In Sermon Illustrations: "Descriptions"

Have You Seen The Movie Antwone Fisher? It's The ...

Contributed by Bruce Emmert on Oct 9, 2006

Have you seen the movie Antwone Fisher? It’s the true story of a young man abandoned at birth by his mother and then raised in abusive orphanages, foster homes, and reform schools. Denzel Washington adapted the story into a movie that was released a few years ago. After his 18th birthday, Antwone ...read more

Tags: Death

Denomination: United Methodist

The Window  PRO

Contributed by Eric Ferguson on Jun 2, 2008

THE WINDOW Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room’s only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back. The men talked ...read more

Scripture: James 3:14-18

Tags: Wall, Encouragement, Barriers

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

You’re Probably Familiar With The Book ...  PRO

Contributed by Alan Perkins on May 9, 2001

You’re probably familiar with the book "Moby Dick". Even if you’ve never read it, you know the story: Captain Ahab goes in search of a great while whale, and is finally killed when the whale attacks and destroys his ship. But you probably didn’t know that this scene in Herman Melville’s novel was ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:13-20, Matthew 5:21-37, Matthew 5:38, Matthew 5:6, Matthew 22:15-22, Ezekiel 37:12-14  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: God's Omniscience, Holy Spirit In Believers, Knowing God's Will, Jehoshaphat

Denomination: Baptist

One Day, I Woke Early In The Morning To Watch The ...

Contributed by Paul Green on Jul 14, 2009

One day, I woke early in the morning to watch the sunrise. Oh the beauty of God’s creation is beyond description. As I watched, I praised God for His beautiful work. As I sat there, I felt the Lord’s presence with me. He asked me, "Do you love me?" I answered, "Of course, God! You are my Lord and ...read more

Tags: Prayer, Prayer General

Denomination: Baptist

The Cross Made The Difference

Contributed by David Simpson on Apr 20, 2020

I (David Simpson) grew up as part of the spiritual family of Hardwick Christian Church. Along with my parents and sisters, I learned about Jesus and Bible there. I don’t ever remember a Sunday throughout my childhood and into my teen years when I was not in that church building and doing life with ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 1:5, John 3:16

Tags: Communion, Good Friday, Cross, Lord's Supper, Blood Of Jesus, Cross Of Jesus, Sacrifice Of Jesus  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian Church

[103]. A Message From A Poem – God Speaks Through Colours

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on May 10, 2025

[103]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – GOD SPEAKS THROUGH COLOURS I found this a difficult poem to write. I had the desire to write a poem on colours and thought about some of the prominent colours in the bible. Then I tried to fashion the application of them to biblical objects and concepts. I hope ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 21:18-21, Exodus 26:36

Tags: White, Blue, Colors, Purple, Scarlet, New Jerusalem  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[126]. A Message From A Poem – Heaven Opens To Us

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Jul 11, 2025

[126]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – HEAVEN OPENS TO US From a quick recollection heaven will open at least three times in the future (written by one who is still living). One of those will be the Rapture. One will be the Second Coming. The other one is when a saint passes from this life and into ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 2:9-10, 2 Corinthians 5:6-8

Tags: Heaven, Open, Absent From The Body, Christian Poetry, Christian Poems  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Cobia, Bigfoot, And God - Elusive Searching

Contributed by Jack Kale on May 10, 2016

Cobia, Bigfoot, and God I’ve been three times now and I’m starting to lose hope. I keep hearing rumors about these tasty leviathans that meander just off the second sandbar on their annual pilgrimage around the Gulf of Mexico. I’ve heard rumors of folks catching them off the pier and even seen ...read more

Scripture: John 20:29

Tags: Search, Finding God, Fishing, Bigfoot

Denomination: *other

[077]. A Message From A Poem – Eyes And Ears - Blind And Deaf

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Apr 11, 2025

[077]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – EYES AND EARS - BLIND AND DEAF Stubbornness is so bound up in most people that it will not release them, particularly when the things of God are presented. Stubbornness refuses to see reason and to see the light, and to hear and obey. The prophets were frustrated ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 42:20, Isaiah 6:10, Isaiah 43:8, Isaiah 35:5

Tags: Blind Eyes, Poetry, Stubbornness, Poem, Deaf Ears  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Don Richardson, In His Book Eternity In Their ...  PRO

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Sep 11, 2005

Don Richardson, in his book Eternity in Their Hearts, tells an amazing story of spiritual harvest. In an area once called Burma, which is now modern Myanmar, lying between China and Thailand, and touching the border of Laos, there lived about a quarter-million tribal people called the Lahu. For ...read more

Tags: Love Of The Disciples

Denomination: Methodist

Lisa Beamer: Faith In Tragedy

Contributed by Paul Carlson on Feb 16, 2009

LISA BEAMER: FAITH IN TRAGEDY In her book, "Let’s Roll" she explains how she was reared in a loving home where the Lord was honored. She goes on to record: "On October 25, 1984, pain seared through his chest and everyone thought he was having a heart attack. The next morning at 5:00 a.m. the ...read more

Tags: Hardship Of Life

Denomination: Baptist

The False Foundations In The Kinsey Report  PRO

Contributed by Jeff Strite on May 7, 2002

THE FALSE FOUNDATIONS IN THE KINSEY REPORT Almost 50 years ago, Alfred Kinsey, a quiet Midwestern Zoology professor, published the 1st of 2 volumes that would shake American culture to its foundations. His 1948 book, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male - like its 1953 sequel, Sexual Behavior in ...read more

Tags: Fornication, Addiction, Sexuality, Population, Temptation Sex  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Erwin Mcmanus And His "John The Baptist"

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 28, 2011

ERWIN MCMANUS AND HIS "JOHN THE BAPTIST" As we begin today I would like to read a true account of an experience that pastor, speaker, and author, Erwin McManus had in the early years of his ministry. Listen to what he says... "I got a message through the urban grapevine that I was dead. It might ...read more

Scripture: Romans 1:14-17

Tags: Evangelism How To

Unsung Heroes—barzillai The Gileadite, Part 2

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Nov 3, 2020

Introduction: the revolt was over, Absalom was dead, and David was ready to go back to Jerusalem. It seems David had come to regard Barzillai the Gileadite with much respect, maybe even admiration. David wanted him to go to Jerusalem but in a classic speech, Barzillai graciously said, “thanks but ...read more

Scripture: 2 Samuel 19:31-40

Tags: David, Barzillai The Gileadite

Denomination: Baptist

The Spirit Of Power That We Receive Is Not Like ...  PRO

Contributed by Austin Mansfield on Oct 28, 2007

The Spirit of Power that we receive is not like the human power that we recognize as strong. It’s a power unlike anything we can do on our own. A young man growing up in the wrong part of Houston became a bully. He would get in fights in school, in the neighborhood, and began mugging people to ...read more

Scripture: Luke 24:49, Matthew 28:19-20, Matthew 28:19, Luke 9:57-67, Zechariah 4:6, Psalm 33:16-18  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Friend, Friendship

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

For Almost Forty Years, Margaret Lived With The ...  PRO

Contributed by Brian Atwood on Jan 12, 2008

For almost forty years, Margaret lived with the memory of one soul-scarring day in the one-room schoolhouse she attended. From the first day Margaret came to class, she and Ms. Garner, her bitter and harsh teacher, didn’t get along. Over the years, the animosity between them only worsened until ...read more

Scripture: John 9:1-41

Tags: Love, Healing, Encouragement, Depression

Denomination: Baptist

[290]. A Message From A Poem – The Roman Harlot Of Revelation 17

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Feb 15, 2026

[290]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – THE ROMAN HARLOT OF REVELATION 17 This poem has its setting in Revelation chapter 17. Some of the expressions are taken from that chapter which I draw upon. Some find revelation 17 a mystery but there is no mystery to it when it is all placed in context. This is ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 17:4, Revelation 17:18, Revelation 17:9, Revelation 16:8-9, Revelation 9:20-21  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Mother Of Harlots, Alexander Hislop, Christian Poems, The Harlot, The Whore, Rome, Antichrist, Tribulation, False Prophet, Babylon The Great  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[321]. A Message From A Poem - Uniquely First In Many Ways - Cain

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Mar 25, 2026

[321]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM - UNIQUELY FIRST IN MANY WAYS - CAIN Cain is never considered in a good light. He is mentioned three times in the New Testament and this is one of them – {{1 John 3:12 “not as Cain who was of the evil one and slew his brother, and for what reason did he slay him? ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 4:6-7, Jude 1:11, 1 John 3:12

Tags: Sacrifice, Unique, Rejection, Cain, Abel, Disobedience, Murderer, The Way Of Cain, Christian Poems  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Lights Are On, But No One's Home---If Any Of You ...

Contributed by Peter Loughman on Mar 23, 2010

LIGHTS ARE ON, BUT NO ONE'S HOME---If any of you have ever owned an electric lawn mower, you know that electric lawn mowers tend to not be very powerful. Electric lawn mowers, as a whole, are underpowered garden tools. I have an electric lawn mower now and it isn’t very powerful, all I can say is ...read more

Tags: Wisdom, Fools For Christ

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Splish Splash, I Forgot To Take A Bath

Contributed by James Snyder on Jan 8, 2022

If you had the opportunity to speak to the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage, she would probably tell you that one of my strengths is forgetting. I'm not sure how far into the subject she would get. When it comes to forgetting, I am outstanding on the back lawn, and my expertise in this area ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 103:2

Tags: Memory, Forgetting

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance