In Sermon Illustrations: "Founding Father"

Burmese Parable About A Banyan Tree ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 28, 2010

Burmese Parable About a Banyan Tree Seed Don’t pitch your tents near sin or soon you will be living in it. I have heard stories of people who have been hooked by a variety of addictions. They almost always start by just an ‘innocent’ act that did not seem like much at the time. Gamblers who started ...read more

Scripture: James 1:13-15

Tags: Sin Deceptive

If I Had My Life To Live Over- By Erma ...

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Jun 3, 2010

IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER- by Erma Bombeck (written after she found out she was dying from cancer). I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day. I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose ...read more

Tags: Death

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

How To Miss The Treasure Of Pilgrim's Progress ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 7, 2010

How to Miss the Treasure of Pilgrim’s Progress Through Ignorance Ravi Zacharias tells this story: Some years ago, I was visiting the town of Bedford in England. The reason most tourists go to Bedford is because it was the home of the famed 17th Century writer John Bunyan who penned his immortal ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 1:13-16

Tags: Ignorance

Playwright Maria Hedley Had Her Fill Of Terrible ...

Contributed by Ed Sasnett on Jun 23, 2010

Playwright Maria Hedley had her fill of terrible dates. Most of the dates she went on she thought the guys would be great candidates but they were totally unsatisfying. She got sick of her own taste and decided that fate couldn’t mess up her love life anymore than she could, and it might just do ...read more

Tags: Sexual Purity, Marriage Singleness

Denomination: Baptist

The Golden ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 15, 2010

The Golden Rule Four men sit down together. In the discussion they start to speak about what is called “the Golden Rule,” and how it is understood. The first speaks. “Leviticus 19 says, “Love your neighbour as yourself.” But who is my neighbour? The great rabbi Hillel, who is one of the main ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:12

Tags: World Religions

John Harper's Last Convert  PRO

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Nov 10, 2010

JOHN HARPER'S LAST CONVERT John Harper was born into a Christian family May 29, 1872. He became a Christian 13 years later and had already started preaching by age 17. He received training at the Baptist Pioneer Mission in London, and in 1896 he founded a church, now known as Harper Memorial ...read more

Tags: Evangelism, Witness, Conversion, Evangelism Urgency

Denomination: Brethren

Cargar La Bateria — Charge The Batteries

Contributed by Kenton Wood on Jan 1, 2011

CARGAR LA BATERIA CHARGE THE BATTERIES (TRANSLATION FOLLOWS) Tengo en mi mano un taladro inalámbrico. Es relativamente nuevo. Pero, al apretar el botón, apenas da vuelta. ¿Qué necesito hacer? Cargar la batería. ¿Conoces a personas Cristianas que sus vidas apenas dan vuelta? Claro. Hasta ...read more

Tags: Holy Spirit Attributes

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Would You Hire Him?

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 2, 2011

WOULD YOU HIRE HIM? A certain church found itself suddenly without a pastor, and a search committee was formed. In due course it received a letter from a man applying for the vacant position. The committee chairman read: "I am considered to be a good preacher, and I have been a leader in most of ...read more

Scripture: Acts 26:1-29

Tags: Paul

Where Do We Stand?  PRO

Contributed by Paul Dietz on Jul 19, 2011

WHERE DO WE STAND? This past Tuesday morning I had finally settled down into my easy chair to read the daily news paper. As always, I turned to the editorial section of which is one of favorites, besides the daily “Frank and Ernest” cartoon. There I found a very interesting Readers Commentary ...read more

Tags: Faith

Denomination: *other

The Hypocrisy Of Robert Courtney  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 12, 2011

THE HYPOCRISY OF ROBERT COURTNEY Before his arrest, Robert Courtney served as a deacon at Northland Cathedral, an Assembly of God Church in Kansas City. In 1990, Courtney began purchasing pharmaceuticals on the gray market and using them to fill prescriptions at his pharmacy. In time, he began ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 23:23-28

Tags: Hypocrisy

I Could Have Done More  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 18, 2011

I COULD HAVE DONE MORE The film Schindler's List chronicled the heroic efforts of a German industrialist named Oskar Schindler. Through his unselfish activities, over a thousand Jews on the trains to Auschwitz were saved. After Schindler found out what was happening at Auschwitz, he began a ...read more

Scripture: John 15:9-17, Luke 16:9

Tags: Stewardship, Illustration

Leaders At The Poles

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 7, 2011

LEADERS AT THE POLES In his book, Leading at the Edge, Dennis Perkins contrasts the leadership values of two different explorers: Earnest Shackleton and Vilhjalmur Stefansson. In 1914, Shackleton led a daring expedition to reach Antarctica in the South. A year earlier, Stefansson led an expedition ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 5:1-4

Tags: Leadership General

King Tut Vs. William Borden

Contributed by Bret Toman on Jan 31, 2012

KING TUT VS. WILLIAM BORDEN In 1922 Howard Carter discovered the burial chamber of King Tutankhamen. King Tut had died at around age 19 and his tomb had been untouched for over 3000 years. Buried with him were solid gold chariots and thousands of golden artifacts. His gold coffin was found within ...read more

Tags: Apologetics Jesus

Denomination: Baptist

Repentance Is Not A One-Time Event

Contributed by Tim Smith on Feb 19, 2012

REPENTANCE IS NOT A ONE-TIME EVENT Doug Tegner tells the story of attending a one-day leadership retreat called to deal with his church's current crisis. Redwood Chapel was founded in 1962 and has since hosted the Bay Area Sunday School convention (BASS), had strong music programs, planted vibrant ...read more

Tags: Repentance

Denomination: Methodist

Skeletons In Our Closets

Contributed by Tim Smith on Feb 19, 2012

SKELETONS IN OUR CLOSETS The Rockefeller family is considered to be one of the most philanthropic families in the world, helping humanity globally in issues like economics, religion, education and environmental affairs. Yet the Rockefeller family tree is filled with many skeletons. William Avery ...read more

Tags: Sin General

Denomination: Methodist

Know The True From The False

Contributed by Mark Stepherson on Feb 23, 2012

KNOW THE TRUE FROM THE FALSE I have heard and read several variations of this story. Some relate it to training bank tellers, some to treasury agents, and some to FBI agents. I don’t know which, if any, is true. The story makes a good point even if none of the stories are true. It is important ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 1:1-14

Tags: Bible Truth

Denomination: Baptist

Make It Your Aim Not To Sin

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Mar 24, 2012

MAKE IT YOUR AIM NOT TO SIN The whole purpose of John's letter, he says, is that we not sin. One day as I was studying this chapter I realized that my personal life's objective regarding holiness was less than that of John's. He was saying, in effect, "Make it your aim not to sin." As I thought ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 2:1

Tags: Holiness

Denomination: Baptist

Lottery's Biggest Losers

Contributed by Aaron Mishoe on Apr 3, 2012

LOTTERY'S BIGGEST LOSERS Winning the lottery isn’t a guaranteed ticket to the good life, as these previous winners can attest: --Jack Whittaker: This West Virginia businessman won $315 million in the Powerball lottery in 2002, the largest jackpot ever from a single ticket in American history at ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 13:11

Tags: Money

Denomination: Holiness

The Cost Of Trying To Fit In

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 19, 2012

THE COST OF TRYING TO FIT IN Kevin Miller of Wheaton, Illinois wrote the following: Right after I finished 6th grade, my family moved to a new town. As I started junior high that fall, I suddenly found myself in a school I didn’t know, in a town I didn’t know, with people I didn’t know. I felt ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 18:24

Tags: Friendship General

Kids Have A Lot Of Questions. The ...

Contributed by Mark Thometz on Aug 27, 2012

Kids have a lot of questions. The “why” questions I've found is most popular. Back in Boise I work for the YMCA as an after school child care worker. Needless to say, when it's you and 2 other adults with 35+ kids a lot of “why” questions come up. “Why can't we do that?...well why? Why!?” This last ...read more

Tags: Curiosity

Denomination: Christian Church