles 33:12, Ephesians 2:8

Tags: Grace, Redemption

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

How Much Sleep Is Too Much?

Contributed by James Snyder on Apr 19, 2025

I have noticed recently that sleeping has become a very important part of my life. This just snuck up on me overnight. When I was young and living at home, I tried to come up with excuses and reasons for not going to bed at night. My parents had an early bedtime schedule that they enforced rather ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 127:2

Tags: Sleep, Energy

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Shake It Off And Step Up  PRO

Contributed by Travis Moore on Feb 12, 2001

SHAKE IT OFF AND STEP UP A parable is told of a farmer who owned an old mule. The mule fell into the farmer’s well. The farmer heard the mule "braying", or whatever mules do when they fall into wells. After carefully assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the mule, but decided that ...read more

Tags: God In The Hardships

Denomination: Baptist

What's In A Name?  PRO

Contributed by Paul Fritz on Oct 18, 2000

WHAT’S IN A NAME? When the 1960s ended, San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district reverted to high rent, and many hippies moved down the coast to Santa Cruz. They had children and got married, too, though in no particular sequence. But they didn’t name their children Melissa or Brett. People in the ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 139:1-24

Tags: Disappointment, Communication General, God's Omniscience

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

I've Fallen, And No One Will Help Me Out!  PRO

Contributed by Christopher Stanley on Aug 30, 2002

I'VE FALLEN, AND NO ONE WILL HELP ME OUT! I was watching The West Wing one day and heard this story from Leo McGarrey, the Chief of Staff. I have adapted it for use in a sermon with The Good Samaritan. A man is walking down the street one day when he falls into a hole. He cries out for help ...read more

Tags: Jesus Teachings, Parable Good Samaritan, Compassion

Denomination: Methodist

C. S. Lewis, In The Voyage Of The Dawntreader, ...  PRO

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Sep 29, 2002

C. S. Lewis, in The Voyage of the Dawntreader, part of The Chronicles of Narnia series, tells the story of Eustace, a boy who happens upon a hidden treasure which is guarded by a dragon. He has become alienated from his friends and their values by his own churlishness, and when he finds the ...read more

Tags: God's Forgiveness, Discipleship

Denomination: Methodist

The Late Mike Royco Wrote A National Column Out ...  PRO

Contributed by Timothy Smith on Feb 22, 2005

The late Mike Royco wrote a national column out of the Chicago Tribune and he once told about a friend of his who was falling in love and his friend said that he was going to take his girl to a Seaside resort, stay for the week-end. And he said, "If it clicks, "I’m going to ask her to marry me." ...read more

Tags: Marriage Commitment, Marriage Obligations

Denomination: Christian Church

Jim Cymbala, In His Book "Fresh Wind, Fresh ...  PRO

Contributed by Scott Malone on Mar 1, 2005

Jim Cymbala, in his book “Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire”, details the miraculous growth of the Brooklyn Tabernacle because of its dedication to prayer. In 1972 he was asked to pastor part-time a small church in a shabby two-story building on Atlantic Avenue in New York City. The location was bad. The ...read more

Tags: Prayer Supplication, Prayer Adoration, Prayer Persistence

Denomination: Baptist