In Sermon Illustrations: "Experience"

Hold On! Wait!

Contributed by Robert Garrett on Apr 11, 2005

"HOLD ON! WAIT!" A young convert told of his experience in the First World War. He was in the "Lost Battalion." We were cut off from our main army and all around us were Germans. Our food and water gave out and every once in a while a +German would come to say "Surrender." Only one shell was ...read more

Tags: Endurance

Denomination: Baptist

A Middle Aged Woman Had A Heart Attack And Was ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 8, 2005

A middle aged woman had a heart attack and was taken to the hospital. While on the operating table she had a near death experience. Seeing God, she asked "Is my time up?" God said, "No, you have another 43 years, 2 months and 8 days to live." Upon recovery, the woman decided to stay in the ...read more

Tags: Death Nearness

As Frightening And Foreboding As Death May Seem, ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 20, 2005

As frightening and foreboding as death may seem, it can neither hurt nor destroy the child of God. In his book Facing Death, Billy Barnhouse, relates an experience of Donald Grey Barnhouse, one of America’s leading Bible teachers in the first half of the 20th century. Cancer took his first wife, ...read more

Tags: Death Nearness

When Martin Luther Was Printing His Translation ...  PRO

Contributed by Dale Pilgrim on Dec 22, 2005

When Martin Luther was printing his translation of the Bible in Germany, pieces of the printed Scripture fell to the floor. A young girl picked one of them up and read the phrase of our text, “For God so loved the world that he gave”. The rest of the sentence was missing. That moment for her was ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness In Jesus

Denomination: Salvation Army

A Look At The Future: Business Strategist B. ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 13, 2006

A Look At The Future: Business strategist B. Joseph Pine II sees a tectonic shift under way for businesses of all sizes. The ground rules are changing just as they did when the nation’s economic focus switched from agriculture to mass production. This time, the shift is from mass production to what ...read more

Tags: Workplace

Youth Pastor Burnout: The Bridges Project, A ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

Youth Pastor Burnout: The Bridges Project, a research study of the Institute for Youth Ministry at Princeton Theological Seminary, has identified several factors common to youth pastors who experience burn-out or a lack of success in ministry: ►Inability to shape healthy work relationships ...read more

Tags: Church General

Michaelangelo Buonoarti Was One Of The World's ...

Contributed by Gaither Bailey on Dec 8, 2006

Michaelangelo Buonoarti was one of the world’s most talented sculptor. Many have enjoyed his work in pictures or photos. Others of us have seen the real thing. There is a set of 4 sculptures Michaelangelo done around 1453 that some claim were never finished. The were commissioned for the tomb ...read more

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Warren Wiersbe Tells A Story About The Days Of ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 26, 2007

Warren Wiersbe tells a story about the days of the Old West. There was a horse bolting down the road with a wagon hitched to it and little boy trapped on the wagon. A young man risked his life to catch the horse and stop the wagon, saving that little boy. Well, that little boy grew up to be a ...read more

A Scientist, Unjustly Accused And Convicted Of A ...  PRO

Contributed by Steven Simala Grant on Jul 17, 2002

A scientist, unjustly accused and convicted of a major crime, found himself sentenced to hard time in a prison out in the Arizona desert. His cellmate turned out to be another scientist. Determined to escape, the first man tried to convince his colleague to make the attempt with him. He refused. ...read more

Tags: Disciplines General, Holiness

Denomination: Baptist

Finding The Kingdom Of God  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 28, 2002

FINDING THE KINGDOM OF GOD "In ’A Confession,’ Leo Tolstoy relates how the drive toward goodness that moved him as a boy was erased by his experiences in society. Later in life, after overwhelming success as a writer, he nevertheless sank into a psychological paralysis brought on by his vision of ...read more

Tags: Supernatural, Parable General, Kingdom Of God

John Foster In One Of His Books Tells How He Came ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 14, 2003

John Foster in one of his books tells how he came into his home in this country one day in the thirties to find his daughter in tears before the radio set. He asked her why and found that the news bulletin had contained the sentence – “Japanese tanks entered Canton today.” Most people would hear ...read more

The Injured Bride  PRO

Contributed by Shawn Drake on Feb 22, 2003

The Injured Bride Because of past experiences the list of questions and advice grow as I perform Weddings. Another important statement I make to the bride and groom during the Wedding Rehearsal is to put hand lotion on their hands when they get home that night and to not force the ring on the ...read more

Tags: Weddings, Teacher, School

Denomination: Baptist

Merlin Carothers, Author Of The Book Prison To ...  PRO

Contributed by Ron Crow on Mar 7, 2003

Merlin Carothers, author of the book Prison to Praise, had firsthand experience of what it is like to be declared righteous. During World War II, he joined the army. Anxious to get into some action, Carothers went AWOL but was caught and sentenced to five years in prison. Instead of sentencing him ...read more

Tags: Evangelism The Lost, Grace

Denomination: Baptist

I Read The Story About A Football Player Whose ...  PRO

Contributed by John Williams Iii on Jun 3, 2003

I read the story about a football player whose performance exceeded the expectation of others. "…. In the last two minutes of the game, with the score against his team, makes a touchdown. He runs faster than his legs can carry him, and farther than he has ever dreamed of running. When he comes ...read more

Tags: Change, Holy Spirit General, Holy Spirit Attributes

Denomination: United Methodist

When I Was A Freshman Down At Sdsu, I Was ...  PRO

Contributed by Brian La Croix on Aug 23, 2003

When I was a freshman down at SDSU, I was visiting my grandparents outside Watertown for Christmas. One of my uncles and I had spent hours the night before discussing the fact that I had given my life to Christ a couple months before that. But one night my grandmother was playing some Christmas ...read more

Tags: Christmas

Denomination: Wesleyan

Just Like Mom's

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 5, 2004

JUST LIKE MOM’S Cathy Thomas, a former associate at the Orange County Register in Santa Ana, California, is a cooking teacher of considerable repute. She calls herself, however, "no stranger to the gastronomic adventures of Mother’s Day." Back when it was first in vogue during the 1980s, she ...read more

Tags: Mother's Day, Parenting

A Man Was Walking Along Our North Shore Mountain ...  PRO

Contributed by Andrew Chan on Jul 28, 2004

A man was walking along our North shore mountain road and saw a First Nations man lying with his ear to the ground. As he approached the First Nations man, he heard him talking. “Chevy pickup truck. Large tires. Green. Man driving with large German shepherd in passenger seat. Loaded with ...read more

Tags: Emotions

Denomination: Evangelical Free

Eating It All  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 23, 2005

EATING IT ALL Charles Spence’s son was a Baltimore Ravens season-ticket holder, and he thought taking his seven-year-old daughter to a game would be a good bonding experience. But once there, she found the food vendors much more enticing than what was taking place on the field, so his son bought ...read more

Scripture: Mark 6:30-44

Tags: Miracles Of Jesus, God's Provision

Have You Noticed That The More Mature Believers ...  PRO

Contributed by Paul Fritz on Nov 29, 2001

Have you noticed that the more mature believers have a greater capacity to see hidden blessings in hardships and difficult subjects? Norm Cousins, a teacher at the Univeristy of Calif. Medical School in Los Angeles, noticed an amazing irony in his younger students’ perceptions. It seems that ...read more

Tags: Discipleship, Kingdom Of God, Growth In Christ

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

He Sent His Son  PRO

Contributed by Brian Mavis on Dec 10, 2001

HE SENT HIS SON Pastor Clifford S. Stewart of Louisville, Kentucky, sent his parents a microwave oven one Christmas. Here’s how he recalls the experience: “They were excited that now they, too, could be a part of the instant generation. When Dad unpacked the microwave and plugged it in, ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness In Jesus, Humanity Of Christ

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational