In Sermon Illustrations: "Fathers Love"

Salvation Swing

Contributed by Jason Bonnicksen on Dec 6, 2011

SALVATION SWING I remember back, as though it was yesterday, when my daughters were just little tykes. There was a great playground just down the hill from our seminary apartment where the girls would climb, slide and swing. Day after day they’d ask, "Mom, Dad, can we go to the park and swing?" ...read more

Tags: Encouragement

Denomination: Lutheran

Spiritual Acne

Contributed by Antonio Silveira on Feb 29, 2012

SPIRITUAL ACNE Have you seen ads for Clearsil, Proactiv, or other acne treatments? They usually exaggerate things and show the face before and aft the application of the "miraculous" product that makes you look good and perfect. They also make sure you get hooked to the remedy so they can bank on ...read more

Scripture: James 1:22-27

Tags: Sanctification

Denomination: Baptist

A Fork In The Road

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 1, 2012

A FORK IN THE ROAD Several artists were asked to illustrate their concepts of temptation. When their paintings were unveiled, some of them depicted man's attempt to achieve fame and fortune at any cost. Others pictured mankind’s struggle against the alluring desires of the flesh. The ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 4:10-19

Tags: Temptation Resisting

Running With A Stopwatch

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 15, 2012

RUNNING WITH A STOPWATCH Long-distance runner Paavo Nurmi of Finland was an Olympic champion, winning twelve medals (nine of them gold) in the 1920, 1924, and 1928 Games. Nurmi was famous not only for his achievements, but also for running with a stopwatch in his hand to check his performance. ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 12:1-13

Tags: Disciplines General

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

A Surprise Ending For A Couple Who Met ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 16, 2012

A SURPRISE ENDING FOR A COUPLE WHO MET ON-LINE A couple from Zenica, Central Bosnia, are divorcing after accusing each other of being unfaithful following an online affair. “They met online, where he called himself “Prince of Joy,” and she called herself “Sweetie.” Their real names were Sana and ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:22-33

Tags: Marriage Faithfulness

We Should Be Striving On A Daily Basis To Worship ...

Contributed by Mark Thometz on Aug 27, 2012

We should be striving on a daily basis to worship God in new, loving and exciting ways. It's very easy to become comfortable in our worship. We have that thing on Sunday and sometimes Wednesday and we may even dust off our Bible every now and then to read it. What about feeding the hungry as ...read more

Tags: Evangelism How To

Denomination: Christian Church

Match Made In Heaven

Contributed by Ken Henson on Oct 16, 2012

There is a story about a couple that went to heaven and in this life they loved each other, but from a distance. So when they got to heaven, they decided to get married. They said to Peter, "Pete, we want to get married." And Peter says, "You have got eternity, why don't you think of it for 50 ...read more

Tags: Heaven

Denomination: *other

A Teacher With Morals

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 8, 2013

A TEACHER WITH MORALS It's a true story; only the names have been changed to protect the embarrassed. Little Tommy attended first grade Sunday School faithfully. He loved his teacher, Mrs. Smith. Mrs. Smith told great Bible stories, and she would always end the story by saying, "And, boys and ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:1-23

Tags: Morality, Parable Sower And Seed

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

God Gives Us What We Need

Contributed by Tim Smith on Aug 13, 2017

Dana Chau tells the story about a missionary in Africa who had poor health and depended on goat milk for his source of vitamin. One day, the tribal leader came to visit the missionary. After a few minutes, it was obvious that the tribal leader was interested in the goat. The missionary decided to ...read more

Scripture: Titus 3:4

Tags: Provision, Giving

Denomination: Methodist

Catching The Flu

Contributed by Michael E. Bartee Sr. on Nov 10, 2018

Catching The Flu is definitely dangerous! Perhaps you have read about the flu epidemic that swept the world in 1918? It killed 50 million people. One fifth of the world’s population. It spread rapidly because it was so contagious and people didn’t know what it was or how to prevent it. I am ...read more

Scripture: Acts 2:1-47, Acts 1:8

Tags: Evangelism, Revival

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Great Quotes On The Sovereignty Of God

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jan 8, 2021

R.C. SPROUL: “If there is one single molecule in this universe running around loose, totally free of God’s sovereignty, then we have no guarantee that a single promise of God will ever be fulfilled.” MATT CHANDLER: “Trying to figure out God is like trying to catch a fish in the Pacific Ocean ...read more

Scripture: Daniel 4:34-35

Tags: Lord, Will Of God, Sovereignty Of God, Attributes Of God

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Power Of Embraced Sacrifice Is Greater Than The Power Of Coercion

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Apr 8, 2022

"The cross has become the most widely recognized symbol in the world. It marks more graves, graces more jewelry, and sits atop more churches than any other design. The making of the sign of the cross is known from basilicas to baseball diamonds. Finding a logo has become big business, but no ...read more

Scripture: Mark 14:32-42, Mark 15:21-41

Tags: Sacrifice, The Cross, Symbols

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Staring At The Gates Of Hell

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 28, 2009

STARING AT THE GATES OF HELL Auguste Rodin was a French impressionist sculptor. He created The Thinker. The Thinker was originally meant to sit on top of Rodin’s greatest masterpiece, the Gates of Hell. The Thinker is contemplating an eternity of judgment separated from God. Author Neil Cole ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 16:18

Tags: Church Purpose Of

Parts Of A Cake

Contributed by Rev Dr Randall M Deal Sr on Jun 7, 2009

PARTS OF A CAKE A daughter is telling her mother how everything is going wrong, she’s failing algebra, her boyfriend broke up with her and her best friend is moving away. Meanwhile, her Mother is baking a cake and asks her daughter if she would like a snack, and the daughter says, "Absolutely Mom, ...read more

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Denomination: Baptist

Betty Crocker ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 10, 2009

BETTY CROCKER SALVATION In 1952, when the Betty Crocker company first began selling cake mixes, they offered a product which only needed water, and you would get a perfectly moist cake every time. But it bombed, and they couldn’t understand why! So they commissioned a study and found that people ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 16:25

Tags: Salvation

Too Soft On People?

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 12, 2009

TOO SOFT ON PEOPLE? A preacher named Ron Rose told a woman who came into his office complaining that his sermons always being about forgiveness and grace. She said he needed to come down harder on the sinners and in her words, "nail them." After her rant, Ron asked, "So, you’ve got forgiveness ...read more

Scripture: John 1:15-17

Tags: Grace

Everyone Needs This List To ...

Contributed by Tony Abram on Aug 20, 2009

Everyone Needs this List to Live. * The most destructive habit: Worry, * The greatest Joy: Giving, * The greatest loss: Loss of self-respect, * The most satisfying work: Helping others, * The ugliest personality trait: Selfishness, * The most endangered species: Dedicated ...read more

Tags: Christian Values

Community Stores Refuse Kind Acts Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 9, 2009

Community Stores Refuse Kind Acts of Service The story is told of a minister who was organizing opportunities for people in his church to do small acts of kindness as a demonstration of Christ’s love in the community. 1. He phoned several neighborhood grocery stores and Laundromats and asked for ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:13-14

Tags: Servanthood