In Sermon Illustrations: "Die To Live"

Lazarus Churches That Are Dead And Stinketh!

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jan 31, 2022

Vance Havner once commented that ministries often begin with a man who has a vision. That vision is captured by others and becomes a movement. As the movement gains followers and momentum, it becomes a machine. After a while, people forget all about the vision and what was once a movement ...read more

Scripture: 2 Chronicles 7:14

Tags: Book Of Acts, Backsliding, Dying Churches, Church, Holy Spirit, Revival, Repentance  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

God Means Business

Contributed by Roger Hasselquist on May 28, 2022

Little Johnny was going to a public school and he was doing very poorly in math. So his mother decided to put him into a Catholic school. When she got his report card at the end of the term, his grades in math had improved tremendously. So she asked him why. He replied, "When I saw that ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16

Tags: Cross, Hope In Jesus, Sin's Penalty, Law Upheld

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Because He Loved Them

Contributed by Loyd C. Taylor on Mar 14, 2023

Because He Loved Them They tried to shame Him. They tried to destroy Him. They tried to ruin Him. He died for them! They despised Him. They mocked Him. They humiliated Him. He died for them! They stripped Him. They spat in His face. They beat Him. He died for them! They made Him bear the ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:12, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Romans 10:9-10

Tags: Easter, Crucifixion, Salvation, Redemption, God's Love, Greater Love, Poems Of God's Love  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Love: Needing Or Giving

Contributed by Alison Bucklin on Jul 26, 2023

“The typical example of Gift-love would be that love which moves a man to work and plan and save for the future well-being of his family which he may die without sharing or seeing; the second, Need-love, is that which sends a lonely and frightened child to its mother’s arms. And of course Divine ...read more

Scripture: Mark 12:29-31, Luke 10:27, 1 John 4:7-8, Matthew 22:36-39

Tags: Love, Love Of God, Love Of Neighbor

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Swallowed By A Whale - The Sign Of Jonah

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Feb 13, 2025

Jonah was in the belly of a great fish for 3 days and 3 nights! A kayaker from Chile was in the mouth of a Humpback whale for about 3 seconds - before being spit out! The story was reported by CNN (February 13, 2025) A humpback whale briefly swallowed a 24-year-old kayaker last Saturday during ...read more

Scripture: Jonah 1:17, Matthew 12:39, Matthew 12:40

Tags: Bible, Jonah, Miracles, Rejection, Escape, Signs, Reliability Of Scripture  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Precious Blood  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 18, 2002

PRECIOUS BLOOD Several years ago in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, George and Vera Bajenksi’s lives were changed forever. February 16, 1989. A very normal Thursday morning. The phone rang at 9:15 a.m. "There’s been an accident..." It involved their son Ben. As they approached the intersection of ...read more

Scripture: John 18:28-40

Tags: Easter Good Friday, Blood, Lord's Supper, Jesus Christ

James Dobson, New Man, October, ...  PRO

Contributed by A. Todd Coget on Aug 9, 2002

[illustration, James Dobson, New Man, October, 1994, p. 36.] This is an exert from an article that James Dobson wrote in 1994 about Stephen Hawking, whom I believe has since died… Stephen Hawking is an astrophysicist at Cambridge University and perhaps the most intelligent man on earth. He has ...read more

Tags: Fulfillment, Contentment

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Chasing A Wagging Tail  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Jun 17, 2004

CHASING A WAGGING TAIL Stephen Hawking is an astrophysicist at Cambridge University and perhaps the most intelligent man on earth. He has advanced the general theory of relativity farther than any person since Albert Einstein. Unfortunately, Hawking is afflicted with ALS Syndrome (Lou Gehrig’s ...read more

Tags: Faith, Joy

Denomination: Lutheran

Joseph Ton Was Pastor Of Second Baptist Church, ...  PRO

Contributed by Kenneth Henes on Jun 22, 2004

Joseph Ton was pastor of Second Baptist Church, Oradea, Rumania, until he was exiled by the Rumanian government in 1981. In Pastoral Renewal, he writes of his experience: "Years ago I ran away from my country to study theology at Oxford. In 1972, when I was ready to go back to Rumania, I ...read more

Tags: Examples Of Faith, Doubt

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

On May 23, 1863, Nearly 30,000 Union Soldiers ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

On May 23, 1863, nearly 30,000 Union soldiers were camped in a semi-circle around one of the most unlikely places in the country. Just 35 miles north of where we are right now there was a fort built on a high bluff overlooking a sharp bend in the Mississippi River. From the earthen walls of that ...read more

Tags: God In The Hardships

The Meaning Of The Cross

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 25, 2011

THE MEANING OF THE CROSS In the 19th century, Armenian Christians, under a Turkish Muslim government, experienced a tremendous amount of persecution. The government lifted the ban on Muslims converting to Christianity in 1856. Then just eight years later, they began arresting these Muslim converts ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 4:12-19

Tags: Persecution

Tumbleweeds And Mesquite Trees  PRO

Contributed by Mark Stepherson on Oct 17, 2011

TUMBLEWEEDS AND MESQUITE TREES Have you seen those old movies about the wild West? Near the end, the good guy and the bad guy stand facing each other at opposite ends of the only street in town. The local folks, knowing what will happen, clear the street. They slam doors and shutter windows. The ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 1:1-4

Tags: Bible Study, Delight

Denomination: Baptist

You Can Keep Your Fork

Contributed by Paul Steen on Dec 24, 2018

A woman had been diagnosed with cancer and had been given three months to live. Her doctor told her to start making preparations to die. So she contacted her pastor and had him come to her house to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes. She told him which songs she wanted sung at the service, ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 3:20, Revelation 22:12, Colossians 1:27, Titus 1:2

Tags: Citizenship, Heaven, Future, Hope

Denomination: Calvary Chapel

[199]. A Message From A Poem – On Stony Shores

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Sep 13, 2025

[199]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – ON STONY SHORES This is a short poem and I do not wish to add to it. I live close to the beach and the rainforest. Some beaches in the tropics here have a lot of smooth rocks on them, basalt in origin from past volcanic activity. In the tropical rainforest you ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 17:7-8, Psalm 1:3

Tags: Planted By The Water, Rocky, Streams Of Water, Christian Poems, Tropical Rainforest, Stony, Waters Of Life, Stream, Refreshment  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Six Major Heresies Confronting The Church Today

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Nov 11, 2024

Since that very moment in the Garden of Eden when a single bite shattered the harmony of the world, man has tried to make his own way, be his own master, and set up his own kingdom. It's nothing new. Nevertheless, if we want to be faithful followers of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in this ...read more

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

Tags: Scripture, Discernment, Truth, Legalism, Word Of God, Last Days, New Age Movement, Hyper Grace, Emerging Church, Doctrine, Heresy, False Teachers, Pastors, Universalism, Prosperity Gospel  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

God's Plan For Pain!" Matthew 16:21-28 Key ...

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Mar 6, 2005

“God’s Plan for Pain!” Matthew 16:21-28 Key verse(s): 25:“‘For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.’” “And whatever you do, make sure you don’t hurt yourself!” The tractor tire was heavy; definitely a two man job. Perched on the back of his ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 16:21-28

Tags: Endurance

Denomination: Lutheran

Giving It All Away—communion Mediation  PRO

Contributed by Donnie Martin on Aug 3, 2002

GIVING IT ALL AWAY-- Communion Mediation "In Ernest Gordon’s true account of life in a World War II Japanese prison camp, "Through the Valley of the Kwai," there is a story that never fails to move me. It is about a man who through giving it all away literally transformed a whole camp of ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Mothers Of ...

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

Mothers of Influence It is a great privilege and responsibility to be a mother. No one has a more profound and enduring influence upon those around them than a mother raising her children in the fear and wisdom of the Lord. Timothy, was one such young man who was greatly influenced by ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 1:5

Tags: Mother's Day

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Heaven, A Permanent Place  PRO

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

Heaven, A Permanent Place Jesus said, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me. In My Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and ...read more

Scripture: John 14:1-6

Tags: Heaven

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

I Want For You To Imagine With Me That We Are Out ...

Contributed by Grant Van Boeschoten on Oct 2, 2009

I want for you to imagine with me that we are out in the middle of a huge storm on a state of the art fishing boat. We are in the middle of the ocean just trying to survive the rain and the wind and to make things work, it is the middle of night and it is almost impossible to see. Suddenly, in ...read more

Tags: Daily Prayer, Prayer General