In Sermon Illustrations: "Family Strife"

When I Was A Boy We Had Access To Numerous ...

Contributed by John D Jones on May 2, 2010

When I was a boy we had access to numerous motorbikes and go-carts. My father refused to buy us any kind of motorised vehicles because he did not want us to get injured. But most of our friends and family had some sort of motorbike. As youths, the parents always set the governor really low. This ...read more

Tags: Power

Denomination: Baptist

Pastor Learns To Trust God When Displaced By ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 28, 2010

Pastor Learns to Trust God When Displaced by War During the Thirty Years’ War in the 17th century, German pastor Paul Gerhardt and his family were forced to flee from their home. One night as they stayed in a small village inn, homeless and afraid, his wife broke down and cried openly in despair. ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:3-5

Tags: Taxes, Trials

Jack Was An Impressionable 15 Year-Old. He ...

Contributed by Gaither Bailey on Oct 16, 2010

Jack was an impressionable 15 year-old. He attended the local Presbyterian Church with his family since he was a baby. He studied for confirmation and was confirmed taking his place in the congregation. He attended youth group meetings and sat in church every Sunday. His 16th birthday was fast ...read more

Tags: Prayer Persistence

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Pain Passes, But Beauty Remains  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 26, 2011

PAIN PASSES, BUT BEAUTY REMAINS Pierre Auguste Renoir is a famous French artist who lived in the late 19th century to the early 20th century. He was known for his paintings, mostly depicting family life. But there was one disease that tormented this gifted artist -- he had arthritis that plagued ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:1-5

Tags: Suffering Joy In

The Counsel Of The Wicked

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Mar 28, 2011

THE COUNSEL OF THE WICKED I remember talking with a young man in jail. He was telling me that his family had hired a lawyer to get him out (whom I always heard was a good attorney) but he wasn't sure he wanted to trust the lawyer. I asked him why. He responded that the other guys in his jail ...read more

Tags: Fool

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Key To The Spiritual Life

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 17, 2011

THE KEY TO THE SPIRITUAL LIFE At age 16, Madame Jeanne Guyon (1648-1717) was forced into an arranged marriage with an invalid 22 years older. She found her marriage to be one of utter humiliation. Her husband was often angry and melancholy. Her mother-in-law was a merciless critic. Even the maid ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 1:3-11

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Christians Are Known For...

Contributed by Troy Borst on May 3, 2011

CHRISTIANS ARE KNOWN FOR... If you were to Google the phrase "Christians are known for" what do you think the results would be? What are people who call themselves followers of Christ known for... whether good or bad? The following are some of the results you would find: ... being trustworthy ...read more

Tags: Christian Witness

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Servant And The Child

Contributed by Davon Huss on Sep 12, 2011

THE SERVANT AND THE CHILD Think about the differences between a servant and a child: The servant is accepted and appreciated on the basis of what he does, the child on the basis of who he is. The servant starts the day anxious and worried, wondering if his work will really please his master. ...read more

Tags: God's Love

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Knowing The Sound Of His Voice  PRO

Contributed by Tim Smith on Oct 8, 2011

KNOWING THE SOUND OF HIS VOICE Brian Brown tells the story of being at the community pool with his family. Kids were screaming, playing, and splashing in the pool, music was playing, the lifeguard whistles were blowing and in the midst of the conversation, his wife shooshes him. He said, "What are ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:10-18, John 10:4

Tags: Prayer General

Denomination: Methodist

Childhood Reminders

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Nov 7, 2011

CHILDHOOD REMINDERS When I first came to Wichita Falls, Joe and Eloise were living over on Hursh, and I remember going to call on them one day. The front door cradled a lovely stained-glass window. When I asked about it, Joe said, "It’s from the old church in Vernon." Every time he entered and ...read more

Tags: Growth In Christ

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Dying To Save Her Father

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 26, 2009

DYING TO SAVE HER FATHER The great Charles Spurgeon told a story that demonstrated a person’s concern for an unsaved family member. A rather young girl in Spurgeon’s congregation who had a terminal illness approached her pastor one day with thoughts about her upcoming funeral. She spoke of her ...read more

Tags: Evangelism The Lost

Gossip: What Will They ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 13, 2009

GOSSIP: WHAT WILL THEY SAY? Three elderly men were talking about what their grandchildren would be saying about them fifty years from now. The first one said, "I would like my grandchildren to say, ’He was a hard worker." The second one said, "50 years from now, I want them to say, ’He was a ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 18:8

Tags: Christian Values

Max Lucado And God's Grace

Contributed by Guy Mcgraw on Mar 12, 2009

MAX LUCADO AND GOD'S GRACE Max Lucado - Despite having sold 15 million books, a one-minute radio show in 900 markets, and a church of over 3,000 in weekly attendance, Lucado has not always been so "angelic." From his sophomore to senior year in high school, in his words, he "walked the path of the ...read more

Tags: Grace

Responding To Opposition

Contributed by Ken Henson on Jul 25, 2012

RESPONDING TO OPPOSITION Several months ago, a pastor sent some of his associate pastors into a village. They evangelized by knocking on doors and as God brought in healing and deliverance into these families, they would come to Christ. They once knocked on the door of a policeman, a very ...read more

Tags: Persecution

Denomination: *other

Invitation To Drink Poison

Contributed by K. Edward Skidmore on Oct 17, 2012

INVITATION TO DRINK POISON David Timms said: "Skeptics, atheists, cynics, and unbelievers often cast Christianity as a legalistic burden, a lifestyle of bondage or a crutch for the weak to lean on. Well, perhaps it's time for those same voices to look around and see the fruit of recklessness. ...read more

Tags: Sin Deceptive

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Light In The Darkness

Contributed by David Simpson on Jan 15, 2013

LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS Have you ever been in on one of those guided tours of any of a number of caves around our country ... like Ruby Falls, or Carlsbad Caverns or another one. Our family went to the Carlsbad Caves in New Mexico years ago. And as they do in so many places, they’ll turn out the ...read more

Tags: Light, Outreach, Darkness

Denomination: Christian Church

It's In Your Hands

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Apr 18, 2017

A young student in China decided to play a trick on his elderly teacher one day. He caught a small bird and cupped it in his hands behind his back. He then approached the sage with this plan in mind. He would ask the old man what he had in his hand. If he answered correctly, he would then ask ...read more

Scripture: Joshua 24:15

Tags: Eternity, Decision, Commitment, Salvation

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Cast Your Net On The Right Side

Contributed by Herb Pulse on Jun 28, 2017

I come from a fishing family. When I became old enough to walk, I became old enough to experience the wonderful world of fishing. One of things I particularly love is throwing a shad net. Often times it becomes very draining work, and at the tender age of 12 I became the primary go-to-guy for ...read more

Scripture: John 21:6

Tags: Jesus, Net, Cast

Denomination: Christian Church

Frank’s Combat Trauma

Contributed by Jim Butcher on Apr 10, 2018

Frank Bernadone bore the emotional wounds of his time in the military. His unit had already been through four years of battles when they came to Perugia. The town was heavily fortified, leading his unit’s assault against it to be disastrous. A bloody day of fighting culminated in what was almost ...read more

Tags: Pain, Military, Suffering, Ptsd, Scars  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Yanking And Pulling.

Contributed by Roy Fowler on Jun 19, 2020

A woman that had boarded a plane to visit family struggled to wedge her suitcase into the tight overhead bin. Eventually triumphantly closing the door and taking her seat. When the plane landed, she got up opened the bin and found her suitcase was struck so she began yanking and tugging. The ...read more

Scripture: James 5:10-11

Tags: Persistence, Resilience

Denomination: Independent/Bible