In Sermon Illustrations: "Fourth Watch Of The Night"

Lo! I Am With Thee

Contributed by Matthew Kratz on May 18, 2008

LO! I AM WITH THEE David Livingstone had spent sixteen years in Africa. The white man was surrounded by hostile, angry natives in the heart of Africa. He was in danger of losing his life and contemplated fleeing in the night. But something happened that changed his mind and gave him peace in his ...read more

Tags: Peace

Denomination: Other

Some Problems Depend On Your Perspective. This ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 22, 2008

Some problems depend on your perspective. This past week I read about a college student that sent a letter home to her parents from college. Dear Mom and Dad, I’m sorry to be so long in writing. Unfortunately, all my stationery was destroyed the night our dorm was set on fire by demonstrators. ...read more

Tags: Attitude General

Amazed By Jesus

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 9, 2009

AMAZED BY JESUS Many years ago – in the confines of a barracks room, a young sailor decided not to go out partying with his friends. He invested that evening reading the Bible - very specifically – reading the Gospel of John. The room was mostly dark except for the light of the little study desk ...read more

Tags: Apologetics Jesus

To Win Them, You Must Weep For Them  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 27, 2009

TO WIN THEM, YOU MUST WEEP FOR THEM A woman went to her pastor and said, "I’ve been a Christian for 20 years. I’ve read books on how to win souls. I’ve memorized scripture. I’ve taken courses on how to win the lost. And yet I haven’t won one person to the Lord. Why?" The pastor’s answer ...read more

Scripture: Luke 19:41-44

Tags: Evangelism How To

Ignoring The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 25, 2009

IGNORING THE WARNINGS On Sep. 28, 1986 heavy rains flooded many low-lying areas of the Midwest. Two years before, there was a flood that many remember as the "Memorial Day Massacre" that claimed the lives of twenty people in Tulsa, Oklahoma, as small creeks and drainage ditches became killer ...read more

Scripture: Ezekiel 18:30-32

Tags: Evangelism, Evangelism Urgency

Talk To Jesus Like Your Daughter

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 10, 2009

TALK TO JESUS LIKE YOUR DAUGHTER I was reading about a grieving woman. She went to the Rev. F. B. Meyer looking for help. She said, "Pastor, my daughter died last year. I miss her so much. I made breakfast for her every morning. And even when I had to go to work, I knew that she would be there ...read more

Scripture: John 11:35

Tags: God In The Hardships

Knowing The Father's Love

Contributed by Rickey Bennett on Aug 19, 2009

KNOWING THE FATHER'S LOVE Consider an illustration of two children and two fathers. One child feels like he’s just a tenant in the house, a servant doing what he’s commanded to do. He doesn’t know his father very well or his father’s love. He just knows what he’s been commanded to do. The other ...read more

Tags: Basics Of Christianity

Denomination: *other

The Cost Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 16, 2009

The Cost of Salvation Several years ago, there was 14 year-old girl (Laura Montero) whose appendix burst while she and her family vacationed on a cruise ship off the Baja Coast. The ship was hundreds of miles from help, and the crew sent out a distress call looking for the nearest surgical ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16

Tags: Salvation, Gift Of Salvation

Shopkeeper Seeks Revenge On Bitter ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 5, 2009

Shopkeeper Seeks Revenge on Bitter Rival What you believe about Jesus determines what you do with him. Two shopkeepers were bitter rivals. Their stores were directly across the street from each other, and they would spend each day keeping track of each other’s business. If one got a customer, he ...read more

Scripture: John 11:45-53

Tags: Bitterness

They Are Who We Thought They Were

Contributed by Timothy Dolan on Nov 10, 2009

THEY ARE WHO WE THOUGHT THEY WERE How many have heard the apparently new cliché: "They are who we thought they were"? "Normally quiet Arizona Cardinals coach Dennis Green first uttered this trademarked phrase during a swear-filled, post-game tirade in 2006. When he was asked what he thought of ...read more

Tags: Apologetics Jesus

Denomination: Baptist

You Think He Was ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 12, 2009

"YOU THINK HE WAS MAD?..." An important business executive boarded the New-Orleans-to-Washington train. He was a heavy sleeper, and he needed to be awakened in order to get off the train in Atlanta about five o’clock in the morning. He found a porter and told him, "I want you to awaken me in order ...read more

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Peter Marshall's Calling

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 17, 2009

PETER MARSHALL’S CALLING In her book, A Man Called Peter, Catherine Marshall tells how her late preacher-husband felt a sense of destiny a sense of call in his life. One dark night, Peter, then a young man, decided to take a shortcut across the Scottish moors. He knew there was a deep deserted ...read more

Tags: Death, Call Of The Disciples

A Study In ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 17, 2009

A STUDY IN SERVICE As a student in seminary, my roommate had a job as a custodian with the school. After the first day on the job, he told he had been assigned to work on the first floor of a four-story building. "Basically there are four guys responsible for their own floors. I take care of the ...read more

Tags: Servanthood

The Power Of The Switch

Contributed by Imelda Mesa on Sep 27, 2022

THE POWER OF THE SWITCH – to some, the issue is not the light but our willingness/eagerness to turn the switch on! Example: Marie and Walter gifted us a 3-day tour in Canada - Kingston-Ottawa-Montreal-Old Quebec-1000 Islands The schedule is packed and the travel time between these places range ...read more

Scripture: John 8:12

Tags: Light, Darkness, Turn The Lights On

Denomination: Foursquare

Three Levels Of Fruit Bearing

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Feb 2, 2023

Galatians 5:19-23 describes the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit described by Paul in Galatians 5 is not something that is a goal for Christian living produced by the ability of the believer. No, it is the very character of Christ produced within us by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. In ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:19-23

Tags: Holy Spirit, Fruit Of The Spirit, Spiritual Maturity, Leaders, Spirit Filled Life, Fruit Bearing  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Deceitfulness Of Sin

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Mar 12, 2023

Radio personality Paul Harvey tells the story of how an Eskimo kills a wolf. The account is grisly, yet it offers fresh insight into the consuming, self-destructive nature of sin. "First, the Eskimo coats his knife blade with animal blood and allows it to freeze. Then he adds another layer of ...read more

Scripture: Romans 3:23

Tags: Deliverance, Sinners, Sin Nature, Death, Sin, Satan, Salvation, Temptation, Justification  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

You Are Your Own Worst Enemy.

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jun 26, 2023

"Cain slew Abel, but Cain’s worst enemy was himself". - R E Neighbour “There is an old Icelandic legend that contains its own lesson. There was a man who was constantly pursued by a terrible spirit which took the form of a dwarf. His grain ricks were fired, his barns unroofed, his ...read more

Tags: Offerings, Enemies, Murder, Self, Hate, Cain, Abel, Blood Of Christ  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Power To Be The Light

Contributed by Joshua Blackmon on Jun 3, 2024

Smartphones are amazing pieces of technology. Everything my generation went to RadioShack to purchase is now all together in the palm of our hand, including our flashlights. My grandfather loved flashlights. It was okay to get him a new one each year for Christmas or his birthday. He would take a ...read more

Scripture: Acts 1:8, John 15:5

Tags: Light, Holy Spirit, Power

Denomination: Pentecostal

Only Jesus Can Give This Kind Of Forgiveness!

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Aug 12, 2024

Bruce Goodrich was being initiated into the cadet corps at Texas A & M University. One night, Bruce was forced to run until he dropped -- but he never got up. Bruce Goodrich died before he even entered college. A short time after the tragedy, Bruce's father wrote this letter to the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:9-15

Tags: Eternity, Parents, Cross, Prayer, Lord's Prayer, Forgiving Others, Enemies, Fathers, Forgivness  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Refuse To Change

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Sep 5, 2025

I RATHER CHOSE INSANITY THAN CHANGE? I REFUSE TO CHANGE. I EXPECT THE WHOLE WORLD TO CHANGE! WHY SHOULD I CHANGE? CHANGE? THERE IS A WARNING OF TERRIBLE COST TO THOSE THAT REFUSE TO CHANGE. There was a huge oil tanker that carried over a million barrels of oil across the ocean. One dark, ...read more

Scripture: Daniel 4:22-31, Isaiah 43:19, Deuteronomy 31:8

Tags: Change, Adapt

Denomination: Assembly Of God