In Sermon Illustrations: "Family Unity"

Let's Give Them A French Kiss!!  PRO

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jan 14, 2014

SERMON BLOOPER!!! One of our youth pastors was leaving to go to another church on the same day my wife and I returned from a mission trip to France to encourage our missionaries there. As we closed the service, I brought my wife on the stage on live tv and illustrated how French churches "greet ...read more

Scripture: Romans 16:16

Tags: Humor, Preacher Bloopers, Holy Kiss

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Orphans

Contributed by Davon Huss on Oct 24, 2014

Rubel Shelly tells of his friends Rich and Patty White, who traveled to a 3rd world country to adopt a little girl named Olona. After 2 years of effort and paperwork, the Whites stood before a judge who read words from an official document: “Inasmuch as Olona Morgan is orphaned and unwanted by ...read more

Scripture: John 14:18

Tags: Chosen By God, Orphan, Unwanted

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Smell The Rain

Contributed by Dr. David Hallum on Sep 10, 2015

When my daughter Cynthia was a little girl, we lived in Odessa, TX. We made one of the pilgrimages that we did from time to time to see my wife, Rosemary’s family. Rosemary’s brother, Michael was in town at the time from the Navy. Now in West Texas, rain is a beautiful thing. We got one of ...read more

Scripture: John 12:1-10

Tags: Disciples, Aroma, Smell, Pleasant

Denomination: Baptist

Love Your Enemies

Contributed by David Simpson on Feb 19, 2018

After the horrific school shooting in Broward County, Florida on February 14, 2018, several prayer vigils were held in the community. The vigil on Thursday evening ended with a request for everyone to write one specific act of good that they would perform in the coming days and weeks as a way to ...read more

Tags: Persecution, Tragedy, Bitterness, Love Your Enemies

Denomination: Christian Church

He's Back

Contributed by Paul Steen on Dec 24, 2018

A woman looked out of her window and saw her German shepherd shaking the life out of her neighbor's rabbit. Her family did not get along well with these neighbors so this was going to be a disaster. She grabbed a broom and pummeled the dog until he dropped the rabbit. Then she panicked. The ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:5, Hebrews 13:20

Tags: Confidence, Return, Dead, Expectations, Disappoint, Death, Glory, Hope  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Calvary Chapel

Lost Sheep

Contributed by Steve Kinnard on Aug 9, 2019

When the sheep strayed, the shepherd left the 99 and searched for the lost one. I was that lost sheep, I got saved at an early age, and loved the lord with all my heart. Everything was great in my life, I married the girl of my dreams, then my world fell apart. In 1968, I got a letter from ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:4

Tags: Loss, Recovery

Denomination: Pentecostal

Famous Last Words

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jan 31, 2021

FAMOUS LAST WORDS..... 1. Charles Gussman was a writer and TV announcer, who wrote the pilot episode of Days of Our Lives, among other shows. As he became ill, he said he wanted his last words to be memorable. When he daughter reminded him of this, he gently removed his oxygen mask and whispered: ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 4:6-8

Tags: Paul, Death, Farewell, Last Words

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Don't Let The Devil Hang A Nail On Your Door!

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Mar 8, 2022

A Haitian pastor illustrated to his congregation the need for total commitment to Christ by sharing this parable: A certain man wanted to sell his house for $2,000. Another man wanted very badly to buy it, but because he was poor, he couldn't afford the full price. After much bargaining, ...read more

Tags: Spiritual Warfare, Prayer, Commitment To Christ, Strongholds, Satah  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

This Is Forgiveness

Contributed by Dr. Mark Eckart on Jul 6, 2009

THIS IS FORGIVENESS I once invited a guest lecturer to speak to a counseling class I was teaching and ask him to specifically discuss the topic forgiveness. He told a powerful story from his own life that day to illustrate his point that we should forgive. His brother had many struggles, and ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness For Others

Denomination: Holiness

The Bible Changes Lives

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 13, 2009

THE BIBLE CHANGES LIVES Research consistently shows what a person believes translates into behavior. A major survey of more than 3,700 teens involved in evangelical churches reveals that, compared to teens who possess a solid, biblical belief system, young people who lack such basic biblical ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 4:3-13

Tags: Bible Influence

Residents Of Pompeii Ignored Warning ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 2, 2009

Residents of Pompeii Ignored Warning Signs Naomi and I visited the ruins of Pompeii outside of what is today Naples. The Roman City of Pompeii was destroyed in A.D. 79. The explosion of Mount Vesuvius was so sudden, the residents were killed while in their routine: men and women were at the market, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 24:3-51

Tags: Judgment

Getting The Fruit For Yourself  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 6, 2010

Getting the Fruit for Yourself A family was driving to Tampa, Florida. As far as the eye could see, orange trees were loaded with fruit. When we stopped for breakfast, I ordered orange juice with my eggs. "I’m sorry," the waitress said. "I can’t bring you orange juice. Our machine is broken." We ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 5:11-14

Tags: Growth In Christ

* I Remember Being In The Main Avenue That Runs ...

Contributed by John Perry on Feb 7, 2010

*** I remember being in the main avenue that runs through Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar w/ my wife Coral. As we stood in the downtown area we looked on both sides of the avenue where we saw a staircase ascending upon the ridge both ways. On those staircases hundreds of people – buying / ...read more

Tags: Sacrifices

Denomination: Pentecostal

Encouragement Can Change A Life  PRO

Contributed by Jorge Acevedo on Feb 17, 2010

ENCOURAGEMENT CAN CHANGE A LIFE Stuart Briscoe tells a story of something that happened to Howard Hendricks when he was in elementary school. Howard had come from a broken family and was a problem kid. During his first day in fifth grade the teacher said, 'Oh, Howard Hendricks. I've heard a lot ...read more

Tags: Encouragement

Denomination: Baptist

Commitment And Loyalty To Christ Likened To A ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 7, 2010

Commitment and Loyalty to Christ Likened to a Trapeze Artist John Ortberg (Faith & Doubt, p. 169-170) says the word trapeze describes the bar between the ropes of a trapeze artist in the circus. It’s a Greek word, meaning table. It’s used in the New Testament when Jesus gathers his friends around ...read more

Scripture: Luke 14:26-27

Tags: Discipleship

Ask Questions Before Making Decisions

Contributed by Bobby Scobey on Jun 22, 2010

ASK QUESTIONS BEFORE MAKING DECISIONS Author Bobb Biehl said he decided about twenty years ago to make a hobby of asking questions. He began collecting them and included an entire chapter of questions in his book, Increasing Your Leadership Confidence, in the chapter "Decision-Making." He urged ...read more

Tags: Wisdom

Denomination: Pentecostal

How Amazing Was The News Story Of The ...

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Jul 23, 2010

How amazing was the news story of the 15-month-old boy who survived the train accident in May this year. It all took place in a split second but for the grandmother who looked away for just a moment from the pram she was pushing, it must have seemed like eternity. When she turned back, the pram ...read more

Tags: Salvation

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Why Are You Weeping?

Contributed by Samuel M on Feb 29, 2024

Note: – This a small dialogue between God and you. Why are you weeping? Dear ______, Is my grace not sufficient for you? Is my hand is not strong enough to lift you out of your valleys? Is my blanket of love not large enough to envelop you and your family? Are my feathers not enough to keep ...read more

Scripture: John 1:1

Tags: Sorrow, Weeping

99% Is Not ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 2, 2008

99% IS NOT ENOUGH Back in the 90’s a California research firm considered the advertising slogan for a popular soap that was 99.4% pure. And they asked themselves the question: “What if everything in the world operated at 99% efficiency?” They discovered: - drinking water would be unsafe one hour ...read more

Scripture: Romans 3:10-24

Tags: Purity

The Pilgrims Who Arrived On The Mayflower Were ...

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Nov 24, 2008

The Pilgrims who arrived on the Mayflower were not the first to celebrate Thanksgiving in the New World. Several groups before them had done similar things. But the Plymouth Rock Thanksgiving is the one we model our celebration after; for one thing, it included turkey: Governor William Bradford ...read more

Tags: Thanksgiving Holiday

Denomination: Independent/Bible