In Sermon Illustrations: "Forgiveness Of Sin"

Near The City Of Sao Jose Dos Campos, Brazil, Is ...  PRO

Contributed by Ajai Prakash on Mar 3, 2008

Near the city of Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, is a remarkable facility. Twenty years ago the Brazilian government turned a prison over to two Christians. The institution was renamed Humaita, and the plan was to run it on Christian principles. With the exception of two full-time staff, all the work ...read more

Tags: Psalms

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

There Once Was A Man Who Had Nothing For His ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 10, 2008

There once was a man who had nothing for his family to eat. He had an old rifle and three bullets. So, he decided that he would go out hunting and kill some wild game for dinner. As he went down the road, he saw a rabbit. He shot at the rabbit and missed it. The rabbit ran away. Then he saw a ...read more

Are You Prepared To Meet God?

Contributed by Donnie Martin on Sep 19, 2008

Are You Prepared To Meet God? What Christ Has Done A preacher was called to the bedside of a man who was seriously ill. After a few words of greeting, the minister asked, "My friend, are you prepared to meet God if you don't recover from this sickness?" "I think so," was the reply. "I've always ...read more

Tags: Assurance Of Salvation

Denomination: Baptist

Fight For Joy

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 22, 2008

Fight for Joy John Piper offers 15 Biblical things we must do to fight for joy. (I can only list them today, and commend to you his book, "When I Don’t Desire God.") This list reminds me that faith does not produce inactivity, but God-centered activity: 1) Realize that authentic joy in God is a ...read more

Tags: Joy

Why Did God Become A Man?  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 28, 2008

WHY DID GOD BECOME A MAN? Why would the Son of God want to become human? What would possess Him to leave His eternal home to enter this world plagued by pain and sorrow? Why would He give up the worship of angels to endure abuse at the hands of sinful man? Why did God become a man? Max Lucado in ...read more

Tags: Christmas

Peace In The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 10, 2009

PEACE IN THE FRAY Columnist Deborah Mathis wrote about the time when she was at Union Station in Washington D.C. on a particularly busy day. The first thing she remembers about that experience was the noisy hubbub of sounds. The public address announcer calling out arrivals and departures. Scores ...read more

Tags: Peace

No Talking Him Into ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 16, 2009

NO TALKING HIM INTO IT One lady said: Rushing to work, I was driving too fast and as a result was pulled over by the highway patrol. The state trooper noticed that my shirt had the name of a local high school on it. "I teach math there," I explained. The trooper smiled, and said, "Okay, here’s a ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:8-9

Tags: Salvation

Two Types Of Lives!

Contributed by Paul Clemente on Oct 29, 2022

Genesis 4:6-26 Cain had an unrighteous heart and sinned against God in many ways including taking the life of his brother; but what can we learn from God as He related to Cain, from the following verses: v6-7: God gave instructions how and why to repent. v9: God was specific in confronting in ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 4:6-26

Tags: People, Pride, Godly, Creativity, Ungodly, Provisions  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Independent/Bible

7 Ways To Build Self-Control

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Feb 27, 2023

To be self-controlled is to restrain ourselves by not giving in to our depraved desires. We can say “no” when everything in us is saying “yes” for all the wrong reasons. We deny worldly lusts when we withhold our consent from them and when we refuse the delight they suggest. God will give us the ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:22-23

Tags: Temptation, Character, Fruit Of The Spirit, Discipline, Works Of The Flesh, Self Control, Spirit Filled Life  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Anointing With Oil In The Name Of The Lord

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Apr 13, 2024

"Anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord " (James 5:14) - This literally reads "after having oiled him." Whether this anointing is to be done before or during the praying is not clear from the Greek text. OIl most likely refers to olive oil. What does the oil signify? ...read more

Tags: Oil, Anointing, Health, Elders, Healing, Prayer, Miracles  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Victorious As We Follow God's Redemption Plan.

Contributed by Andrew Moffatt on Jan 20, 2025

I may have mentioned this previously to some of you that as a teen I was not able to even read a passage from a book in class, I could read, but to read out loud was something else, I was very insecure having been told at a young age, around 9 or 10 that I was hopeless and would never amount to ...read more

Scripture: John 14:15-17, John 3:1

Tags: Victorious Living, The Spirit Of Truth, Self Estime, Advocate, God's Love, Struggling  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Salvation Army

[120]. A Message From A Poem – He Has Done All This

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Jul 2, 2025

[120]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – HE HAS DONE ALL THIS What has the Lord done for you? Do you take time to run through what God has made you, and what great promises He has given you, and what future promises await you? It is an excellent exercise because we must always be mindful of our dear ...read more

Scripture: Mark 5:19-20

Tags: Great Things, Christian Poetry, Christian Poems

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

O God, Don't Let That Be All There Is?" John 1: ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Dec 22, 2004

“O God, Don’t Let That Be All There Is?” John 1: 14-18 Key verse(s): 14-18: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” The recent news story of the pregnant Missouri woman who was ...read more

Scripture: Ezekiel 16:1-14, John 1:14-18

Tags: Christmas Eve

Denomination: Lutheran

Popular Ideas Of Jesus  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 5, 2009

POPULAR IDEAS OF JESUS As we consider the risk of following Jesus, we must acknowledge the same thing; we must acknowledge that Jesus is THE Christ, not some popularized version we hear about today. In a posting just this last June, Kevin DeYoung, in his Restless and Reformed blog, describes ...read more

Scripture: Mark 8:27-29

Tags: Faith, Christ, Jesus, Culture, Jesus Christ  (view more)  (view less)

Power And Discipline  PRO

Contributed by Jeff Strite on May 5, 2013

POWER AND DISCIPLINE Over here is a wall socket. There is power in that socket. Because of that power, I can plug lamps, fans, microwaves and phone chargers into it and magically empower those devises. I can even plug a car charger into a wall socket and revive a dead car battery (like I’ve had to ...read more

Tags: Experience

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Chosen

Contributed by Sam Mccormick on Jul 5, 2017

CHOSEN 1 Peter 2:4 …you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious… I was awful. No one had to tell me – I knew it. In my hometown of Littlefield, Texas, the kids used to find a vacant lot relatively bare of weeds, choose up teams and play baseball. ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 2:4

Tags: Chosen By God, Baseball, Athlete, Athletic, Sports, Chosen, Elect  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Healing

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Aug 19, 2019

Frederick Buechner, from Wishful Thinking The Gospels depict Jesus as having spent a surprising amount of time healing people. Although, like the author of Job before him, he specifically rejected the theory that sickness was God's way of getting even with sinners (John 9:1-3), he nonetheless ...read more

Scripture: James 5:14, Mark 2:1-12, Mark 1:33-34

Tags: Healing, Salvation, Power, Prayer, Faith  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Seven Year Old Tommy Had Been Asking His Parents ...

Contributed by Kenneth Trent on Oct 30, 2007

Seven year old Tommy had been asking his parents for a dog but they were not convinced that the family needed one. After Tommy’s repeated pleas, his dad told him if he would help his mother with chores around the house he could earn enough money to buy a dog. Tommy was more than eager to accept ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 46:1-34

Tags: Redemption, Redeemed

Denomination: Baptist

Two Days After Christmas

Contributed by Todd Catteau on Dec 19, 2024

It’s two days after Christmas. The celebrations are over. The presents have been put up. Another Christmas in the books. Christmas 2024 will now take its place among all the Christmases passed. I wonder what Mary was thinking two days after the first Christmas. It’s been quite a ride. How could she ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:1-20, Matthew 1:18-24, Hebrews 4:14-16, Philippians 2:1-16

Tags: Manger, Birth, Joseph, Census, Catteau, Mary, Christmas, Bethlehem  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Various Studies Conducted By Yale, John Hopkins ...  PRO

Contributed by Steve Malone on May 15, 2001

Various studies conducted by Yale, John Hopkins and other groups have documented the following; The absence of a father is a stronger factor than poverty in contributing to juvenile delinquency. In 48 cultures around the world crime rates were highest among adults who as children had been raised ...read more

Scripture: Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Tags: Parenting, Father's Day, Family

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ