In Sermon Illustrations: "Forgive Them"

Hope For A ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 10, 2009

HOPE FOR A CHANGE In the Peanuts comic strip, we find Snoopy thinking to himself: "Yesterday I was a dog. Today I’m a dog. Tomorrow I’ll probably still be a dog. Ohh...there’s so little hope for advancement." Well, there is hope for those who have a dog’s life, but the change will require them ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:17

Tags: Change

Hope Brings Survival

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 10, 2009

HOPE BRINGS SURVIVAL Viktor Frankl, Austrian psychologist, survived death camps of Nazi Germany. Frankl was determined to know why some survived and some did not. He looked at several factors: health, vitality, family, survival skills, intelligence. He concluded that none of these factors was ...read more

Tags: God Brings Hope

Catholic Schools ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 13, 2009

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS CLOSING 1,267 Catholic schools have closed since 2000, and enrollment nationwide has dropped by 382,125 students, or 14% percent, according to the National Catholic Education Association. The problem is most apparent in inner cities. Catholic schools have been closing since their ...read more

Tags: School

Learn From Others. Learn From Their Mistakes. ...

Contributed by Mark Eberly on Feb 19, 2009

Learn from others. Learn from their mistakes. Learn from their advice. Ray was too self-centered to do that. He wasn’t seeking advice as much as wanting people to tell him that what he was thinking was right. He didn’t really want his father’s advisors to help him as much as he wanted them to agree ...read more

Tags: Self

Denomination: Church Of God

You Don't Have To See To Believe

Contributed by Charles Wilkerson on Mar 10, 2009

YOU DON'T HAVE TO SEE TO BELIEVE Mt. Diablo is only about 3,500 feet, but it is very noticeable as it sits all alone in the Concord, California valley. Before I called them "God sightings" I found myself caught up in an "aha" moment as I looked at the cloud covered Mt. Diablo. I couldn’t help but ...read more

Tags: Faith

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Getting Organized  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 28, 2009

GETTING ORGANIZED In a Peanuts cartoon, Lucy demands that Linus change TV channels and then threatens him with her fist if he doesn’t. "What makes you think you can walk right in here and take over?" asks Linus. "These five fingers," says Lucy. "Individually they are nothing, but when I curl ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 10:25

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

The Beggar At The Table

Contributed by Ashton Alexander on Jun 7, 2009

THE BEGGAR AT THE TABLE Many years ago, as the story is told, a devout king was disturbed by the ingratitude of his royal court. He prepared a large banquet for them. When the king and his royal guests were seated, by prearrangement, a beggar shuffled into the hall, sat down at the king’s table, ...read more

Tags: Gratitude

Denomination: Baptist

What The Word "Dwelling In Us" Looks Like

Contributed by Rickey Bennett on Aug 19, 2009

WHAT THE WORD "DWELLING IN US" LOOKS LIKE I think Sam Storms, in his book on Colossians, describes well what it looks like for the word of Christ to dwell in us. He talks about the Scriptures calling out to us. "Don’t just read me," they seem to say. "Feast on me! Meditate! Ruminate! Saturate your ...read more

Tags: Bible Influence

Denomination: *other

Hey, I Can Hear ...

Contributed by K. Edward Skidmore on Sep 2, 2009

"Hey, I can hear you!" The other day, Susan and I were eating out and some guys at a nearby table were talking about some of their experiences with women. They were getting louder and louder, and it seemed like they were trying to one-up each other with who could say the most inappropriate thing. ...read more

Tags: God's Omniscience, Prayer Persistence

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Sheep Know Shepherd's ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 21, 2009

Sheep Know Shepherd’s Voice The contrast with the shepherd is even greater for the shepherd knows each sheep by name and his sheep follow his voice alone. Lloyd Ogilvie, the former Chaplain of the Senate and Pastor of Hollywood Presbyterian Church tells of being in the Middle East and watching a ...read more

Scripture: John 10:1-18

Tags: Good Shepherd, Parable Lost Sheep

Protective Equipment

Contributed by Davon Huss on Oct 26, 2009

PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT From John Gillmartin--Somehow, the young man found himself standing directly in the path of an oncoming car. The driver hit her brakes. Before either of them could do anything it seemed the 10 year old was shoulder deep in the windshield of the automobile. "Are you ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:6-12

Tags: Assurance Of Salvation

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

A Grapevine In England Is 1,000 Years ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 28, 2009

A Grapevine in England is 1,000 Years Old Jesus reminds them that apart from Him, they will not have life. In Hampton Court near London, there is a grapevine which is about 1,000 years old. This grapevine has one root which is at least 0.6m thick, and some of the branches are 60m long. Despite its ...read more

Scripture: John 15:1-8

Tags: Productivity

Working Late In The Cemetery  PRO

Contributed by Dean Courtier on Oct 29, 2009

WORKING LATE IN THE CEMETERY Late one dark night, two men were walking home after a party. They were tired and desperate to get home, so they decided to take a shortcut through a cemetery. They got to about the middle of the graveyard, and they were startled and stopped moving. There was a ...read more

Scripture: Mark 5:1-20

Tags: Halloween

Denomination: Pentecostal

Following In The Steps Of Christ

Contributed by Clark Tanner on Nov 6, 2009

FOLLOWING IN THE STEPS OF CHRIST "Believers will never suffer for others' salvation, including their own. But they will suffer for Christ's sake, and His example is their standard for a God-honoring response. The word translated 'example' is hupogrammon, which literally means 'writing under' and ...read more

Tags: Discipleship

Denomination: Orthodox

Freedom To Choose One's ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 8, 2009

FREEDOM TO CHOOSE ONE’S ATTITUDE There is a book called, “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Victor Frankl. Frankl was a Holocaust survivor who wrote about his experiences in a Nazi concentration camp. Everything was taken away from these prisoners. They were stripped of their clothing, their pictures, ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 3:17

Tags: Thought

Traveling Couple Misspells Destination In Gps And ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 10, 2009

Traveling Couple Misspells Destination in GPS and Ends Up in Wrong Place Last July the BBC news reported on how a couple from Sweden typed Carpi into their GPS when they meant Capri. Their GPS did what it was suppose to and took them 400 miles off course. A tourism official in Carpi said, "Capri is ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 53:6

Tags: Parable Lost Sheep

Elf

Contributed by James Tilley on Dec 1, 2009

ELF Story of a child who stows away. He is raised as an elf. They dress him like an elf and treat him like an elf. They teach him to make toys like an elf. As time passes it becomes clear that he is not an elf. One major clue is that he grows six feet tall. Anther is how slowly he makes toys. ...read more

Tags: Atonement

Denomination: Baptist

Well, In The Bible, Names Are Very Significant ...

Contributed by Ajai Prakash on Dec 2, 2009

Well, in the Bible, names are very significant and they are significant in other cultures as well. Talking about the Mexican Indians, and somehow or another something of their culture comes up, and the face is very important to an Indian, just as it is in the Orient, we know of course that face is ...read more

Tags: Christmas Advent

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Chrysostom On Prayer--Without The Spirit Our ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 4, 2009

Chrysostom on Prayer--Without the Spirit Our Prayer Bouquets are Like Weeds Chrysostom, a 4th century preacher, used this analogy for prayer. A young boy wanted to give a gift to his father who had been away a long time. His mother sent him to the garden to pick a bouquet of flowers. The boy ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:5-13

Tags: Prayer In The Spirit

The Power Of Hope

Contributed by Gary Birch on Dec 6, 2009

THE POWER OF HOPE I read that a few years ago some researchers performed an experiment to see the affect hope has on those undergoing hardship. Two sets of laboratory rats were placed in separate tubs of water. The researchers left one set in the water, and found that within an hour they had all ...read more

Tags: God Brings Hope