In Sermon Illustrations: "Excuses"

Charles Oakley On Tenacity

Contributed by Bobby Scobey on Oct 14, 2009

CHARLES OAKLEY ON TENACITY Charles Oakley, forward for the New York Knicks and an NBA All-Star, has a reputation for being one of basketball’s best rebounders. It’s his toughness, however, that has probably contributed the most to his outstanding sports career. While other professional players ...read more

Tags: Disciplines General

Denomination: Pentecostal

What Is ...

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

WHAT IS TRUTH? There was a man nearly two millennia ago who asked this lofty philosophical question. His name was Pontius Pilate. God’s Word records this dramatic interchange in the book of John, Chapters 18 and 19. Jesus, speaking to Pilate, said “For this I have come into the world, to bear ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 29:13

Tags: Truth

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Everybody's Doing ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 9, 2008

“Everybody’s doing it.” This is a common phrase used today to excuse our behavior, but it is no excuse. We were shocked a decade ago when youth ministries guru Josh McDowell did an extensive survey of Bible-believing church teens that showed that more than half of them were sexually active, even ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 20:14

Tags: Purity

Was Jesus Involved In Politics?

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Nov 4, 2024

WAS JESUS INVOLVED IN POLITICS? I hear that all the time as the excuse for Christians not voting. Is that biblically true? I spent hours searching through the Gospels for the truth and found these key teachings that describe Jesus' attitude and involvement toward the issue of government and ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 21:1, John 10:10, Isaiah 9:6

Tags: Jesus, Evil, America, Corruption, Politics, Second Coming, Government, Return Of Christ, Voting, Kings, Elections, Rulers, Presidents  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Ken Walker Writes In Christian Reader That ...  PRO

Contributed by Tony Miano on May 21, 2001

“Ken Walker writes in Christian Reader that in the 1995 college football season 6-foot-2-inch, 280-pound Clay Shiver, who played center for the Florida State Seminoles, was regarded as one of the best in the nation. In fact, one magazine wanted to name him to their preseason All-American football ...read more

Tags: Faithfulness, Call Of The Disciples, Character, Holiness, Risk-Taker, Leadership General  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: *other

Shine

Contributed by Davon Huss on May 21, 2002

SHINE Dull as dirt You can’t assert the kind of light that might persuade a strict dictator to retire, fire the army, teach the poor origami. The truth is in the proof is when you hear your heart start asking, "What’s my motivation?" And try as you may, there isn’t a way to explain the ...read more

Tags: Love Of The Disciples, Sermon On The Mount, Supernatural

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

A Man Named John Came Home From Work One Day And ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Evans on Sep 12, 2003

(A man named John came home from work one day and rushing through the door tells his wife of a man who lied to him at work. He said, there was a guy at work who stole my tools and I saw him from a distance. When I confronted him he down and out lied to me. He lied straight through his teeth even ...read more

Tags: Apologetics General, Basics, Know, Fake

When Christian Herter Was Governor Of ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 27, 2003

When Christian Herter was governor of Massachusetts, he was running hard for a second term in office. One day, after a busy morning chasing votes (and no lunch) he arrived at a church barbecue. It was late afternoon and Herter was famished. As the Governor moved down the serving line, he held out ...read more

Stress-Free Amoeba

Contributed by Paul Fritz on Dec 31, 2003

Stress-free Amoeba Too much comfort is dangerous. Literally. Researchers at the University of California at Berkeley did an experiment sometime ago that involved introducing an amoeba into a perfectly stress-free environment. Ideal temperature, optimal concentration of moisture, constant food ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 10:12

Tags: Christian Disciplines, Faith

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Several Years Ago I Was Walking To Work From The ...

Contributed by Sean Harder on Dec 4, 2009

Several years ago I was walking to work from the train back in BC. I pretty much set my own schedule so it didn’t matter if I was a little late. I was walking across a quiet intersection where there were a few broken bottles, with the really jagged pieces that would shred a tire. A middle aged ...read more

Tags: Kindness

Mother Sheep Sacrifices Her Life To Save Her Lamb ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2010

Mother Sheep Sacrifices Her Life to Save Her Lamb from a Tiger William Faulkner tells the story of a mother sheep who had warned her little ones, “Do not go near the river, for a bad tiger lives there, and he will kill and eat you.” One lamb kept toying with the thought that the grass near the ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 53:6

Tags: Sacrifices

D.l. Moody And The Shoes  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 25, 2011

D.L. MOODY AND THE SHOES A large group of European pastors came to one of D. L. Moody’s Northfield Bible Conferences in Massachusetts in the late 1800s. Following the European custom of the time, each guest put his shoes outside his room to be cleaned by the hall servants overnight. But of course ...read more

Scripture: John 13:1-17

Tags: Servanthood

The Blame Game

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 18, 2011

THE BLAME GAME Wayne Dyer writes: "All blame is a waste of time. No matter how much fault you find with another, and regardless of how much you blame him, it will not change you...You may succeed in making another feel guilty of something by blaming him; you won't succeed in changing whatever it ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 3:8-13

Tags: Guilt

The Vow To God

Contributed by Larry Turner on Nov 12, 2014

A businessman was traveling on a plane for the first time. He had always been terrified of flying but his next appointment required him to do so. The flight was going well when suddenly the plane shuddered. The pilot came over the intercom and announced that the engines on the right side had ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:33-37

Tags: Promise, Vow

Denomination: Foursquare

Pastor And Leadership Speaker John Maxwell Te...

Contributed by Tim Smith on May 28, 2015

Pastor and Leadership speaker John Maxwell tells the story of his brother who was called to active duty during the Pueblo crisis in Korea. He says he could remember standing in his father’s office when my father found out the news and went to his brother, hugged him and said, “Larry, I’m going to ...read more

Scripture: Luke 22:33-38

Tags: Perseverance, Conversion

Denomination: Methodist

Inspired To Share Your Faith

Contributed by Tim Smith on Aug 13, 2017

Tom Mercer writes, “Years ago, I heard an incredible story about a guy who, while walking through an intersection in a large city, noticed a police officer directing traffic in the middle of the street. As he walked by, the man sensed the Holy Spirit prompting him to go up to the officer and tell ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 1:4

Tags: Witnessing, Sharing Your Faith, Evangelism

Denomination: Methodist

God Can Change Your Attitude

Contributed by Paul Wallace on Aug 27, 2008

God Can Change Your Attitude We live in an angry world, surrounded by angry people. We can give all kinds of excuses for being an angry person, but none of them really make an angry attitude the only option. I went out to visit our friend Bruce Thursday. If you remember he had surgery for a ...read more

Tags: Attitude General

Denomination: Wesleyan

Stay On Your Job And Work For The Lord

Contributed by Gene Gregory on Oct 6, 2007

STAY ON YOUR JOB AND WORK FOR THE LORD You have to stay on your job and work for the Lord. You can’t work for the Devil at night and for the Lord in the day. He don’t give no part time pay, you have to work night and day. You have to stay on your job to work for the Lord. You have to stay on your ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

John The Baptist Lived A Simple Life, Even By ...

Contributed by Dale Harlow on Dec 17, 2007

John the Baptist lived a simple life, even by their standards. In Luke 3 he gives us an important teaching that tends to get eliminated in our society. Luke 3:11 John answered, “The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same.” Think about ...read more

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Overcoming The Loss Of Hands And Feet

Contributed by Rick Crandall on Jul 16, 2008

David and Becky Guinn have been on my mind this past week. In 1997, the Lord blessed me to go with David on a mission trip to Ukraine. It was a life-changing experience for me. David and Becky deeply love the Lord. They have faithfully served the Lord for years in college ministry, mission work and ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 2:25-30, Matthew 12:9-15, 2 Timothy 1:1-12

Tags: Faith, Perseverance, Overcome Difficulty

Denomination: Baptist