In Sermon Illustrations: "Deceitful Heart"

War On Poverty Fails

Contributed by T D on Dec 28, 2010

WAR ON POVERTY FAILS I don't think any of us would consider ourselves to be wealthy when it comes to the top level of money makers in the USA, and while we clearly are not as well off as we were a year ago, our level of wealth and possibilities of being able to make a living far surpasses most of ...read more

Tags: Giving General

Denomination: Evangelical Free

Catherine Lawes: A Story Of Compassion

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 8, 2011

CATHERINE LAWES: A STORY OF COMPASSION Max Lucado relates this story. When Catherine Lawes’ husband, Lewis, became the warden on Sing Sing prison in 1921, she was a young mother of three daughters. Everybody warned her never to step foot inside the walls. But she didn’t listen to them. When the ...read more

Scripture: John 13:34-35

Tags: Compassion

Learned Helplessness

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 5, 2011

LEARNED HELPLESSNESS Learned Helplessness is a term I came across in my reading this week. It is a technical term originally used in reference to animal psychology but is also appropriately applied to human behavior as well. Learned helplessness describes an animal or a person who has learned to ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 29:10-14

Tags: Attitude General

Alexander Maclaren On The Right Stimulus For ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 10, 2011

ALEXANDER MACLAREN ON THE RIGHT STIMULUS FOR ACTION It is perfectly legitimate, although it is by no means the highest motive, to appeal to feeling as a stimulus to action. We have a right to base our urging of Christian men and women to missionary work either at home or abroad, upon the ground of ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:11-21

Tags: Emotions

Beholden To Money

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 13, 2011

BEHOLDEN TO MONEY In his book How Much Is Enough? Hungering For God In An Affluent Culture author and Founder of Bread for the World: Arthur Simon writes about Bryce and Ellen, "a couple in their mid-thirties. They have two sons and a daughter, and on Sundays the family attends church more often ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:19-34

Tags: Money

God Will Lift Up Your Head

Contributed by Ken Pell on Jun 12, 2011

GOD WILL LIFT UP YOUR HEAD During the Thirty Years' War in the 17th century, German pastor Paul Gerhardt and his family were forced to flee from their home. One night as they stayed in a small village inn, homeless and afraid, his wife broke down and cried openly in despair. To comfort her, ...read more

Tags: God Brings Hope

Denomination: Nazarene

Is It Worth It?

Contributed by Michael Buckingham on Jul 1, 2011

IS IT WORTH IT? I see a young soldier, he looks barely 18 to me, he has got fear in his eyes, but he has one goal... to get glory and honour... I see him, going through his training, a hard routine, 20 press-ups followed by 30 crunches, then an hour jogging, and then more push-ups, by the end of ...read more

Tags: Glory

Denomination: Baptist

At War With Our Vices

Contributed by Michael Walther on Jul 4, 2011

AT WAR WITH OUR VICES On July 4, 1776 fifty-six men signed the Declaration of Independence. Citing numerous abuses of the law and the oppressive and unjust rule of the king of England, these men pledged their honor, their lives and their livelihood to the cause of justice and freedom. We have ...read more

Tags: Christian Disciplines

Denomination: Lutheran

Statistics On Loneliness

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 7, 2011

STATISTICS ON LONELINESS This week I read an article by Medical News Today about the health effects of loneliness. Quoting the article, it states that "there is evidence that the risk of developing and dying from heart disease can depend on the strength of one's social network of friends and ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-16

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

What Is Religious Syncretism?

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Oct 13, 2011

WHAT IS RELIGIOUS SYNCRETISM? Syncretism, as defined by the American Heritage Dictionary, is "the reconciliation or fusion of differing systems of belief." This is most evident in the areas of philosophy and religion, and usually results in a new teaching or belief system. Obviously, this cannot ...read more

Tags: False Teaching

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Holy Spirit: The Forgotten God

Contributed by Brad Henry on Oct 19, 2011

HOLY SPIRIT: THE FORGOTTEN GOD ALL the ruthless Ninevites from the commoner to the King of Assyria repented and God did not send destruction. But why did these ruthless people listen to Jonah who was just one man? I have been struggling with this very question and asked God to help me speak to you ...read more

Tags: Obedience

Child Of A King

Contributed by Dwight Clough on Dec 29, 2012

Imagine for a moment that you were a child in a super rich family. If you wanted a new car, it’s yours. If you wanted a week in Europe or in the South Pacific, no problem. For you, money is no object. Whatever you want is yours. Most of us will never be in that situation. But, in reality, we are in ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 3:20

Tags: Identity, Prayer How To

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Genuine Repentance--The Case Of Genelle Guzman ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 4, 2013

GENUINE REPENTANCE--THE CASE OF GENELLE GUZMAN MCMILLAN Genelle Guzman McMillan was the last person to be rescued from the collapse of the twin towers of the World Trade Center. She had been trapped in the rubble for 27 hours when at last firefighters heard her calling and pulled her out. This ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 21:28-32

Tags: Repentance

You're Not From Around Here.

Contributed by Ken Pell on May 6, 2013

"YOU'RE NOT FROM AROUND HERE." There is not much you can do about it. Once you have been around it everybody else knows. I’m talking about the red dirt of western Oklahoma. It’s caused by the iron in the soil that, after being oxidized, turns to rust. It seems that nothing can erase or clean ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Tags: God's Love

Denomination: Nazarene

Do Not Trust Your Eyes

Contributed by Tim Smith on May 12, 2013

DO NOT TRUST YOUR EYES The enemy's strategy is to be invisible, so we have to always be on guard. Mike Slaughter tells the story of his mission trip back to Darfur and traveling from their compound in Ed Daein to Adilla Town, which is a six-hour round trip over rough desert terrain. On this ...read more

Tags: Satan

Denomination: Methodist

Coffee Doesn't Trust Me  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 25, 2014

My pet finch Coffee runs into a serious problem once in a while. Her claws grow so long she loses the ability to control them. They get stuck in the nest and she can’t get them out. Once we found her nearly dead, hanging for hours upside down with one claw ensnared in her wicker home. Carol rescued ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:28

Tags: Surrender, Trust In God, Rest In God, Pruning, God's Care  (view more)  (view less)

Abandoned At Seventeen

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Dec 8, 2014

One of the characters in Kent Haruf’s novel Plainsong, is Victoria, a seventeen-year-old girl who is four months pregnant. When her boyfriend finds out about her condition, he breaks up with her. And when her mother finds out, she kicks her out of the house and says to her, “You got yourself into ...read more

Scripture: Ruth 3:1-13

Tags: Support, Abandonment

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Evangelistic Meaning Of Your Birthday Celebration

Contributed by Joel Israel Shashikumar on Jan 26, 2015

I went to bed with a heavy heart one day. All those news and reports of death for the past few weeks. Only to wake up with a thought of birthday cake and celebration. Now why do we celebrate birthdays, blowing candles and cutting cake. I admit, I do not know the meaning that has been tagged with ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 12:28-29

Tags: Grace, Birthday

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Man Uses Gun For Backscratcher, Shoots Himself

Contributed by Matt Neace on Jun 19, 2018

Jorge Espinal was drinking beer and playing poker around 3 a.m. on a Sunday morning in his house, when he got up from the table and walked into another room. His poker buddies probably thought, "Oh, well. He has to go to the bathroom or to get something to drink." But while he as in the other ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 38:5-8

Tags: Temptation, Mistakes, Alcohol, Choices

Denomination: Baptist

Coronavirus And Our Need For The Transcendent

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Mar 21, 2020

Children, as Jesus said, Don't be afraid. Your family is probably founded on some kind of faith. Listen to your parents and other adults whom you trust, and know that nearly everyone is working hard to get us through this trouble. ? In fifty years you will remember this crisis as one of the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 14:27

Tags: Fear, Forgiveness, Pandemic, Covid 19

Denomination: Catholic