In Sermon Illustrations: "Falling Out"

Corporate Discipleship

Contributed by Chuck Sligh on Jan 6, 2013

CORPORATE DISCIPLESHIP Did you know that there is not a single case of "one-on-one discipleship" in the New Testament? The choice to become and remain a disciple rests with individuals, but discipleship is always nurtured corporately. Discipleship is not a course you go through; it’s a life you ...read more

Tags: Discipleship

Denomination: Baptist

Mission

Contributed by Don Berry-Graham on Mar 1, 2016

Or what about the missionaries preaching in Africa from Revelation 3:20 (ESV), “Behold, I stand at the door and knock,” without knowing that in this African context only thieves knock on doors to see if anyone is home. Friends, on the other hand, announce their presence by calling out. So these ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 3:20

Tags: Evangelism, Contextual, Effective Evangelism

Denomination: Baptist

Keep Your Words Sweet

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Apr 17, 2017

KEEP YOUR WORDS SWEET A pastor was teaching on Proverbs 16:24: "Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and health to the bones." The minister then added, "You know, you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." Upon hearing this, a woman in the congregation put her head ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 16:24

Tags: Words, Husbands, Wives, Marriage

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

How To Gather A Crowd At Church!

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jan 25, 2021

How to Gather a Crowd at Church! A cattle rancher got saved and surrendered to preach. He went to a Bible conference which was all about how to build a crowd. Asked about it later, he said, "It was strange. In all my years as a cattle rancher, I never had to go to a conference to learn how ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Timothy 4:1-3

Tags: Bible, Teaching, Preaching, Word Of God, Pastors, Churches  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Why Women Talk More Than Men

Contributed by Glynda Lomax on Sep 27, 2021

“According to a theory of sociologists who study human nature, the number of words spoken by the average man in a given day are about 10,000. The average woman uses about 25,000 words in a day. – from speechmastery.com My pastor was doing a teaching on the power of the tongue Sunday morning and ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 18:21

Tags: Idle Words, Power Of The Tongue

Denomination: Charismatic

Money In The Bible

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jan 2, 2023

16 out of 38 of Christ’s parables deal with money. More is said in the New Testament about money than Heaven and Hell combined. Five times more is said about money than prayer. While there are 500 plus verses on both prayer and faith, there are over 2,000 verses dealing with money and ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:10

Tags: Money, Giving, Stewardship, Money Management

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Our Mission-Minded God

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jan 10, 2023

Notice how all three members of the Trinity are involved in Missions: The Father is the first missionary, who goes out of himself in creating the world and sending the Son for our salvation. The Son is the second missionary, who redeems humanity and all creation through his life, death, ...read more

Scripture: Acts 1:8

Tags: Witnessing, Great Commission, Acts, Evangelism, Church, Missions, Revival  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Spend Time With God

Contributed by Samuel M on Feb 1, 2025

Moses after spending 40 days with God on the mountain, found out that God can be seen on a daily basis. So he pitched up a tent outside the camp to meet God on a daily basis. Some things are learned by spending time with God that are not learned anywhere else. Spending time with God teaches us ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 33:7-11

Tags: Faith, Hope

The Golden Rule

Contributed by John Bright on Feb 19, 2025

We teach children the Golden Rule – “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” When those children get out into the world, they learn a new rule – “Do unto others before they can do unto you.” We are taught to go on the offensive and keep a list of wrongs so we can fulfill ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 2:21-23, Matthew 7:12

Tags: Revenge, Golden Rule

Denomination: Methodist

Sleepless Nights

Contributed by Samuel M on Feb 22, 2025

When the time came to bring Joseph out of jail into fulfilment of God's plan, God gave sleepless nights to King Pharoah. When the time came to exalt and elevate Daniel in the Babylon kingdom, God gave sleepless nights to King Nebuchadnezzar. Similarly, when God wants to fulfil his plan in your ...read more

Tags: Faith, Hope

Methodism A Dead Sect

Contributed by John Bright on Jun 5, 2025

The founder of Methodism, John Wesley, wrote this in “Thoughts Upon Methodism,” – “I am not afraid that the people called Methodists should ever cease to exist in either Europe or America. But I am afraid lest they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power. And ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:5, Acts 2:1-13

Tags: John Wesley, Methodism, Power

Denomination: Methodist

Gift Of Complaining?

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Sep 3, 2025

DO WE COMPLAIN TOO MUCH? Did you hear about the lady that prayed and asked God to bless her garden? Then she complained about having to hoe out the weeds. Then she complained about how hot it was? Then she complained about having to pick the tomatoes and the beans? Then she complained she had to ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 6:2, 1 Timothy 6:9-10

Tags: Thanks, Complaining

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Elie Wiesel Was A Fourteen Year Old Boy When The ...  PRO

Contributed by Philip Harrelson on Feb 8, 2006

-Elie Wiesel was a fourteen year old boy when the Germans started loading the Jews on trains and sending them to the death camps authorized by Adolph Hitler. This excerpt picks up as he is traveling by in a cattle car on a train from Transylvania (which at the time was under the control of ...read more

Tags: Hell

Denomination: Pentecostal

Sweeping Closer To Home!" 2 Samuel 12:1-8 Key ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Jan 16, 2005

“Sweeping Closer to Home!” 2 Samuel 12:1-8 Key verse(s): 5-6:“David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die! He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.’” The old fix-it ...read more

Scripture: 2 Samuel 12:1-8

Tags: Leadership General

Denomination: Lutheran

From Homeless To Home

Contributed by Sean Harder on Nov 19, 2008

FROM HOMELESS TO HOME A young woman about 20 years old had been living on the streets of a suburban neighborhood for about five years because of her severely abusive alcoholic parents. She was a pleasant-looking young woman behind the tattered and dirty clothes, oily hair, and dirty makeup-free ...read more

Tags: Examples Of Faith

Are Homemade Cookies Addictive?

Contributed by James Snyder on Aug 8, 2020

Some people say we are living in the "new normal." I'm not sure exactly what they mean, and I don't have the time to ask, nor the desire. If the "new normal" is what I have been experiencing in the parsonage for the last several months, I'm all for it. Let it ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 3:18

Tags: Humor, Negioating

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Doing Nothing Is Harder Than I Thought

Contributed by James Snyder on Aug 29, 2020

After being so long in a lockdown situation, the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage planned a short vacation time for us. It took her quite a while to put all of the pieces together, but she succeeded as always. As I was preparing for this little adventure, my wife looked at me and said, ...read more

Scripture: Luke 6:31

Tags: Vacation, Holiday

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

What Would Life Be Without Mistakes?

Contributed by James Snyder on Oct 9, 2021

Let me be clear from the beginning. I have made a lot of mistakes during my life. I have made mistakes that I don’t even know about to this day. Even the ones I do know about, I cannot remember very clearly. Mistakes are a part of life. Unfortunately, some people believe they live their whole life ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 19:12

Tags: Mistakes, Cleansing, Errors

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Splish Splash, I Forgot To Take A Bath

Contributed by James Snyder on Jan 8, 2022

If you had the opportunity to speak to the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage, she would probably tell you that one of my strengths is forgetting. I'm not sure how far into the subject she would get. When it comes to forgetting, I am outstanding on the back lawn, and my expertise in this area ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 103:2

Tags: Memory, Forgetting

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Maybe We Should Go Back To Smoke Signal Communications

Contributed by James Snyder on Apr 30, 2022

I must admit that communication is an essential part of my life today. The longer I live, the more sophisticated those communications become, and it’s challenging to me. Recently, I was working on my latest book using my latest computer and its programs. As I was working, I remembered that I did ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 4:6

Tags: Communication, Computer, Media

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance