In Sermon Illustrations: "Doer Of The Word"

The Debbie Haters' Club

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 19, 2011

THE DEBBIE HATERS' CLUB Bill White, of Paramount, California, talks about his friend, Greg, who recently put together a mini high school reunion when he went back home to Indiana to visit his parents. He hadn't seen many of his classmates in over 17 years; but when they got together, they had a ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:21-26

Tags: Forgiveness For Others

The Tenacity Of Edison And Lincoln

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 23, 2011

THE TENACITY OF EDISON AND LINCOLN Look at the life of Thomas Edison. At 21, he patented his first major invention: the Electrical Vote Recorder (a device 100 years ahead of its time!). At 26, he invented the automatic telegraph and paraffin paper. At 30, the phonograph (earliest record player). ...read more

Scripture: 2 Thessalonians 1:4

Tags: Endurance

Vacant Homes, Vacant Lives  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 9, 2011

VACANT HOMES, VACANT LIVES TIFTON, GA — The most interesting thing about Tifton is an abandoned Victorian house filled with thousands of bats. Tift County declared the once-elegant house in the town’s historic district off limits after a bat specialist said that maybe 20,000 bats had moved in, ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 119:11, Psalm 119:11-16, Luke 11:1-13, Galatians 5:22-23, Psalm 84:1-12, John 2:13-23, Luke 7:36-50, John 1:46-56, James 2:14-26, Luke 11:24-26, Matthew 12:43-45, Matthew 12:44-45  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Bible Influence

I Wish I Could Live Life Over Again

Contributed by Chuck Sligh on Jun 14, 2011

I WISH I COULD LIVE LIFE OVER AGAIN I remember when I was an assistant pastor in TN visiting a man who had lived his whole life in sin and selfishness. He finally came to the Lord in his sixties. When he was diagnosed with cancer, I went to visit him at his home shortly before his death. The day ...read more

Tags: Christian Values

Denomination: Baptist

Dying For Someone Like That

Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on Aug 12, 2011

DYING FOR SOMEONE LIKE THAT During the war in Vietnam, a young West Point graduate was sent over to lead a group of new recruits into battle. He did his job well, trying his best to keep his recruits from ambush and death. But one night, when they had been under attack, he was unable to get one of ...read more

Tags: God's Love

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Where Can I Get A Heart Like Yours?

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 12, 2011

WHERE CAN I GET A HEART LIKE YOURS? Bill White of Paramount, California talks about being in Compton, California, working with volunteers from several different churches on a Saturday doing projects to serve the city. At lunch time, he was headed down a narrow side street when he saw dozens of ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 2:11-12

Tags: Christian Witness

The Last Letter Of Karen Watson

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 18, 2011

THE LAST LETTER OF KAREN WATSON Our International Mission Board is working on a project called "The Last Letter." It’s actually an old tradition of soldiers and missionaries who as they boarded a ship, wrote their family and friends a letter that they think might be their final ...read more

Scripture: Mark 8:34-38

Tags: Missions

Life's Deeper Meaning

Contributed by Larry Wilson on Aug 29, 2011

LIFE'S DEEPER MEANING Examining life for deeper meanings is a twentieth century preoccupation. We assume that things are not what they seem. Words disguise Hidden Feelings. Actions symbolize Something Else. We sometimes try too hard to discover the hidden meanings when there just might not be ...read more

Tags: Dealing With Conflicts

Denomination: Baptist

Come Down Off The Chair

Contributed by Michael Milton on Sep 11, 2011

COME DOWN OFF THE CHAIR There is a pastor who was once a professor--a very creative professor--at RTS in Jackson, Mississippi. One day he had the responsibility of leading the chapel service. Most of us prepare for chapel messages by Bible study and prayer. This professor prepared by not only ...read more

Tags: Pride

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Why Would You Want To Be President?

Contributed by Tim Smith on Oct 8, 2011

WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO BE PRESIDENT? Parker Palmer was offered a job at a university and was wrestling with whether or not to take the job. Parker decided to ask 12 friends to come together to think about whether he should take the job. They began asking him questions. One of them asked, "Parker, ...read more

Tags: Pride

Denomination: Methodist

Right Prayer For The Wrong Reason  PRO

Contributed by Mark Stepherson on Nov 18, 2011

RIGHT PRAYER FOR THE WRONG REASON I began teaching during the Wednesday night prayer meetings seven months ago. Suppose I prayed every day for all those months for God to make us into a praying church. Suppose I prayed morning, noon, and night for God to make us a praying church. Suppose I prayed ...read more

Scripture: James 4:1-3

Tags: Prayer, Selfishness, Prayer How To, Motives

Denomination: Baptist

Billy Graham's Arena Dreams

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Feb 7, 2012

BILLY GRAHAM'S ARENA DREAMS Billy Graham, in his book "Nearing Home: Life, Faith, and Finishing Well" (pp. 2-3, Thomas Nelson) writes: I have remained a baseball fan, not necessarily of one team over another but of the game itself--the teamwork, the strategy, and the challenge of defeating the ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:28

Tags: Dreams

Denomination: Baptist

Under The Influence

Contributed by Greg Nance on Apr 13, 2012

UNDER THE INFLUENCE David Kupelian's book The Marketing of Evil, published in 2005, is an eye-opening study of what we face today. I wish every parent would read it. Does anyone here remember what happened to Robert Bauman in 1980? He was elected in 1973 as representative of the First ...read more

Tags: Sin Bondage To

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Village Of The Book

Contributed by Perry Greene on Apr 17, 2012

THE VILLAGE OF THE BOOK It was early in 1945. As United States forces pushed deep into Okinawa they came across a village unlike any they had ever seen. Here at Shimabuku they were met and welcomed by two old men who invited the troops in as "fellow Christians." Correspondent Clarence W. Hall ...read more

Tags: Bible Truth

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

On Nimrod

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Jul 16, 2012

ON NIMROD Josephus wrote: "Now it was Nimrod who excited them to such an affront and contempt of God. He was the grandson of Ham, the son of Noah, a bold man, and of great strength of hand. He persuaded them not to ascribe it to God, as if it were through his means they were happy, but to believe ...read more

Tags: Apostasy

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Jim Buskirk Was Pastor Of Tulsa First Umc For ...

Contributed by Tim Smith on Jul 30, 2012

Jim Buskirk was pastor of Tulsa First UMC for many years. He’s been a mentor in my ministry. I listened to his sermon tapes for years. He once told this story. A man named Henry got off the bus near his church. As he walked up the street, he noticed a young boy sitting by a flower bed near a ...read more

Tags: Widows And Orphans

Denomination: Methodist

Life ...

Contributed by Samuel Fulkerson on Aug 23, 2012

Life Choices: AT&T FIRED President John Walter after nine months, saying he lacked intellectual leadership. *He received a $26 million dollar severance package. Police in Oakland, California spent two hours attempting to subdue a gunman who had barricaded himself inside his home. After firing ten ...read more

Tags: Humor

Denomination: Pentecostal

Torpedo Approaching  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 29, 2012

TORPEDO APPROACHING Allow me to tell you a story about a young man named Bill, who joined the Navy, when World War II began. One night his ship came into Boston, and he decided to visit his former pastor and friend, Rev. Stidger. During their visit together, Rev. Stidger said, "Bill, tell me the ...read more

Scripture: John 15:9-17

Tags: Heroism

During Super Bowl Xxxvii, Fedex Ran A Commercial ...  PRO

Contributed by Raymond L. Johnson on May 27, 2013

During Super Bowl XXXVII, FedEx ran a commercial that spoofed the movie Castaway, in which Tom Hanks played a FedEx worker, whose company plane went down, stranding him on a desert island for years. Looking like Tom Hanks in the movie, the FedEx employee in the commercial goes up to the door of a ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 25:8-10

Tags: Fulfillment, Discovery, Doing God's Will, God's Sovereign Will, Knowing God's Will  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Husband Doesn't Get It

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Jun 19, 2013

TWICE A WEEK After just a few years of marriage filled with disagreements and arguments, a young man and his wife decided the only way to save their marriage was to try counseling. Things had slipped from bad to worse as the months passed, turning their marriage into a marathon of misery. They had ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 3:19

Tags: Communication, Marriage, Husband, Relationships

Denomination: Baptist