In Sermon Illustrations: "death, grieving,"

I Want To Go Home

Contributed by Johnny A. Palmer Jr. on Dec 11, 2011

I WANT TO GO HOME Fred Smith, an influential Christian businessman was seriously ill in the summer of 2004. He was hospitalized, semiconscious, and not expected to live. Periodically he would mutter, "I want to go home, I want to go home." After an emotional family conference, the family ...read more

Tags: Death

Denomination: Baptist

Not Allowed To Die  PRO

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Apr 22, 2012

NOT ALLOWED TO DIE Back in March of 2008, the mayor of a city in SW France had a problem. It seems his village was running out of space. Not in housing, nor in the retail district, nor even at City Hall. It seems they were running out of space... in the cemetery. There was no room for any more ...read more

Tags: Death

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

What Is Man's Life Made Up Of?  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 1, 2012

WHAT IS MAN'S LIFE MADE UP OF? One person said: Man's life is made up of 20 years of his mother asking him where he is going, 50 years of his wife asking him where he has been, and one hour at his funeral when everyone wonders where ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 9:27

Tags: Death

Dead People Everywhere

Contributed by Jeff Gauss on Jun 29, 2012

DEAD PEOPLE EVERYWHERE Sometimes the most basic truths of Christianity can be quite confusing. Take for instance the first time little Suzy attended a funeral service. The minister used the phrase, "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust." Suzy didn't understand so she asked her grandma, who was with her, ...read more

Tags: Death

Denomination: Baptist

Vernon And Joey

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Oct 13, 2012

It is fitting that we begin with a true story involving three main characters: an elderly man nearing death, a kindhearted woman in robust health, and a deceased boy very much alive. Five months earlier, physicians had diagnosed sixty-five-year-old Vernon Samuels with terminal lung cancer. They ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 21:3-4

Tags: Death

Denomination: Baptist

If We Abide By The Principles ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Illustration: "If we abide by the principles taught in the Bible, our country will go on prospering and to prosper, but if we and our posterity ignore its instructions and authority, no man can tell how sudden a catastrophe ...read more

Tags: Death

A Person's Last Words Are Important. We Hang On ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

A person’s last words are important. We hang on to the dying words of those closest to us. We pass on the final words of great leaders for the next generation. It’s as if we are waiting for them to sum everything up in a few final statements. Some are famous: Nathan Hale (1755-1776) – "I only ...read more

Tags: Death

I Began To Understand God's Omnipotent Power," ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

"I began to understand God’s omnipotent power," Struecker said. "He was orchestrating every single bullet that was fired that night. ... The peace that I had was not only for my own life, but for the lives of my soldiers. If any of them were to get shot, then that was part of God’s sovereign plan." ...read more

Tags: Death

Max Lucado Says, "The Bible Has Been Banned, ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Max Lucado says, “The Bible has been banned, burned, scoffed, and ridiculed. Scholars have mocked it as foolish. Kings have branded it as illegal. A thousand times over, the grave has been dug and the dirge has begun, but somehow the Bible never stays in the grave. Not only has it survived, it has ...read more

Tags: Death

I Read An Article In The Atlantic Journal The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

I read an article in the Atlantic Journal the other day; it said, “The world is too big for us. Too much going on, too many crimes, too much violence and excitement. Try as you will you get behind in the race…It’s an incessant strain, to keep pace… and you still lose ground. Science empties its ...read more

Tags: Death

Grim Reaper

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Grim Reaper According to an old fable, a man made an unusual agreement with Death. He told the Grim Reaper that he would willingly accompany him when it came time to die, but only on one condition—that Death would send a messenger well in advance to warn him. Weeks passed into months, and months ...read more

Tags: Death

One Of The Wisest Statements I Ever Read Said ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

One of the wisest statements I ever read said that feelings must be owned before they can be disowned. People who make the psychological approach of “stuffing their feelings” do themselves a disservice. They avoid hard reality instead of working through it. Joseph Scriven, whose fiancée was ...read more

Tags: Death

Dietrich Bonhoeffer Left His Pastorate In London ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Dietrich Bonhoeffer left his pastorate in London in 1935 to return to Germany as the head of the Confessing Church Seminary. When the Nazis rose to power, he returned to the United States in 1939, but the move was short-lived. He called it a "mis¬take." Bonhoeffer returned to Germany once again and ...read more

Tags: Death

In 1879 The Greatest Annual Loss Of Life In The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

In 1879 The greatest annual loss of life in the New England fisheries occurred, with 29 vessels and 249 fishermen lost at sea. During that year many women found themselves on lonely widow walks with and eye on the horizon hoping for the return of their loved one. A widow’s walk (or roofwalk) is ...read more

Tags: Death

Lori Was 14 Years Old When She Was Baptized At ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Lori was 14 years old when she was baptized at Blue Springs Community Church, a one-room country church only a few miles from her house. A few months later, Lori dropped out of the church. The pastor and his wife visited her several times, but failed to persuade Lori to return to church. Everyone ...read more

Tags: Death

I Like To Read The Tombstones To Find Out When ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

I like to read the tombstones to find out when people lived and died. Occasionally someone writes a scripture verse on their tombstone but most of them just give a name and the dates they lived between. I didn’t find any interesting tombstone comments in Alden MN where My great Aunt Frieda was ...read more

Tags: Death

The Minneapolis Star And Tribune Reported A ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

The Minneapolis Star and Tribune reported a story on Thursday that caught my attention. There was recently a presidential election in Turkmenistan and a new president was sworn in on Thursday. Probably only a handful of people could point out Turkmenistan on a map. It’s the country that borders ...read more

Tags: Death

John Paul Sart Summarized The Despair Of Our ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

John Paul Sart summarized the despair of our world in a two-word title, “No exit” Once you die, friend, there is no exit, no way out. Jesus Christ died. “That’s ...read more

Tags: Death

In The Thick Fighting Of The Civil War, General ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

In the thick fighting of the Civil War, General Grant, in hot pursuit of General Lee’s troops, was half blinded with a sick headache. He stopped at a farmhouse and wrote in his memoirs, “I spend the night in bathing my feet in hot water and mustard and putting mustard plasters on my wrist and the ...read more

Tags: Death

The Longest 24 Hours  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Author Zig Ziglar writes: The longest 24 hours of my life were those after my daughter’s death. When making the funeral arrangements with her husband and his parents, I had to listen to a salesman who was an incessant talker and who told us 30 times he wasn’t a salesman. Twice while we were making ...read more

Tags: Death