In Sermon Illustrations: "Faith Vs Works"

You Don't Have To See To Believe

Contributed by Charles Wilkerson on Mar 10, 2009

YOU DON'T HAVE TO SEE TO BELIEVE Mt. Diablo is only about 3,500 feet, but it is very noticeable as it sits all alone in the Concord, California valley. Before I called them "God sightings" I found myself caught up in an "aha" moment as I looked at the cloud covered Mt. Diablo. I couldn’t help but ...read more

Tags: Faith

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

A Little Over 75 Years Ago A Little Known ...  PRO

Contributed by Lou Nicholes on Oct 12, 2004

A little over 75 years ago a little known American inventor, born of Russian descent named Vladimir Kosma Zworykin began to work for the Westinghouse Electric Corporation. Over the next few years Mr. Zworykin worked on an idea called an iconoscope and a kinescope. The kinescope would eventually ...read more

Scripture: Mark 4:30-41

Tags: Faith General, Examples Of Faith

Denomination: Baptist

God Honors Radical, Risk-Taking ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Beaird on Nov 6, 2000

"God honors radical, risk-taking faith. When arks are built, lives are saved. When soldiers march, Jerichos tumble. When staffs are raised, seas still open. When a lunch is shared, thousands are fed. And when a garment is touched -- whether by the hand of an anemic woman in ...read more

Scripture: 2 Kings 4:8-37, 1 Samuel 1:8-16

Tags: Faith General, Faith

Denomination: Pentecostal

A Small Boy Riding A Bus Home From Sunday School ...  PRO

Contributed by John Beehler on Aug 27, 2001

A small boy riding a bus home from Sunday school was very proud of the card he had received, which had a picture and a caption that read: “Have Faith in God.” Then to his dismay the card slipped from his hand and fluttered out the window. “Stop the bus!” he cried. “I’ve lost my ‘faith in God!’” The ...read more

Scripture: 2 Peter 1:1-14

Tags: Faith General, Faith

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Believing The Impossible  PRO

Contributed by Alan Perkins on Nov 25, 2001

BELIEVING THE IMPOSSIBLE Alice laughed. "There’s no use trying," she said: "one can’t believe impossible things." "I daresay you haven’t had much practice," said the Queen. "When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as ...read more

Tags: Faith, Faith General

Denomination: Baptist

The Unattended Garden Will Soon Be Overrun With ...

Contributed by Paul Fritz on Jul 11, 2002

The unattended garden will soon be overrun with weeds; the heart that fails to cultivate truth and root out error will shortly ...read more

Tags: Faith, Faith General

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Several Years Ago There Was A Well-Known ...  PRO

Contributed by John Williams Iii on Sep 26, 2001

"Several years ago there was a well-known television circus show that developed a Bengal tiger act. Like the rest of the show, it was done "live" before a live audience, One evening, the tiger trainer went into the cage with several tigers to do a routine performance. The door was locked behind ...read more

Tags: Examples Of Faith, Faith

Denomination: United Methodist

The Fiancee: A Young Woman Brought Her Fiancee ...  PRO

Contributed by Charles Salmon on Sep 7, 2003

The Fiancee: A young woman brought her fiancee home to meet her parents. After dinner, her mother told her father to find out about the young man. The father invited the fiancee to his study for a talk. "So what are your plans?" the father asked the young man. "I am a biblical scholar," he ...read more

Tags: Examples Of Faith, Faith

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Hope Motivates Us To Keep Going And Not Give Up. ...  PRO

Contributed by D. Greg Ebie on Jan 27, 2004

Hope motivates us to keep going and not give up. Without hope we don’t want to do anything. Peanut’s cartoon: Lucy and Linus were sitting in front of the television set when Lucy said to Linus, "Go get me a glass of water." Linus looked surprised, "Why should I do anything for you? You never do ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 33:14-16

Tags: Faith, Faith General

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Everything Looks Different

Contributed by Glynda Lomax on Dec 27, 2014

“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.” - Thornton Wilder It was the anniversary of the fall of the Soviet Union when he got the call from Moscow. Some of the Russian oil companies had abandoned their wells, left their rigs with the ...read more

Scripture: Luke 12:34

Tags: Work, Daily Living, Family Priorities

Denomination: Charismatic

Junk Is A Matter Of Personal Definition

Contributed by James Snyder on Oct 10, 2020

I thought I had everything organized and in order. It just shows how useless my thinking is these days. There are many piles in my office and on my desk, and I know what is in each pile. Everything is organized to my specifications. My rule is: if I can't find something, I don't need it. ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 16:3

Tags: Work, Humor, Planning, Office Space

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Courage

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Jul 2, 2021

Mary Slesser (1848-1915) when Mary was a teenager, she volunteered to help organize a mission in the slums of Scotland. Despite Mary's genuine and caring efforts, many of the people the mission was designed to help oppose the work because they felt it avoided the "real" needs of the ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 118:6-14

Tags: Mission Work, Mary Slesser, Courage

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Creative Prisoner

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Jul 6, 2021

An old farmer wrote to his son in prison: “This year I wont be able to plant potatoes because I can’t dig the field. I know if you were here you would help me.” The son wrote back:”Dad don’t even think of digging the field because that’s where I buried the money I stole.” Police read the letter and ...read more

Tags: Creativity, Solution, Cunning, Remote Work

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Sabbath

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Feb 12, 2023

Busyness is the enemy of spirituality. It is essentially laziness. It is doing the easy thing instead of the hard thing. It is filling our time with our own actions instead of paying attention ...read more

Scripture: Mark 2:23-28

Tags: Worship, Work, Sabbath, Busyness, Rest  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Hound Of Heaven

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jul 2, 2023

In his book The Call, author Os Guinness writes: We cannot find God without God. We cannot reach God without God. We cannot satisfy God without God—which is another way of saying that our seeking will always fall short unless God’s grace initiates the search and unless God’s call draws us to Him ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:1-9, Titus 3:5

Tags: Grace, Salvation, Works, Sovereignty Of God

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

We Never Become Truly Spiritual By Sitting Down ...  PRO

Contributed by Jon Sigler on Jun 20, 2001

"We never become truly spiritual by sitting down and wishing to become so. You must undertake something so great that you ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 11:1

Tags: Faith General, Faith, Gifts Faith

Denomination: Holiness

There Is A Story About A Monastery In Europe ...  PRO

Contributed by Christian Cheong on Aug 9, 2001

There is a story about a monastery in Europe perched high on a cliff several hundred feet in the air. The only way to reach the monastery was to be suspended in a basket which was pulled to the top by several monks who pulled and tugged with all their strength. Obviously the ride up the steep ...read more

Tags: Faith, Faith General, Examples Of Faith

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Feeling A Tug  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 3, 2011

FEELING A TUG A small boy was flying a kite one April afternoon when a low drifting cloud encircled the kite and hid it from view. A man passing by asked the little boy what he was doing with that string in his hand. "I’m flying my kite," the child responded. The man, looking up and seeing ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 11:1

Tags: Faith, Real Faith, Better Faith, Feeling Faith

Little Known Characters Of The New Testament

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Feb 26, 2023

It’s interesting to look at the people Paul publicly affirmed in his letters. When referring to them, the thing he commended was NOT their oratorical skills, or their personality, or their effectiveness, or their wealth, or any of the other things we often value so much in people and leadership. So ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:22-23

Tags: Commitment, Faithfulness, Dependability, Fruit Of The Spirit, Servant Leadership, Works Of The Flesh, Reliablity  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Sign In The Window Read: "Boy Wanted". Young ...

Contributed by Ed Wood on Jun 29, 2005

The sign in the window read: “Boy Wanted”. Young John Simmons, though he was lazy, saw his opportunity and applied. He was quickly hired by elderly Mr. Peters. The pace was leisurely so he enjoyed the job. Toward the middle of the afternoon however, he was sent up to the attic — a dingy place full ...read more

Tags: Responsibility, Servanthood, Hard Work, Little Things

Denomination: Baptist