In Sermon Illustrations: "Fathers Love"

Mr. Rogers Cardigan

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Apr 13, 2025

We learn how God so loved the world. God sent His Son. He didn’t just say, “I love you.” He showed it. He gave something deeply personal. Something costly. Something that met our greatest need. And in a much smaller, but still powerful way, Fred Rogers—yes, Mister Rogers—modeled that kind of ...read more

Scripture: John 13:34

Tags: Love, Give, God Gave, Love Gives, Love Costs  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

When A Man Undertakes To Repent Toward His ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 10, 2001

When a man undertakes to repent toward his fellowmen, it is repenting straight up a precipice; when he repents toward law, it is repenting into the crocodile’s jaws; when he repents toward public sentiment, it is throwing himself into a thicket of brambles and thorns; but when he repents toward ...read more

Tags: Repentance, God's Forgiveness, God The Father

The Shattered Pool Liner – A Story Of Forgiveness And Grace

Contributed by Todd Catteau on Aug 5, 2025

What started out as a boy's reckless defiance became a lesson in the power of forgiveness and grace. Like many young boys, I dreamed of being a professional athlete. I thought my best chance was Major League Baseball, so day after day I would take my wiffle ball and bat to the backyard, throw ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:8

Tags: Grace, Mercy, Father, Forgiveness, Restoration  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Robert Schuller's Daughter Lost A Leg Because Of ...  PRO

Contributed by James O. Davis on Dec 5, 2001

Robert Schuller’s Daughter lost a leg because of a horrible skying accident. She learned to walk all over again. After she returned home from the hospital, Schuller plucked a rose from his rose garden and began to play "He loves me and he loves me not" with his daughter. Schuller had planned to ...read more

Tags: God's Love, Compassion

Denomination: Assembly Of God

The Willingness Of God To Answer Your Prayer

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Mar 8, 2022

"My friend, do you think that God is asleep? Do you feel that He has gone to bed when you pray, and you cannot get Him up? Do you believe that He does not want to answer your prayers? God does want to answer your prayers and He will. That is what this parable is saying. You do not have ...read more

Tags: Prayer, God's Love, Parables, Persistence, God The Father, Importunity, God's Willingness  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Hatred's Bitter Fruit

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Aug 2, 2023

One of the worst cases of hatred I have ever come across is found in a will written in 1935 by a Mr. Donohoe. It says, "Unto my two daughters, Frances Marie and Denise Victoria, by reason of their unfilial attitude toward a doting father, … I leave the sum of $1.00 to each and a father's ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:28-32

Tags: Love, Family, Anger, Bitterness, Hate, Unforgiveness, Anger Management, Fathers, Daughters  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

We Should Have Been Quiet  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 9, 2002

WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN QUIET In the summer of 1959, my father left his two sons on the side of a South Dakota road with only their comic books. They had been fighting and screaming in the back seat and despite repeated warnings they continued to be boys. I remember the feeling of watching the car ...read more

Tags: Father's Day, God's Judgment, Parenting

[062a]. A Message From A Poem – Does Suffering Cancel Out A God Of Love?

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Mar 14, 2025

[062A]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – DOES SUFFERING CANCEL OUT A GOD OF LOVE? THE POEM AS IT IS WILL NOT FIT IN THE ILLUSTRATION SPACE AVAILABLE. I HAVE HAD TO SPLIT IT INTO THREE PARTS. THIS IS THE FIRST PART PART 1 INTRODUCTION TO THIS POEM This is my most serious poem because it addresses ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 45:6-7, John 3:16, Exodus 34:6-7

Tags: Comfort, Suffering, Tragedy, God Of Comfort, God Of Love, Hurt, Pain, Love, Compassion  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

I Met A Young Girl Who Was Brought Up In The ...

Contributed by Ramon Canals on Jun 5, 2009

I met a young girl who was brought up in the church, had all the advantages of christian home, loving father and mother. But she wanted to experiment the world. She wanted to have more freedom than what her parents were giving her and so she came to NY and as she tried to board the subway somebody ...read more

Tags: Sin, Love For God

Denomination: Adventist

Hope In The Sewer  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 14, 2002

HOPE IN THE SEWER In a cramped space around a Kiev sewer, 15 children ragged and stinky have spent the night crowded together for warmth. They rouse now only because they have a chance to eat. They are rejected and hungry, but not without hope. Two American women, Jane Hyatt and Barbara ...read more

Tags: Christian Love, Compassion

Philip Yancey, In His Book "Reaching For The ...  PRO

Contributed by Ken Kersten on Nov 12, 2002

Philip Yancey, in his book "Reaching for the Invisible God" describes the way God get’s blamed for things in this way. "When Princess Diana died in an automobile accident, a minister was interviewed and was asked the question “How can God allow such a terrible tragedy?” And I loved his response. ...read more

Scripture: Joshua 5:1-3

Tags: Doubt, God The Father, Knowing God's Will

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

What If I Owned A Greenhouse That Had Been Given ...  PRO

Contributed by Darren Ethier on May 9, 2002

What if I owned a greenhouse that had been given to me by my father? He used state of the art equipment to create the ideal structure for growth. The atmosphere is perfect. The lighting exact. The temperature is suited for flowers, fruit, or anything I want, and what I want is flowers and fruit. I ...read more

Tags: Character, Love Of The Disciples

Denomination: Pentecostal

God's Tattoo

Contributed by Richard L. Brown on Nov 2, 2016

God’s Tattoo Isaiah 49: 8-16 When my grandson Isaiah was three years old he had a problem of wondering off and hiding. One day my daughter Maeghan and my wife Becky where shopping at a local mall and of course, he slipped off. All of a sudden they realized he was missing. They panicked, running ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 49:8-16

Tags: God's Love, God's Longing, God's Love For Us

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

When Things Get Smelly!

Contributed by Dr. Ronald Shultz on Aug 22, 2021

When I was around eight, we were visiting some cousins out on the farm and as all kids back then we played tag. I went zipping around the barn and stepped in a slick patty. I fell, slid and rolled through a copious amount of bovine excrement. When I was able to stand up I went to the porch and ...read more

Scripture: Ezekiel 16:4-12

Tags: Love, Forgiveness, Stink

Denomination: Baptist

Just Another Day In Ems  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 12, 2003

JUST ANOTHER DAY IN EMS I delivered a baby on the ambulance stretcher I baptized a newborn who’s life ended before it began. I hugged a frightened child. I was kissed by an intoxicated old man. I held the hand of a teenage girl while she delivered a 3 pound baby. I listened to the mournful ...read more

Tags: Holidays Civic, Father, Christian Disciplines

Not The Gift, But The Giver  PRO

Contributed by Darren Ethier on Apr 9, 2002

NOT THE GIFT, BUT THE GIVER A man told a story about the time his son’s sixth birthday was approaching. He had mentioned he wouldn’t mind a party, and as his son usually was very specific about the kind of presents he liked. The dad asked him what he could get him. Bill expected a well-planned ...read more

Tags: Church Practices, Blessing, Father, Father's Day, Giving, Relationships, Parenting, Worship God  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Pentecostal

Secret Of The Fifth Man!" Mark 2:1-5 Key ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Apr 12, 2005

“Secret of the Fifth Man!” Mark 2:1-5 Key verse(s) 3:“Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them.” Five people passed the beggar but only one stopped to help. The will it seems to get somewhere on time, a preoccupation with self, easily thwarted a fragile affection that ...read more

Scripture: Mark 2:1-5, Mark 2:1-12

Tags: Compassion, Romantic Love

Denomination: Lutheran

For Practical Purposes The Words Infallible And ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 10, 2006

For practical purposes the words infallible and inerrant are interchangeable. When we apply them to the Bible, what we are saying is that only those who accept as from God all that Scripture proves to tell us, promise us, or require of us, can ever fully please him. Both words thus have religious ...read more

Tags: Bible Influence

The Spirit Shines On The Savior  PRO

Contributed by Steven Simala Grant on May 28, 2002

THE SPIRIT SHINES ON THE SAVIOR The Holy Spirit’s distinctive role is to fulfill what we may call a floodlight ministry in relation to the Lord Jesus Christ. When floodlighting is well done, the floodlights are placed so that you do not see them; in fact, you are not supposed to see where the ...read more

Tags: Holy Spirit General

Denomination: Baptist

Infallible And Inerrant

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Nov 27, 2010

INFALLIBLE AND INERRANT For practical purposes the words infallible and inerrant are interchangeable. When we apply them to the Bible, what we are saying is that only those who accept as from God all that Scripture proves to tell us, promise us, or require of us, can ever fully please him. Both ...read more

Tags: Bible Truth

Denomination: Brethren