In Sermon Illustrations: "Finding Common Ground"

When Dwight L. Moody Was In London During One...

Contributed by Aubrey Vaughan on Feb 9, 2009

WHEN DWIGHT L. MOODY WAS IN LONDON DURING ONE OF HIS FAMOUS EVANGELISTIC TOURS, SEVERAL BRITISH CLERGYMEN VISITED HIM. THEY WANTED TO KNOW HOW AND WHY THIS POORLY EDUCATED AMERICAN WAS SO EFFECTIVE IN WINNING THRONGS OF PEOPLE TO CHRIST. MOODY TOOK THE THREE MEN TO THE WINDOW OF HIS HOTEL ROOM AND ...read more

Tags: Evangelism Urgency

Denomination: Baptist

Golden Years

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 13, 2009

GOLDEN YEARS New research finds the happiest Americans are the oldest. Older adults are more socially active than the stereotype of the lonely senior suggests, social activity can help keep away the blues. Duke Univ. aging expert Linda George reports the odds of being happy increase 5% with every ...read more

Tags: Aging

Forgiven, Forgiven, Forgiven...  PRO

Contributed by Johnny Wilson on Mar 16, 2009

FORGIVEN, FORGIVEN, FORGIVEN... I once read a marvelous story about a country doctor in Scotland who had a very poor practice. Although his patients would pay him in eggs, chickens, vegetables at harvest, and meat at slaughtering time, his huge ledger book would contain many names, symptoms, ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness In Jesus

Denomination: *other

Sit Down And Enjoy Life

Contributed by Kyle Rye on May 5, 2009

SIT DOWN AND ENJOY LIFE There was a rich industrialist who was disturbed to find a fisherman sitting lazily behind his boat. "Why aren't you out there fishing?" he asked "Because I've caught enough fish for today," said the fisherman. "Why don't catch more fish than you need?" the rich man ...read more

Tags: Fulfillment

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

God Still Surprises Us

Contributed by Mark Eberly on Jun 30, 2009

GOD STILL SURPRISES US Often God surprises us to our shame. I remember a couple that shared how they tried to witness and help their neighbor who was a raging alcoholic. They prayed for her and took her under their wing but she seemed hopeless. She might get clean for a little while, but then she ...read more

Tags: Addiction

Denomination: Church Of God

Suffocating Fear

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 13, 2009

SUFFOCATING FEAR During his years as premier of the Soviet Union, Nikita Kruschev denounced many of the policies and atrocities of Joseph Stalin. In the midst of his speech a heckler shouted "You were one of his colleagues why didn’t you stop him?" Kruschev screamed, "Who said that?" There was a ...read more

Scripture: Joshua 1:9

Tags: Fear And Worry

When To Relax And When To Struggle  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 26, 2009

WHEN TO RELAX AND WHEN TO STRUGGLE Author Sam Keen, in his provocative little book called Apology for Wonder, tells us the lesson he learned as young boy swimming in the Indian River inlet on the Delaware coast. Keen says that swimming there was very tricky, because the outgoing waters from the ...read more

Scripture: Luke 10:38-42

Tags: Anxiety

Minister Runs Ad In Local Paper To Invite ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 8, 2009

Minister Runs Ad in Local Paper to Invite Straying Sheep Back into the Fold A few years ago I was reading a book by Stephen Gaukroger. He tells the story of a New York Methodist minister who saw the need to bring his ‘ninety nine righteous’ sheep back into the fold. He put an advert in the local ...read more

Scripture: John 10:1-18

Tags: Parable Lost Sheep

In 1986 We Moved From Kalamazoo To Grand Rapids. ...

Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on Dec 24, 2009

In 1986 we moved from Kalamazoo to Grand Rapids. Sometime later we wanted those slides and began to look for them. They were nowhere to be found. We looked in every box and closet in our house; we went back to Kalamazoo and looked in every closet in the parsonage and the church; we ran ...read more

Tags: Evangelism The Lost

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Workplace ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 3, 2010

Workplace Satisfaction Many of us here are employed in some form or another. Employment means that you have committed yourself to an occupation from which you derive your livelihood. You are selling your time to another person. The average person will spend almost 100,000 hours at work during the ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:5-9

Tags: Workplace

Buried Chickens, Buried Sin

Contributed by Aaron Kilbourn on Jan 4, 2011

BURIED CHICKENS, BURIED SIN One of our youth, Andrew Plasier, shared this true story about an uncle of his in South Dakota and what happened a few summers ago. His uncle raised chickens, about 1200 of them, year round. In July the fans to the chickenhouse malfunctioned and stopped fanning the ...read more

Scripture: Luke 12:1-3

Tags: Sin Exposed

Denomination: Baptist

Math Tests Through The Decades

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 29, 2011

MATH TESTS THROUGH THE DECADES * 1960s test: "A logger cuts and sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is four-fifths of that amount. What is his profit?" * 1970s new-math test: "A logger exchanges a set (L) of lumber for a set (M) of money. The cardinality of Set M is 100. ...read more

Scripture: Daniel 1:3-4

Tags: Wisdom, Walk, Fire

On Obedience  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2011

ON OBEDIENCE "One word stands out from all others as the key to knowing God, to having His peace and assurance in your life--it is obedience." (Eric Liddell) Elisabeth Elliot tells the story of when she and her brother Tom were small children. Their mother would let Tom play with paper bags that ...read more

Scripture: 1 Samuel 15:22, 1 Peter 1:3-12, 1 Peter 3:1-12, Luke 8:16-21, Psalm 81:1-16  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Obedience

The French Philosopher Voltaire Once Said: ...

Contributed by Jason Bonnicksen on Apr 14, 2011

The French philosopher Voltaire once said: "Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe." Voltaire spoke of a form of faith that lives, breathes, and moves beyond the ordinary, to the extraordinary. In like manner, Dale Carnegie spoke of a form of living that ...read more

Tags: Zeal

Denomination: Lutheran

Christian Caste System

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 26, 2011

CHRISTIAN CASTE SYSTEM Division is the opposite of unity. When we exclude or separate others based on race, socioeconomic status, age, appearance or personal hygiene we are dividing. In his autobiography, Mahatma Gandhi wrote that during his student days he read the Gospels seriously and ...read more

Scripture: Mark 11:17

Tags: Racism, Self Cleansing

Colors Of Storms

Contributed by Ronnie Miller on Jul 27, 2011

COLORS OF STORMS As I was watching the weather warnings run across the TV screen, I began to think about how we go through life's storms without any warnings. Each one of the storms we go through are painted a different color of severity, Green, Yellow, Orange and Red. It could be that a Green ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 4:12, Psalm 34:17-19

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Denomination: Baptist

Hit Him Again, Lord!

Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Jul 28, 2011

HIT HIM AGAIN, LORD! At the turn of the 19th Century, the roof of the a little Swiss church hall was in serious need of repair. So the congregation held regular prayer meeting in the church hall after the service--to pray for funds to repair the roof. An old man, well know for being "tight ...read more

Tags: Discipleship

Denomination: Anglican

Six Kinds Of Toxic People

Contributed by Tim Smith on Feb 19, 2012

SIX KINDS OF TOXIC PEOPLE Life Coach Cheryl Robinson says there are six kinds of toxic people. There are the blamers who are always complaining about what is wrong in their life and blaming others. Then there are the drainers. They’re like vampires who will come and suck everything out of you ...read more

Tags: Friendship General

Denomination: Methodist

What God Will Do, Not What You Will Do For God  PRO

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Oct 23, 2012

WHAT GOD WILL DO, NOT WHAT YOU WILL DO FOR GOD Henry Blackaby said, "You never find God asking persons to dream up what they want to do for Him...Without doubt, the most important factor in each (Biblical) situation was not what the individual wanted to do for God. The most important factor was ...read more

Tags: God's Sovereign Will

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Baptistry

Contributed by Davon Huss on Sep 13, 2014

Bob Russell wrote of a church who, years ago, bickered over the use of a piano. Some wanted to use a piano during Sunday worship, others did not. The disagreement grew sharp, and the church divided into two sides over the issue. One Sunday, when members arrived for church, they discovered a new ...read more

Scripture: John 17:20-23

Tags: Disagreeable, Church Unity, Church Conflict

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ