In Sermon Illustrations: "Dirty"

Tough Love  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 15, 2012

TOUGH LOVE "Living in this house is like living in hell," screamed the young girl as she stamped her feet on the way upstairs to her room. The mother stood looking at her daughter, a hint of tears forming in her eyes. She wanted to run up the stairs and hug her daughter but she knew the timing ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 13:24

Tags: Parenting

I Am Reminded About The Story Of This Particular ...

Contributed by David Rogers on Nov 23, 2004

I am reminded about the story of this particular church. One Sunday morning the congregation arrived to find a dirty old vagrant lying beside the door. Some looked at him and said how awful that someone like that is sitting outside our beautiful church, why the pastor should make him move on we ...read more

Tags: Humility, Christian Disciplines

Denomination: Baptist

Once, I Took The Kids Up To The Cabin Without ...  PRO

Contributed by Mike Wilkins on Dec 29, 2004

Once, I took the kids up to the cabin without Pam. The cabin is a rustic place with no running water, no electricity, but plenty of space for the kids to run and play. On the day that we were to come back home, I got them dressed in the morning, packed up the van, and loaded them in. I took a ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 6:5

Tags: God's Holiness

Denomination: *other

It Happened In The Jungle One Day. A Lion With A ...  PRO

Contributed by Todd Catteau on Oct 31, 2005

It happened in the jungle one day. A lion with a big ego went around asking the other animals who the king of the jungle was. “Who’s the king of the jungle?” the lion roared at a monkey. “Why you are, Mr. Lion,” said the monkey with fear in his voice. The lion went on and found a zebra. “Who’s the ...read more

Tags: Anger

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

It Happened In The Jungle One Day. A Lion With A ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

It happened in the jungle one day. A lion with a big ego went around asking the other animals who the king of the jungle was. “Who’s the king of the jungle?” the lion roared at a monkey. “Why you are, Mr. Lion,” said the monkey with fear in his voice. The lion went on and found a zebra. “Who’s ...read more

Tags: Divinity Of Christ

Observations Of A Father

Contributed by Chuck Musselwhite on Jun 21, 2007

Observations of a Father • I am going to share with you all my wisdom of four years of parenting • Okay let’s look at what the Bible says • When I had my first child I lost half of my memory, when I had my second child I lost the other half, when I had my third I lost another half I didn’t know I ...read more

Tags: Dad, Parents, Mom

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Francis Of Assissi Teaching On Perfect Joy

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 23, 2008

Francis of Assissi teaching on perfect joy: “Perfect joy he taught one of the brothers does not come when their groups succeeds in giving a great example of holiness and edification to all lands. Nor would a great ministry of healing and raising of the dead. Nor would possession of all languages ...read more

Tags: Joy

The Jesus Freaks Are Here

Contributed by Noel Atkinson on Mar 16, 2011

THE JESUS FREAKS ARE HERE I remember doing street ministry a few years ago. I was with an organisation called Drug Arm in the city. We would set up a van and give coffee and doughnuts to drug addicts along with contact phone numbers for the local drug rehabilitation centres. I remember one night ...read more

Tags: Servanthood

Denomination: Baptist

The White Man

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 7, 2011

THE WHITE MAN When Wycliffe translator Doug Meland and his wife moved into a village of Brazil’s Fulnio Indians, he was referred to simply as "the white man". The term was by no means complimentary, since other white men had exploited them, burned their homes, and robbed them of their lands. But ...read more

Scripture: John 13:1-17

Tags: Christian Witness

Taste Is All Wrong

Contributed by Tim Hinrichs on Nov 29, 2011

TASTE IS ALL WRONG I remember one of the stories from the Chronicles of Narnia from the book "The Last Battle." It was the story of a number of dwarfs who just didn't believe in Aslan (who represented Jesus Christ in all the books). They were blind to reality refusing to be "taken in" by those ...read more

Scripture: John 12:39-40

Tags: Sin Deceptive

Denomination: Lutheran

Think About A Mother Who Just Gave Birth To Her ...

Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on Dec 24, 2009

Think about a mother who just gave birth to her firstborn. Suppose that as she held her baby in her arms, someone came up to her and said, “How much do you want for the child?” Not only would the mother show no interest, but she would be offended at the thought that this precious child could be ...read more

Tags: Unconditional Love

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Purifying The Heart

Contributed by Jung Lee on Jan 16, 2024

A woman puts a spoonful of dirt into a cup of water, muddying it. She initially tries to remove the dirt with a spoon but realizes it's ineffective. Instead, she starts pouring fresh, clean water into the cup continuously. As the cup overflows, the dirty water is gradually replaced by clean ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:8

Tags: Good, Impact, Spiritual Renewal, Godly Thoughts, Evil, Overcome, Transformation  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

The Prince Of Grenada, An Heir To The Spanish ...  PRO

Contributed by Jeremy Houck on Jan 15, 2005

The prince of Grenada, an heir to the Spanish crown, was sentenced to life in solitary confinement in Madrid’s ancient prison called "The Place of the Skull." The fearful, dirty, and dreary nature of the place earned it the name. Everyone knew that once you were in, you would never come out alive. ...read more

Tags: Doubt

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

While Waiting In A Cemetery To Conduct A Funeral ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 12, 2005

While waiting in a cemetery to conduct a funeral service, Charles Simeon walked among the graves, looking at the epitaphs. He found one that arrested him. When from the dust of death I rise, To claim my mansion in the skies, E’en then shall this be all my plea-- “Jesus hath lived and died for ...read more

Tags: Evangelism How To

Maybe When You Were At Camp Or In The Boy Or Girl ...

Contributed by Timothy Smith on Jan 20, 2006

Maybe when you were at camp or in the boy or girl scouts you sang... "One dark night when we were all in bed, old lady O’Leary lit a lantern in her shed. And when the cow kicked it over, she winked her eye and said, "It’ll be a hot time in the ole town tonight." And we’d yell, "Fire-Fire-Fire." It ...read more

Tags: Communication General

Denomination: Christian Church

All Moms Know This Stuff  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 7, 2012

ALL MOMS KNOW THIS STUFF One mom was out walking with her 4-year-old daughter when her girl picked up something from the ground and started to put it in her mouth. The mother tells what happens in her own words: "I took the item away from her and I asked her not to do that." My daughter quickly ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 31:10-31

Tags: Mother's Day

Before The Water

Contributed by Jim Butcher on Nov 15, 2018

Scott Harrison, founder of charity:water, shares this story: "I recently had the chance to visit charity:water's very first project. It was a well that we had funded on my thirty-first birthday and then built in the IDP camp of Bobi, Uganda. "The sprawling camp of 31,000 people had cleared out, ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:1-7

Tags: Birth Of Christ, Christmas, Jesus, Easter, Crucifixion  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Dennis Said, "I Don't Think I've Ever ...  PRO

Contributed by Melvin Newland on Dec 22, 2000

ILL. Dennis said, "I don’t think I’ve ever experienced greater culture shock than what I experienced at the very first Thai village we visited. This was a village which the missionaries had not yet reached with the good news of Jesus. The people were still living with all their superstitions & ...read more

Scripture: Luke 6:20-26

Tags: God Brings Hope

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

What An Orphan Boy Learned About John 3:16 On ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 14, 2009

What An Orphan Boy Learned About John 3:16 on Christmas Eve In far away cold country a number of years ago there was a young orphaned boy selling papers on a cold, freezing Christmas Eve afternoon. Toward the close of the afternoon the little boy went up to a policeman and said, "Sir, I’m real ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16

Tags: Christmas

Busted Knuckles

Contributed by Jack Kale on May 10, 2016

Busted Knuckles The blades needed replacement on the old red Murray riding mower we use at the camp. I purchased two 21” blades from Lowes and got around to replacing them this past weekend for the first mow of the year. I hoisted the front end of that insanely heavy grass cutter and secured ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:28

Tags: Work, Scars, Pain And Suffering, Hurting

Denomination: *other