In Sermon Illustrations: "Experience"

Scientists At Nasa Have Developed A Gun For The ...

Contributed by Charles Wallis on Jan 14, 2009

Scientists at NASA have developed a gun for the purpose of launching dead chickens. It is used to shoot a dead chicken at the windshield of airline jet, military jet, or the space shuttle, at that vehicle’s maximum traveling velocity. The idea being, that it would simulate the frequent incidents of ...read more

Tags: Mistakes

Denomination: Pentecostal

Prior To Rodger Bannister Running The Mile In ...

Contributed by Andrew Moffatt on Jan 17, 2010

Prior to Rodger Bannister running the mile in 3’59.4" in 1954 it was believed to be impossible, and that athletes would die in the attempt. The ’four minute barrier’ has since been broken by many athletes, and is now the standard of all professional middle distance runners. In the last 50 years ...read more

Tags: Truth Of Christ

Denomination: Salvation Army

Watch Out For The Weeds  PRO

Contributed by Christian Cheong on Feb 23, 2010

WATCH OUT FOR THE WEEDS Watch out for the weeds in your life – the things that come between you and God; between you and serving God. I like the way Rick Warren illustrates weeds. • You don’t have to plan for weeds to grow; it just grows. • The difference between a plant and a weed is this. ...read more

Tags: Parable Sower And Seed

Denomination: Independent/Bible

The Impermanence Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 26, 2010

The Impermanence of Democracy About 200 years ago, as the United States was beginning its experiment, Alexander Fraser Tytler wrote: “A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public ...read more

Scripture: Romans 13:1-7

Tags: Bondage, Politics

Ignorance Of One's ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 27, 2010

Ignorance of One’s Inheritance A Michigan factory worker, earning less than ten thousand dollars a year, was an unknowing heir to a half-million dollars. When located by an investigator some years after his benefactor’s death, the worker explained that he had neither returned home nor kept in touch ...read more

Scripture: John 6:1-13

Tags: Inheritance, Ignorance

Biblical Fellowship  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 15, 2010

BIBLICAL FELLOWSHIP If the local church is going to develop the kind of beauty that God says is possible, that which will attract others to Christ, we much commit to becoming together, the kind of church Christ calls us to be. A church that is a biblical fellowship. In his book, Rediscovering ...read more

Scripture: Acts 2:42-47

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

More Than A Black Mark

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Nov 27, 2010

MORE THAN A BLACK MARK A preacher was addressing his congregation when he held up a large piece of paper. He then took from his pocket a marker pen and made a black dot in the centre of it. Then he held the paper up before the people and asked them what they saw. One person quickly replied, "I ...read more

Tags: Endurance

Denomination: Brethren

What Can I Fear?

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Nov 29, 2010

WHAT CAN I FEAR? In A.D. 373 John Chrysostom became a hermit. He went alone into the mountains near Antioch, seeking to know God better. Although his time of isolation was cut short by illness, he discovered that with God at his side, he could attend alone against anyone or anything. That ...read more

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Denomination: Brethren

The World Is Without Hope

Contributed by Ken Pell on Jun 5, 2011

THE WORLD IS WITHOUT HOPE In Kurt Vonnegut’s novel, Cat’s Cradle, an important book comes to light. It is titled, "What Can a Thoughtful Man Hope for Mankind on Earth, Given the Experience of the Past Million Years?" The chief character is anxious to read it. But when he does, he finds that it ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:12

Tags: God Brings Hope

Denomination: Nazarene

Loneliness And Belonging

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 16, 2011

LONELINESS AND BELONGING Chip Ingram notes: "In his landmark book Bowling Alone, Robert Putman makes the case that loneliness is America’s new epidemic. People are searching for a place to belong. In the 1970s, it wasn’t uncommon for someone to leave a job that paid well and go off into the woods ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:3-8

Tags: Suffering Loneliness

Unknown Inheritances  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 12, 2009

UNKNOWN INHERITANCES A Michigan factory worker, earning less than ten thousand dollars a year, was an unknowing heir to a half-million dollars. When located by an investigator some years after his benefactor’s death, the worker explained that he had neither returned home nor kept in touch with his ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:16-17

Tags: God The Father

How About The Story Of A Woman Called Shirley Who ...

Contributed by Paul Green on Oct 28, 2009

how about the story of a woman called Shirley who had a heart attack and was taken to hospital. And while she was there she had a near-death experience. She saw God and asked, "God, Is this it? Is this my time?" And God said, "No, you’ve got another 30 or 40 years to live yet." So as soon as she ...read more

Tags: Death

Denomination: Baptist

The Story's Told Of A Christian Man In The 1800s ...

Contributed by Trevor Woodget on May 2, 2007

The story’s told of a Christian man in the 1800s who sent his wife and children ahead to England from the U.S.A. Tragically their ship had a terrible accident and it sank in the Atlantic, taking the life of his 3 daughters, although his wife survived. As soon as he received the news he set sail ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Joseph Stowell Spouted Off To His Teacher At ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Joseph Stowell spouted off to his teacher at school and told her to shut up and then he stood up and walked out of the class room. As he walked down the block to his house he noticed that his mother was working in the yard. He stopped dead in his tracks. He thought “What am I going to tell her?” He ...read more

Tags: Faith

Dr. Maurice Rawlings, Is A Cardiologist And ...  PRO

Contributed by Aaron Burgess on Nov 20, 2002

Dr. Maurice Rawlings, is a cardiologist and professor of medicine at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Chattanooga, and his colleagues are constantly treating emergency patients, many of whom have had near-death experiences. A study of these cases by Dr. Rawlings was reported in ...read more

Tags: Hell, Death

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Is God Waiting For You?  PRO

Contributed by Paul Dietz on Sep 12, 2008

Is God Waiting for You? Koinonia is the Greek phrase which describes this spiritual intimacy that is born through having the true knowledge of who God is in a personal way. I must confess, I am the one who made the choice not to experience Koinonia for all those years in my spiritual way with the ...read more

Tags: Disciplines General

Denomination: *other

Don't Let Me Go Back To Hell.

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 5, 2009

"DON’T LET ME GO BACK TO HELL." Dr. Maurice Rawlings is a cardiologist and professor of medicine at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Chattanooga, and his colleagues are constantly treating emergency patients, many of whom have had near-death experiences. A study of these cases by ...read more

Tags: Hell

Stop Expecting Life To Be Perfect

Contributed by Tim Smith on Feb 19, 2012

STOP EXPECTING LIFE TO BE PERFECT Donald Miller has written a book called, "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years." It's about the journey Don went on when a couple of filmmakers decided to make a movie about his life, based on his book Blue Like Jazz. Now during the process of writing a screenplay ...read more

Tags: Discipleship

Denomination: Methodist

Follow Instructions: Rafting The Rio Grande

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 5, 2012

FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS: RAFTING THE RIO GRANDE A few years ago, my family climbed aboard a rubber raft for a ride down the rapids of the Rio Grand River. We had never been on such an adventure, but all of us were experienced swimmers, and the river seemed to be fairly shallow. It seemed to be a ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 4:20-27

Tags: Obedience

How Satan And The World Are Like A Pack Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 11, 2009

How Satan and the World are Like a Pack of Dogs While visiting Loretta’s parents in Indiana last summer I spent each morning walking several miles. They live in the middle of farm country. The roads are straight and long with corn and bean fields lining them. There are few houses and fewer cars. As ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 5:8-11

Tags: Satan