In Sermon Illustrations: "Everybody"

Humpty Dumpty

Contributed by Roger Hasselquist on Sep 18, 2021

I am sure that you all know the nursery rhyme about Humpty Dumpty. I think you can all say it with me. Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king’s horses and all the king’s men Couldn’t put Humpty together again. So what was Humpty Dumpty? Everybody knows ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:12

Tags: Redemption, The Fall

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Paul Harvey Told About A 3-Year-Old Boy Who Went ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Paul Harvey told about a 3-year-old boy who went to the grocery store with his mother. Before they entered the grocery store she said to him, "Now you’re not going to get any chocolate chip cookies, so don’t even ask." She put him up in the cart & he sat in the little child’s seat while she ...read more

Scripture: John 16:23-24

Tags: Faith

What Is A Grandparent?

Contributed by Johnny Creasong on Sep 10, 2007

What is a Grandparent? Taken from papers written by a class of 8 year olds: - Grandparents are a lady and a man who have no little children of their own. They like other people’s. - A grandfather is a man grandmother. - Grandparents don’t have to do anything except be there when we come to see ...read more

Tags: Family

Denomination: Church Of God

When Ohio State Football Team Played Poorly The ...

Contributed by Paul Wallace on Sep 17, 2007

When Ohio State Football team played poorly the first game against a weak Youngstown State team they could have easily criticized and blamed each other, but they didn’t. Their high powered running back Chris Wells couldn’t score from inside the one yard line to top off an awlful day for him. When ...read more

Denomination: Wesleyan

Lost At Sea For Nine Months!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Mar 15, 2022

LOST AND FOUND - Three Mexican fishermen who disappeared while on a short shark fishing trip were rescued in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, after spending 9 months on the open sea. The men said they survived by eating raw fish, ducks, and seagulls, drinking rainwater, and reading the Bible. They ...read more

Tags: Lost Sheep, Prodigal Son, Luke 15, Celebration, Parables, Lost  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Hope Ain't Hoping

Contributed by John Bright on May 27, 2023

I want to give you a shorthand way of remembering the difference between the hope in our Bibles and the hope out in the world. Hope ain’t hoping. Today, folks plan outside events and say, “I sure hope it doesn’t rain.” Every Sunday, some folks may show up here and say, “I sure hope PJ doesn’t ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 1:3-5

Tags: Hope, Hoping, Faith

Denomination: Methodist

Dr. Colbert States, "Your Perceptions Determine ...  PRO

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Oct 19, 2005

Dr. Colbert states, “Your perceptions determine how you see the world. The mind is similar to a computer –the brain is the hard drive, and the perceptions are the ‘software.’ It is the perception of people, demands, issues, and circumstances-not the actual people, demands, issues, or circumstances ...read more

Tags: Emotions, Fear And Worry, Guilt

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

I Declare You The Winner  PRO

Contributed by Davon Huss on Mar 29, 2004

I DECLARE YOU THE WINNER I was watching some little kids play soccer. These kids were only five or six years old, but they were playing a real game- a serious game- two teams, complete with coaches, uniforms, and parents. I didn’t know any of them, so I was able to enjoy the game without the ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:13

Tags: Children, Anger, Rage, Parenting, Unconditional Love  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

A Post Thanksgiving Wishbone

Contributed by James Snyder on Nov 30, 2019

Now that Thanksgiving is over, I can sit back and recoup from the activity. I'm not sure about anybody else, but a holiday such as Thanksgiving takes a lot out of me. Of course, it puts a lot in me, but that's another story. The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage and Yours Truly were ...read more

Scripture: Mark 6:31

Tags: Thanksgiving, Holiday

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

When Joseph Ton Was A Pastor In Romania He Was ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 6, 2002

When Joseph Ton was a pastor in Romania he was arrested by the secret police for publishing a sermon calling for the churches to refuse to submit to the Communist government’s demand for control over their ministries. When an official told him he must renounce his sermon, he replied, "No, sir! I ...read more

Tags: Endurance

Will Rogers  PRO

Contributed by Donnie Martin on Sep 14, 2002

Will Rogers Will Rogers was known for his laughter, but he also knew how to weep. One day he was entertaining at the Milton H. Berry Institute in Los Angeles, a hospital that specialized in rehabilitating polio victims and people with broken backs and other extreme physical handicaps. Of course, ...read more

Tags: Humility

Denomination: Baptist

Healed From Anger, Citation: Tony Campolo, "Year ...  PRO

Contributed by A. Todd Coget on Nov 14, 2003

[Healed from Anger, Citation: Tony Campolo, "Year of Jubilee," Preaching Today #212] In Preaching Today, author and speaker Tony Campolo tells this story: I was in a church in Oregon not too long ago, and I prayed for a man who had cancer. In the middle of the week, I got a telephone call from his ...read more

Tags: God's Sovereign Will, God's Forgiveness

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Sneaky Snake  PRO

Contributed by Jerry Wood on Dec 11, 2003

SNEAKY SNAKE Sneaky Snake was the meanest animal in the forest. He loved to sneak up on the other animals and bite them with his sharp fangs. He had bitten everybody that had ever tried to be his friend; so, he did not have a single friend in the whole world, not even one. One day, he was ...read more

Tags: Friendship General

Denomination: Baptist

Pray Till You Get Cookies  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 11, 2004

PRAY TILL YOU GET COOKIES We should be like the 3-year-old boy (that Paul Harvey told about) who went to the grocery store with his mother. Before they entered the grocery store she said to him, "Now you’re not going to get any chocolate chip cookies, so don’t even ask." She put him up in the cart ...read more

Scripture: Luke 11:1-18, Jeremiah 33:3, Jeremiah 29:12

Tags: Parable General, Prayer Supplication

Will Rogers Was Known For His Laughter, But He ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 17, 2006

Will Rogers was known for his laughter, but he also knew how to weep. One day he was entertaining at the Milton H. Berry Institute in Los Angeles, a hospital that specialized in rehabilitating polio victims and people with broken backs and other extreme physical handicaps. Of course, Rogers had ...read more

Tags: Sin General

Work In God's Kingdom  PRO

Contributed by Owen Bourgaize on Jan 23, 2007

WORK IN GOD’S KINGDOM John Stott tells a joke against his vocation: a clefgyman is the last person in the world to write about work. For, as everybody knows, he has not done an honest day’s work in his life. As the old saying goes, he is ‘six days invisible and one day incomprehensible!’ The ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:31

Denomination: Baptist

Illustration) In The Former Soviet Union ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 26, 2007

1. (Illustration) In the former Soviet Union several years ago, there was a house church that had to meet in secret to avoid reprisals from the communist government. One Sunday these believers arrived inconspicuously in small groups throughout the day so as not to arouse the suspicion of KGB ...read more

Washing Dishes For ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 17, 2009

WASHING DISHES FOR GOD Brother Lawrence, a 17th century lay brother and a good cook, spent most of his years in a monastery as a cook. He did not have the education necessary to become a cleric and his mundane duties included cooking meals, running errands and scrubbing pots, anything but changing ...read more

Tags: Servanthood

Three Stages Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 13, 2009

THREE STAGES OF LIFE John Claypool, at one time pastor of the Crescent Hill Baptist Church, had a little daughter who suffered with leukemia. When she went into remission, everybody thought that maybe God had healed her. But on an Easter Sunday morning, she went into a terrible relapse. In his ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 40:31

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Looking At The Light

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 6, 2012

LOOKING AT THE LIGHT A pastor told a story of a man in his congregation who had lost literally hundreds of thousands of dollars. He owed everybody. One day the pastor asked him, "How in the world are you even surviving? How can you smile? How can you be enthusiastic about Jesus and about life when ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 19:1-21

Tags: Trials And Difficulties