In Sermon Illustrations: "Death Of A Vision"

What Do You Want On Your Tombstone?,

Contributed by Paul Wallace on Aug 14, 2007

"What do you want on your Tombstone?," Do you remember the 1995 ads where an executioner asks a condemned man. "Cheese and pepperoni," the man replies in a memorable television commercial for the fastest-growing frozen pizza manufacturer in the United States. Seriously what do you want on your ...read more

Tags: Death Nearness

Denomination: Wesleyan

Joke: Doctor: I Have Some Good News And I Have ...

Contributed by Rev Dr Randall M Deal Sr on Mar 29, 2009

JOKE: Doctor: I have some good news and I have some bad news. Patient: What’s the good news? Doctor: The good news is that the tests you took showed that you have 24 hours to live. Patient: That’s the good news? What’s ...read more

Tags: Death, News

Denomination: Baptist

The Parental Challenge Of Helping Teenagers

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 30, 2010

The Parental Challenge of Helping Teenagers Face Their World And I wanna share a story with you. It’s a traumatic one and one that actually happened. I did a funeral about four or five years ago and in this funeral it was really bizarre, because as the high schoolers came in about a third of them ...read more

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 2:11-12

Tags: Death, Parenting

What Occupies Your Heart?

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 12, 2011

WHAT OCCUPIES YOUR HEART? I squirmed a bit as I forced myself to listen to my friend cataloging her problems. After three hours, I interrupted her gently to ask, "If you were to draw a circle to represent your life, what would be in the center?" She thought a moment, then said, "My problems." My ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 26:3

Tags: Death Nearness

John Quincy Adams: The Decayed Tenement

Contributed by Jon Lipka on Mar 4, 2012

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS: THE DECAYED TENEMENT In 1846, former president John Quincy Adams had a stroke. Upon his return to Congress the following year, it was apparent that his health was failing. When asked about his health Adams replied, "I inhabit a weak, frail, decayed tenement battered by the winds ...read more

Tags: Death Nearness

Denomination: Anglican

The Next One

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Aug 16, 2013

THE NEXT ONE Eugene Peterson wrote about visiting a monastery. While on the way to the refectory for lunch, he and the monks he was visiting walked past a graveyard with an open grave. He asked one of the monks which member of the community had died recently, and he was told, "Nobody. That grave ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 90:12

Tags: Death, Time

Denomination: Baptist

Casualties Of War

Contributed by Davon Huss on Jan 13, 2014

In the movie Casualties of War, Michael J. Fox plays Private Erikson, a soldier in Vietnam who is part of a squad that abuses a young Vietnamese girl. Though Private Erikson doesn’t participate in the crime, he still struggles with what has happened. He tells "Just because each of us might at any ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 12:14

Tags: Death, Judgment

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Man Who Made A Pet Out Of A Rattlesnake

Contributed by David Goering on Nov 2, 2019

ILLUSTRATION: the story of the man who made a pet out of a rattlesnake. The "Memphis Commercial-Appeal" tells of a man across the river in Arkansas who had a pet rattlesnake. He had found it as a baby snake, taking it, fed it, and made a pet of it. The reptile would come when he ...read more

Scripture: Romans 6:23

Tags: Death, Sin

John Was Born In 1917 In Brooklin, Massachusetts. ...

Contributed by Ronnie Knight on May 9, 2008

John was born in 1917 in Brooklin, Massachusetts. He attended school at Harvard University. He was the author of two books. One was his thesis at Harvard, which was entitled Why England Slept. The other was Profiles in Courage, which won him a Pulitzer Price. He was the Captain of a PT boat in ...read more

Tags: Death Nearness

Denomination: Baptist

Robert Green Was Born June 5th, 1935. After High ...

Contributed by Ronnie Knight on May 9, 2008

Robert Green was born June 5th, 1935. After high school he joined the US Navy from which he retired. He was a good husband, a wonderful father of two children, and the best uncle a boy could have ever had. After retiring from the Navy, Uncle Bobby settled his family in Panama City, Florida where he ...read more

Tags: Death Nearness

Denomination: Baptist

Last Lecture

Contributed by Don Hawks on Aug 2, 2008

LAST LECTURE You may have heard about the death of 47 year old Carnegie Mellon University computer-science professor Randy Pausch last week from pancreatic cancer. Pausch was most famous for his "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" speech made last fall just after he learned he had months to ...read more

Tags: Death Nearness

Denomination: Methodist

Bud's Last Chance

Contributed by Brian Matherlee on Sep 4, 2008

Bud's Last Chance Bud wasn't a church-going man. His wife was. She was panicked when she called me one day. "Pastor Brian, please come quickly, Bud's in trouble." Now, I had been visiting Bud in the hospital for some time and he had never shown any desire for the Lord…but he did now. I was ...read more

Tags: Death Nearness

Denomination: Wesleyan

Meaningless Life

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 6, 2008

Meaningless Life Mark Twain expressed thoughts about the meaningless of life in view of man’s inevitable death. Shortly before his death, he wrote, "A myriad of men are born; they labor and sweat and struggle;...they squabble and scold and fight; they scramble for little mean advantages over each ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 1:1-18

Tags: Death Nearness

The Last Invitation

Contributed by Donnie Martin on Feb 14, 2009

THE LAST INVITATION While pastoring at the FBC of Cherryville, North Carolina, a disturbance was observed, and shortly afterward a man was taken from the balcony of the church [and placed] in an ambulance. He was dead before they got him to the hospital. He died before the invitation could be ...read more

Tags: Death Nearness

Denomination: Baptist

Praying For Enemies

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 31, 2022

I once invited a guest lecturer to speak to a counseling class I was teaching and asked him to specifically discuss the topic of forgiveness. He told a powerful story from his own life that day to illustrate his point that we should forgive. His brother had many struggles, and one day there was a ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:43-45

Tags: Death, Forgiveness

An Old Preacher Was Dying. He Sent A Message For ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 8, 2005

An old preacher was dying. He sent a message for his doctor and his lawyer, both church members, to come to his home. When they arrived, they were ushered up to his bedroom. As they entered the room the preacher held out his hands and motioned for them to sit, one on each side of his bed. The ...read more

Tags: Jesus, Crucifixion, Death, Death Nearness

As She Awoke This Day, Thoughts Of Sunday Danced ...  PRO

Contributed by Ian Biss on Sep 30, 2001

As she awoke this day, thoughts of Sunday danced through her mind, Nancy was looking forward to Easter, the whole family would be coming over to visit this year because they were all close to home. Now that the grandchildren were getting older, the Easter egg hunts became more lively with all the ...read more

Tags: Death, Death Nearness, Easter Resurrection

Denomination: Grace Brethren

Soren Kierkegaard, The Danish Philosopher, Told A ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Roper on Mar 2, 2001

Soren Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher, told a story about a goose who was wounded and who landed in a barnyard with some chickens. He played with the chickens and ate with the chickens. After a while that goose thought he was a chicken. One day a flight of geese came over, migrating to their ...read more

Tags: Call Of The Disciples, Call, Discipleship, Motivation, Vision  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Church Of God

Keeping The Main Thing The Main Thing!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 2, 2023

It was a 99-degree September day in San Antonio, Texas, when a woman accidentally locked her 10-month-old baby inside a parked car. Frantically the mother ran around the auto in near hysteria, while a neighbor attempted to unlock the car with a clothes hanger. Soon the infant was turning purple ...read more

Tags: Priorities, Distractions, Little Things, Heroes, Evangelism, Vision  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Keep Your Fork  PRO

Contributed by Dennis Jones on Feb 15, 2005

KEEP YOUR FORK There was a young woman who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and had been given three months to live. So as she was getting her things "in order," she contacted her pastor and had him come to her house to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes. She told him which songs ...read more

Tags: Death, Death Nearness, Knowledge, Funerals Christian

Denomination: Pentecostal