In Sermon Illustrations: "First Fruits"

Nothing Like A Mystery To Calm My Nerves

Contributed by James Snyder on Mar 11, 2023

Nothing calms me down more than a mystery when I have a busy week. The other afternoon I got caught up and faced some rather stressful situations. The remedy to all of this would be to watch one of those mystery movies. One was playing that afternoon, so I decided to rearrange my schedule, enjoy ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 11:28-30

Tags: Humor, Mystery, Rest

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Our Summer Vacation Jamboree

Contributed by James Snyder on Jul 15, 2023

After months and months of planning, The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage finalized our vacation plans for the summer. Because of our busy lifestyle, something like this cannot be done with just a snap of a finger, especially since the great-granddaughter invaded our family circle. If my wife ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 55:11

Tags: Unity, Vacation

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

[010] A Message From A Poem - A Tribute To Our Mothers - Mothers' Day

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Jun 6, 2024

[010] A MESSAGE FROM A POEM - A TRIBUTE TO OUR MOTHERS - MOTHERS' DAY I was asked to write a poem for Mothers’ Day and this is it. I forget the context of it now but it had something to do with a children’s group in a church. ORIGINS AND IMPLICATIONS OF MOTHERS’ DAY The origins, ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:6-7, Matthew 19:13, Luke 18:15-16, 2 Timothy 1:5

Tags: Mothers Day, Mothers, Timothy, Honor Mothers, Ann Reeves Jarvis, Honour Mothers, Jesus Blesses Children  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[062a]. A Message From A Poem – Does Suffering Cancel Out A God Of Love?

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Mar 14, 2025

[062A]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – DOES SUFFERING CANCEL OUT A GOD OF LOVE? THE POEM AS IT IS WILL NOT FIT IN THE ILLUSTRATION SPACE AVAILABLE. I HAVE HAD TO SPLIT IT INTO THREE PARTS. THIS IS THE FIRST PART PART 1 INTRODUCTION TO THIS POEM This is my most serious poem because it addresses ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 45:6-7, John 3:16, Exodus 34:6-7

Tags: Comfort, Suffering, Tragedy, God Of Comfort, God Of Love, Hurt, Pain, Love, Compassion  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[090]. Poem Message – Specific – For Elderly Christians - The Three Ds

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Apr 25, 2025

[090]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – SPECIFIC – FOR ELDERLY CHRISTIANS - THE THREE Ds We come to the last poem in the 9 Part trilogy, and it is in the section SPECIFIC, addressed to Elderly Christians. Older Christians are the workhorse in the Church, plodding along for decades bearing the load. In ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:38-39, Romans 6:8-9, Romans 5:5, 1 Peter 2:6, James 1:5-6  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Regret, Doubts, Elderly Christians, Poems, Old Christians, The Door To Heaven, Death, Heaven, Elderly, Disappointment, Poetry, Old Age, Faith  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Did My Body Warranty Just Expire?

Contributed by James Snyder on Jun 21, 2025

Just when I recover from the latest ache in my body within a few minutes, I will get a “Boo, I’m back.” I’m not quite sure why these Aches and Pains love my body so much. Why don’t they just get over it and move on to another circus. The problem is, after I’m through with one ache, the next ...read more

Scripture: James 1:2-4

Tags: Pain, Blessing, Warranty

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

[204]. A Message From A Poem - Once I Was Lost – Now I Am Saved

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Sep 17, 2025

[204]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM - ONCE I WAS LOST – NOW I AM SAVED (Shakespeare) When Macbeth heard that Lady Macbeth was dead these words were spoken – “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow Creeps in this petty pace from day to day To the last syllable of recorded time; And all our yesterdays ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 2:14, 1 Timothy 2:5, Acts 4:12, John 9:25

Tags: Rejection, Natural Man, Christian Poems, Name, Salvation, Cross, Testimony  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Story Behind The Hymn "when Peace Like A River"

Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Oct 21, 2025

Story: The last but one time that I went to Israel , when we went to the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem our Guide pointed across Jersualem to some buildings and told us that is where Horatio Spafford used to live. Many on our trip didn’t know who Spafford was. Horatio Spafford, a well-known Chicago ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:24-34

Tags: River, Perspective, Horatio Spafford, Peace, Worry  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Anglican

[237 F] [6]. A Message From A Poem - Scenes From The Gospels - Part 6

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Nov 24, 2025

[237 F] [6]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM - SCENES FROM THE GOSPELS - PART 6 They are here to enjoy! Scenes from the Gospels are very special to me. I love them. They have taken a lot of effort, and many, many months revision to get them as correct as possible with the difficult word limitations. ...read more

Scripture: Mark 14:3-9, Matthew 18:23-35, Matthew 14:22-32, Matthew 11:28-30, Luke 5:1-11, Luke 1:1-4, Matthew 13:10-13  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Wicked Slave, Washing Nets, Large Number Of Fish, Jesus Walks On Water, Expensive Perfume, Take My Yoke, My Yoke Is Easy, Ten Thousand Talents, Three Hundred Denarii, Mary, Forgiveness, Peter, Nard, Alabaster Box  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[237 G] [7]. A Message From A Poem - Scenes From The Gospels - Part 7

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Nov 24, 2025

[237 G] [7]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM - SCENES FROM THE GOSPELS - PART 7 They are here to enjoy! Scenes from the Gospels are very special to me. I love them. They have taken a lot of effort, and many, many months revision to get them as correct as possible with the difficult word limitations. ...read more

Scripture: Luke 6:47-49, Matthew 7:24-27, John 14:26, Luke 1:1-4, Matthew 13:10-13, Mark 9:14-27, John 4:5-30, Luke 15:8-10  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Living Water, Wise Man, The Samaritan Woman, Foaming At The Mouth, Deaf And Dumb Spirit, Demon Cast Out, Foolish Man, The Lost Coin, Built On Sand, House Upon The Rock, Scenes From The Gospel, Son With A Demon  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Listen To This True Story. Rabbi Michael ...  PRO

Contributed by Melvin Newland on Jan 28, 2001

ILL. Listen to this true story. Rabbi Michael Weisser lived in Lincoln, Nebraska. And for more than 3 years, Larry Trapp, a self-proclaimed Nazi & Ku Klux Klansman, directed a torrent of hate-filled mailings & phone calls toward him. Trapp promoted white supremacy, anti-Semitism, & other ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:20, Galatians 3:1-14

Tags: Racism, Pearl Harbor, Forgiveness For Others, Compassion

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Let Me Give You An Example To What I’m ...  PRO

Contributed by Bill Lobbs on Nov 4, 2000

Let me give you an example to what I’m saying by sharing with you a story that I recently read in one of the history books in my library. I read how on July 3l, 1838 on the Island of Jamaica, a man named William Knibbs, gathered 10,000 slaves for a great praise gathering. They were celebrating ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:12, Romans 12:1-2

Tags: Freedom, Great Commission, Gospel, Lordship Of Christ, Ignorance, What Is Evangelism?  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Pentecostal

After Church…  PRO

Contributed by Melvin Newland on Feb 20, 2001

AFTER CHURCH... There he stood, in the midst of the Golden Corral restaurant, with Thousand Island dressing dripping from his hair, over his glasses, down his face, all over his jacket, pants, & shoes. And I’m not talking about a little bit of Thousand Island dressing, I’m talking about 2 gallons ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-17

Tags: Children, Hypocrisy

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Josh Mcdowell, A Dedicated Christian ...  PRO

Contributed by Melvin Newland on Feb 23, 2001

Josh McDowell, a dedicated Christian intellectual, wrote, "I was invited to speak in a university in South America. Because of the university’s Marxist leanings, I was the first American to speak there in four years, & it was a tense situation. "Big photographs of me had been posted all over ...read more

Tags: God's Provision, Faith General

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

My Eternal Real Estate  PRO

Contributed by Brian Mavis on May 21, 2001

MY ETERNAL REAL ESTATE Years ago, radio evangelist Charles E. Fuller announced that he would speak the following Sunday on “Heaven” and that it would also be aired over the radio. During that week he received a letter from an elderly man who was very ill. Here’s a part of his letter: “Next ...read more

Tags: Heaven, Funerals Christian, Death Nearness

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Men's Thesaurus  PRO

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Jul 10, 2001

THE MEN’S THESAURUS (men don’t always say what they mean) – excerpts: When a man says: "IT’S A GUY THING" He means: "There is no rational thought pattern connected with this, and you have no chance at all of making it logical" When a man says "CAN I HELP WITH DINNER" He means: "Why isn’t it ...read more

Tags: Marriage General, Dealing With Conflicts, Father's Day

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Worship In Spirit And In Truth, By Leann Gabel ...  PRO

Contributed by A. Todd Coget on Aug 3, 2001

[Worship in Spirit and in Truth, by Leann Gabel of Amarillo, TX] In Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman, it didn’t take long before their conversation turned to worship. I would guess that was as hot a topic then as it is today. The woman’s question was sincere, "I know there are two ways to ...read more

Scripture: Nehemiah 1:5

Tags: Church Practices, Bible Truth, Holy Spirit General, Woman At Well

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

: "Scarred Hands” (James S. ...  PRO

Contributed by Bruce Howell on Aug 21, 2001

Illus.: “Scarred Hands” (James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited, pp. 119-120) A small orphaned boy lived with his grandmother. One night their house caught fire. The grandmother, trying to rescue the little boy asleep upstairs, perished in the smoke and flames. A crowd gathered around the ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:6-8

Tags: Forgiveness In Jesus, Christian Disciplines, Lordship Of Christ

Denomination: Wesleyan

A Preacher Recalls One Such Instance During ...  PRO

Contributed by Melvin Newland on Oct 11, 2001

ILL. A preacher recalls one such instance during the Sunday evening service. When he finished speaking, he asked, "Is there anyone else who would like to say something?" At that, a rather dignified visitor stood up & said, "Yes, sir, I’d like to say something. This is the first time I’ve been ...read more

Scripture: John 8:1-11

Tags: Repentance, Forgiveness For Others

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Imagine A Group Of People Coming To Your Home And ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2002

Imagine a group of people coming to your home and interrupting your Twinkie-eating, TV-watching routine with an urgent message: “Good News! We’re from the United States Olympic Committee. We have been looking for someone to run the marathon in the next Olympics. We have statistics on every person ...read more

Scripture: Acts 20:24, 1 Corinthians 9:24, 2 Timothy 4:7, Hebrews 12:1, James 1:1-4  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Race, Discipleship, Disciplines