In Sermon Illustrations: "Defining Moment"

Sunday School Student And Far Side On ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 10, 2009

Sunday School Student and Far Side on Jonah The story is told of a Sunday School teacher who was proud of her lesson for the day. She thought that she had presented the material quite nicely. Summing up, she asked her class, "And what do we learn from the story of Jonah and the great fish?" An ...read more

Scripture: Jonah 3:1-5

Tags: Jonah

Picked From The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 1, 2010

Picked From the Fire John Wesley never forgot a terrible night of his childhood. He was only six years old at the time, and he had awakened in the family’s old rectory to find it ablaze from top to bottom. Everyone else had been dragged from the building, but by some extraordinary oversight he had ...read more

Scripture: Zechariah 3:1-5

Tags: Hell, Fire

Poem: I Met A Traveler From An Antigue Land By ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 30, 2010

Poem: I Met A Traveler From an Antigue Land by Percy Bysshe Shelley In 1818, Percy Bysshe Shelley published a poem on the ephemeral nature of human kings and political powers: I MET A TRAVELER FROM AN ANTIQUE LAND I met a traveler from an antique land Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of ...read more

Scripture: John 18:33-38

Tags: Truth

Jim Went To Church On Sunday Morning. He Heard ...

Contributed by Derrick Tuper on Jun 11, 2010

Jim went to church on Sunday morning. He heard the organist miss a note during the prelude, and he winced. He saw a teenager talking when everybody was supposed to bow in prayer. He felt like the usher was watching to see what he put in the offering plate and it made him boil. He noticed the ...read more

Tags: Attitude General, Attending Church

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Definition Of A Saint  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 15, 2010

THE DEFINITION OF A SAINT A young boy went with his parents touring around Europe one summer. Part of their tour included visits to the great old cathedrals of the past. As he visited cathedral after cathedral, he was impressed the massive stained glass portraits of the disciples and of other ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:14-16

Tags: Christian Witness

In The Story Of Pollyanna, There Is A Woman Who ...

Contributed by C. Philip Green on Sep 23, 2010

In the story of Pollyanna, there is a woman who runs the town. She’s not the mayor and doesn’t even sit on the city council. It’s just that she has inherited a tremendous amount of money from her father, and she has a controlling interest in all the major businesses in town. As a result, no one ...read more

Tags: Money

Denomination: Evangelical Free

Judgment Day Sooner Than You Think

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 26, 2011

JUDGMENT DAY SOONER THAN YOU THINK A Scottish lawyer was a wicked man. Once he hired a horse and, either through accident or ill-usage, killed the animal. Naturally the owner insisted on being paid its value, together with some compensation for the loss of its use. The man of law acknowledged his ...read more

Scripture: 2 Peter 3:1-18

Tags: Judgment

Better One Safe And Sure Way  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 30, 2011

BETTER ONE SAFE AND SURE WAY There is a story about a Fox boasting to a Cat about his clever tactics for escaping its enemies. "I have a whole bag of tricks," he said, "which contains a hundred different ways of escaping from my enemies." "I have only one," said the Cat; "but I can generally ...read more

Scripture: John 14:6, John 14:6-14

Tags: Salvation, Humor

Is Evangelism Too Hard?

Contributed by Tim Smith on May 11, 2014

Jenn Hopkins writes of attending a funeral several years ago. "There he lay, dead. He was gone and unsaved. Lived a life and then, in the flash of an eye, he was in Hell. Someone I loved and respected was gone and so was my opportunity to share the Gospel with him. His funeral was in a church, one ...read more

Scripture: 2 Peter 3:8-13

Tags: Evangelism, Hell

Denomination: Methodist

God's Assurance

Contributed by Jerry Cosper on Feb 13, 2023

Have you ever been in a store and see a child that has gotten separated from his parents? The fear is very evident on the child's face as well as the parents’ face. It's a horrible feeling when the child turns around and can't find his parents. They frantically look through every ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 24:15-22

Tags: Assurance, God's Plan

Denomination: Baptist

Six Ways To Be A Modern Day Barnabas

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Aug 2, 2023

Below are six ways to encourage someone. When was the last time you encouraged someone in any of the following ways? Have you ignored some gentle promptings by the Spirit to encourage someone? Perhaps today you might ask God to whom you might send a note or make a call? Yes, dear brother or ...read more

Scripture: Acts 4:36

Tags: Encouragement, Barnabas, Serving, Ministry To Others, Volunteers, Fellowship, Support, Giving  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Joy In The Circumstances Of Life

Contributed by Jerry Cosper on Dec 4, 2023

The ingredients of our life can lead to joy if we look at them from God’s viewpoint. I am reminded of the family that sat down to a meal with their grandpa and dad, an old farmer. The farmer was asked to ask the blessing on the breakfast of biscuits and gravy. They bowed their heads as the ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:8-11

Tags: Circumstances, Joy

Denomination: Baptist

Holding Others Up

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jan 4, 2021

One of the best leaders and models in discipleship was Dawson Trotman, who died after helping to rescue two drowning girls. Says Chuck Swindoll: “When Dawson Trotman passed away, he probably left a legacy of discipleship on this earth that will never be matched except perhaps in the life of Jesus ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:19-20, Luke 9:23, Romans 12:1-2

Tags: Teaching, Discipleship, Following Jesus, Great Commission, Dawson Trotman  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Discerning Prophecy

Contributed by Richard Tow on Apr 26, 2021

I was once in charge of a meeting where I was confronted with this situation. A lady gave forth a powerful and anointed utterance in an unknown tongue. We all waited for the interpretation. Quite soon a man began to give forth what he obviously wanted us to accept as the interpretation. It was, in ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 3:6, 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, 1 Corinthians 14:29, 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21

Tags: Deception, Discernment, Prophecy, Charismatic, Tongues, False Prophet  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Charismatic

Simeon  PRO

Contributed by Troy Borst on Dec 15, 2005

The years are catching up to me, Simeon thought as he made his way through the dirt-covered streets of Jerusalem. This was once an easy walk; in the corner of his mind’s eye he recalled himself as a younger man bounding through the alleys, markets, and crowded roads that led to the place of ...read more

Tags: Birth Of Jesus

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Room

Contributed by Fred Sigle on Jun 7, 2007

THE ROOM (I DO NOT KNOW THE AUTHOR) In that place between wakefulness and dreams, I found myself in the room. There were no distinguishing features except for the one wall covered with small index card files. They were like the ones in libraries that list titles by author or subject in ...read more

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Father Loves You

Contributed by Chris Surber on Jun 15, 2008

THE FATHER LOVES YOU The memory of one particular evening when my wife and I lived in Florida remains fresh in my mind. We were invited by some friends to listen to their children's contemporary Christian band play some of their new songs at the "Coffee Spot" in New Port Ritchie, Florida. It's ...read more

Tags: God The Father

Denomination: Christian Church

Everything Looks Different

Contributed by Glynda Lomax on Dec 27, 2014

“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.” - Thornton Wilder It was the anniversary of the fall of the Soviet Union when he got the call from Moscow. Some of the Russian oil companies had abandoned their wells, left their rigs with the ...read more

Scripture: Luke 12:34

Tags: Work, Daily Living, Family Priorities

Denomination: Charismatic

I Wasn't Supposed To Live...

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Apr 13, 2024

I believe that God called me to preach in the summer of my freshman year in high school. He gave me a dream about one of my best friends who was somewhere in eternity screaming in pain: He was crying out to me, "You never told me. You never told me! Larry, you talked to me about baseball. ...read more

Tags: Pastors, God's Call, Miracle, Fathers, Preachers, Death, Healing, Prayer, Purpose, God's Will, Testimony  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

I'm Going To Be Quoting From The Book Messy ...  PRO

Contributed by Nathan Garcia on Mar 8, 2005

I’m going to be quoting from the book Messy Spirituality by Mike Yaconelli. “In a book by New Zealand author Mike Riddell, Vincent has met and fallen in love with a young girl named Marilyn. Neither one of them is seeking a relationship, but a relationship is seeking them. Swept up by their ...read more

Tags: Romantic Love, Unconditional Love

Denomination: Adventist