In Sermon Illustrations: "Draw Near"

[041] A Message From A Poem – Christ - Our Support In Hurt

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Mar 1, 2025

[041] A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – CHRIST - OUR SUPPORT IN HURT We can pass through stormy seas and feel like those disciples in the boat when calm gave way to anxiety, but Jesus was in the boat resting in peace. The disciples focussed on the conditions and not on the Lord. Is that like us as ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 56:3-4, Psalm 56:11, Matthew 28:20, John 14:16, Mark 4:37-40  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Always With You, Hurt, Afraid, Support, Alone, Anxious  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Unwanted Items-Fresh Meat On The Street?

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Apr 2, 2025

Introduction: This illustration is the first in a series about things that either aren’t wanted, left behind, or otherwise abandoned. Here’s hoping some of these illustrations will be useful! Text: 2 Kings 7:7, KJV: 7 Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their ...read more

Scripture: 2 Kings 7:7

Tags: Caution, Meat, Unwanted, Abandoned Things

Denomination: Baptist

Wait On The Lord - But In Silence

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on May 5, 2025

WAIT ON THE LORD - BUT IN SILENCE Waiting in silence with patience is almost foreign to most of us. We like action and love to be doing as Martha was in rushing around in service for her Lord, while Mary sat in silence listening to the Lord in communion. The concept of waiting on the Lord is a ...read more

Scripture: Luke 10:38-42, Lamentations 3:26

Tags: Wait Silently, Mary, Silence, Martha, Wait On The Lord, Finches  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[134]. A Message From A Poem – I Am With You Always

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Jul 17, 2025

[134]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS This poem was written in a time of great trial that had been a lengthy one. It is so precious to know the Lord is with us always and never will He sleep or miss something. He knows our end from our beginning. I want to honour God in this ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 37:4-5, Matthew 28:20

Tags: Emmanuel, Jesus, Presence Of Jesus, Delight Yourself In The Lord, Close At Hand, I Am With You Always, Christian Poetry, Christian Poems, Commit Your Way To The Lord  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[160]. A Message From A Poem – Jesus So Loved Me

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Aug 9, 2025

[160]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – JESUS SO LOVED ME We have here a poem that covers some of the great and important aspect of the gospel. The Lord died for my sins. We ask why the innocent One has to die for the guilty. Jesus is the Substitute and love was behind that. {{1 Corinthians 15:3 “I ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:3, Romans 1:21, 2 Corinthians 5:6-8

Tags: Christian Poems, Christ The Sacrifice, Sin, Heaven, Guilty, Substitute, Substitutionary Atonement, Christian Poetry, Love, Jesus  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Unsung Heroines-Rhoda Of Jerusalem

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on May 13, 2022

Introduction: She’s only mentioned in one passage, and often for what she didn’t do. But this unsung heroine knew what she had seen, and nothing was going to change her mind! Text: Acts 12:11-17, KJV: 11 And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent ...read more

Scripture: Acts 12:11-17

Tags: Prayer, Peter, Rhoda, Unsung Heroines

Denomination: Baptist

The Parable Of The Fig Tree  PRO

Contributed by Ty Tamasaka on Jul 26, 2011

THE PARABLE OF THE FIG TREE 6 "Then Jesus told this story: 'A man planted a fig tree in his garden and came again and again to see if there was any fruit on it, but he was always disappointed. 7 Finally, he said to his gardener, 'I’ve waited three years, and there hasn’t been a single fig! Cut it ...read more

Scripture: Luke 13:6-9

Tags: Suffering Joy In

Denomination: Other

Sidewalk Flowers

Contributed by Glynda Lomax on Dec 27, 2014

"There is no failure except in no longer trying. There is no defeat except from within, no really insurmountable barrier save our own inherent weakness of purpose." - Hubbard, Kin American Journalist (1868-1930) I once knew a woman who grew up in Oklahoma in a very poor family. She ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 3:5-6

Tags: Persevere, Adversity, Disability, Trials And Difficulties

Denomination: Charismatic

One Word  PRO

Contributed by Michael Brown on Mar 11, 2008

One Word I sat down one day and began to think about what word I would choose if I could only choose one word to describe myself; one word which would describe me better than any other word. Many words immediately began to pour into my mind. I could think of so many aspects of my life that I ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:1-10, Matthew 27:42-54, Matthew 27:4, Matthew 27:1-4

Denomination: Pentecostal

[077]. A Message From A Poem – Eyes And Ears - Blind And Deaf

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Apr 11, 2025

[077]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – EYES AND EARS - BLIND AND DEAF Stubbornness is so bound up in most people that it will not release them, particularly when the things of God are presented. Stubbornness refuses to see reason and to see the light, and to hear and obey. The prophets were frustrated ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 42:20, Isaiah 6:10, Isaiah 43:8, Isaiah 35:5

Tags: Poetry, Stubbornness, Poem, Deaf Ears, Blind Eyes  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[080]. A Message From A Poem – Faithfully He Is Watching

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Apr 12, 2025

[080]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – FAITHFULLY HE IS WATCHING The poem here you will read is one of my top favourites. It resonates so much with me. It just flowed and when it does that it is joyous. I truly hope you can relate to it. This poem was written on the day I received notification that ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 23:6, Job 1:21

Tags: Watching, God Hears, Forsake, Poem, Orphans, Cares, Abandoned, Faithful, Friendship, Deliverance, Merciful, Poetry  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[155]. A Message From A Poem – Jesus Elevated In The Midst

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Aug 6, 2025

[155]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – JESUS ELEVATED IN THE MIDST Not I, but Christ. That is how it ought to be. That is the emphasis we need to have in our living and ministry. I am nothing without my Lord. If I think I am something I am deluded. If I think the ability is mine I am a disgrace. ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 21:15, Matthew 21:9, Galatians 6:3

Tags: Lifted Up, Christian Poems, Jesus Elevated, Ride On A Donkey, Hosanna, Palm Sunday, Worthy Is The Lamb, Jesus In The Midst  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Over Three Decades Ago, Dr. Gary Chapman Authored ...

Contributed by Allen Calkins on Nov 24, 2009

Over three decades ago, Dr. Gary Chapman authored a marriage enrichment book that has become a classic in the field. It has helped millions of married couples draw closer to one another by giving them the tools they need to express their love for one another in the “love language” their spouse ...read more

Tags: God's Love

Denomination: Baptist

Hudson Taylor Learns About ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 10, 2010

Hudson Taylor Learns About Giving One wonderful testimony of faith from church history is that of Hudson Taylor, the first missionary to the interior of China (in the mid-1800s). He was a great evangelist because he learn “to move man, through God, by prayer alone.” To prepare for the loneliness ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:16

Tags: Giving Yourself

Christmas Giving To Others

Contributed by Tim Smith on Aug 13, 2017

Ann Voskamp writes, “It’s almost a dozen years now, nothing under the Christmas tree here. Strange, the way children teach adults. It started at bedtime one year, I do remember that. Smoothing back hair, kissing foreheads, pulling up the blankets over my kids. Tucking them in. Prayers said all in a ...read more

Scripture: Titus 3:4

Tags: Christmas, Gift Giving

Denomination: Methodist

[025] A Message From A Poem - Balance Of God’s Attributes

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Feb 9, 2025

[025] A MESSAGE FROM A POEM - BALANCE OF GOD’S ATTRIBUTES One area where it takes deeper study to understand, is the attributes of God. The attributes are what is the completeness in God and they are many. It is what God is. We speak about love and mercy and compassion, but we also have ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 85:10-11, Exodus 34:5-7, Hebrews 2:17

Tags: Penalty, Poetry, Attributes Of God, Forgiveness, Faithful, Judgment, Balance, Merciful, Attributes, Love  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Animals Can Do Some Pretty Amazing Things  PRO

Contributed by Ray Navarro on Dec 7, 2001

Animals can do some pretty amazing things. For example, what happened one day in the state of Maryland. Believe it or not, this is a true story. The Atlantic Ocean converts into many rivers and streams that paint the state of Maryland much like a leaf of a palm tree that extends in many ...read more

Tags: Friendship New Friends, Compassion, Church Small Groups

Denomination: Adventist

Some Veterans Bear Visible Signs Of Their ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 16, 2001

Some veterans bear visible signs of their service: a missing limb, a jagged scar, a certain look in the eye. Others may carry the evidence inside them: a pin holding a bone together, a piece of shrapnel in the leg--or perhaps another sort of inner steel: the soul’s ally forged in the refinery of ...read more

Tags: Holidays Civic, Sacrifice, Soldier, Veteran's Day, Veterans  (view more)  (view less)

For Always  PRO

Contributed by Jim Kane on Dec 23, 2001

FOR ALWAYS In 1994 two Americans answered an invitation from the Russian Department of Education to teach morals and ethics (based on Biblical principles) in the public schools. They were invited to teach at prisons, businesses, the fire and police departments, and a large orphanage. It was ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:6-7, Luke 2:6-7

Tags: Birth Of Jesus, Angels

Denomination: Church Of God

In 1994 Two Americans Answered An Invitation From ...  PRO

Contributed by Jim Kane on Jan 1, 2002

In 1994 two Americans answered an invitation from the Russian Department of Education to teach morals and ethics (based on Biblical principles) in the public schools. They were invited to teach at prisons, businesses, the fire and police departments, and a large orphanage. It was nearing the ...read more

Tags: Christmas Advent, Descriptions Of God, Promises Of God

Denomination: Church Of God