In Sermon Illustrations: "Easter Youth"

I Worry About...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 13, 2010

I WORRY ABOUT... Percentage of people who at least occasionally worry about: Having their car stolen or broken into: 42 Home burglarization when they are not at home: 45 Being the victim of terrorism: 38 Having a school-aged child physically harmed at school: 29 Your home being burglarized when ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:6-7

Tags: Anxiety

Redefining Sin

Contributed by Bret Toman on Jan 4, 2011

REDEFINING SIN "In recent years, and especially since the 1960s, the democratic societies of the West have been enlarging the boundaries of acceptable behaviour, in effect redefining sin. The sexual revolution of my youth dismantled barriers against premarital sex and encouraged open marriages. ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:1-11

Tags: Sin Exposed

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

The Decline Of Marriage And Children

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Mar 9, 2012

THE DECLINE OF MARRIAGE AND CHILDREN Rutgers University Sociology Prof. David Popenoe, and Jean Bethke Elshtain, Professor of Social and Political Ethics at the University of Chicago divinity School. Concluded that the decline of marriage is mainly responsible for the deteriorating well-being of ...read more

Tags: Divorce

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

John D. Rockefeller's Transformation

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 14, 2012

JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER’S TRANSFORMATION John D. Rockefeller, Sr., was strong and husky when he was a youth. He early determined to earn money and drove himself to the limit. At age 33, he earned his first million dollars. At age 43, he controlled the biggest company in the world. At age 53, he was ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 9:1-15

Tags: Giving General

April 29, ...

Contributed by Paul Wallace on Sep 20, 2006

April 29, 2003 Because Trent Dilfer is a public figure, the death Sunday of his 5-year-old son Trevin is news. It’s sad news. Even those critical of Dilfer the football player surely feel for Dilfer the man and his family. Five-year-olds aren’t supposed to die, they’re supposed to go to ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 26:1-10, Matthew 26:6-13

Denomination: Wesleyan

It Was A Fool’s Game And I Lost

Contributed by James Snyder on Apr 6, 2024

When it comes to games, I am not a good player. I lose more times than I win, and I can’t remember the last time I won. My paternal grandfather’s favorite holiday of the year was April Fools’ Day. He often would spend the whole year developing a prank for family and friends. He had a construction ...read more

Scripture: Luke 6:31

Tags: Fool, Pranks

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Christmases Past  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 10, 2002

CHRISTMASES PAST Christmas was not celebrated during the 1st 2 centuries after Christ’s life on earth. In AD 245, when a group of scholars attempted to pinpoint the exact date of Christ’s birth, a church council denounced the endeavor, declaring it wrong to celebrate the birthday of Christ "as ...read more

Tags: Christmas, Birth Of Jesus

One Of The Most Terrific Mothers Of All Time Was ...  PRO

Contributed by Victor Yap on Jan 8, 2003

One of the most terrific mothers of all time was Susannah Wesley. Susannah’s father was a minister and she was born in England in 1669 as the youngest of twenty-five children! Susannah was married at 19 to Samuel Wesley, also a minister and, not to be outdone, she had nineteen children herself. Her ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 22:6, Proverbs 22:15

Tags: Parenting

Denomination: Independent/Bible

The Church Service Ended At The Lutheran Church ...  PRO

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Jun 1, 2003

The church service ended at the Lutheran Church in New Sweden, Maine as everyone “passed the peace.” It was the first Sunday after Easter, and the 50 people in attendance headed to the fellowship hour to have some coffee. Some of the people complained that the coffee was bitter, but people ...read more

Tags: Giving General

Denomination: Methodist

The Seventeen Year Cicada Locust Lives Up To Its ...  PRO

Contributed by Russell Brownworth on May 1, 2007

The seventeen year cicada locust lives up to its name. When my children were little the locusts invaded. The little bugs had lived as larvae in the ground for a long seventeen year snooze. When they awoke one Saturday morning, it sounded like all the chain saws in the county had been ...read more

Tags: Love

Denomination: United Methodist

This Past Week My Oldest Daughter Came In For ...

Contributed by Douglas Sherwood on Mar 27, 2008

This past week my oldest daughter came in for Easter break from college in Tennessee. After their mother spent nine hours in a van with our girls I thought she might like a little time alone. So I took our girls to see the movie . . . “Horton Hears a Who.” GREAT DR. SUESS MOVIE! Horton is an ...read more

Denomination: Nazarene

People Mark Off Times And Celebrations In ...

Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Mar 2, 2009

People mark off times and celebrations in different ways. In Belgium (since 1394, in Binche), Brazil (a four-day celebration in Rio de Janeiro), Italy (in Venice, six months of celebrating in the 18th cent., now 12 days), Trinidad and Tobago (featuring a daylong competition among calypso bands), ...read more

Tags: Sexuality

Denomination: Other

Cost Of Discipleship  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 19, 2009

COST OF DISCIPLESHIP I recently read the true story about a preacher who was standing at the door shaking hands as the congregation departed. He grabbed one man by the hand and pulled him aside. The preacher said to him, "You need to join the Army of the Lord!" The man replied, "I’m already in the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 16:24-25

Tags: Discipleship, Follow, Deny, Gross

What Is The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 11, 2009

What is the Church? They tell me the story that long ago there was a small church, in a small town, in a small county, where a small congregation had tried for years to get the biggest “sinner” in town, Sam, to come to church. Sam the sinner would have nothing to do with the church. He wouldn’t ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 1:22-23

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Study: A Few Cigarettes Can Hook You For Life  PRO

Contributed by David Parks on Jan 30, 2003

Study: A Few Cigarettes Can Hook You For Life THE ASSOCIATED PRESS LONDON – Scientists have confirmed a suspicion held by some smokers but never proven: It could take just a few cigarettes to become addicted. Some 12 and 13 year-olds showed evidence of addiction within days of their first ...read more

Tags: Addiction, Children

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Awl For The Good  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 25, 2002

AWL FOR THE GOOD In 1809, Simon Renee Braille and his wife Monique welcomed their fourth child into the world-- a lively boy named Louis. They lived in a small stone house near Paris where Braille was the local harness maker. Leather working tools are dangerous, so the toddler had been ...read more

Scripture: John 9:1-41

Tags: Grace, God's Omniscience, God In The Hardships

The News Has Played Up The Fact Of Racial ...  PRO

Contributed by Rick Stacy on Mar 24, 2002

The news has played up the fact of racial motivations and hatred of jocks. It becomes increasingly clear that one of the targeted groups on that HS campus was Christians. Cassie Bernall Cassie was a 17-year-old junior with long blond hair, hair she wanted to cut off and have made into wigs for ...read more

Tags: Doubt, Discipleship, Christian Disciplines

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

You Are Driving A Bus. You Go East 12 Miles, And ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

You are driving a bus. You go east 12 miles, and turn south and go 2 miles and take on 9 passengers, and then you turn west and go 3 miles and let off 4 passengers. How old is the bus driver? ***Give the youth a chance to answer the question and eventually ask one of them to explain the question ...read more

Tags: Prayer How To

In God's Economy, Ownership Is Very Different. ...

Contributed by Darryl Klassen on Jul 27, 2007

“In God’s economy, ownership is very different. The Bible tells us that we are here for but a moment, that our lives are a puff of smoke. I have never seen a hearse pulling a U-Haul. Mother Theresa is merciless on this theme. She said that “if you have two jackets, one belongs to the poor.” This ...read more

Denomination: Mennonite