In Sermon Illustrations: "Dead Flies"

The Witness Of Orel Hershiser On The Tonight ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 8, 2009

The Witness of Orel Hershiser on the Tonight Show About 15 years ago, Orel Hershiser was pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers. They had just won the World Series. And Orel had been named the Most Valuable Player. One of the TV shows about the series showed him in the dugout just before the 9th ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:14-16

Tags: Christian Witness

The World Says, "If It Feels Good, Do ...

Contributed by Johnny Wilson on Jan 16, 2010

The world says, “If it feels good, do it!” and “The ends justify the means.” As a result, we have to be extra alert. It reminds me of God’s message to Sardis in the Book of Revelation. God kept having to tell them to be alert and that must have poured salt into their wounds. You see Sardis was a ...read more

Tags: Doing God's Will

Denomination: *other

Girl Born ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 5, 2010

Girl Born Blind There was a blind girl who hated herself because she was blind. She hated everyone, except her loving boyfriend. He was always there for her. She told her boyfriend, ’If I could only see the world, I will marry you.’ One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her. When the ...read more

Scripture: John 9:1-41

Tags: Compassion

The Prayer And The Chair

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 22, 2011

THE PRAYER AND THE CHAIR A woman called a pastor to come to the house to see her father. He goes to the house not knowing whether the man is Christian or not but he notices as he talks to him and the man answers back that he must be a Christian and there is a chair sitting close by. An empty ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:5-15

Tags: Prayer How To

All The Land You Can Cover

Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Mar 12, 2011

ALL THE LAND YOU CAN COVER Leo Tolstoy tells this story: A young Russian inherits his father’s small farm. He immediately starts dreaming of how to expand his property when one morning a well-dressed stranger visits him and makes him an offer that is too good to be true. He could have free of ...read more

Tags: Greed

Denomination: Anglican

Hope Of Maria

Contributed by Ken Pell on Jun 5, 2011

HOPE OF MARIA Hope weans God’s people from seeking and trusting this world. The story is told of Maria. She lived in a small town in southern Kentucky. She did not see or hear from her husband for years. Edward was assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division during the Korean war and captured when the ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 3:2-3

Tags: Pleasing God, God Brings Hope

Denomination: Nazarene

They Did Not Fear Death  PRO

Contributed by Bill Sullivan on May 9, 2012

THEY DID NOT FEAR DEATH Many of you have read Foxe's Book of Martyrs. It’s certainly not light bedtime reading, but is nevertheless inspiring and relevant as we look at this passage of scripture this morning. It’s important to remember that each of the apostles suffered persecution, and most ...read more

Tags: Persecution

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Literal Hell

Contributed by Joe Bertone on Jul 23, 2012

LITERAL HELL When it comes to believing in hell I think of the story of Dr. Maurice Rawlings a noted and celebrated coronary care doctor, who writes of his conversion to belief in a literal hell in Beyond Death’s Door. In 1977 he was giving a stress test to a man who was having chest pains. In the ...read more

Tags: Hell, Death, Afterlife, Demons

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

To Be A Peace-Maker

Contributed by Ken Henson on Aug 28, 2012

TO BE A PEACE-MAKER In the 1920s there was a serious conflicts between England and Ireland. Ireland wanted to be an independent nation. They did not mind being part of the United Kingdom, they wanted to govern themselves. That organization that was there as a resistance against the British ...read more

Tags: Peace

Denomination: *other

A Row Of Dominoes

Contributed by Stephen Belokur on Dec 18, 2012

Have you ever taken the time to set up a row of dominoes and then you push the first one and the first one knocks down the second one which knocks down the third one which knocks down the fourth one, etc until they have all fallen? The same case exists with the Holy Scriptures; when you knock one ...read more

Tags: Bible Truth

Denomination: Nazarene

Susie The Savior  PRO

Contributed by Ken Pell on Mar 30, 2013

SUSIE THE SAVIOR The story is told of a certain 9-year-old who is sitting at his desk in school when all of a sudden there is a puddle between his feet, and the front of his pants are wet. He thinks his heart is going to stop, because he knows when the boys find out, he'll never hear the end of ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 53:4-5

Tags: Atonement

Denomination: Nazarene

From Shackles To Statue

Contributed by Lee Strawhun on Sep 17, 2014

It was 1985 when Tim Cole was picked out of a lineup for a rape he never committed but would be convicted of and sentenced to serve 25 years. He was near the Texas Tech campus when the rape occurred and as a result was sent to prison because the victim picked the wrong man and the courts sentenced ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:5-9

Tags: Hope Of Justice, Victim, Forgiveness For Others, Continue In Faith

Denomination: United Methodist

A Christmas Carol

Contributed by Davon Huss on Dec 22, 2014

Not that it is in the Bible but a story familiar around this time of the year is Ebenezer Scrooge. Ebenezer is a man incapable of joy. Scrooge is rich, but he lives alone in squalor. He takes pleasure in nothing and is indifferent to human suffering. On Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by a ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 1:15

Tags: Christmas, Joy, Scrooge, Joy And Gospel

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

In My Youth, I Was A Swimmer. I Was A Sprinter. I ...

Contributed by Jay Winters on Dec 30, 2007

In my youth, I was a swimmer. I was a sprinter. I detested the long races and loved the quick spurts of energy that made up the majority of most of my races. My displeasure with long races, however, did not keep one of my coaches from signing me up for the mile race. Like an obedient lamb led to ...read more

Denomination: Lutheran

Speaking About Balance, Yesterday I Read About A ...  PRO

Contributed by W F on Jan 27, 2008

Speaking about balance, yesterday I read about a 28 year old woman in Sacramento who died last week from drinking too much water! The woman had entered a competition on a radio station and the idea was to see who could drink the most water without having to go to the bathroom. The comp was called, ...read more

Denomination: *other

In Her Book, Celebrate Joy! Velma Seawell ...

Contributed by Ajai Prakash on Apr 2, 2008

In her book, Celebrate Joy! Velma Seawell Daniels gives a striking new meaning to this familiar phrase. She tells of interviewing a man who had made a trip to Alaska to visit people who live above the Arctic Circle. "Never ask an Eskimo how old he is," the man said. "If you do, he will say, "I ...read more

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Rope  PRO

Contributed by Eric Ferguson on May 7, 2008

THE ROPE The story tells about a mountain climber who wanted to climb the highest mountain. He begun his adventure after many years of preparation. But since he wanted the glory just for himself, he decided to climb the mountain alone. The night felt heavy in the heights of the mountains, and the ...read more

Tags: Trust

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

I Read A Parable Or Story Many Years Ago. The ...

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Jun 6, 2008

I read a parable or story many years ago. The first weather storm hit the area suddenly and the temperature dropped fast. A POISONOUS SNAKE was dying by the side of the road. A young teenage boy stopped and looked at the snake. The poisonous snake had a LURE to this young man. He picked up a stick ...read more

Tags: Character

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Bad Day

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 23, 2008

BAD DAY Brian Hise has had his share of bad stuff happen to him. In just a short time -- one day in July -- his apartment in Provo, Utah apartment became flooded because of an upstairs neighbor’s broken pipe. The manager instructed him to go out and rent a wet/dry vacuum. When he went out to his ...read more

Tags: God In The Hardships

H ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 31, 2008

HEALED Tony Campolo tells a story about being in a church in Oregon where he was asked to pray for a man who had cancer. Campolo prayed boldly for the man’s healing. That next week he got a telephone call from the man’s wife. She said, "You prayed for my husband. He had cancer." Campolo thought ...read more

Tags: Prayer Answered