In Sermon Illustrations: "Effort"

Futile Renovations

Contributed by Richard Goble on Nov 23, 2007

Futile Renovations London businessman Lindsay Clegg told the story of a warehouse property he was selling. The building had been empty for months and needed repairs. Vandals had damaged the doors, smashed the windows, and strewn trash around the interior. As he showed a prospective buyer the ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

The Definition Of A Bbq

Contributed by Sean Harder on Jul 8, 2009

THE DEFINITION OF A BBQ It’s the only type of cooking a "real man" will do. When a man volunteers to do the ’BBQ’ the following chain of events is put into motion: 1) The woman goes to the store. 2) The woman fixes the salad, vegetables, and dessert. 3) The woman prepares the meat for cooking, ...read more

Tags: Father's Day

Atheist Thankful For A Beautiful ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 24, 2009

Atheist Thankful for a Beautiful Morning One morning a woman who was a known atheist stepped out of her home on the hillside and was taken back by what a beautiful morning it was. The Cook Inlet sparkled, the air was fresh and crisp, the sky was a blue as she had ever seen it and Denali loomed over ...read more

Scripture: Luke 17:17-19

Tags: Thanks, Thanksgiving Holiday

Jewish Scribes, Who Kept Up The Old Testament ...

Contributed by Thomas Cash on Dec 17, 2009

Jewish scribes, who kept up the Old Testament scrolls for centuries, had a nearly foolproof system for making perfect copies. First, a scribe would count the number of letters on the page to be copied. When he had finished his copy, he would count the number of letters on the new page and make sure ...read more

Tags: Bible Truth

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Watch Out For The Weeds  PRO

Contributed by Christian Cheong on Feb 23, 2010

WATCH OUT FOR THE WEEDS Watch out for the weeds in your life – the things that come between you and God; between you and serving God. I like the way Rick Warren illustrates weeds. • You don’t have to plan for weeds to grow; it just grows. • The difference between a plant and a weed is this. ...read more

Tags: Parable Sower And Seed

Denomination: Independent/Bible

The Lord's Answer

Contributed by Bill Butsko on Mar 12, 2010

THE LORD'S ANSWER A man once said to a servant of the Lord, "I am such a helpless, miserable sinner; there is no hope for me. I have prayed, and resolved and tried, and vowed until I am sick of my unavailing efforts." "Do you believe that Christ died for our sins, and rose again?" was the ...read more

Tags: Attitude General

Denomination: Christian Church

Make Sure The Captain Is On Board

Contributed by John Perry on Jan 1, 2011

MAKE SURE THE CAPTAIN IS ON BOARD A young naval officer was undergoing his first sea training on board a naval ship. His responsibility was to safely steer the ship away from the wharf and set it on course for a voyage out to sea. He carefully went through all the procedures of disembarking the ...read more

Tags: Preparation

Denomination: Pentecostal

Disturb Us, O Lord  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 8, 2011

DISTURB US, O LORD Sir Frances Drake: "Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves, when our dreams have come true because we have dreamed too little, when we arrive safely because we have sailed too close to the shore. Disturb us, Lord, when with the abundance of things we ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 3:1-4

Tags: Christian Values

The Inspiration Behind The Statue Of Liberty

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 6, 2011

THE INSPIRATION BEHIND THE STATUE OF LIBERTY The Statue Of Liberty has towered above Bedlow Island, near the entrance to New York Harbor, as a symbol of freedom. The famous sculptor, Bartholdi, gave twenty years of devoted effort to the work, personally superintending the raising of the ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 31:10-31, Proverbs 31:1-27

Tags: Mother's Day

Keeping Up With Next Door  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 8, 2011

KEEPING UP WITH NEXT DOOR I heard about a chicken yard with a big hen house, where a rooster had all of his hens laying eggs. One day, two little boys were next door playing football, with a brand new white football. One of them accidentally kicked the football over the fence, and it rolled into ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 4:4

Tags: Envy, Successful

Who Created The Universe?

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 23, 2011

WHO CREATED THE UNIVERSE? In 2005, Newsweek and Beliefnet asked Americans this question: "Do you believe that God created the universe?" Eighty percent of those responding said the universe was created by God. That's good news! And it's pretty amazing that after all of the money and effort spent ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 1:1-5

Tags: Creation

What Kind Of Worker Are You?

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Oct 15, 2019

WHAT KIND OF WORKER ARE YOU? The way you work in your business is one of the greatest ways you witness either for the Lord or against Him. Don't be a half-hearted worker like these: 1. The Vanisher - The vanisher seems to go invisible at odd times without explanation.  2. The Victim - ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 1:28

Tags: Work, Testimony, Business

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Anne Rice Is One Of The Most Widely Read Authors ...

Contributed by Mark Eberly on Apr 8, 2008

Anne Rice is one of the most widely read authors in the world. Her bestsellers—most notably, her series of gothic books called "The Vampire Chronicles"—have sold over 100 million copies. After spending most of her adult life a self-described atheist, Rice converted back to Christianity in 1996. She ...read more

Denomination: Church Of God

Hannah More Once Said, "Prayer Is The Application ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 23, 2008

Hannah More once said, "Prayer is the application of want to Him who alone can relieve it, the voice of sin to Him who alone can pardon it. It is the urgency of poverty, the prostration of humility, the fervency of penitence, the confidence of trust. It is not eloquence, but earnestness; not ...read more

Tags: Prayer General

A Domino A Rectangular Tile With A Line Dividing ...

Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Sep 21, 2008

A Domino a rectangular tile with a line dividing its face into two square ends. A popular way of playing with dominos is lining them up end to end and knocking them over. This domino effect is fun to watch when handling the physical tiles but, if it occurs metaphorically in worldwide financial ...read more

Tags: Money

Denomination: Other

When Our Ship Was In Dry Dock, I Was Assigned A ...

Contributed by Timothy Darling on Oct 26, 2008

When our ship was in dry dock, I was assigned a watch in the barracks one night. I don’t remember what the problem was, I usually did not have this problem, but that night I was very sleepy. Since it was my own barracks I was roaming, I slipped into my room and lay down ... just for a moment. About ...read more

Tags: Preparation

Denomination: Mennonite

Fair-Weather Christians  PRO

Contributed by Robert Leroe on Dec 9, 2008

FAIR-WEATHER CHRISTIANS During the American Revolution, farmers who joined the Continental Army during the spring and summer went AWOL in the fall and winter. They were known as "summer soldiers". They signed up with the Army after their crops were planted, they fought the British over the ...read more

Tags: Discipleship

Denomination: Congregational

Traditions

Contributed by Dale Pilgrim on Jan 5, 2009

TRADITIONS We all have various Christmas traditions. Few of us probably have a tradition quite like the Robynson family’s. In his book Crazy Love, Francis Chan shares their story (their effort to keep Christmas and to exude the true Christmas spirit): This family of five, with three kids under ...read more

Tags: Christmas

Denomination: Salvation Army

Jerry Seigle And Joe Shuster Were Barely Out Of ...  PRO

Contributed by Ed Sasnett on Apr 5, 2006

Jerry Seigle and Joe Shuster were barely out of high school in the down and dirty days of the Great Depression when they came up with their brainchild. During these desperate days when big governments and big business and big problems made the little man feel even less powerless, these two Jewish ...read more

Tags: Easter Resurrection

Denomination: Baptist

What Child Has Not Watched With Wonder As Mother ...

Contributed by Manuel Amparo on May 10, 2006

What child has not watched with wonder as Mother wielded a needle and thread? But mothers not only make and mend clothes, they make and mend characters! To do this sometimes requires “needling.” The greatest heritage anyone can receive is the influence of a Christian home. But ...read more

Scripture: Acts 11:27-30

Tags: Parenting

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist