In Sermon Illustrations: "Excited About Preaching"

Customer ...

Contributed by Jerry Blaxton on May 2, 2010

(ILL: Customer Service) Have you ever had to call a company about a product, and had to deal with customer service? It can be a nightmare, can’t it? I have had to call the IRS a few times in the past. You see, ministers are given some benefits in regard to their taxes, but you have to record the ...read more

Tags: Taxes

Denomination: Baptist

Pastor Learns To Trust God When Displaced By ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 28, 2010

Pastor Learns to Trust God When Displaced by War During the Thirty Years’ War in the 17th century, German pastor Paul Gerhardt and his family were forced to flee from their home. One night as they stayed in a small village inn, homeless and afraid, his wife broke down and cried openly in despair. ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:3-5

Tags: Taxes, Trials

The Doubting Of Thomas  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 7, 2010

THE DOUBTING OF THOMAS In 1943, Dorothy Sayers created a series of dramatic readings from the life of Christ for broadcast on the BBC. They are published under the title, The Man Born to Be King. For each of the plays, Sayers offers notes on the characters and the way they should be read. She ...read more

Scripture: John 20:19-31

Tags: Doubt

Father Will Be Angry

Contributed by Guy Glass on Jun 14, 2010

FATHER WILL BE ANGRY The story is told of a young boy was driving a big hayrack down the road and it turned over right in front of a farmer's house. The farmer came out and saw the young boy crying and said, "Son, don't worry about this, we can fix it. Right now dinner's ready. Why don't you come ...read more

Tags: Anger

Denomination: Baptist

Ravi Zacharias Is One Of The Most Prominent And ...

Contributed by Bobby Scobey on Jun 22, 2010

Ravi Zacharias is one of the most prominent and effective Christian speakers and writers of our time. Once Ravi was doing a lecture at Ohio State U. As he was being driven to the auditorium, the driver went past the new Wexner Art Center. The driver said, "This is a brand new art building for ...read more

Tags: Truth, Postmodernism

Denomination: Pentecostal

The Hippocratic Oath

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 2, 2010

THE HIPPOCRATIC OATH We have all heard about the Hippocratic Oath, even if we don't know what all is in it, and what we do know is delivered through television and is wrong. We hear TV doctors say "remember what it says in the Hippocratic Oath: 'First, do no harm'" but that isn't in the ...read more

Scripture: 3 John 1:2

Tags: Abortion

Make Me!

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Jan 14, 2011

"MAKE ME!" They had behaved badly in class but they were equally disruptive in the detention room, swearing, acting tough and defying anything I said with a smart comment. Unacceptable behaviour. I have never really had a problem with anger, but the closest I came was in that classroom. Teaching ...read more

Tags: Murder

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Stay And Wait And Watch

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 7, 2011

STAY AND WAIT AND WATCH A little boy was told by his father to wait on a corner by a department store, while the father had a tire changed on his car. It turned out that the car required more attention than the man had anticipated, and it took over an hour. The father anxiously hurried back to ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:1-3

Tags: Trust

God's Only 'forgotten' Son

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 24, 2011

GOD'S ONLY 'FORGOTTEN' SON There's a true story told about a revival that was held in a small town. The crowd had dispersed, when a woman came down front and asked to speak with the preacher. She cried uncontrollably as she explained to the minister that she wanted to become a Christian, but she ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16

Tags: God's Love

I Tithe—he'll Find Me.  PRO

Contributed by Denn Guptill on May 1, 2011

"I TITHE--HE'LL FIND ME." Two men have ended up marooned on an island in the South Pacific. You can fill in the blanks as to how they got there. So they are on the clichéic deserted island, one palm tree, nothing to see but the ocean. One guy is in a complete panic, pacing back and forth, ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 3:5-21, Matthew 23:23

Tags: Offering, Tithe, Tithes

Denomination: Wesleyan

Christians Are Known For...

Contributed by Troy Borst on May 3, 2011

CHRISTIANS ARE KNOWN FOR... If you were to Google the phrase "Christians are known for" what do you think the results would be? What are people who call themselves followers of Christ known for... whether good or bad? The following are some of the results you would find: ... being trustworthy ...read more

Tags: Christian Witness

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Why Did God Make Mothers?

Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on May 10, 2011

WHY DID GOD MAKE MOTHERS? Consider these answers given by elementary-age children to the following questions. "Why did God make mothers?" "Mostly to clean the house." "To help us out of there, when we were getting born." "How did God make mothers?" "God made my Mom just the same like he made ...read more

Tags: Mothers

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Pretender Dr. Nick

Contributed by Michael Walther on May 24, 2011

PRETENDER DR. NICK What does it take to be turned around if you are a pretender? Dr. Nick Yphantides can help us. Although he was a true Christian he was living part of his life in a purely hypocritical manner. Dr. Nick’s specialty was preventative medicine. Every day he was trying to help ...read more

Tags: Hypocrisy

Denomination: Lutheran

River Of God

Contributed by Jason Bonnicksen on Jun 5, 2011

RIVER OF GOD Ever since moving to the valley, my eyes have been drawn to the mountains and the river. There’s days in the summer months when I ride my bike to the river, and gaze at the its powerful flow. It’s fascinating for me to watch the river at different stages. Sometimes it looks ...read more

Tags: Revival

Denomination: Lutheran

Power And "King Of The Hill"

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Jun 17, 2011

POWER AND "KING OF THE HILL" When I was a kid, we used to play a game called "King of the Hill." Everyone would get together and choose some place to be the "hill." Sometimes we were lucky enough to have a dirt mound to play on, but not very often. It might be a bed or a sofa, unless, of course, ...read more

Tags: Power

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

No Other Plan

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Jun 17, 2011

NO OTHER PLAN An old legend imagines Jesus arriving in heaven right after the Ascension, welcomed by all the angels. Then the angel Gabriel asks Jesus, "You suffered much, dying for the sins of mankind. Does everyone down on earth know it?" "Oh, no," replied the Savior, "just a handful of folks ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:16-20

Tags: Evangelism Urgency

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Rooted For Life  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 3, 2011

ROOTED FOR LIFE There was once a farmer who went to town to purchase seeds for his farm. As he was returning home, one of the squash seeds he had purchased fell from his pocket onto the ground. It happened that within a few feet was another seed of a different type. The place where the two seeds ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 2:1-7

Tags: Growth In Christ

J. Oswald Sanders On Loneliness  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 9, 2011

J. OSWALD SANDERS ON LONELINESS J. Oswald Sanders once pointed out: "The round of pleasure or the amassing of wealth are [often] but vain attempts to escape from the persistent ache. The millionaire is usually a lonely man and the comedian is often more unhappy than his audience." In his book, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:19-34

Tags: Goals, Suffering Loneliness

They Refused To Be Rescued  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 15, 2011

THEY REFUSED TO BE RESCUED On August 30, 2005 Coast Guard Lieutenant Iain McConnell was ordered to fly his H46 helicopter to New Orleans and to keep that machine flying around the clock for what would turn out to be a heroic rescue effort. None of his crew were prepared for what they were about to ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 1:3-4, 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12, Matthew 8:28-34, 2 Peter 3:7-10

Tags: Rejection, Heroism

God Picks The Unlovable Ones

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 15, 2011

GOD PICKS THE UNLOVABLE ONES Anne Lamott described a time when a fellow church member told about adopting her son through an organization called A.S.K. -- Adopt Special Kids. Part of the adoption process included filling out a questionnaire checking "yes" or "no" for one's willingness to adopt ...read more

Scripture: John 4:1-42

Tags: Adoption