In Sermon Illustrations: "Demon Cast Out"

I Recently Had To Replace One Of The Strings On ...

Contributed by Bruce Ball on Jul 14, 2008

I recently had to replace one of the strings on my mandolin. I laid the new string on the table as I took off the broken string. When I had thrown it into the trash, I looked at the new string lying on the table and realized how much it resembles many Christians. That string has the ability to ...read more

Tags: Christian Disciplines

Denomination: *other

Rembrandt's "The Sacrifice Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 21, 2008

REMBRANDT’S "THE SACRIFICE OF ABRAHAM" In 1634 renowned Dutch painter Rembrandt painted a great work of art that depicted Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac. The painting ("The Sacrifice of Abraham") captures perfectly how the Lord intervenes to stop Abraham from slaying his son Isaac. Isaac’s eyes ...read more

Tags: Obedience

People Don't Pay Attention

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 23, 2008

PEOPLE DON’T PAY ATTENTION Most people ascribe to the belief that seeing is believing. What you see is what you get. In January 2007, the Washington Post did an experiment to test what people see. They arranged for a young man named Joshua Bell to play music at the Metro station. By most measures, ...read more

Tags: Blessing

It Comes Back To ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 30, 2008

IT COMES BACK TO YOU A preacher was making his rounds to his parishioners on a bicycle when he came upon a little boy trying to sell a lawn mower. "I’ve been needing a lawn mower. How much do you want for it?" asked the preacher. "I just want enough money to go out and buy me a bike," said the ...read more

Tags: Dead To Sin

God Can Change Your Attitude

Contributed by Paul Wallace on Aug 27, 2008

God Can Change Your Attitude We live in an angry world, surrounded by angry people. We can give all kinds of excuses for being an angry person, but none of them really make an angry attitude the only option. I went out to visit our friend Bruce Thursday. If you remember he had surgery for a ...read more

Tags: Attitude General

Denomination: Wesleyan

Patience  PRO

Contributed by Ajai Prakash on Oct 15, 2008

Patience This past week I read about a first-grade teacher who was having a difficult day. It had rained that entire day and the children couldn’t go out for recess, so they got more and more restless and hyperactive as the day wore on. The teacher couldn’t wait for the bell to ring at 3 ...read more

Scripture: Luke 10:38-42

Tags: Endurance

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Just Enough Strength To Make It Go

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 11, 2008

JUST ENOUGH STRENGTH TO MAKE IT GO "One hot day, Herman Trueblood, all clean and cooled off by a nice swim in the ocean, saw a sweating man and his two sons trying on a hot day to push a disabled car up an incline. Two voices started yelling at each other inside him. One said, "There is an ...read more

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Happiness Vs. Joy

Contributed by Mark Eberly on Dec 15, 2008

HAPPINESS VS. JOY There is a pretty common belief that differentiates between happiness and joy. This is one that I believe. Happiness is based on circumstances. Expensive gifts and good food and parties and celebrations and Christmas lights can bring happiness. But they are only temporary. They ...read more

Tags: Joy

Denomination: Church Of God

Enough To Make The Thing Go

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 16, 2008

ENOUGH TO MAKE THE THING GO One hot day, Herman Trueblood, all clean and cooled off by a nice swim in the ocean, saw a sweating man and his two sons trying on a hot day to push a disabled car up an incline. Two voices started yelling at each other inside him. One said, "There is an opportunity for ...read more

Tags: Endurance

Keep Your Eyes On Me

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 28, 2009

KEEP YOUR EYES ON ME One day, a man hired an experienced guide to lead him on a hike into the Swiss Alps. After many hours, they came to a high and remote mountain pass. To the man’s dismay, he saw the path had almost been washed out. What could he do? To the left was a sheer rock cliff, to his ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 12:2

Tags: Disciplines General

The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 10, 2009

THE SHEEP-CHASER A guide on a tour bus that traveled through Israel’s countryside had the crowd engaged as he explained the history, the scenery and the lifestyle. In his description, he included a heart-warming portrayal of the ancient shepherd/sheep relationship. He told of how the shepherd ...read more

Scripture: John 10:1-15

Tags: Leadership General

What Is ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 13, 2009

WHAT IS SIN? Sin, as defined by a new Ellison Research study, is something almost always considered wrong, particularly from a religious or moral perspective. Out the 30 behaviors studied, adultery was most often described as a sinful behavior by American respondents (81%). Next was racism (74%); ...read more

Scripture: Romans 3:9-20

Tags: Sin General

William Carey Was An Impoverished English ...

Contributed by Paul Carlson on Feb 21, 2009

William Carey was an impoverished English shoemaker. . After William Carey (1761-1834) was well established in his pioneer missionary work in India, his supporters in England sent a printer to assist him. Soon the two men were turning out portions of the Bible for distribution. Carey had spent ...read more

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Denomination: Baptist

I Give Up!

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 31, 2022

Many years ago, executives of the Time-Life publishing organization discovered that the company’s profit margin had shrunk to an alarmingly low level. To cut costs, they decided to eliminate hundreds of works to be replaced with machines. The name of each subscriber was put on a separate little ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:7

Tags: Grace, Forgiveness

Mothers - How We Relate Through The Years

Contributed by J Jeffrey Smead on Feb 8, 2023

Moments with mothers ... and with grandmothers.... Often become the foundation ...of memories ... that in turn ... become stories ... that are shared within the family... for many years. And as Children ... I have found ... we relate....... to our mothers ...differently .... through the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 15:4, Matthew 19:19, Mark 7:10, Luke 18:20, John 19:25-27  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Children, Mom, Mothers Day, Mothers, Memories, Motherhood  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Anglican

Strength To Forgive

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Aug 12, 2024

Some of life's hurts are so deep and painful that to forgive the people who caused them seems impossible. Yet Jesus says that we can't experience His forgiveness if we have an unforgiving spirit. In World War II, Corrie Ten Boom and her sister Betsie were arrested for concealing Jews and ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:9-15

Tags: Forgiveness, Lord's Prayer, God's Strength, Forgiving Others, Corrie Ten Boom, Enemies  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Please Be My Guest

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Aug 29, 2024

My son and I visited Honduras several years ago, just before the pandemic. Compassion Canada workers escorted us to the home of a family that was receiving some of the funds we had raised for our sponsored children. The idea was to see how those gifts had been able to change dramatically the ...read more

Scripture: Luke 10:7, Matthew 25:38, Romans 12:13, 1 Corinthians 10:27

Tags: Guest, Hospitality, Receiving

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Leopard’s Grunt

Contributed by David Dunn on Oct 10, 2025

When I was about seven, our family escaped the summer heat of Rangoon and went up to the cool hills of Mussoorie, India. We stayed for a few weeks in a music building that had eight pianos and plenty of hiding places for kids playing hide-and-seek. One evening as dusk settled, we heard a low, ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 91:1-4, Isaiah 41:10, Proverbs 3:25-26, John 14:27, 2 Timothy 1:7  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Trust, Faith, Fear, Protection, Discernment  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

The Year Was 1980, Bill Brodherst Who Hadn't Ran ...  PRO

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Jan 12, 2003

The year was 1980, Bill Brodherst who hadn’t ran in any race since his high school days decided to begin training for a marathon known as the Pepsi Challenge 10k in Omaha Nebraska. Sending in his application, he wasn’t sure they would accept him as a participant, but soon the approval came back ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 4:7-8

Tags: Church Small Groups, Fulfillment, Endurance

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

When It Comes To Life's Circumstances And What ...  PRO

Contributed by Richard Burkey on May 25, 2005

When it comes to life’s circumstances and what goes on each day, how do you respond with gratitude, grit, or grouch? And is your response determined by your circumstance or by your character? I have come up with a quiz to assess your response. Let’s start with question 1: You are in the 10 item, ...read more

Tags: Thanksgiving Holiday

Denomination: Lutheran