In Sermon Illustrations: "Direction Of Life"

Divorce Rate Myth Among Christians

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 30, 2012

DIVORCE RATE MYTH AMONG CHRISTIANS A common myth going around is that the divorce rate is the same among Christians as it is among non-Christians. But such just isn't the case, when you take a closer look. According to the "Americans for Divorce Reform," the divorce rate among the general ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 19:1-12

Tags: Divorce

Horror To Hope—a Story From The Holocaust  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 7, 2012

HORROR TO HOPE--A STORY FROM THE HOLOCAUST In Jerusalem there is a Holocaust Museum dedicated to the memory of the millions of Jews who were killed by the Nazis in World War II. It has been said that going through the museum is a very depressing experience because you see these horrible pictures ...read more

Scripture: Job 42:10-17, Jeremiah 29:10-14

Tags: God Brings Hope

How To Eat A Cessna Airplane

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 13, 2012

HOW TO EAT A CESSNA AIRPLANE Michel Lotito was an extraordinary man. This elegant Frenchman had a love for food and a fondness for eating unusual objects like bicycles, shopping carts and televisions. His odd appetite earned him the nickname Monsieur Mangetout (Mr Eat Everything). I first heard ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:1-2

Tags: Character

The Story Of George Beverly Shea

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 17, 2012

THE STORY OF GEORGE BEVERLY SHEA George Beverly Shea was a young man in the late 1920s aspiring to become a well-known singer. He entered Houghton College in New York in 1928 to get some good music training, but family financial problems caused him to leave after only one year. He found a job as a ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 2:15-17

Tags: Commitment To Christ

The Cost Of Trying To Fit In

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 19, 2012

THE COST OF TRYING TO FIT IN Kevin Miller of Wheaton, Illinois wrote the following: Right after I finished 6th grade, my family moved to a new town. As I started junior high that fall, I suddenly found myself in a school I didn’t know, in a town I didn’t know, with people I didn’t know. I felt ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 18:24

Tags: Friendship General

The Witch Of Wall ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 13, 2012

THE WITCH OF WALL STREET Hetty Green, nicknamed "The Witch of Wall Street" (November 21, 1834 – July 3, 1916), was an American businesswoman, known for her frugality during the Gilded Age, as well as for being the first American woman to make a substantial impact on Wall Street. She was born ...read more

Scripture: James 5:1-6

Tags: Money, Greed

Henri Dunant, Founder Of The Red Cross  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 20, 2012

HENRI DUNANT, FOUNDER OF THE RED CROSS Henri Dunant was a wealthy 19th century Swiss banker when the Swiss government sent him to Paris to work on a business deal with Napoleon. When he got to Paris, they told him that Napoleon was off fighting a war against the Austrians in Solferino, Italy. So ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 14:13-14

Tags: Compassion

Dr. R. G. Lee's Mother Told Of Happiest Day And Gave Taste Of Heaven

Contributed by Rick Crandall on Dec 23, 2012

*Dr. R.G. Lee was the much loved pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis from 1927-1960. One day when R.G was a little boy, he asked his mother what was the happiest day of her life. Her name was Elizabeth. And she thought back to the time of the Civil War when she was a little ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 20:1-5, Hebrews 11:30-40

Tags: Heaven, Restoration, Reunion, Joy And Celebration

Denomination: Baptist

Heavenly Home

Contributed by Davon Huss on Nov 3, 2014

Daniel Overdorf- One Friday afternoon I struggled to prepare for the weekend. The week’s hectic pace, filled with activities, left me scrambling on Friday to finish my sermon. While I hunched over my desk, unable to develop anything that resembled a sermon, the office phone rang. From the ...read more

Scripture: 2 Peter 3:13

Tags: Heaven, Heavenly Home, Entering God's Rest

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Free For The Taking: Grace

Contributed by Richard Tow on Jul 18, 2017

Joseph Cooke was a missionary to Thailand a generation ago. He illustrated grace this way. Picture a happily married couple in which both husband and wife are all that either could ever wish the other to be. The husband always respects his wife’s feelings, always treasures her individuality, is ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 1:8-9, Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 5:8

Tags: Grace, Love Of God

Denomination: Charismatic

The Word Was Being Made Real In The Back Of His Church

Contributed by Tim Smith on Aug 13, 2017

Pastor Thomas Tewell tells the story of getting ready for their 11 p.m. Christmas Eve service. As the people were gathering, a man named Jim came in. Jim was a recovering alcoholic, sober just 6 months, but his disease had cost him his family, his job, just about everything. He went in to the ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:1-10

Tags: Christmas, Grace, Ministry, The Word Made Flesh

Denomination: Methodist

Remembering God's Faithfulness

Contributed by Tim Smith on Aug 13, 2017

Michelle Johnson writes, “Sometimes we need to take a look at where we’ve been with God to really understand His faithfulness and love for us. She was staying with her son at the hospital following a serious surgery. On that particular morning, she was exhausted by their stay, and her steps were ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 50:15

Tags: God, Faithfulness, Faithfulness Of God

Denomination: Methodist

Is Venom In Our Veins

Contributed by Matt Neace on Oct 5, 2018

Describing the new movie, Venom, Greg Morse writes: He was a journalist once. Eddie Brock investigated corruption, fought on behalf of the oppressed, and tried to make a difference in the world. He was trying to take down evil - until he was "taken" by it. An alien, a symbiote, a hungry beast ...read more

Scripture: Romans 7:15-20, Romans 8:20-21, John 1:5

Tags: Human Condition, Human Nature, Sin Nature, Sin, Evil, Satan, Devil, Spiritual Warfare, Temptation  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Deeper

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Mar 18, 2020

Hebrews 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. WE NEED A GREATER REVELATION OF WHO JESUS IS. DEEPER, DEEPER --- MORE, MORE ABOUT JESUS. WE CAN FIND THE GREATER THAN… My Mom ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 13:5, 2 Timothy 1:12

Tags: More, Deeper

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Driven By Hurt

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Feb 11, 2022

DRIVEN BY HURT! MIGHT I ADD A PREACHER’S PERSPECTIVE TO START THIS LESSON? BE KIND TO EVERY PERSON. PERHAPS YOU DO NOT KNOW THE PROBLEMS AND THE BATTLES OTHERS ARE FACING. A preacher friend of mine was having some self-doubts and fears he was facing. There was a rather large family that had ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 61:3, 1 Peter 5:7

Tags: Bitter, Hurt, Ministry

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Giving

Contributed by Brad Beaman on Apr 17, 2022

Henry Parsons Crowell contracted tuberculosis when a boy and could not go to school. His Father and brother died of tuberculosis, and he should have died of it too. He made a contract with God. If he were spared he would use his abilities to amass large sums of money for evangelism. For the next 50 ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 9:7-8

Tags: Giving, Purpose Of Giving, Cheerful Giver

Denomination: Baptist

The Agitator

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 26, 2022

Does anyone know what that piece in the middle of the washer is called? The part in the middle that moves back and forth and shakes the clothes back and forth? What is that called? I’m going to call it an Agitator. What is the purpose of the Agitator? As far as I can tell, its sole purpose is to ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:17-24

Tags: Holy Spirit, Sanctification

Facing The Facts About Fear

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Oct 24, 2022

During his 1933 Inaugural Address, President Franklin Roosevelt sought to calm a troubled America in the throes of depression by saying, "There is nothing to fear but fear itself." Fear is a feeling of dread, alarm, panic and anxiety. Fear ranges from mild anxiety to panic attacks. The ...read more

Scripture: Mark 5:21-41

Tags: Faith, Fear, Healing, Satan, Believe, Prayer, Miracles, Lies  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Alex Navalny - Russian Dissident

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Feb 19, 2024

Russian opposition leader and outspoken Christian, Alexei Navalny. Navalny voluntarily returned to Russia - knowing he would be arrested and imprisoned. Navalny, 47, dies while serving a 19-year sentence in a penal colony north of the Arctic Circle. In Navalny’s closing statement during his 2021 ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:6

Tags: Righteousness, Sermon On The Mount, Sacrifice, Integrity

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Freezing To Death Can Actually Make You Feel Warm...

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Mar 22, 2024

The man huddled on the cabin floor was slowly freezing to death. It was high in the Rockies in southwestern Alberta, and outside a blizzard raged. John Elliott had logged miles that day through the deep snows of the mountain passes. As he checked for avalanches and as dusk and exhaustion overcame ...read more

Tags: Messengers, Dogs, Witnesses, Satan, Salvation, Rescue, Lost, Wake Up, Spiritual Death, Death, Sin, Deception  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational