In Sermon Illustrations: "Feeling Down"

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

God's Only 'forgotten' Son

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 24, 2011

GOD'S ONLY 'FORGOTTEN' SON There's a true story told about a revival that was held in a small town. The crowd had dispersed, when a woman came down front and asked to speak with the preacher. She cried uncontrollably as she explained to the minister that she wanted to become a Christian, but she ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16

Tags: God's Love

No Other Plan

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Jun 17, 2011

NO OTHER PLAN An old legend imagines Jesus arriving in heaven right after the Ascension, welcomed by all the angels. Then the angel Gabriel asks Jesus, "You suffered much, dying for the sins of mankind. Does everyone down on earth know it?" "Oh, no," replied the Savior, "just a handful of folks ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:16-20

Tags: Evangelism Urgency

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Get Busy And Cast A Line

Contributed by Keith Peters on Jul 5, 2011

GET BUSY AND CAST A LINE A poor, hungry man stood idly on a bridge watching some fishermen. Seeing one of them with a basket full of fish by his side, he said, "If I had a catch like that, I'd be happy. I'd sell it and buy some food and clothes." "I'll give you that many fish if you do a small ...read more

Tags: Workplace Unemployment

Denomination: Baptist

God Picks The Unlovable Ones

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 15, 2011

GOD PICKS THE UNLOVABLE ONES Anne Lamott described a time when a fellow church member told about adopting her son through an organization called A.S.K. -- Adopt Special Kids. Part of the adoption process included filling out a questionnaire checking "yes" or "no" for one's willingness to adopt ...read more

Scripture: John 4:1-42

Tags: Adoption

Reactions Can Be Worse Than Actions  PRO

Contributed by Larry Wilson on Sep 12, 2011

REACTIONS CAN BE WORSE THAN ACTIONS While in seminary, I worked at a local Christian radio station. Part of my duties was to take hourly meter readings from the transmitter and place them on a log sheet that was subject to FCC review. The building featured indoor/outdoor green carpet, and the day ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 20:1-16

Tags: Action

Denomination: Baptist

Sometimes We Must Start Over

Contributed by Brad Henry on Oct 18, 2011

SOMETIMES WE MUST START OVER When Jonah was in the belly of the fish he didn't know he was going to Nineveh. He thought his life was over. So he tried to make things right with God. Jonah 2:8 "Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs." So what does this mean? ...read more

Tags: Obedience

The Imaginary Ball

Contributed by Guy Mcgraw on Feb 6, 2012

THE IMAGINARY BALL A golfer who had been playing badly went to a psychiatrist who told him to relax by playing a round of golf without a ball. "Do everything you would normally do, but use an imaginary ball." The golfer tried it the next day. He stepped up on the first tee, imagined he got a ...read more

Tags: Confidence

Because You Did, Dad  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 14, 2012

"BECAUSE YOU DID, DAD." James Bryan Smith begins this chapter of his book by telling a story about taking his six year old son to an amusement park. While at the park, he and his son got on a ride. A teenage boy buckled them into their seats and then started the ride. The entire time during the ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 22:6-18

Tags: Father's Day

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

Won't Someone Tell Me About Jesus?

Contributed by Gene Gregory on Aug 14, 2012

WON'T SOMEONE TELL ME ABOUT JESUS? Bob Harrington tells of a man who came to his pastor one day and asked if he remembered hearing about the man who had died down at the plant that week? He said the man had had steel spilt on him and was dying there on the plant floor. The man was calling out, ...read more

Tags: Evangelism Urgency

Denomination: Baptist

Martyrdom Of John ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 1, 2013

MARTYRDOM OF JOHN DENLEY One day, on the way to visit some friends, John Denley was stopped and searched by the authorities, who found his written confession of faith. Denley believed the Church was built upon the apostles and prophets, with Christ as its head, and that the present state church, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:10-12

Tags: Faith, Persecution, Martyr

Man Overboard  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 8, 2013

MAN OVERBOARD One day Hudson Taylor was traveling on a Chinese junk from Shanghai to Ningpo. He had been witnessing to a man named Peter who rejected the gospel but was under deep conviction. In the course of events, Peter fell overboard, but no one made any effort to save him. Taylor sprang to ...read more

Scripture: Luke 10:2, Luke 10:1-10

Tags: Evangelism Urgency

God Communicates Through Dreams

Contributed by Tim Smith on May 28, 2015

God still speaks in dreams today. In the second year of serving at Gretna, I had a dream that the 2 acres next door where a pediatrician’s office was located was going to be sold and become townhouses. The owner Dr. Jerry Fortino attended the WestBank Rotary Club which met at the church every ...read more

Scripture: Acts 16:1-10

Tags: Holy Spirit, Dreams, God's Leading

Denomination: Methodist

One Of The Greatest Theologians That Ever Liv...

Contributed by Lalachan Abraham on Dec 24, 2015

One of the greatest theologians that ever lived, Karl Barth, was asked to be a guest lecturer at the University of Chicago Divinity School. At the end of a captivating closing lecture, the president of the seminary announced that Dr. Barth was not well and was quite tired, and though he thought ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16-17

Tags: Christmas Love, God's Love For Us

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Ten Word Sermon

Contributed by Kevin Barron on Aug 31, 2018

The shortest sermon I know is only ten words. It was preached by my grandfather to a small, country congregation on the story of the Good Samaritan (Mark 10:35-45). He read the account of an outsider who demonstrates true neighbor love by stopping on the road to care for a bleeding and badly ...read more

Scripture: Mark 10:35-45

Tags: Compassion, Good Samaritan

Denomination: Methodist

God's Miracle Book

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 4, 2021

The Bible is referred to in many different ways. We speak of it as God's Word, the Good Book, the Holy Scriptures, and the Sword of the Spirit. It is also known as the Book of books and the Living Word. Some call it simply THE Book, for nothing else seems necessary. It stands alone, towering ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Timothy 4:1-3

Tags: Bible, Scripture, Miracles, Inerrancy, Inspiration Of The Bible  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Have You Lost The "scent"?

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 1, 2021

DEMAS LOST THE "SCENT" A man bought a new hunting dog. Eager to see how the dog would perform, the man took him out to track a bear. No sooner had they gotten into the woods than the dog picked up the trail. Suddenly he stopped, sniffed the ground, and headed in a new direction. He had ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 4:10, 1 John 2:15-16

Tags: Compromise, Worldliness, Backsliding, Values, Loving The World  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Staring At The Great Stone Face

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 2, 2023

Perhaps you remember Nathaniel Hawthorne’s story about the great stone face. A little lad lived in a village where there was a mountain with a rock formation which they called the great stone face. The people had a legend that someday someone would come to the village who would look like the ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 3:1-4, Hebrews 12:1-3

Tags: Glory, Jesus, Worship, Vision, Focus, Looking To Jesus  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Thank You, God, For Rattlesnakes!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 26, 2023

There was a farmer who had three sons: Ron, Don and Little John. All had their names on the church roll, but none ever attended church or had time for God. Then one day Don was bitten by a rattlesnake. The doctor was called and did all he could to help Don, but the outlook for his recovery was very ...read more

Tags: Judgment, Repentance, Spiritual Fruit, Brokenness, Unfaithfulness, Backsliding, Revival  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational