In Sermon Illustrations: "Feeling Down"

At The Close Of Vietnam Era, Bill & Gloria ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

At the close of Vietnam era, Bill & Gloria Gaither tough period of song writing. Post affects of the war. Some people claiming that God was dead. Bill & Gloria’s own hopes seemed dashed, about that time they learned Gloria was pregnant with son (Benjy). They had two daughters, Bill remarked ...read more

Tags: Joy

The Importance Of Preaching

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Several years ago “The British Weekly” published this provocative letter: Dear Sir: It seems ministers feel their sermons are very important and spend a great deal of time preparing them. I have been attending church quite regularly for thirty years, and I have probably heard 3,000 of them. To my ...read more

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Reuel Howe Illustrates Redemptive Love In The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Reuel Howe illustrates redemptive love in the story of a mother and her eight-year-old daughter. The girl did something which caused her to feel alienated from her mother. Although her mother tried her best to help, the daughter finally ran out of the room in anger and went upstairs. Seeing her ...read more

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Jesus Was Thirsty

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Jesus said, "I am thirsty." No wonder he was thirsty. Loss of blood. Exposure. Heat. Exhaustion. Dehydration. He’s been on the cross now for 6 hours. The sweat rolls off him like buckets. It’s hot. And the flies are buzzing around him. The crowds taunting him. The blood mixes with the sweat as it ...read more

Tags: Cross Agony

You May Recall That On Easter Sunday I Made ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

You may recall that on Easter Sunday I made reference to Charles Schulz’s comic strip PEANUTS. The fact that I have to identify it as “Charles Schulz’s comic strip PEANUTS” just shows you how much things have changed. In the circles where I grew up, you could quote “PEANUTS” with no more ...read more

Tags: Apologetics Jesus

Where Was God On 9/11?

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 13, 2012

WHERE WAS GOD ON 9/11? In his article, "Ten Years Later", R.C. Sproul said: "A full decade has passed since America suffered the tragedy of 9/11. Ten years ago, I repeatedly heard the question raised: 'Where was God in all of this? Where was God on 9/11 when the planes crashed into the twin towers ...read more

Scripture: 2 Chronicles 20:6-9, 2 Chronicles 20:15-17

Tags: God In The Hardships

The Nfl...a Moral Compass?

Contributed by Robert Harmon on Oct 4, 2014

How would you like to have the NFL as your moral compass? Last week, we were hammered by reports about Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson and how the NFL was responding (or not responding) to the allegations of abuse. Tabloids, Social Media, and ESPN have been overloaded with their stories and many ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:24-27

Tags: Firm Foundation, Becoming Like Christ, Nfl

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Nearness Of God

Contributed by Bruce Lee on Jun 9, 2015

Acts 17:27 says, "He is not far from each of us." A little boy and his sister were playing outside. The boy said something ugly to his sister. She said, "God hears what you say." The boy said, "No, God didn’t hear me He is to far away." That’s how many people think of God. So, we rely upon our own ...read more

Scripture: Acts 17:27

Tags: Wisdom, Strength, Nearness Of God, Self-Reliance

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

When God Speaks

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jul 7, 2016

WHEN GOD SPEAKS Did you hear about the old golfer who was standing in front of the first tee, a hazardous hole with a green surrounded by water, and wondering if he should use his new golf ball? Deciding that the hole was too dangerous, he chose an old ball that he could afford to lose and placed ...read more

Scripture: John 10:28-30

Tags: The Good Shepherd, Voice Of God, Will Of God, Hearing God

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Awesome Achievement (Moffatt's Law)

Contributed by Andrew Moffatt on Jan 31, 2018

Awesome achievement And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. - Paul. (1 Corinthians 13:13) Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians writes about love in chapter thirteen, but he finishes the chapter by mentioning two other powerful things, ...read more

Tags: Achievement, Confident Belief, Faith, Love, Law, Hope, Action  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Salvation Army

Helping People Help Themselves

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Sep 24, 2019

From Parade magazine comes the story of self-made millionaire Eugene Land, who greatly changed the lives of a sixth-grade class in East Harlem. Mr. Lang had been asked to speak to a class of 59 sixth-graders. What could he say to inspire these students, most of whom would drop out of school? He ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 1:4-8, Revelation 1:17-18

Tags: Wise Generosity, Benevolance, Help, Success

Denomination: Independent/Bible

The Boat

Contributed by Dr John Singarayar Svd on May 13, 2021

A seeker decides to meditate alone, away from his place. He takes his boat out to the middle of the lake, moors it there, closes his eyes and begins his meditation. After a few hours of undisturbed silence, he suddenly feels the bump of another boat colliding with his own. With his eyes still ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 8:23-27

Tags: Anger, Boat

Denomination: Other

Cloudy Days

Contributed by Dr. Ronald Shultz on Sep 18, 2021

My wife told me about a dream where she is looking up at a cloudy sky with two arms sticking through the clouds and says, I love you. The arms sign back to her, "I love you." I am cautious about dreams and interpretations because most are just our brains doing what we call in the IT ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 13:5

Tags: Dark, Alone, Cloud, Silence, Sile, Arms, Love, Heart  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

The Narrow Definition Of Neighbor

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Mar 20, 2022

With their passion for definition, Jewish Rabbis sought to define who a man's "neighbor" was. They confined the word "neighbor" to include only their fellow Jews. For instance, some of them said that it was illegal to help a Gentile woman in her time of childbirth for ...read more

Tags: Kindness, Good Samaritan, Levites, Priests, Rabbis, Parable, Neighbor  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Sowing And Reaping

Contributed by John Bright on Mar 20, 2026

I want to remind you of a basic truth of Scripture - the Law of Sowing and Reaping that we read about in Galatians 6:7: “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” I always illustrate this with the same example: if I plant an apple tree, can I expect ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 6:7

Tags: Peace, Sowing, Reaping

Denomination: Methodist

Don't Be Afraid!

Contributed by John Bright on Mar 20, 2026

Another book I would recommend is “The Screwtape Letters” (1942) by C.S. Lewis. This is from the preface: “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and ...read more

Scripture: Jude 1:8-10, 1 Peter 2:10-13

Tags: Holy Spirit, Satan, Cs Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

Denomination: Methodist

The Management Regrets That It Has Come To Their ...  PRO

Contributed by John Cuddeford on Oct 18, 2002

The management regrets that it has come to their attention that workers dying on the job are failing to fall down. This practice must stop, as it becomes impossible to distinguish between death and the natural movement of the staff. ...read more

Tags: Workplace

Denomination: *other

People Want To Work. People Are Telling Me ...

Contributed by Fred Mueller on Sep 7, 2005

People WANT to work. People are telling me they’d LOVE to go down to New Orleans to help the people in misery there. People woul dgladly enter the smell and danger to do ...read more

Tags: Christian Disciplines

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Bible Survey A New Zondervan Survey Reveals Adult ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 13, 2006

Bible Survey A new Zondervan survey reveals adult Americans’ perceptions about the Bible. Only 59% read the Bible occasionally, down from 73% in the ‘80’s and at least weekly ...read more

Tags: Bible Study

The News On An Ordinary Day [is] A Strange ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"The news on an ordinary day [is] a strange assembly that swoops down on ones life like cousins from Oslo one has never seen before, will never see again, and ...read more

Tags: Culture