In Sermon Illustrations: "Eleven Disciple"

I've Never Lifted A Barn, But Herman Ostry, A ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

I’ve never lifted a barn, but Herman Ostry, a farmer in Bruno, Nebraska has. Shortly after buying a piece of land and a barn, a nearby creek rose, and the barn was under twenty nine inches of water. He half-jokingly said to his family, ‘I bet if we had enough people, we could pick up that barn and ...read more

Tags: Prayer Adoration

The Colonel Sanders Story  PRO

Contributed by Lonnie Erwin on Oct 26, 2007

Illustration: The Colonel Sanders Story Here’s a man sitting on his porch in Kentucky. He’s only recently retired from the post office, and he’s sitting there when his first Social Security check is delivered. He’s very, very discouraged. He thinks to himself, "Is this what life is going to be ...read more

Tags: Discouragement

Denomination: Baptist

Servants And Sons

Contributed by Jim Blevins on May 2, 2009

SERVANTS AND SONS Imagine at Mt. Sinai with all the lightning, thunder, smoke and the threat of death to any person or animal that even came close to the mountain, and how the people shuddered with fear as God was soon to speak His commandments. How would it have been if, after God had spoken ...read more

Tags: Arrogance

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Elisha Hoffman: A Burden Too Big To Bear  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 28, 2009

ELISHA HOFFMAN: A BURDEN TOO BIG TO BEAR Many New Testament promises have corresponding verses in the Old Testament that reinforce their power. When Peter, for example, said, ". . . casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you" (1 Peter 5:7), he was but restating David’s words in Psalm ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 5:7

Tags: Fear And Worry

Who Is The Shepherd?

Contributed by Guy Mcgraw on Apr 6, 2011

WHO IS THE SHEPHERD? Keith Miller writes, "Years ago, when our daughters were very young, we'd drop them off at our church's children's chapel on Sundays before the eleven o'clock service. One Sunday, just as I was about to open the door to the small chapel, the minister came rushing up. He said ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:14-17

Tags: Arrogance

Persecution Shouldn't Come As A Shock To Us. ...

Contributed by Doug Lyon on Jul 23, 2006

Persecution shouldn’t come as a shock to us. Jesus forewarned His followers that they would be mistreated and even killed. Listen to how several of the disciples of Jesus died. According to church tradition … • Matthew suffered martyrdom by being slain with a sword in Ethiopia. • Mark expired ...read more

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Serving Is The Plan Or Strategy Of The Church. ...  PRO

Contributed by Paul Newell on Aug 29, 2001

Serving is the plan or strategy of the church. It’s how we are to do “business”. Just think about how we talk about church…it goes against just about everything in this world…  We call our meetings “services”  We call what we offer – “ministries”  The funds we receive are ...read more

Scripture: John 10:1-10

Tags: Discipleship, Church Purpose Of

Denomination: Baptist

Few [called By Christ] Would Have Been ...  PRO

Contributed by David Haun on Dec 27, 2003

Few [called by Christ] would have been considered wise in the world’s eyes. Few were powerful or influential decision makers. Few were wealthy. Among the earliest disciples, five were fishermen, one was a tax collector, and the careers of the rest are unknown. None (with the possible exception of ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness General, Faith, Christian Disciplines

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

George Barna Wrote The State Of The Church In ...  PRO

Contributed by Timothy Smith on Jan 1, 2005

George Barna wrote The State of the Church in 2002. Barna conducted a survey of self-pronounced Christians and here’s what he found about their knowledge of the Bible. Now, remember these are Christians.. • 48% could not name the four Gospels. • 52% cannot identify more than two or three of Jesus’ ...read more

Tags: Bible Study

Denomination: Christian Church

Indiana Jones Movie: The Last Crusade

Contributed by Christian Cheong on Jan 24, 2005

Indiana Jones movie The Last Crusade: It’s the story of Indiana Jones and his father’s quest for the Holy Grail, the legendary chalice that Jesus used in his Last Supper with his disciples. In one of the final scenes, the ancient temple they’ve found the chalice in is collapsing and people are ...read more

Tags: Bible Influence

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Missionary/Evangelist Stanley Jones Wrote: ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Missionary/evangelist Stanley Jones wrote: "Swami Shivananda, a famous swami in India, used to tell his disciples: ’Kill the mind and then, and then only, can you meditate.’ The Christian position is, ’You shall love the Lord thy God with all your mind’--the intellectual nature; ’with all your ...read more

Tags: Grace

Ron Mcclung Is A Former Pastor Of 33 Years And ...

Contributed by Steve Smith on Aug 28, 2007

Ron McClung is a former pastor of 33 years and wrote these words: “God sees the dream in our hearts. People all around us have dreams of being better than they are, of doing better and climbing higher. Yet, sometimes we don’t recognize the dreams because we don’t see them clearly as God does. ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Examine Your Hearts Today As You Partake Of The ...

Contributed by R. David Reynolds on Oct 7, 2007

Examine your hearts today as you partake of the body and blood of Christ. Repent of any thought, word, or deed that the Holy Spirit points out in your life that is not pleasing to God. Rededicate yourself to being His disciple, and receive the heart warming assurance John Wesley experienced on ...read more

Denomination: Methodist

Some Theologians Have Tried To Reintroduce ...

Contributed by Austin Mansfield on Oct 28, 2007

Some theologians have tried to reintroduce heretical teachings from the second and third centuries as newly-found Gospels. They claim writings like the “Gospel of Thomas” are authentic teachings of Jesus and his disciples. I’m reminded of the time President Abraham Lincoln met with General ...read more

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

I Have Tried Fasting A Few Times In My Life And ...

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Dec 23, 2009

I have tried fasting a few times in my life and always found it helpful. Once, after a fast for a week or so, I was so hungry for food that I went out and bought a pizza. I was sick that night. Not a good idea to introduce pizza to a starving stomach too quickly. Are you hungry enough? I was ...read more

Tags: Righteousness

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

A Young Boy Went With His Parents Touring Around ...

Contributed by David Moore on Jun 9, 2010

A young boy went with his parents touring around Europe one summer. Part of their tour included visits to the great old cathedrals of the past. As he visited cathedral after cathedral he was impressed by the massive stained glass portraits of the disciples and of other saints as he stood in their ...read more

Tags: Sanctification

Denomination: Baptist

The Definition Of A Saint  PRO

Contributed by Derrick Tuper on Oct 20, 2011

THE DEFINITION OF A SAINT A young boy went with his parents touring around Europe one summer. Part of their tour included visits to the great old cathedrals of the past. As he visited cathedral after cathedral, he was impressed by the massive stained glass portraits of the disciples and other ...read more

Tags: Christian Witness

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Know Why You Worship As You Do  PRO

Contributed by Tim White on Dec 5, 2011

KNOW WHY YOU WORSHIP AS YOU DO Why would some people buy a cat and tie it to the bedpost to show their reverence to God? Many years ago, a very poor holy man lived in a remote part of China. Every day before his time of meditation, in order to show his devotion, he put a dish of butter up on the ...read more

Tags: Worship General

Denomination: Baptist

The Hunger Games: Laying Down Your Life

Contributed by Jeff Morrison on Mar 30, 2012

THE HUNGER GAMES: LAYING DOWN YOUR LIFE In the movie, "The Hunger Games," 16 year old Katness is faced with a dramatic choice when her 12 year old sister is chosen by lottery to fight for their district. She knows her sister is small and frail, and that she would not last in the life or death ...read more

Tags: Giving Yourself

Denomination: Baptist

Alexander Maclaren Describes What Happened ...

Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Mar 8, 2008

Alexander Maclaren describes what happened because of Christ’s command: “Barbarian, Scythian, bond and free, male and female, Jew and Greek, learned and ignorant … sat down at one table, and felt themselves all one in Christ Jesus. They were ready to break all other bonds, and to yield to the ...read more

Denomination: Other