In Sermon Illustrations: "Encourage Each Other"

Life Expectancies

Contributed by Rodelio Mallari on Nov 14, 2010

LIFE EXPECTANCIES The highest present-day life expectancy belongs to the women in Norway (77 years) and the men in Sweden (72 years). In most European countries and the Americas, men and women can expect to live to be over 60. On the other hand, most African countries report life expectancy of ...read more

Tags: Aging

Denomination: *other

The Love Of Christ Alone

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Nov 22, 2010

THE LOVE OF CHRIST ALONE When Hudson Taylor was director of the China Inland Mission, he often interviewed candidates for the mission field. On one occasion, he met with a group of applicants to determine their motivations for service. "And why do you wish to go as a foreign missionary?" he asked ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:14

Tags: Missions

Denomination: Brethren

Delivering Death Notices

Contributed by K. Edward Skidmore on Mar 30, 2011

DELIVERING DEATH NOTICES When I lived in Albuquerque I was trained by the Albuquerque Police Department to deliver death notifications to people in town. The Police Department used local preachers wearing suits with Police Chaplain badges instead of sending uniformed officers because it was ...read more

Tags: Death

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Submission?

Contributed by Tim Chinn on Apr 4, 2011

SUBMISSION? A poll was taken a few years ago asking, both men and women this question, “Should wives submit to their husbands?” (In 1998, the Southern Baptists also sparked controversy with their statement that wives should "submit graciously" to the "servant leadership" of their husbands. At that ...read more

Tags: Wife

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Our Amazing Five Senses

Contributed by Rodelio Mallari on Apr 13, 2011

OUR AMAZING FIVE SENSES Our five senses give us some astonishing capabilities. We can see a candle’s flame 30 miles away on a dark, clear night, and smell a single drop of perfume diffused in a three-room apartment. We can taste .04 ounce of table salt in 530 quarts of water. Our sense of touch ...read more

Tags: Human Body

Denomination: *other

The Jesus Embassy

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Aug 1, 2011

THE JESUS EMBASSY Almost every nation in the world has an embassy that is owned by the United States of America. No matter what nation that embassy is in, the ground on which it rests is U.S. soil. That land does not belong to that foreign country. Now, if you - as a U.S. citizen - are in Europe ...read more

Tags: Heaven

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Chaos Theory

Contributed by Tim White on Sep 7, 2011

CHAOS THEORY In the 1960s, Dr. Edward Lorenz, in trying to develop a systematic method for developing long range weather predictions, began focusing on chaos theory. Chaos theory basically is a study of how things that seem chaotic and random are actually more predictable from seemingly unrelated ...read more

Tags: Sin Punishment Of

Denomination: Baptist

Uh, That's "Maranatha"

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Nov 1, 2012

UH, THAT'S "MARANATHA" An elderly Christian lady attended a Christian conference gathering, similar to Keswick/Spring Harvest etc. For her it was really the first time she had mixed with Christians from other denominations. This really blessed her and opened her eyes to the richness of Christian ...read more

Tags: Second Coming

Denomination: Brethren

Telling A Secret

Contributed by Rick Gillespie- Mobley on Dec 18, 2012

Is there anybody here who has ever told somebody a secret? What’s the first thing you say, when you are about to tell somebody a secret? Right-Don’t tell anybody. But if the secret is some really good news, and you’re the person who is being told the secret, your face lights up, your eyes get ...read more

Tags: Joy

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Hudson Taylor's Example

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 1, 2013

HUDSON TAYLOR'S EXAMPLE Years ago the communist government in China commissioned an author to write a biography of Hudson Taylor with the purpose of distorting the facts and presenting him in a bad light. They wanted to discredit the name of this consecrated missionary of the gospel. As the author ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:14-16

Tags: Christian Witness

The World Hates Light  PRO

Contributed by Spencer Miller on Jun 16, 2013

I remember listening to a sermon illustration given by the powerful proclaimer, Rev. Dr. A. W. Mays of Austin, Texas. He told us of an incident that took place in his hometown of Austin concerning a streetlight. In Austin there was a high crime area, and the residents of the community petitioned ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:14-16, Matthew 5:13-20

Tags: Light, Christian Life, Christian Duty, Light Of The World, Sermon On The Mount  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Become What You Are

Contributed by Davon Huss on Aug 18, 2014

Norman Jean Douglas- Germans have a saying, “Ware was du bist” (Become what you are). The meaning was difficult for me until a minister gave me the following analogy. When a reigning monarch has a child there appears to be no difference between that child and any other child. Both are fussy, ...read more

Scripture: John 1:12-13

Tags: Child Of God, Mentor, Training Disciples, Kingdom Character

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Being Self

Contributed by Don Berry-Graham on Feb 29, 2016

A little boy named Adam wanted to be like his friend Bobby. Adam loved the way Bobby walked and talked. Bobby, however, wanted to be like Charlie. Something about Charlie’s stride and accent intrigued him. Charlie, on the other hand, was impressed with Danny. Charlie wanted to look and sound like ...read more

Scripture: John 2:21

Tags: Acceptance

Denomination: Baptist

The Worst Boss Ever

Contributed by Jim Butcher on Apr 11, 2018

What if you had a boss that demanded that you check in with him every ten minutes no matter what? What if he required that even if you were in the middle of other important work in your office? What if he demanded that whether you were at the office or at home? What if he required that even if ...read more

Tags: Technology, Busyness, Cell Phone

Denomination: Baptist

Prayer

Contributed by Roy Fowler on Sep 13, 2020

This statement is many times use as a stand alone statement without regards to the actual meaning. When the context has to be considered and an understanding of who God is and his teachings are most important. A famous Bible scholar John Gill puts it this way: For whatever is asked in faith, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 21:22

Tags: Faith, Prayer

Denomination: Independent/Bible

A Funny Marriage Sermon-Starter

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Oct 23, 2022

An 80 year-old woman was recently married to her 4th husband. A reporter questioned the occupation of her newly acquired husband. She replied that he owned a funeral home. Curious about the other husbands, the reporter also asked about their occupations. The woman paused for a while and stated ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:18-31

Tags: Death, Marriage, Humor, Husbands, Wives, Widows  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Love Of Money

Contributed by David Swanger on Jan 19, 2024

One day a certain old, rich man of a miserable disposition visited a rabbi, who took the rich man by the hand and lead him to a window. “Look out there,” he said. The rich man looked into the street. “What do you see?” asked the rabbi. “I see men, women and children,” answered the rich man. Again, ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:10

Tags: Money, Riches

A Man's Worth Is Not Based On His Wealth

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jan 28, 2024

The Jews had a practice of seating the most important people nearest the sacred scrolls in the synagogue. Other (less important) people would be seated in the back. This unhealthy practice was still carried on by some Christians in Jerusalem in the time of James, the half-brother of Jesus. Those ...read more

Tags: Prejudice, Synagogue, Judgmentalism, Possessions, Playing Favorites, People, Money, Soul, Favoritism  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Keeping The 10 Commandments?

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Feb 22, 2025

Bernie and Esther were not the most religious Jews and in fact they really only went to Temple once a year. As they were leaving the Temple, the Rabbi said, "Bernie, it sure would be nice to see you and Esther here more than once a year!" "I know," replied Bernie, "but at ...read more

Scripture: Mark 12:28-34, Exodus 20:1-17

Tags: Law, Ten Commandments

Denomination: Independent/Bible

A Religion Professor Named Dr. Christianson ...  PRO

Contributed by West Garner on May 8, 2006

A Religion Professor named Dr. Christianson taught a required survey of Christianity course at small college. Every freshman was required to take the course regardless of his or her major. Although he tried hard to communicate the gospel, students viewed the class as nothing more than a waste of ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 9:11-22

Tags: Quicksand, Shoulder, Stand, Brother, Evangelism How To  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist