In Sermon Illustrations: "Excited About Preaching"

Two Mountain Goats

Contributed by David Dunn on Oct 25, 2025

Martin Luther wrote about seeing two mountain goats meeting on a mountain trial that was narrow enough for only one to travel on. When they met up, Luther thought for sure they would butt heads and the strongest would survive. One would die and one would be injured. Instead, when the mountain ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 2:5-8, Romans 12:10, Matthew 20:26-28, John 13:14-15, Ephesians 4:2  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Service, Humility, Selflessness, Christlikeness, Grace  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

That Is Nifty!" Psalms 66: 1-20 Key Verse(S): 3 ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 17, 2004

“That IS Nifty!” Psalms 66: 1-20 Key verse(s): 3 “Say to God, ‘How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you.” “The greatest single distinguishing feature of the omnipotence of God is that our imagination gets lost when thinking about it” –– Blaise ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:3-4

Tags: Glorify, God's Omnipotence

There’s Always Tomorrow

Contributed by James Snyder on Apr 11, 2020

For almost four weeks now, the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage and Yours Truly have enjoyed some exceptional time together. It has been the rich experience I never thought I would experience until I retired from everything. But, if this is retirement, “Lord, let it be so.” Nothing to complain ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 13:8

Tags: Together, Rest, Pajamas

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Seeing Can Be Rather Expensive

Contributed by James Snyder on Apr 3, 2021

As I get older, and my goal is to get as old as I can, I begin to realize some of the things I haven't noticed in my life. You know how it is; things creep up little by little, and then all of a sudden, there it is. That happened to me recently with my eyes. Since I was in the ninth grade (I ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 27:1

Tags: Sight, Humor, Blessings

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

A Shortcut Is Not Always That Short

Contributed by James Snyder on May 1, 2021

I have always appreciated shortcuts in life. If I can find a shortcut, I will take it because time is valuable to me. I take pride in coming up with a shortcut that actually saves me time. However, not all of my shortcuts have really been that short and I have paid the price. Last week, for ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 32:8

Tags: Humor, Shortcut, Wrong Way

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

My Little Red Bible - The Living Word Of God

Contributed by Perry Hancock on Nov 10, 2021

My Little Red Bible - The Living Word of God Hebrews 4:12 "For the word of God is living and powerful..." When I was 6 years old my parents gave me a little red Bible. Today, if you saw it, you would say that it has surely seen better days. Every time I pick it up it loses a little ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 4:12

Tags: The Bible, Scripture, The Word Of God

Denomination: Baptist

So This Is Old Age

Contributed by James Snyder on Jul 29, 2023

Dr. James L. Snyder The other morning I got up; at least, I tried to get up, but the bones in every part of my body had organized a labor strike against me. I’m not quite sure what they were protesting. As I lay there groaning over these bones, I did not realize how many bones I had in my body. ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 32:3

Tags: Age, Bones

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

I Sure Miss Being A Spoiled Brat

Contributed by James Snyder on Jun 8, 2024

After my last doctor's visit, I went to the Publix pharmacy to pick up new medicine. Doctors have a pill for every problem in the world—if only they all worked. I was early at the store, and my medicine wasn't quite ready. So, I decided to walk around Publix and get a little ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:12

Tags: Nice, Temper, Brat

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Unsung Heroes: Paul’s Nephew

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Jun 19, 2024

Introduction: It’s interesting that we know very little about Paul except that he was a Jew, born in Tarsus, receiving an education in Jerusalem, and some of his days as Saul the persecutor of the new Church. We’re never told the names of his parents, siblings—or if he had any other siblings ...read more

Scripture: Acts 23:16-22

Tags: Paul, Unsung Heroes, Paul's Nephew

Denomination: Baptist

A Young, Single Attorney Worked For A Generous ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 1, 2001

A young, single attorney worked for a generous boss who gave all his employees a turkey each year at Thanksgiving. One year before the birds were handed out, some of his co-workers replaced his real turkey with one made of papier-mâché. To make the bogus bird look and feel genuine, they wrapped ...read more

Tags: Christian Love

I Came Across Some Interesting Statistics A ...  PRO

Contributed by Melvin Newland on Feb 26, 2001

ILL. I came across some interesting statistics a few years ago. Someone went to the trouble to research what people do with their time, & came up with these results: If we live to be 75, most of us will have spent 3 solid years, 24 hours a day, acquiring an education - grade school, high school & ...read more

Tags: Finding Fulfillment, God Brings Purpose, Workplace

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Love Is A Decision - Is A Book I'd Strongly ...  PRO

Contributed by Steve Malone on Jul 23, 2002

Love Is A Decision - is a book I’d strongly recommend - the second chapter in this book is on honor.....let me share a brief excerpt from that chapter to nail home this point about honor. Gary Smalley is Christian family counselor and the author of the book ...one day years ago when he came ...read more

Tags: Marriage Obligations, Marriage Commitment

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

I Read Of A Man Who Had Committed A Crime For ...  PRO

Contributed by Owen Bourgaize on Aug 25, 2003

I read of a man who had committed a crime for which he was deeply ashamed. When he’d served his prison sentence and was about to be released he wondered if his family would reject him because of the scandal he’d caused and the shame brought on the family. He wrote his parents saying that he would ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:11-32

Tags: God The Father, Promises Of God

Denomination: Baptist

Mavis Lays An Egg  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 7, 2003

MAVIS LAYS AN EGG On a bright, beautiful day, full of promise, Mavis laid an egg. This was not an extraordinary event since Mavis was a chicken, but Mavis was not pleased. "An egg? An egg? What do I want with an egg?" said Mavis to herself. "An egg is just not in my plans. I’ll have to get rid ...read more

Tags: Abortion

When You First Met "J.e.", You Could Tell He Was ...  PRO

Contributed by Bruce Willis on Dec 29, 2006

When you first met “J.E.”, you could tell he was a very angry man. In fact, at age 54 he’d been an angry person for many years. In a Bible study that night, many questions had been raised in his mind. Talking with the leader afterward, J.E. said, “I asked Jesus to be my Savior when I was 9 years ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 1:1-7, Romans 12:1-3

Tags: Mind

Denomination: Baptist

In The Early Morning Hours Of September 29, The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

In the early morning hours of September 29, the storm hit. Hurricane Juan made landfall in Nova Scotia as a category 2 hurricane with sustained wind speeds of 158 km/h and gusts up to 185 km/h. About three hours later, the storm hit PEI. By then it had weakened to a category 1 hurricane, and was ...read more

Tags: God In The Hardships

Two Millennia On It Is Very Much A Similar ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Two millennia on it is very much a similar setting in our world we havent advanced at all, we still find ourselves with a diversity of religions,cults,pagan practices and personal philosophies.Just go down into our major city centres you will find a host of books on alternative spirituality, ...read more

Tags: World Religions

Do You Remember The Movie "Hook" From The Early ...

Contributed by Scott Brewer on Aug 7, 2007

Do you remember the movie “Hook” from the early 1990’s? According to Stephen Spielberg, when Peter Pan grew up he became a self-absorbed, ladder climbing, workaholic baby boomer. So goes the story line of the movie. In some early scenes Peter promises his son numerous times that he would come to ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Helen P. Mrosla -A Teaching Nun P44-46 Maxwell ...

Contributed by Paul Wallace on Sep 27, 2007

Helen P. Mrosla -a teaching nun p44-46 Maxwell Person of Influence Helen taught Mark Eklund in third grade and again in junior high math. One Friday the lesson wasn’t going well and the class was bickering, so Helen asked the kids to make a list of all the kids in the class and write the nicest ...read more

Denomination: Wesleyan

Near-Death Experiences And Feelings

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 18, 2009

NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES AND FEELINGS Recently a television reporter followed up on the people who survived that air travel incident in which a huge section of the plane simply tore off, somewhere near Hawaii. You may remember that there was some kind of metal fatigue and a whole section of the ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 17:9, Jeremiah 17:7-8

Tags: Emotions