In Sermon Illustrations: "Filling"

Sin And Dirty Water

Contributed by Stephen Wright on Jun 26, 2011

SIN AND DIRTY WATER A group of explorers in Africa came across some natives who for centuries had made their home on the banks of this one particular river. They showed the explorers the polluted stream that they drank from. It was filled with dirt and every contamination imaginable. The natives ...read more

Tags: Repentance

Denomination: Baptist

God Has Something Better For You

Contributed by Ken Pell on Mar 10, 2013

GOD HAS SOMETHING BETTER FOR YOU A daddy took his little girl to the park one Saturday afternoon. She was about 4 and was having such a good time in the sun and the presence of her daddy. The ice cream vendor came by and daddy bought her an ice cream cone. Then he noticed that his little girl had ...read more

Tags: God's Love

Denomination: Nazarene

Standing Up On The Inside  PRO

Contributed by Perry Greene on Sep 17, 2013

STANDING UP ON THE INSIDE A five year old girl was having one of those trouble-filled days with her mother. It seemed they spent the day arguing back and forth. Finally the mom had enough. "Jenny, go sit in the corner, right now! Don’t get up until I tell you to!" Jenny went to the corner and sat ...read more

Tags: Evil, Rebellion, Defiance, Compliance

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Starving For God

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 23, 2020

BEATITUDE #4 - "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled." “What Jesus is talking about is no mere reference to hunger which could be satisfied by a mid-morning snack. The thought is that of STARVATION. Are you longing for God like that? ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:1-12

Tags: Beatitudes, Hungry For God, Thirsting For God

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

He's No Stranger

Contributed by Loyd C. Taylor on Sep 2, 2023

He’s the wisest man in the church; There’s nothing he can’t do. If you turn down your ministry, He’ll be there to do it for you. He’s also a very faithful member, And shows up right on the dot. Then if you don’t keep your commitment, He’ll cover you and fill in your spot. He’s obviously ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 6:12, Colossians 3:23

Tags: Labor Day, Funny, Poem, Blame Shifting, Work, Lazy  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

How Much Does The Bible Talk About The Second Coming?

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Nov 28, 2023

Biblical prophecy provides some of the greatest encouragement and hope available to us today. Just as the Old Testament is saturated with prophecies concerning Christ's first advent, so both testaments are filled with references to the second coming of Christ. One scholar has estimated that ...read more

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, John 14:1-6

Tags: End Times, Prophecy, Second Coming, Last Days, Rapture, Day Of The Lord, Return Of Christ  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Workaholic's 23rd Psalm

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Feb 11, 2025

The Workaholic’s 23rd Psalm by Ed Vasicek The Lord is my foreman, I shall not rest. He makes me mow down the green pastures. He leads me to generators beside rapid waters. He wears out my soul. He shoves me to conferences for my schedule's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 4:6, Ecclesiastes 9:9, Ecclesiastes 6:2, Luke 10:38-42

Tags: Workaholic, Addicted To Adrenaline, Extremism, Overly Conscientious, Obeying In All Things, Success, Balance, Conscience, Materialism, Work Ethic, Driven  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Independent/Bible

I Surrender All – Judson W. Van Deventer, 1896

Contributed by Richard Goble on Mar 19, 2008

I Surrender All – Judson W. Van DeVenter, 1896 Van DeVenter beautifully describes the process of absolute surrender in his timeless hymn I Surrender All. If I may impose my perception of this hymn, I would suggest that He reveals the struggle involved in surrendering all that he is to the Lord. ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Compassion

Contributed by Glynda Lomax on Dec 27, 2014

“You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson She was a nurse employed at a residential care home in Western Oklahoma. It was a muggy summer night and many of the residents seemed more restless than usual. One of the patients, an ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:1

Tags: Compassion, Acts Of Kindness, Kind To The Unkind, Showing God's Love

Denomination: Charismatic

A Perfect Salvation—communion Meditation  PRO

Contributed by Robert Tatum on Sep 4, 2002

A PERFECT SALVATION-COMMUNION MEDITATION Near Mobile, Alabama there was a railroad bridge that spanned a big bayou. The date was September 22, 1993. It was a foggy morning just before daybreak when a tugboat accidentally pushed a barge into the bayou. The drifting barge slammed into the bridge. ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 1:1-10

Tags: Forgiveness In Jesus, Christian Disciplines, Unconditional Love

Denomination: Baptist

Quoting The English Preacher John Daniel Jones: ...  PRO

Contributed by Bill Sullivan on Oct 11, 2005

Quoting the English preacher John Daniel Jones: He lived from 1865-1942, this is from his sermon The Sovereignty of God In our absorption in the thought of God as Father, we have almost lost sight of the fact that He is the Holy Sovereign, ruling the world in righteousness. The result has been ...read more

Tags: God's Omnipotence, God's Holiness

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

What Would Have Happened Had Moses Tried To ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 8, 2005

What would have happened had Moses tried to figure out what was needed to accomplish God’s command? One of the biggest arithmetical miracles in the world was required in the desert. Moses led the people of Israel into the desert….Now what was he going to do with them? They had to be fed, and ...read more

Tags: Moses

Wanted: Movers

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 28, 2004

WANTED: MOVERS Suppose that one of the local businessmen had purchased a new building and was planning to move all of his stock into the new store. He placed an ad in the paper offering $100.00 per day to anyone who would come to help him make the move. The first workers were there early on the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 20:1-16

Tags: Grace, Parable Vineyard, Promises Of God

There's A Story That I Read That I Can't Say If ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

There’s a story that I read that I can’t say if it’s true or not, but it’s pretty neat either way. It’s a story that takes place way back when the telegraph was the fastest means of long distance communication. And it involves a young man who applied for a position as a Morse Code operator. He had ...read more

Tags: Worship Benefits

Life With Eternal Value

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Aug 30, 2010

LIFE WITH ETERNAL VALUE I was talking with a Jewish friend at work the other day. She said "I don't like evangelicals!" I said that it was unfortunate because I was one, and that she was working for an evangelical organisation. She said "I don't like people trying to convert me!" I said that as I ...read more

Tags: Christian Witness

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Gold Wrapping Paper

Contributed by Roy Fowler on Dec 19, 2014

The Gold Wrapping Paper - An Inspirational Short Christmas Story Once upon a time, there was a man who worked very hard just to keep food on the table for his family. This particular year a few days before Christmas, he was upset with his little five-year-old daughter after learning that she had ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:1-19

Tags: Christmas Gift, Anger, Patience, Child Rearing

Denomination: Independent/Bible

The Agitator

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 26, 2022

Does anyone know what that piece in the middle of the washer is called? The part in the middle that moves back and forth and shakes the clothes back and forth? What is that called? I’m going to call it an Agitator. What is the purpose of the Agitator? As far as I can tell, its sole purpose is to ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:17-24

Tags: Holy Spirit, Sanctification

A Pastor Was Preparing A Christmas Message And ...  PRO

Contributed by Harold Miller on Dec 15, 2000

A pastor was preparing a Christmas message and fell asleep in his study at the church. He dreamed that he was in a world into which Jesus had never come. He walked out on the streets, but no church spires pointed to heaven. He was summoned by a weeping child to visit her dying mother, but on ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:10-11

Tags: Jesus Is The Way, Christmas Advent, God Brings Hope, Forgiveness In Jesus

Denomination: Mennonite

It’s Thanksgiving Day & The Aroma Of Roast ...  PRO

Contributed by Melvin Newland on May 15, 2001

It’s Thanksgiving Day & the aroma of roast turkey fills Charlie Brown’s house. Snoopy, outside, lying on top of his doghouse, smells that aroma, & he is thinking, “It’s Thanksgiving Day. Everybody eats turkey on Thanksgiving Day.” So he lies there, watching the back door, eagerly awaiting his ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 107:1-20

Tags: Thanksgiving Holiday, Joy

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Word ‘christian' Means Different Things To ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 26, 2002

“The word ‘Christian’ means different things to different people. To one person, it means a stiff, uptight, inflexible way of life—colorless and unbending. To another, it means a risky, surprised-filled venture, lived on tiptoe at the edge of expectation. Either of these pictures can be ...read more