In Sermon Illustrations: "Falling Out"

A Fisherman Who Was Out Of Fellowship With The ...

Contributed by Dave Kinney on Nov 1, 2008

A fisherman who was out of fellowship with the Lord was at sea with his heathen buddies when a huge storm came out of nowhere and was close to destroying their small ship. His friends begged him to do anything, even pray, but he said to his buddies, “It’s been a long time since I’ve done that or ...read more

Tags: Prayer Hardship

Denomination: Baptist

Sin Keyed Out By Jesus

Contributed by Johnny Wilson on Mar 16, 2009

SIN KEYED OUT BY JESUS What is this idea of "covering" or "hiding" sin? It means that there are circumstances where God will refuse to see our sin. I like to picture that as being like the technique used in video and film. It’s called the chromakey technique and requires filming in front of a blue ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness In Jesus

Denomination: *other

There Are A Couple Of Dna Projects Out There ...

Contributed by Jay Winters on Apr 2, 2009

There are a couple of DNA projects out there that have captured the attention and imagination of many people. The first of them is called 23 and Me. It's a project that you can sign up for and pay $400 to be a part of, and for $400 they send you a little kit that you put a DNA sample onto and ...read more

Tags: Sin Bondage To

Denomination: Lutheran

In A Letter That Was Smuggled Secretly Out Of A ...

Contributed by Mark Eberly on May 27, 2009

In a letter that was smuggled secretly out of a country full of Christian persecution said, “We don’t pray to be better Christians, but that we may be the only kind of Christians God means us to be: Christlike ...read more

Tags: Sacrifices

Denomination: Church Of God

Pick Out Three Hymns

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 10, 2009

PICK OUT THREE HYMNS I heard about this pastor. He was raising money for a new sanctuary. He told his congregation one Sunday morning "If anybody will give $1000, you can pick out three hymns." A little old lady in the back raised up her hand and said "Pastor, I’ll do it." He was so excited. He ...read more

Tags: Giving Yourself

Treasure In Christ, But "Out Of Gas"  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 13, 2009

TREASURE IN CHRIST, BUT "OUT OF GAS" Several years ago, on New Year’s Day, a beautiful float in the Tournament of Roses parade suddenly sputtered and quit. It was out of gas. The whole parade was held up until someone could get a can of gas. The amusing thing was this float represented the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:19-20

Tags: God's Provision

Check-Out Line Deception  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 21, 2009

Check-Out Line Deception And in verse 7, Jeremiah is mad at God! He says "O LORD, you deceived me, and I was deceived; you overpowered me and prevailed. You tricked me!" (From a sermon by Marc Axelrod, When You Are Mad at God, 10/20/2009) This reminds me of the guy who was shopping at WalMart. ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 20:7-8

Tags: Fool

Getting In/Out Of The Boat

Contributed by Jim Kane on Feb 27, 2010

GETTING IN/OUT OF THE BOAT In our life journey with God, there are moments when we are to get out of the boat because our faith and trust in the Lord needs to grow. But, there are also moments when we need to get back in the boat because we need to rest and be ...read more

Tags: Faith

Denomination: Church Of God

In And Out" Is A Very Successful Restaraunt ...

Contributed by Charles Wallis on Dec 11, 2008

"In and Out" is a very successful restaraunt franchise because they pride themselves on fresh food and great customer service. In the same way, the church must be "in and out" - we must have a fresh message of salvation and focus on reaching out. We cannot become ...read more

Tags: Outreach

Denomination: Pentecostal

Tell Them Out Loud  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 28, 2008

TELL THEM OUT LOUD Scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer once said "The best way to send an idea is to wrap it up in a person." The theological word for all of that is incarnation, meaning "in the flesh." Jesus was the incarnation of God. Jesus was the way that God sent His "idea" to humanity; there was ...read more

Scripture: Luke 21:18-25, Hebrews 1:1

Tags: Christmas

Stepping Out-Of-Bounds

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 12, 2009

STEPPING OUT-OF-BOUNDS I had missed a game winning free-throw. I swore that would never happen again. So I practiced until I became excellent at free-throws. In the next big tournament, I swished two free-throws. On the last one, I heard an ear-splitting whistle in my ear. I had stepped over the ...read more

Tags: Holy Spirit In Believers

There Was A Minister Out Taking A Walk On A ...

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Nov 27, 2010

There was a minister out taking a walk on a beautiful street. He noticed a small boy attempting to ring the doorbell on the porch of a house. The boy was short and the doorbell was higher than usual. The boy could not quite reach it. The minister stepped up to the porch beside the boy and reached ...read more

Tags: Ignorance

Denomination: Brethren

Out-Of-Whack Priorities

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 26, 2011

OUT-OF-WHACK PRIORITIES USA Today ran an article on October 25th, 1995 that is a great illustration about priorities. It reads... "Ronald Warwick, captain of the luxury cruise ship Queen Elizabeth II, questioned a passenger who paid full fare for his dog to join them on an around-the-world ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 2:15-17

Tags: Worldliness

Pouring Out Like Sweat  PRO

Contributed by Tim Smith on Oct 8, 2011

POURING OUT LIKE SWEAT Several years ago, Gatorade had an ad with Michael Jordan where he was covered in orange drops of sweat. The image says clearly that Michael Jordan is so full of Gatorade that it is literally pouring out of him like sweat. That’s an appropriate image of the Holy Spirit in ...read more

Scripture: John 14:15-24

Tags: Holy Spirit In Believers

Denomination: Methodist

When The World Goes Out

Contributed by Davon Huss on Aug 27, 2015

A contest was held in England to find the best definition of a friend. Thousands of answers were received but the one that received the prize was this: “A friend is the one who comes in when the world has gone out.” Can we ...read more

Scripture: John 15:13-15

Tags: Friend In Jesus, Faithful Friend, Jesus' Friends

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

A Branch Plucked Out Of The Fire

Contributed by Jim Butcher on Apr 10, 2018

Back in ’09 there was a house fire that led to a dramatic rescue. One of the family’s sons was trapped in the house. A quick-thinking neighbor had someone get on his shoulders in order to reach the boy. Their bravery and ingenuity allowed five-year-old John to escape just seconds before the ...read more

Tags: John Wesley, Methodist, Hell, Flame, Salvation, Rescue, Purpose, Fire  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

The Truth Will Always Come Out.

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Apr 18, 2022

We live in a generation of government corruption and evil that is unparalleled. How long will God tolerate this? The Bible says in Luke 8:17 (NLT), "For all that is secret will eventually be brought into the open, and everything that is concealed will be brought to light and made known to ...read more

Tags: Evil, Truth, Corruption, Last Days, Lies, Government, Reaping  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

How To Put Out A Fire

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 20, 2022

It was Pentecost Sunday. As the congregation filed into the church, the ushers handed each person a bright red carnation to symbolize the day's festive spirit. The people listened attentively to the reading of the Pentecost story from the Book of Acts about how the disciples had heard “what ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:1

Tags: Giving, Tithes, Offerings

The Church That Voted God Out!

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jan 28, 2024

The story is told about a poor woman who lived across the tracks and wanted to join a very fashionable church. She talked to the pastor about it, but he sought to discourage her. He suggested she go home and think about it carefully for a week. At the end of the week she came back. He said, “Go ...read more

Scripture: James 2:1-12

Tags: Church, Revival, Favoritism, Pastors, Membership, Partiality  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Before The Stones Cry Out

Contributed by Samuel M on Feb 15, 2025

But Jesus answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.” Luke 19: 40 What if Jesus literally meant it. Stones have a voice and are waiting to burst forth into praise. Before the stones cry out and praise God, let we start praising ...read more

Scripture: Luke 19:40

Tags: Faith, Hope