In Sermon Illustrations: "Delight In Gods Word"

The God Who Is Three In One

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jul 17, 2023

The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are mentioned by Jesus in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). The Trinity is seen clearly at the Baptism of Jesus in Matthew 3. The Father speaks from Heaven. The Son is baptized by John. The Spirit descends upon Jesus to anoint His ministry. The Father is ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:19-20

Tags: Holy Spirit, Son, Trinity, Godhead, Triune, Father  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

In God's Time

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Sep 20, 2023

The little boy walked home from Sunday School and the family were sitting around the old pot-bellied stove talking. The boy told his dad and Pa about the lesson. The boy was so excited. He told them he had gone to the altar and accepted Jesus as his personal Savior. The boy said he was going to ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Tags: Time, Serve

Denomination: Assembly Of God

The Church That Voted God Out!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 28, 2024

The story is told about a poor woman who lived across the tracks and wanted to join a very fashionable church. She talked to the pastor about it, but he sought to discourage her. He suggested she go home and think about it carefully for a week. At the end of the week she came back. He said, “Go ...read more

Scripture: James 2:1-12

Tags: Church, Revival, Favoritism, Pastors, Membership, Partiality  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

So God Made A Farmer

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Apr 6, 2024

In James chapter 5, we see a comparison between the patient farmer in the field waiting for his crops and the waiting believer in Christ preparing to meet the Lord at His return. Paul Harvey did a masterful job of describing the life of the farmer years ago. And on the 8th day, God looked down ...read more

Scripture: James 5:7-12, 1 Thessalonians 5:13-18

Tags: Patience, Return Of Christ, Prophets, Farmers, Waiting, Job, End Times, Prophecy, Second Coming, Last Days, Rapture  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

God's Mercy

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Nov 2, 2024

Henri Nouwen tells the story of a family from Paraguay. The father spoke out against the military regime and its human rights abuses. The police arrested his teenage son and tortured him to death. Enraged townsfolk wanted to turn the boy's funeral into a huge protest march, but the doctor ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:1-18, Romans 5:1-11, Ephesians 2:1-5

Tags: Mercy, Sin, Evil, Salvation, Cross  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Pentecostal

Great Quotes On The Sovereignty Of God

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Nov 10, 2024

Great Quotes on the Sovereignty of God R.C. SPROUL: “If there is one single molecule in this universe running around loose, totally free of God’s sovereignty, then we have no guarantee that a single promise of God will ever be fulfilled.” MATT CHANDLER: “Trying to figure out God is like trying ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 21:1

Tags: Chosen, Election, Knowledge Of God, Calling, Sovereignty Of God, Attributes Of God  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

God's Judgement

Contributed by John Bright on Sep 23, 2025

I don’t believe that God’s Judgement should be our main focus, but I also believe it’s wrong to never mention the Judgement of God. Remember, God must judge humanity because “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) Our God is a Holy God who also wants us to be holy. (1 ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 4:5, Romans 3:23, 1 Peter 1:16

Tags: Grace, Holy Spirit, Judgment, Holiness

Denomination: Methodist

To Have The Peculiar Signature Of God's Favor Or ...  PRO

Contributed by Jerry Vargo on Dec 12, 2003

"To have the peculiar signature of God’s FAVOR or honor or cherishing value placed on you so that when he sees you there is a special value he has for you…In other words…God really likes you!" "When He likes you, there is such an influence that comes upon you that the charisma of God himself rubs ...read more

Scripture: Ruth 2:13

Tags: Love Of The Disciples

Denomination: Pentecostal

Any Believer Can Be A "Man Of God”

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Jul 7, 2020

Any believer can be a “man of God” Text: 2 Tim 3:17 That the man of God (any believer in Jesus!) may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. Thoughts: Only a few people were ever called a “man of God” in the Bible. Some were never known; at least four were never named, and one, ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:14-17

Tags: Paul, Man Of God, Timothy

Denomination: Baptist

Solzhenitsyn: Men Have Forgotten God  PRO

Contributed by Donnie Martin on Aug 24, 2009

SOLZHENITSYN: MEN HAVE FORGOTTEN GOD In his 1983 acceptance speech for the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn recalled the words he heard as a child, when his elders sought to explain the ruinous upheavals in Russia: "Men have forgotten God; that’s why all this has ...read more

Tags: Apostasy

Denomination: Baptist

God With Us - Immanuel (Charles Spurgeon)

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Dec 5, 2021

(Charles Spurgeon December 24, 1854) Do you know the full meaning of that name Immanuel, “God with us”? No, he who knows it best knows little of it. Alas, he who knows it not at all is ignorant indeed, so ignorant that his ignorance is not bliss, but will be his damnation. Oh! may God teach you the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 1:23, Isaiah 7:10-15

Tags: Heaven's Hallelujah, Sufferer's Comfort, Christmas, Immanuel, God With Us, Charles Spurgeon  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

To Be God's Property Mean That We Are Owned By ...  PRO

Contributed by John Williams Iii on Feb 26, 2002

To be God’s property mean that we are owned by God. There is a powerful story about an English missionary whose house was being looted. "An English missionary died in the early part of this century [the 20th century]. Immediately after his death his former neighbors broke into his house and ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 1:13

Tags: Descriptions Of God, Holy Spirit In Believers

Denomination: United Methodist

God Started It; You Finish It

Contributed by John Perry on Apr 2, 2010

GOD STARTED IT; YOU FINISH IT Leonardo da Vinci had started work on a large canvas in his studio. For a while he worked at it, choosing the subject, planning the perspective, sketching the outline, applying his own natural genius. Then suddenly he ceased, the painting still unfinished, and ...read more

Tags: Examples Of Faith

Denomination: Pentecostal

How Do You Use Your 18,000 Words Per Day?

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 6, 2024

Do you have any idea how many words you use in the course of an ordinary day? To illustrate, let’s take the books of Tom Clancy. I’m sure you have read or heard of those techno-thrillers: “Hunt for Red October,” “Cardinal of the Kremlin,” “Clear and Present Danger,” “The Sum of All Fears,” “Without ...read more

Tags: Conversation, Mouth, Words, Tongue, Talk  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

What's The Use  PRO

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Apr 20, 2002

WHAT'S THE USE There was an old man that lived in the mountains of eastern Kentucky. The old man had a big family. One day one of the old man’s grandsons approached him with a problem. The Grandson said, "Pap, I read the Bible and I don’t understand it, and what I understand I forget as soon as I ...read more

Scripture: Luke 11:28, Hebrews 4:12, 1 Timothy 3:16-18

Tags: Word Of God, Scripture, Family, Disciplines, Bible, Bible Study  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Searching For Truth

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Dec 2, 2020

“God has hidden every precious thing in such a way that it is a reward to the diligent, a prize to the earnest, but a disappointment to the slothful soul. The nut is hidden in its thorny case; the pearl is buried beneath the ocean waves; the gold is imprisoned in the rocky bosom of the ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 2:15, 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Tags: Bible, Truth, Bible Study, Word Of God, Seeking Truth  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Manuscript Evidence Of The Bible

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 4, 2021

Do we have any of the originals of the Bible's 66 books? NO. Not 1. But, we do have enough pieces of the cross to build several crosses, and enough other relics to rebuild several sacred objects several times over. Get the point? Anytime something of religious significance survives the ages, ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Timothy 4:1-3, 2 Peter 1:21, Hebrews 4:12

Tags: Bible, Scripture, Apologetics, Truth, Word Of God, Biblical Manuscripts  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Is The Bible Literally True In America?

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 25, 2021

A recent survey shows that fewer than one in four Americans (24%) now believe the Bible is "the actual word of God, and is to be taken literally, word for word," and 26% who view it as "a book of fables, legends, history and moral precepts recorded by man." This is the first ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Tags: Preaching, Pastors, Churches, The Word Of God, Preachers, The Bible, America  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Open Rebuke Is Better Than Secret Love.

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 25, 2021

The Scripture tells us that "Open rebuke is better than love carefully concealed. Faithful are the wounds of a friend but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful" (Proverbs 27:5-6).   Rebuke means sin is not only pointed out, it is condemned. The church really doesn’t do this ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Timothy 4:1-3

Tags: Sin, Preaching, Repentance, Rebuke, Pastors, The Word Of God, Preachers  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Greatest Building Disaster In History

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Apr 2, 2022

In 1174, the Italian architect Bonnano Pisano began work on what would become his most famous project: a separately standing eight-story bell tower in the city of Pisa. There was just one “little” problem: builders quickly discovered that the soil was much softer than they had anticipated, and the ...read more

Tags: Foundations, Eternity, Obedience, Rock, Sand, Word Of God, Parables  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational