In Sermon Illustrations: "Encourage Others"

A Study Released This January From The Barna ...

Contributed by Dillon Burroughs on Mar 9, 2009

A study released this January from the Barna organization revealed that 73% of today’s youth have been involved in some form of psychic or witchcraft related activity. The most popular of these activities includes playing with Ouija boards and the reading of witchcraft and Wicca related books. In ...read more

Tags: Supernatural

Denomination: Baptist

Alcoholics Anonymous And Celebrate Recovery

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 12, 2009

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS AND CELEBRATE RECOVERY By 1934, alcoholic Bill Wilson had ruined a promising Wall Street career because of his constant drunkenness. He was introduced to the idea of a spiritual cure by an old drinking buddy, Ebby Thacher. While in a hospital, Wilson underwent what he believed ...read more

Tags: Addiction

Life Without Easter  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 13, 2009

LIFE WITHOUT EASTER The story is told of a young mother who found herself on the last train out of Poland during Hitler’s regime. She had her first-born toddler and her newborn nursing infant with her. The bombing was fierce, and the train had to stop many times for the passengers to take cover. A ...read more

Scripture: Mark 16:6

Tags: Easter, Joy, Purpose, Eternal Life, Easter Resurrection  (view more)  (view less)

The Swiss Fusion Man

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 17, 2009

THE SWISS FUSION MAN On May 14, 2008, Swiss aviation enthusiast and inventor Yves Rossy became the first man in the world to fly with wings and four jet engines strapped to his body. The inaugural flight in Bex, Switzerland lasted six minutes. The 48-year-old daredevil made his first public ...read more

Tags: Confidence

On Dateline Nbc Friday December 26, 2008 ‘a Twist ...

Contributed by Paul Wallace on Mar 25, 2009

On Dateline NBC Friday December 26, 2008 ‘A Twist of Fate’ From Publishers Weekly In a widely reported incident in 2006, Laura Van Ryn and Whitney Cerak, students at an evangelical college in Indiana, and their families were victims of a ghastly mistake: the wrong girl was identified as the ...read more

Tags: Suffering, Suffering Loneliness

Denomination: Wesleyan

Diversity In The Church  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 8, 2009

DIVERSITY IN THE CHURCH Philip Yancey put it this way in an article in Christianity Today just this last November. He writes, "As I read accounts of the New Testament church, no characteristic stands out more sharply than [diversity]. Beginning with Pentecost, the Christian church dismantled the ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 3:28

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Springing Into Action  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 8, 2009

SPRINGING INTO ACTION On the day President Obama was inaugurated, Eliot Swainson happened to be in Washington, D.C. The city authorities had expected record numbers of people to attend the inauguration, so they asked for assistance from other cities to help with crowd control. Metro Officer ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:28-39

Tags: God In The Hardships

Live What You Believe  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 8, 2009

LIVE WHAT YOU BELIEVE After the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989, no person in all of East Germany was more despised than the former Communist dictator Erich Honniker. He had been stripped of all his offices. Even the Communist Party rejected him. Kicked out of his villa, the new government ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:13-14

Tags: Christian Love

View Everyone As God's Creation  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 9, 2009

VIEW EVERYONE AS GOD’S CREATION Presbyterian biblical scholar/ minister/author Carl Howie tells about an incident that took place in a New York subway. It was winter, and an especially cold and bitter night. Very few people were on the subway at that hour. At each station, the train would screech ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:10

Tags: Judgment

Comedian And Actor Chris Farley, Of Saturday ...

Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Apr 20, 2009

Comedian and actor Chris Farley, of Saturday Night Live fame, was found dead in his downtown Chicago apartment on December 18, 1997. The Cook County medical examiner’s office later reported that he died of an opiate and cocaine overdose (James Barron, “Chris Farley, 33, a Versatile Comedian-Actor,” ...read more

Tags: Sin Wages Of

Denomination: Other

Mistaken For Jesus

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 27, 2009

MISTAKEN FOR JESUS Carolyn Gillette told the story of a hospice chaplain named Larry, and how he became friends with an 80-year-old lady named Mary. Mary was a hospice patient. Larry visited with her many times, and was greatly impressed by her faith. One day, he got a call that Mary had taken a ...read more

Tags: Christian Witness

Working On This Sermon Has Made Me So ...

Contributed by K. Edward Skidmore on May 13, 2009

Working on this sermon has made me so thankful. A few weeks ago I taught a class that went along with what I’ve been studying for this series in Exodus. For the class, I did an extensive study on the 7 feasts that God instituted for the Nation of Israel. I read a detailed account of what is ...read more

Tags: Law

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Weathering The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 13, 2009

WEATHERING THE STORMS Pastor Ron Ritchie once talked about a friend of his named Jack who called him one night many years ago. He sensed immediately that his heart was heavy with grief. A few months prior his wife Cindy had become pregnant for the first time after years of waiting on the Lord to ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:10

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Right And Wrong And Ruby ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 14, 2009

RIGHT AND WRONG AND RUBY BRIDGES A federal judge had ordered New Orleans to open its public schools to African-American children. White parents in the community decided to keep their children at home if this verdict was enforced. They made it known that any African-American children who came to ...read more

Scripture: James 1:22-24

Tags: Christian Values

What Do You Hold ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 14, 2009

WHAT DO YOU HOLD SACRED? One of the most profound things I learned in graduate school was taught to me by one of my professors. He is now my Counselor Intern Supervisor, my mentor, and my good friend, Tom Moore. It was really more of a question than a profound fact to puzzle over. On an essay ...read more

Scripture: Mark 10:17-31

Tags: Christian Values

What Do You Listen For?

Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Oct 17, 2009

WHAT DO YOU LISTEN FOR? A Native American was walking in downtown New York City alongside a friend who was a resident of the city. Right in the centre of Manhattan, the Native American seized his friend's arm and whispered, "Wait! I can hear a cricket." His friend replied "Come on! A cricket? ...read more

Tags: Call Of The Disciples

Denomination: Anglican

Nine Year-Old Girl Transformed By Liver ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 17, 2009

Nine year-old Girl Transformed by Liver Transplant and Change of Blood Type Demi-Lee Brennan had a liver transplant at age 9. She faced a life on anti-rejection drugs like every other transplant patient. Nine months later, however, her red blood cells were being attacked by her own white blood ...read more

Scripture: John 15:1-17

Tags: Born Again, Transformed Life

Mr. And Mrs. ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 24, 2009

"Mr. and Mrs. Thing" John MacArthur, in his book titled Overcoming Materialism, offers this analysis: Mr. and Mrs. Thing are a very pleasant and successful couple. At least, that’s the verdict of most people, who tend to measure success with a “thingometer.” And when the “thingometer” is put to ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:19-21

Tags: Materialism

College Football's Biggest ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 30, 2009

College Football’s Biggest Loss It was the most brutally devastating rout in the history of College Football. On a dark and dreary Saturday in 1916… 1 look at the 2 teams showed the trouble that was ahead… On one side towered Georgia Tech’s Yellow Jackets… The local papers described them as ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Tags: Sports

No Peace In ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 2, 2009

No Peace in World The weekend of December 7, 1941, started out to be another routine weekend. The aircraft carriers were at dockside and the crews were enjoying the day with rest and relaxation. The sky was clear, the sun was shining and the weather was beautiful. This was a perfect picture of ...read more

Scripture: John 16:33

Tags: War