In Sermon Illustrations: "Differences"

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

What A 95-Year-Old Woman Worries About  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 20, 2011

WHAT A 95-YEAR-OLD WOMAN WORRIES ABOUT A ninety-five year old woman at the nursing home received a visit from one of her fellow church members. "How are you feeling?" the visitor asked. "Oh," said the lady, "I'm just worried sick!" "What are you worried about, dear?" her friend asked. "You look ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:6-8, Philippians 4:5-7

Tags: Worry

I Want To Be Pretty  PRO

Contributed by Tim Hinrichs on Jan 24, 2012

I WANT TO BE PRETTY "I want to be pretty." This is the title of a popular tv program that was airing when we lived in Poland. It was a reality tv show in which in every episode you follow the changes of two women who are the heroes of the program. Each of these women work with a team of ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 31:30

Tags: Faith, Love, Beauty, Faithfulness, Patience  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Lutheran

The Damage Of Disunity

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 9, 2012

THE DAMAGE OF DISUNITY Dwight L. Moody once stated, "I have never yet known the Spirit of God to work where the Lord's people were divided." Notice what Phinehas said: "This day we perceive that the Lord is among us" (Jo 22:31). The Lord's presence was among His people, because they walked in His ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-6

Tags: Divisions

Playing In The Dirt

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 15, 2012

PLAYING IN THE DIRT If you see a baby playing in the dirt, the baby may be dirty but you pretty much don’t make a big deal about it because it’s understood that babies play in dirt. Babies try to eat dirt. Babies scrub themselves in dirt. Dirt is a toy to a baby. But if you see a ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:11-16

Tags: Growth In Christ

American Knowledge Of Religion

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 5, 2012

AMERICAN KNOWLEDGE OF RELIGION A survey conducted by the Christian Science Monitor found that atheists and agnostics and Jews and Mormons were among the highest scoring groups who took a 32 question survey of religious knowledge. On average Americans scored 16 of 32 correct. Atheists and agnostics ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 2:15

Tags: Religion

The Security Of A ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 3, 2012

THE SECURITY OF A FORTRESS Deep in the Arabian desert is a small fortress. It stands on the edge of the desert. It was at this place that Thomas Lawrence, also known as “Lawrence of Arabia”, used to seek shelter. Though it wasn’t a beautiful place, it was a great place because of its security. It ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 18:1-3

Tags: Security

The Master's Hand

Contributed by James Kelly on Aug 11, 2012

THE MASTER'S HAND An auctioneer was taking bids on household items. He was tired and wanted to go home. There was only one item left an old violin. It wasn’t much to look at and no sound came from it. It was a seemingly worthless instrument. The auctioneer started the bid who will give me one ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:17-19

Tags: Grace

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Know The Problem

Contributed by Ronald Franklin on Dec 28, 2012

Dr. Herbert Jackson was a missionary to the Philippines. He tells a story about something that happened to him when he was just getting started on the mission field. He was given a car that wouldn't start without a push, so he quickly devised different ways of getting that car started without him ...read more

Tags: Sanctification

Denomination: Baptist

Power For Holy Living

Contributed by Davon Huss on Jun 30, 2014

Ludwig Nommensen traveled to begin mission work with a tribe in southeast Asia. The village chief welcomed Ludwig and said, "You have 2 years to learn our customs and convince us you have a message worth hearing." After 2 years, the tribal leader asked the missionary how Christianity differs from ...read more

Scripture: Acts 2:1-47

Tags: Holy Spirit, Law, Holy Living

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Mom, That Was For You!

Contributed by Nickolas Kooi on Aug 30, 2017

A pastor went to the hospital to visit Maggy, one of his members. She was in the last stages of her life because of cancer, and was heavily medicated, and unresponsive. He went to support her family, who was taking it hard. When he got there, he was surprised with what he saw. Her daughter, ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:9-13

Tags: Service, Love, Honor, Sacrificial Love

Denomination: Lutheran

Asking The Visitor To Leave

Contributed by Jim Butcher on Apr 11, 2018

Note: This story is told from my perspective - Jim Butcher of Madison WV. I was visiting with one of our long-time members a few months ago and she related an interesting story about her visit to Madison Baptist decades ago. Rosemary was sitting along the aisle, waiting on the service to begin, ...read more

Tags: Church, Worship, Welcome, Greeting, Welcoming  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

When The First Ice Cream Cone Was Born

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Aug 12, 2019

A lot gets accomplished when people work together. In the summer of 1904, at the World’s Fair in St. Louis, it was hot and people were searching for something to help cool them off. A vendor named Arnold had just what they were looking for……something called ice cream. People lined up for what ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:1-7

Tags: Unity, Working Together

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Imhotep And Joseph

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Dec 9, 2019

A memory of Joseph may have been merged into the legend of Imhotep: “According to Egyptologists, the Pharaoh Djoser employed an adviser named Imhotep, who designed his pyramid. Prior to that time, Pharaohs were buried in low, rectangular structures called mastaba. Imhotep’s design used a creative ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 41:1-57

Tags: Leadership, Joseph, History, Egyptology, Imhotep  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Inventing Our Own Words

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Dec 8, 2020

The right word can make a difference. Sometimes the right word needs to be invented. 2. Here are some suggested new words: CARPETUATION (kar pet' u a shun)n. The act, when vacuuming, of running over a string or a piece of lint at least a dozen times, reaching over and picking it up, examining ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 25:11

Tags: Vocabulary, Thesaurus, Words, Creativity, Language, Terminology  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Humility

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Jun 27, 2021

The Western meaning of humility derives from the usage of the Hebrew speaking Jews, Latin speaking Romans and the Greeks, in particular Greek speaking Christians of the first century. In all three languages the word used to describe humility means "low", as in low to the ground: the ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 2:1-11

Tags: Service, Humility, Power

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Baptist Kittens

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Mar 5, 2023

A Church of Christ minister walked past a street corner stand that was full of kittens for sale by a little boy in his neighborhood. The sign over the kittens read, "Church of Christ kittens for sale, one week old.....$5.00 each". The minister smiled and said, "My son, you are ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 16:18

Tags: Baptists, Church, Truth, Humor, Church Of Christ  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

God Knows What Is Happening In Your Nation

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Aug 21, 2023

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that God is asleep when it comes to nations, or that He is out of touch when it comes to carnal banquets, or that He sits in Heaven wringing His hands when it comes to godless rulers (and foolish presidents!) who make unfair, rash, or stupid decisions. Mark it ...read more

Tags: Kings, Governments, Presidents, Wicked Rulers, Nations  (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

How Should A Christian Walk?

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Jul 29, 2025

Have you ever noticed how novelists or movie directors make use of the way a person walks to highlight his or her character? Proud man walks erect, their heads held high. Beautiful women glide or float. Villains slouch, sneak, creep, or swagger. The need to describe different ways of walking has ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:1, Isaiah 57:2, 1 John 1:7, Micah 6:8, Psalm 119:106  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Light, Humble, Walk, Worthy, Word  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed