In Sermon Illustrations: "Fire In That Sermon"

There Were Three Men Who Went Bear Hunting ...

Contributed by Bobby Scobey on Feb 23, 2010

There were three men who went bear hunting together: a lawyer, a drunk and a preacher. As they were walking through the woods to pick their places, a bear ran right in front of them. All three with quick reflexes took quick aim and fired. The bear fell down dead. An argument arose about who had ...read more

Tags: Possession

Denomination: Pentecostal

Switching Off The Message  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 9, 2010

SWITCHING OFF THE MESSAGE The Word will protect us. No soldier is going to go to battle without his armor and his weapons. Yet many Christians today rarely even pick up their bible. A former park ranger at Yellowstone National Park tells the story of a ranger leading a group of hikers to a fire ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:17

Tags: Bible Influence

An Unread Note Costs A Commander His ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 2, 2010

An Unread Note Costs A Commander His Army During the Revolutionary War, a loyalist spy appeared at the headquarters of Hessian commander Colonel Johann Rall, carrying an urgent message. General George Washington and his Continental [A]rmy had secretly crossed the Delaware River that morning and ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 18:9

Tags: Leadership Listening

The Risk Of Defeating The Enemy

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 26, 2012

THE RISK OF DEFEATING THE ENEMY During WWII in PNG as the Australian troops were involved in engaging the Japanese in Milne Bay and some of the regions along the North coast, the Australian troops began to realise that if they waited for all the artillery fire to cease that the Japanese in machine ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-18

Tags: War

In The Early Days Of The American Frontier, An ...

Contributed by Bruce Howell on Mar 11, 2009

In the early days of the American frontier, an Indian chief heard the message of the gospel and was wonderfully saved. Such an indescribable peace flooded his soul that he couldn’t keep from talking about the Lord. Another chief visited and wanted to know who this Jesus was, what He had done, and ...read more

Tags: Salvation

Denomination: Wesleyan

Hell, Literally

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Jan 3, 2010

HELL, LITERALLY Now the word for "hell" is interesting. According to William Barclay, it literally referred to the Valley of Hinnom, to the South West of Jerusalem. William Barclay says "It was notorious as the place where Ahaz had introduced into Israel the fire worship of the heathen god Molech, ...read more

Tags: Hell

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Easter Service Mishap

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Apr 12, 2021

One year, a bunch of friends and I decided to go to a sunrise service at a super fancy church. This church looks like a European cathedral and we were all dressed up for 5 a.m. singing around a huge fire outside and then going inside for service. Everyone had candles and the whole service is by ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 12:38-40

Tags: Easter, Resurrection, Funny, Sunrise Service

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Reading Their Names  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 19, 2002

READING THEIR NAMES Jeff Greenfield is a news correspondent for ABC News. He lives in Salisbury, Connecticutt and has attended the same Memorial Day observance in his community for the last 15 years. He writes: "At 10 a.m., the parade begins moving down Main Street. It is a small parade: ...read more

Tags: Holidays Civic, Christian Disciplines

Your Affirmation Can Help To Effect That Sense ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Your affirmation can help to effect that sense of importance in another. Sometimes the touch of love is more verbal than physical. Sherman Rogers has written a book about logging in the Pacific Northwest. As a young man he worked in a logging camp, and on one occasion the boss needed to be away ...read more

Tags: God Brings Purpose

It Is Like The Wise Native American, Who Was ...

Contributed by Gary Landsberg on Dec 16, 2006

It is like the wise Native American, who was sitting by the camp fire at night, with his grandson, when his grandson asked; “grandfather, as I grow older, I find a battle raging within me. It is like the bear and the wolf are fighting. The bear wants to do good, but the wolf who is bad ...read more

Denomination: Independent/Bible

In The Spring Of 1894, The Baltimore Orioles Came ...  PRO

Contributed by James Dunn on Feb 3, 2002

In the spring of 1894, the Baltimore Orioles came to Boston to play a routine baseball game. But what happened that day was anything but routine. The Orioles’ John McGraw got into a fight with the Boston third baseman. Within minutes all the players from both teams had joined in the brawl. The ...read more

Tags: Anger, Christian Disciplines

Denomination: Baptist

Gehenna

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Mar 23, 2009

GEHENNA Ben-Hinnon is also known as Gehenna, a word Jesus used for hell. At the time of Jesus, it was a garbage dump, where a fire constantly burned, consuming the relentless supply of garbage from a large city like Jerusalem. Gehenna is a place on earth which communicates the nature of hell. ...read more

Tags: Hell

Denomination: Independent/Bible

There Was A Preacher At A Small Church. He Had ...

Contributed by Batsell Spivy on Jul 1, 2008

There was a preacher at a small church. He had been preaching there for some time and was discouraged by how disinterested the church was. Finally he had had enough of the unenthusiastic Sundays so he decided to write a sermon that would surely fire the members up. He began his sermon by saying, ...read more

Tags: Evangelism Fear Of

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

John Wesley's Father, Samuel, Was A Dedicated ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 21, 2005

John Wesley’s father, Samuel, was a dedicated pastor, but there were those in his parish who did not like him. On February 9, 1709, a fire broke out in the rectory at Epworth, possibly set by one of the rector’s enemies. Young John, not yet six years old, was stranded on an upper floor of the ...read more

Tags: God's Omniscience

Saving The Ship, Remembering The Past  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 20, 2002

SAVING THE SHIP, REMEMBERING THE PAST "Their hair is gray, their shoulders are slumped and they walk with the shuffle of the aged. Their ship, a rusty antique, wallowed through the Atlantic, battered by a winter storm. For the elderly crew of LST-325, a creaking World War II troop ship that had ...read more

Tags: Holidays Civic, Christian Disciplines

He Was A Professional Thief. His Name Stirred ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

He was a PROFESSIONAL THIEF. His name stirred FEAR in the hearts of the people. He TERRORIZED the Wells Fargo Stage Line for 13 years. He spooked even the most RUGGED FRONTIERSMAN. During his reign of TERROR between 1875 and 1883, he is credited with STEALING the bags away from 29 different ...read more

Tags: Guilt

Motor Homes Have Allowed Us To Put All The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Motor Homes have allowed us to put all the conveniences of a home on wheels. A camper no longer means sleeping in a sleeping bag, cooking over a fire, or hauling water from a stream. Now people can park a fully equipped home on a cement slab in the midst of a few pine trees and hook up to a water ...read more

Tags: Faith General

A Church That Has Passion Is A Church Where ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 1, 2001

A church that has passion is a church where "Discouraged folks cheer up, dishonest folks fees up, sour folks sweeten up, closed folk, open up, gossipers shut up, conflicted folks make up, sleeping folks wake up, lukewarm folk, fire up, dry bones shake up, and pew ...read more

Scripture: Haggai 1:1-15

Tags: Church Purpose Of, Church Practices

If We Are To Maintain The Great Heritage Which ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"If we are to maintain the great heritage which has been bequeathed to us, we must be like-minded as the fathers who created it. We must not sink into a pagan materialism. We must cultivate the reverence which they had for the things that are holy. We must follow the spiritual and moral leadership ...read more

Tags: Family

Jesus Described Hell As A Place With A Stench. On ...

Contributed by Bobby Scobey on Apr 18, 2007

Jesus described hell as a place with a stench. On the southwest corner of I-240 in our city you can smell the oil refinery. In Counce, Tennessee, you can smell the pulp mill or in Bolivar the tannery. When I lived on Holmes Street I ordered some flytraps for the backyard. They were quart jars ...read more

Denomination: Pentecostal