In Sermon Illustrations: "Family Relationships"

The Rich Man And The Poor Carpenter

Contributed by John Williams Iii on Aug 24, 2009

THE RICH MAN AND THE POOR CARPENTER One day a good, rich man noticed the miserable conditions in which a certain poor carpenter lived. He decided to help the poor man and commissioned him to build a beautiful house. He told the carpenter, "I want this house to be ideal. Use only the best ...read more

Tags: Character

Denomination: United Methodist

Love Is Never Inconsiderate

Contributed by Mark Eberly on Sep 21, 2009

LOVE IS NEVER INCONSIDERATE Gary and Mary Jane Chauncey were totally devoted to their eleven-year-old daughter Andrea. Andrea was confined to a wheelchair because of cerebral palsy. Andrea was pretty insignificant to practically everyone except her parents. The Chauncey family were passengers on ...read more

Tags: Christian Love

Denomination: Church Of God

Clean House

Contributed by K. Edward Skidmore on Dec 9, 2009

CLEAN HOUSE This summer Susan and I discovered a reality show called CLEAN HOUSE (Style Channel). Have some of you seen it? It's a show where a team of people come in help people with a hopelessly messy house by cleaning it out. The host is a comedian named Niecy Nash. When she first enters the ...read more

Tags: Jesus Teachings

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The First Step In Developing Specific Prayers ...

Contributed by Greg Bond on Dec 28, 2009

The first step in developing specific prayers for your community, oddly enough, is to pray. Start with a specific prayer, asking God to open your eyes to those areas in your community that have the most influence. Ask Him to open your eyes to those things which are beneficial, and those which are ...read more

Tags: Outreach, Opportunity

Denomination: Pentecostal

John W. Gardner, Founding Chairman Of Common ...

Contributed by Bobby Scobey on Feb 22, 2010

John W. Gardner, founding chairman of Common Cause, said it's a rare and high privilege to help people understand the difference they can make -- not only in their own lives, but also in the lives of others, simply by giving of themselves. Gardner tells of a cheerful old man who asked the same ...read more

Tags: Pride

Denomination: Pentecostal

Truth In Customs

Contributed by Jim Kane on Feb 28, 2010

TRUTH IN CUSTOMS I have a friend who lives in France and she lives on a farm with her husband and animals. (On Christmas Day, she and her husband were helping the sheep they own as they gave birth to lambs!) I decided to ask her about table customs in France that were different in America and she ...read more

Tags: America

Denomination: Church Of God

Discipline, Brokenness, And Strength

Contributed by Pastor Gbenga Shadare on May 4, 2010

DISCIPLINE, BROKENNESS, AND STRENGTH Discipline is a virtue that is in short supply nowadays. We see men and women demonstrating a dangerous lack of self restraint and discipline. People do things just because they feel like it, ignoring the consequences. What there is no restraint, no discipline ...read more

Tags: Christian Disciplines

Denomination: Independent/Bible

An Angel Story

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Aug 3, 2010

AN ANGEL STORY Julie and the kids were on their way home from the park when it happened. Ben was only about 5 years old and happily walking and running ahead on the edge of the road. There was no footpath beside the road, but he was still on the grassy area. Then he must have seen our house on the ...read more

Tags: Angels

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Prayer: Form Vs. ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 3, 2010

Prayer: Form vs. Substance There was a man who would start his day by kneeling beside his bed and spending an hour or so in prayer. But he had a cat that would disturb him and would nuzzle up against him. So to keep his cat from disturbing his prayer time, he would tie the cat to his bedpost. His ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:1-18

Tags: Prayer General

Humorous ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 5, 2010

Humorous Quotes Here are some final words of wisdom: Anybody who sleeps like a baby doesn’t have one. At my age, I’ve seen it all, heard it all, and done it all, but now, I just can’t seem to remember it all. He who laughs last ... thinks the slowest. The early bird gets the worm, but the ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 17:22

Tags: Wisdom

Hanging Onto The "Bomb"

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 13, 2010

HANGING ONTO THE "BOMB" For four hours he held the cylinder, waiting for rescue or an immediate death. After digging up what appeared to be an unexploded WWI bomb, David Page held on to it, afraid that letting go would detonate the device. While holding the bomb, the terrified 40-year-old from ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:6-7

Tags: Anxiety

Shame Upon The Father

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 30, 2010

SHAME UPON THE FATHER A man was successful in business and had a well-educated son who was highly respected and honored, like his father. But one day to everyone’s surprise, the young man was charged with embezzlement. At his trial, he appeared nonchalant and arrogant about his sinful actions. ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 28:7

Tags: Father's Day

Always More To Follow

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Nov 29, 2010

ALWAYS MORE TO FOLLOW C. H. Spurgeon had an illustration he would use to depict ‘grace’. A large sum of money was given to a man called Rowland Hill; His job was to distribute the money to a particular Christian pastor. Thinking that the amount was too much to send all at once, Hill forwarded ...read more

Tags: Grace

Denomination: Brethren

The Church As A China Cabinet

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 7, 2011

THE CHURCH AS A CHINA CABINET Bryan Wilkerson talks about a sterling silver tea set that a family member gave him and his wife as a reminder of her love for them. It’s quite old and beautifully made, and it sits on a stand in their dining room. There's only one problem: they can’t use it. The ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 3:14-15

Tags: Church Purpose Of

Before It's Too Late

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 11, 2011

BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE USA Today had an article on the front page about those who escaped the World Trade Center on September 11. After interviewing over 300 survivors and family members of victims, USA Today concluded that in the South tower those who didn’t delay but ran for safety immediately ...read more

Scripture: Luke 9:57-62

Tags: Evangelism Urgency

What The Cross Displayed  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 11, 2011

WHAT THE CROSS DISPLAYED Author Henri Nouwen tells the story of a family he knew in Paraguay. The father, a doctor, spoke out against the military regime there and its human rights abuses. Local police took their revenge on him by arresting his teenage son and torturing him to death. Enraged ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 52:13-15

Tags: Cross

Enoch Walking With God

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Aug 31, 2011

ENOCH WALKING WITH GOD Unity Baptist’s pastor shares from His sermon "Faith: Enoch-walking with God in faith" on sermoncentral.com shares: "Picture in your mind, if you will, Enoch, walking with God in the coolness of the evening, just as night and day are meeting and lengthened shadows begin to ...read more

Tags: Intercession

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Death As Reward

Contributed by Brad Henry on Sep 15, 2011

DEATH AS REWARD I am reading a book that has changed a lot of the ways I think about things of God. One statement really got me. "Your life is free to be radical when you see death as your reward." The book “Radical” by David Platt. That’s it isn’t it? That is why we worry. Because we don’t see ...read more

Tags: Death

Stepping In His Big Tracks

Contributed by Chuck Sligh on Jan 4, 2012

STEPPING IN HIS BIG TRACKS I remember once when we had a two-foot snow in Smyrna, Tennessee— something rare even then. I’d gone out into the snow early that morning and it was really futile, because the snow was so deep and so soft that when I stepped down into the snow, the snow went so far up my ...read more

Tags: Parenting

Denomination: Baptist

Longing

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Jan 15, 2012

LONGING In his book The Spiritual Life of Children, the famous Harvard psychiatrist Robert Coles tells the story of Alice, a ten-year-old girl who came from a family that did not believe in God. She expressed her doubts to him with these words: "I remember... I saw the people next door coming ...read more

Tags: Salvation

Denomination: Methodist