In Sermon Illustrations: "Forgiveness For Others"

History Of Calvinism

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 23, 2010

HISTORY OF CALVINISM In 1610, just one year after the death of James Arminius (a Dutch Seminary professor) five articles of faith based on his teachings were drawn up by his followers. The Arminians, as his followers came to be called, presented these five doctrines to the State of Holland in the ...read more

Scripture: Jude 1:24-25, Ephesians 1:3-5

Tags: Warning, Calvinism

David's Demons

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Nov 16, 2010

DAVID'S DEMONS Many years ago I worked in an organisation called SCILS - Sunshine Coast Independent Living Skills. We worked with people who had mild to moderate intellectual disabilities. David (not his real name) was helped to find a place to rent in the community. He had been in danger of ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 12:43-45

Tags: Demons

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

God Vs. Voodoo

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 12, 2011

GOD VS. VOODOO Pastor Mike Breaux tells the story below when his daughter Jodie answered God's call to go into missions work: During her junior year of high school, Jodie struggled to find a faith of her own. She wanted to know in her heart that all of what she'd been taught to believe was true ...read more

Scripture: Mark 8:34-38

Tags: Missions

God Is With The Righteous

Contributed by Paul Barreca on Feb 19, 2012

GOD IS WITH THE RIGHTEOUS Listen to a partially embellished STORY of the SERVANT who escaped to Abraham... The sun was just rising in the east. Abram's entourage had grown significantly since Lot departed. They had settled in the land of Mamre the Amorite, finding water and shade in the forest, ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 14:1-16

Tags: Sin Bondage To

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Bearing Our Cross

Contributed by Suresh Manoharan on Apr 7, 2015

A "Natural" Rope a dope... Cross bearing is an indispensable part of a Christian’s life, so that work of moulding a person into a Christ-like image which begins at the point of re-generation is completed in all respects (2 Cor 3:18) by the time of Rapture or one’s departure from the Earthly ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 3:18

Tags: Tithing, Trials And Difficulties, Bearing, Discerning

Denomination: *other

Craig Von Buseck Tells Of Serving As An Assoc...

Contributed by Tim Smith on May 28, 2015

Craig von Buseck tells of serving as an associate pastor in Pennsylvania. After more than five years on staff, he began sensing that the Lord wanted him to leave this church to complete his ministry training. Relations were beginning to become strained between himself and the senior pastor. While ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:25

Tags: Holy Spirit, God's Guidance

Denomination: Methodist

Faith

Contributed by John Hardwick on Aug 1, 2015

Faith, as a mustard seed, is when it’s raining enough to need the windshield wipers once a minute, but not enough to set it on auto. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16

Tags: Faith, Amazing Love

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Gethsemane

Contributed by Sam Mccormick on Aug 12, 2017

Several years ago, I began to reflect on the happenings at Gethsemane. It started when I saw some movie in which an actor did an okay job of portraying Jesus, except that he failed abysmally in his attempt to show what I think Jesus' agony at Gethsemane must have been really like. I realized that ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 26:36-46, Mark 14:32-42, Luke 22:39-46, 2 Corinthians 5:21

Tags: Agony, Sweat, Pass, Thy Will Be Done, Your Will Be Done, Garden, Gethsemane, Cup  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Great Quotes On Thanksgiving

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Nov 21, 2019

GREAT CHRISTIAN QUOTES ON THANKSGIVING 1. God says to give thanks in everything. That doesn’t mean you need to give thanks FOR everything. You don’t need to give thanks FOR that bad day. Or FOR that bad relationship. Or being passed over at work. Financial hardship. Whatever it is – you are not ...read more

Tags: Thanksgiving, Gratitude, Great Quotes

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

He Who Has The Son Has It All

Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Dec 31, 2020

I wrote this at the end of 2014 Fourteen years from the Millennium seemed a long time and now we are into a new year – again!! I have spent much of last week preparing to lead a pilgrimage to Israel – a new experience for me. And with the new it is good to recall the old. Our Gospel reading is ...read more

Tags: Art Collector, Auctioneer

Denomination: Anglican

Unsung Heroes: Joseph’s Servant

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Feb 12, 2021

Introduction: At the time of this story, Joseph was second in command only to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Joseph’s brothers had come a year or so before this to buy grain; now, that grain was gone and they came back to purchase some more. But they were in for a surprise once they came in contact ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 43:16-25, Luke 17:6-10

Tags: Joseph, Stewards, Servants, Unsung Heroes

Denomination: Baptist

Unsung Heroes: The Lame Man Of Acts 3

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Apr 30, 2021

Text: Acts 3:1-10. KJV: 1 Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. 2 And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into ...read more

Scripture: Acts 3:1-10

Tags: John, Peter, Healings

Denomination: Baptist

Racism And The Gospel

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Jan 1, 2023

Benjamin Watson, who plays for the NFL New Orleans Saints posted the following on his Facebook page: "At some point while I was playing or preparing to play Monday Night Football, the news broke about the Ferguson Decision. After trying to figure out how I felt, I decided to write it down. ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 11:28, John 3:16, James 5:16, Romans 3:23, Romans 10:9  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Sin, Gospel, Hope, Racism

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Misapplied Scriptures: Amos 3:7

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Oct 2, 2023

Introduction: Like many believers, I didn’t spend too much time reading the Bible, let alone doing serious study, for many of my years as a believer. It seems some religious leaders or devout followers know this and use verses such as this one to prove a point. If true believers don’t have a ...read more

Scripture: Amos 3:7

Tags: False Prophets, Prophets, Misapplied Scriptures

Denomination: Baptist

A Look At Outer Darkness

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Dec 29, 2023

Introduction: Jesus spoke of “outer darkness” at least three times. There were a couple of times when I experienced something like this, and it wasn’t pleasant! No one needs to face outer darkness, so don’t let it happen to you. Text: Matthew 8:10-12, KJV: 10 When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 8:10-12

Tags: Light, Outer Darkness, Fear

Denomination: Baptist

I Wasn't Supposed To Live...

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Apr 13, 2024

I believe that God called me to preach in the summer of my freshman year in high school. He gave me a dream about one of my best friends who was somewhere in eternity screaming in pain: He was crying out to me, "You never told me. You never told me! Larry, you talked to me about baseball. ...read more

Tags: Death, Healing, Prayer, Purpose, God's Will, Testimony, Pastors, God's Call, Miracle, Fathers, Preachers  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[102]. A Message From A Poem – God Sends No One To Hell

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on May 9, 2025

[102]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – GOD SENDS NO ONE TO HELL The Introduction for this poem is longer than average. So as not to be misunderstood, the title of the poem does not mean God has no control over hell. He certainly does but just so that you don’t miss the message of the poem, I need to ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 2:4, Revelation 19:20, Matthew 25:41, Isaiah 30:33, John 3:16, Mark 9:47-48, Revelation 20:14, Matthew 25:31  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Poetry, Sheep And Goats, The Second Coming, The Lake Of Fire, Christian Poems, Wheat And The Tares, Hell, Gehenna, Lazarus  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[143]. A Message From A Poem – In The Furnace And The Lions’ Den

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Jul 26, 2025

[143]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – IN THE FURNACE AND THE LIONS’ DEN This poem is the telling of two stories in Daniel, one of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the blazing furnace, and the other of Daniel in the lion’s den. Both stories testify to the goodness of God, and both are examples of ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 11:33, Romans 12:2, Revelation 2:10

Tags: African Persecution, Mouths Of Lions, A Crown For Martyrs, John Huss, Fiery Furnace, Meshach, Abednego, Nigeria, Martyrs, Christian Poems, Daniel, Persecution, Crown Of Life, Shadrach, Darius, Sudan, Death  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[237 B]. A Message From A Poem - Scenes From The Gospels - Part 2

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Nov 1, 2025

[237 B]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM - SCENES FROM THE GOSPELS - PART 2 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 8:26-39, Luke 15:11-32, John 2:1-11, Luke 10:38-42, Matthew 14:22-31, Luke 1:1-4, Matthew 13:10-13  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Christian Poems, Poetry Reading, Barley Loaves, Mary At The Tomb, Parables, Nicodemus, Temptation Of Christ, Stories, The Sower, Christian Poetry  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[251]. A Message From A Poem – That Coffin Is Not Me

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Jan 3, 2026

[251]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – THAT COFFIN IS NOT ME This is a special poem and unusual for my style. It is full of meaning, very serious meaning. It is me telling my story (as if I had died). Some may find the subject strange; others may not want to think about such things. The point is, we ...read more

Scripture: John 10:9-10, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, 2 Corinthians 5:6-8, Hebrews 9:27, Genesis 2:17  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Funeral Service, Absent From The Body, Christian Poetry, Christian Poems, Repent And Be Saved, Christian Burial, Death, Heaven, Alive, Dead, Coffin, Christian Funeral, Hell  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational