In Sermon Illustrations: "Evil Heart"

Max Lucado, In His Book In The Eye Of The Storm, ...  PRO

Contributed by Joe La Rue on Feb 18, 2008

Max Lucado, in his book In the Eye of the Storm, tells the story of Chippie the Parakeet. He writes: "Chippie the Parakeet never saw it coming. One second he was peacefully perched in his cage. The next he was sucked in, washed up, blown over. The problems began when Chippie’s owner ...read more

Tags: Clean, Heart, Remember, Unclean

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

What Does God's Voice Sound Like?  PRO

Contributed by Anne Benefield on Feb 4, 2009

WHAT DOES GOD'S VOICE SOUND LIKE? Erwin McManus, a pastor in Los Angeles, tells a great story about recognizing God's voice. My son, Aaron, was five or six when he began asking me, "What does God's voice sound like?" I didn't know how to answer. A few years later, Aaron went off to his first ...read more

Scripture: 1 Samuel 3:1-21

Tags: Hard Heart, Dealing With Conflicts

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

I Want To Show You Another Subtle Lie That I Was ...

Contributed by Sean Harder on Jun 25, 2009

I want to show you another subtle lie that I was held captive by in my teens. It is the doctrine of suffering from Buddhism, one of the three biggest religions in the world. It says that life is permeated with suffering caused by desire, that suffering ceases when desire ceases, (sounds pretty good ...read more

Tags: Suffering Joy In, Heart's Desires

Internal ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 23, 2010

Internal Audit My wife Tina is an internal auditor for T. Marzetti. When she walks into a plant to do an audit she can tell a lot about that plant by what she sees. If she finds that the financials, employment records, inventory, and quality control aspects of the plant are good it is an indication ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 12:33-37

Tags: Tongue, Guarding Your Heart

Clean Conscience

Contributed by Shine Thomas on Jul 24, 2017

Xaviera Hollander wrote a book with a title: The Happy Hooker. Hollander, a prostitute, sought to silence the people who believe that no prostitute could find joy in what she was doing. In her book, Hollander celebrates the joy that she experienced in her profession, saying that she never felt ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 32:1-6

Tags: Guilt, Conscience, Pure Heart

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Hey, This Is My Story!

Contributed by James Snyder on Dec 4, 2021

Dr. James L. Snyder I am just now concluding that narcissism is a virus that has infected everybody in the world that is breathing air. I even apply this to my own life with a great deal of regret. Nobody wants to admit they have narcissistic leanings in their life. And yet, if you listen to ...read more

Scripture: Luke 9:23

Tags: Heart Attack, Narcissi Okaysm

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

My Wife And I Recently Visited With A Couple Who ...  PRO

Contributed by Howard Harden on Jan 18, 2001

My wife and I recently visited with a couple who were the proud parents of a baby boy, just over a year old. As soon as we entered their home, we noticed that everything about this house was dedicated to protecting their baby. There were plastic plugs in the electrical outlets to keep the baby from ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 16:9, 1 Corinthians 16:13-14

Tags: Home, God's Provision, Evil, Trinity

Denomination: Baptist

Unsung Heroes: They Helped A Desperate Father

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Jun 14, 2023

Introduction: True friends are those willing to help. These unsung heroes helped a desperate father bring his son to Jesus. Text, Mark 9:17-20a, KJV: 17 And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; 18 And wheresoever he taketh him, ...read more

Scripture: Mark 9:17-20

Tags: Jesus, Evil Spirits, Unsung Heroes

Denomination: Baptist

The Dark Side

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Apr 12, 2024

The Dark side we need to see into: Proverbs 4:19 “But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble.” Years ago, the movie Star Wars came out and my daughters and I made a pact to go see every Star Wars movie together. We have loved the series and one of ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 14:9

Tags: Evil, Dark Side, Darth Vader

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

God's Mercy

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Nov 2, 2024

Henri Nouwen tells the story of a family from Paraguay. The father spoke out against the military regime and its human rights abuses. The police arrested his teenage son and tortured him to death. Enraged townsfolk wanted to turn the boy's funeral into a huge protest march, but the doctor ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:1-18, Romans 5:1-11, Ephesians 2:1-5

Tags: Mercy, Sin, Evil, Salvation, Cross  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

When Christmas Doesn't Make Your Heart Swell Up ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 15, 2004

“When Christmas doesn’t make your heart swell up until it nearly bursts and fill your eyes with tears and make you all soft and warm inside then you will know ...read more

Scripture: John 1:14

You See, My Brethren, My Heart Is Full; I Could ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 9, 2006

“You see, my brethren, my heart is full; I could almost say it is too big to speak, and yet too big to be silent, without ...read more

Tags: God Brings Hope

God Can Mend A Broken Heart If We Give Him All ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

God can mend a broken heart if we give Him ...read more

Tags: Hardship Of Life

What Did You Find When You Opened My Heart?

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Oct 16, 2023

Here’s a story about a little boy that was to have heart surgery. The surgeon sat beside the boy's bed and his parents sat across from him. The surgeon said to the little boy, "Tomorrow morning, I'll open up your heart." The little boy interrupted the surgeon and said; ...read more

Scripture: John 1:1-12, Romans 10:13

Tags: Heaven, Unbelievers, Evangelism, Death, Jesus, Children  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

King Midas Got What His Heart Longed For. How He ...

Contributed by Gregg Bitter on Oct 25, 2009

King Midas got what his heart longed for. How he loved gold! Now everything he touched turned to gold. An oak twig. A rock. He had what his heart treasured, until his little ...read more

Tags: Money, Love Of Money

Denomination: Lutheran

A. W. Tozer, Another Wonderful Devotional Writer ...  PRO

Contributed by Mary Lewis on Jul 2, 2002

A. W. Tozer, another wonderful devotional writer said this: The widest thing in the universe is not space; it is the potential capacity of the human heart. Being made in the image of God, it is capable of almost unlimited extension in all directions. And one of the world’s greatest ...read more

Tags: Giving Yourself, Fulfillment, Heart, Miracles

Denomination: Baptist

Take Off And Never Come Back

Contributed by Davon Huss on Feb 29, 2020

The New York City transit company was missing a bus and a driver some years ago. For over a week, authorities searched with no success. Finally, 10 days after they had disappeared, the bus and driver were found- in Miami, Florida. The driver said, “I’d had it with the cold weather, the ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:1

Tags: Quit, Run Away, Losing Heart

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Keep Away From Sin!

Contributed by Paul Clemente on Oct 24, 2022

Genesis 4 Devotional Part 2 The first children from Adam and Eve grew up having 2 different interests: Abel took care of animals while Cain took care of plants. When it was time to worship God (how did they learn and why did they worship God?), Cain offered firstfruits from the field and Abel ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 4:6-15

Tags: Love, Sin, Heart, Cain, Relationship  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Independent/Bible

From Godly To Rebellion?

Contributed by Paul Clemente on Nov 25, 2022

Genesis 10 – 11:9…. Look again at verses 10:5, 20, 31…. and 11:1…. What do you think is the explanation for this? – v32 gives the answer; all came from Noah (with his language, but the 3 sons went to all different areas of the world) The second half of Genesis 11 speaks of Abraham, from the line ...read more

Tags: Evil, God's Love, Rebellion, Godly, Mankind  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Independent/Bible

If There Is No God, Who Decides?

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Mar 6, 2026

In 1882, the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche wrote a short parable that still echoes through Western culture. He imagines a man running into a crowded marketplace in broad daylight, holding a lantern. He cries out, “Where is God? I will tell you—we have killed Him. You and I. We are His ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 2:15-17, Judges 2:10-15

Tags: Evil, Culture, Meaning, Good, Values, God Is Dead  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed