In Sermon Illustrations: "Excited About Preaching"

Cast The First Stone  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 11, 2011

CAST THE FIRST STONE A woman named Marilyn Helleberg told about being a teenager at church camp. She said an ugly rumor got started there about two of the counselors and it quickly became the talk of the camp. The next day, at Morning Prayer, the minister read the story of the adulterous woman. ...read more

Scripture: James 3:1-12

Tags: Tongue

King Henry Ii's Anger

Contributed by Alison Bucklin on Jun 10, 2011

KING HENRY II'S ANGER King Henry II of England, back in around 1200, had a lot of power. He put an end to a long and bloody civil war, and ruled both England and a large chunk of France for many years. He was so famous that a movie was made about him, about 25 yrs ago, starring Richard Burton and ...read more

Tags: Anger

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

He Knows What Can't Be Seen

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 11, 2008

HE KNOWS WHAT CAN’T BE SEEN There is no way to grasp, even remotely, what God knows about me, my life, and anything to do with me. There is a story of a photographer who went to the docks to take a picture of the "The Great Eastern". Its hull was black, having been coated with tar. That same day ...read more

Tags: God's Omniscience

On May 18, 1992, Time Magazine Put Roger Keith ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 11, 2008

On May 18, 1992, Time magazine put Roger Keith Coleman on its cover with the caption: “This man might be innocent. This man is due to die.” Reporter Jill Smolowe began her story by asking, “Must this man die? . . . That could be a tragic mistake.” Two days later Mr. Coleman was executed for ...read more

Tags: Sin Punishment Of

I Have A Video Tape Of My Favorite Basketball ...

Contributed by Art Good on Nov 6, 2008

I have a video tape of my favorite basketball player of all time. His name is Larry Bird. The name of the tape is “Winning Basketball”. The tape is all about the various skills that are needed to be successful at the game of basketball. It’s sort of an instructional video to make the viewer ...read more

Tags: Christian Values

Denomination: Wesleyan

He Turned To Us

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 31, 2008

HE TURNED TO US Some years ago, the news service carried a story about a dramatic rescue. A California Highway Patrol officer received a call. It seems a woman was about to jump off a bridge. Immediately the officer, a woman herself, was confronted with a dilemma. This police officer had an ...read more

Tags: Christmas

God Forgives Without Conditions

Contributed by Bruce Howell on Jan 26, 2009

GOD FORGIVES WITHOUT CONDITIONS I once heard a story about Camelot when King Arthur was away. Guinevere, his wife, was unfaithful with Sir Lancelot. When King Arthur returned, he found out about the affair and had his wife placed in a convent for life. Towards the end of the story in a beautiful ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness In Jesus

Denomination: Wesleyan

Lewis Ran From God

Contributed by Timothy Darling on Jan 26, 2009

LEWIS RAN FROM GOD C. S. Lewis, the author of Prince Caspian, did not rejoice to find Jesus. He had been running from Him for his entire life. After a long search into what Christianity was and whether it could be trusted as truth, he said of himself: "The fox had been dislodged from Hegelian ...read more

Tags: Fear And Worry

Denomination: Mennonite

Nation Losing Protestant ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 13, 2009

NATION LOSING PROTESTANT MAJORITY The U.S. Religious Landscape Survey by the Pew Forum estimates the U.S. is 78% Christian and about to lose its status as a majority Protestant nation, at 51% and slipping. More than 25% of U.S. adults have left the faith of their childhood for another religion or ...read more

Tags: Evangelism Urgency

Perfect Gifts

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 16, 2009

PERFECT GIFTS Everyone loves to receive gifts at Christmas time. And I am sure that as Christmas approaches, we are wondering what lies behind those wrapped presents. I remember as a child that these four weeks of advent were so difficult. I would go by that tree about 30 million times a day ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 1:18-25

Tags: Christmas

Phil Vischer's Fresh ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 17, 2009

PHIL VISCHER’S FRESH START Phil Vischer is the creator of Veggie Tales. He is the voice of Bob the Tomato and other various characters. In 2004, Phil was one of the guest speakers at my minister’s convention that I attend each year. Phil told about his dream coming to an end. He told about Big ...read more

Tags: Mistakes, Trust God

There Are A Couple Of Dna Projects Out There ...

Contributed by Jay Winters on Apr 2, 2009

There are a couple of DNA projects out there that have captured the attention and imagination of many people. The first of them is called 23 and Me. It's a project that you can sign up for and pay $400 to be a part of, and for $400 they send you a little kit that you put a DNA sample onto and ...read more

Tags: Sin Bondage To

Denomination: Lutheran

That's What The Wind Is For

Contributed by Ronnie Miller on Jul 27, 2011

THAT'S WHAT THE WIND IS FOR A few years ago I planted a row of spruce pines to the east of our home for a couple of reasons. One to keep the dust from a neighboring field from blowing onto our house. The other reason was to keep the wind down. They were just about 3 feet high when I bought them, ...read more

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Denomination: Baptist

Korean Cell Churches

Contributed by Dale Pilgrim on Nov 9, 2011

KOREAN CELL CHURCHES Assemblies of God Church in Seoul, Korea: It started in 1958 when Paul Yonggi Cho (later David) held a service in his friend’s home with her three children. Passionate desire to share Christ by inviting other people to their home church soon resulted in exponential growth. ...read more

Tags: Church Growth

Denomination: Salvation Army

Hostile Heart

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 8, 2012

HOSTILE HEART Beware the hostile heart. That's the warning of Dr. Redford Williams from Duke University's Behavioral Medicine Research Center. He has been saying for years that having a hostile personalities can kill us--most often by heart disease but also by injuries and accidents. Anger speeds ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 4:20-27

Tags: Heart

The Difference Between Life And Death  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 9, 2012

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH In his book Winning Life’s Toughest Battles, psychologist Julius Segal wrote about the 25,000 soldiers who were held by the Japanese in POW camps during World War II. "Forced to exist under inhumane conditions, many of them died. Others, however, survived and ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:1-11

Tags: God Brings Hope

A Thief And A Priest

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 12, 2012

A THIEF AND A PRIEST The story is told about a Catholic priest who was walking down an alley behind his church when a thief jumped out from behind some garbage cans and pressed the muzzle of his gun into the priest's ribs. The thief said, "Give me your wallet!" Without hesitation, the priest ...read more

Scripture: Romans 14:1-23

Tags: Christian Values

Never Done With You

Contributed by Ken Pell on Apr 14, 2013

NEVER DONE WITH YOU There is a show on the SyFy channel that Vickie and I watch called "Eureka." It is about a sheriff in a town of geniuses. The Sheriff is always working through comedic catastrophes that the geniuses have induced with their experiments. But the biggest dilemma the sheriff often ...read more

Tags: God's Love

Denomination: Nazarene

Baseball In Heaven  PRO

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Feb 6, 2014

BASEBALL IN HEAVEN Bob and Stan were good buddies and baseball friends. One day at a ballgame, they made a vow to each other that, whichever friend died first, that friend would send a message back to earth to let the other friend know if there was baseball in Heaven. Sure enough, one day Bob ...read more

Scripture: John 14:1-6

Tags: Death, Eternity, Heaven, Baseball

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

If People Are Coming.....the Product Must Be Good!

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Mar 1, 2016

In his awesome book, Selling Jesus, by Douglas D. Webster, the author gives an incredible quote about the lack of spiritual discernment in American church growth and marketing today: "American Christianity is increasingly tolerant of any and all methods, as long as they bring NUMERICAL results. ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:1-17

Tags: Discernment, Truth, Church Growth, Marketing

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational