In Sermon Illustrations: "Fourth Watch Of The Night"

Everybody's Doing ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 9, 2008

“Everybody’s doing it.” This is a common phrase used today to excuse our behavior, but it is no excuse. We were shocked a decade ago when youth ministries guru Josh McDowell did an extensive survey of Bible-believing church teens that showed that more than half of them were sexually active, even ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 20:14

Tags: Purity

Why Am I So Exhausted?

Contributed by Nigel Heath on Sep 15, 2009

WHY AM I SO EXHAUSTED? I decide to water my garden. As I turn on the hose in the driveway, I look over at my car and decide it needs washing. As I start toward the garage, I notice mail on the porch table that I brought up from the mail box earlier. I decide to go through the mail before I wash ...read more

Tags: Goals

Denomination: Baptist

Recently My Family And I Were Traveling North On ...

Contributed by Chris Surber on Jan 19, 2010

Recently my family and I were traveling north on 251 to visit a local retail store. While we drove we noticed a huge plume of smoke in the air. As it turns out, we were not the only people in town who had gathered to witness the blaze at Crafter’s Village. Upon pulling into a nearby parking lot ...read more

Tags: God's Love, Purification

Denomination: Christian Church

Paul Brand's Missionary Mother  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 14, 2011

PAUL BRAND'S MISSIONARY MOTHER Dr. Paul Brand, a well known doctor and author, was raised in India. His parents were missionaries there. In his book, titled "In His Image," he writes about his mother. It is one of the most touching stories I’ve ever read. He writes that when his mother was 75 ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 2:1-13

Tags: Missions

What The Captain Means  PRO

Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on Oct 3, 2011

WHAT THE CAPTAIN MEANS The storm came suddenly upon the boat loaded with sailors. In a matter of moments hulls were broken, decks were awash, and sailors were floundering. But as quickly came the storm, so came the captain, maneuvering his large vessel between the waves and rescuing one sailor ...read more

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Agony Of Defeat

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 28, 2012

"THE AGONY OF DEFEAT" Some of you might remember the TV program "The Wide World of Sports". For many years, the opening of the program opened like this: "Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sport; the thrill of victory... and the agony of defeat." The opening illustrated "the ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 27:12

Tags: Change

The Orphan Train

Contributed by Sam Mccormick on Dec 15, 2016

THE ORPHAN TRAIN In the history of the westward migration in the United States, part of the story has been largely passed over. From 1850 to 1930, tens of thousands of those who populated the west were orphans--children from eastern cities who were without parents because of disease or the death ...read more

Scripture: John 14:18

Tags: Adoption, Rebirth, Orphan, Train

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Grace At Christmas

Contributed by Joel Arndt on Jan 9, 2020

Early on in my ministry, I was called to the home of one of the people in the congregation who said they had a Christmas gift for me. Shortly after getting out of my vehicle I heard shouting coming from the house that I was called to. I gently knocked on the door and the woman of the house opened ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 6:23

Tags: Christmas, Grace, Forgiveness, Gift

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Friends And Acquaintances?

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Jan 26, 2020

Junior high/middle school basketball is always fun to play, and more fun to watch. These youngsters have acquired some skill—more or less—and it’s still more for fun than for competition. Oh, sure, we wanted to win, and few athletes that don’t want to win will ever get very far in any kind of ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:3

Tags: Youth, Book Of Life, Athletics, Friends, Relationship  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Where Is God Working?

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on May 21, 2023

Pastor Henry Blackaby, of Faith Baptist Church in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Canada began to sense God leading them to an outreach ministry on the college campus. He had never done student work. Their church had never done student work. Their denominational student ministries department recommended ...read more

Scripture: John 5:17-20, Romans 3:10-11, John 6:44

Tags: Evangelism, Holy Spirit, Discipleship, God At Work, Joining God At Work  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Daily Warrior's Prayer

Contributed by William Akehurst on Jun 29, 2025

DAILY WARRIOR’S PRAYER HEAVENLY FATHER, I praise and worship you because YOU are GOD. I am honored to be YOUR servant and I take my stand today against the devil and his schemes against me, my family, and my ministry. FATHER, as I take up each piece of the armor, please secure it in place on ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-18

Tags: Warrior's Prayer, Armor Of God

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[255]. A Message From A Poem – The Blue Dragonfly

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Jan 8, 2026

[255]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – THE BLUE DRAGONFLY Forget about man-made complexities of life, and the intrusion of humanism into people’s lives. Forget about the complications of life that western, and developed societies have made things to be. The Lord does not want us to be burdened by all ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:6-7, Matthew 6:25-30

Tags: Dragonfly, Lilies, God Created, Photography, Insects, Christian Poetry, Christian Poems, Anxiety, Contentment, Care  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

This Past Thursday, I Had The Opportunity To Ride ...  PRO

Contributed by Gene Gregory on Nov 8, 2004

This past Thursday, I had the opportunity to ride with 2 deputies in the Oviedo area. That night, I rode with a deputy as he patrolled his area and one of the things we did was drive around behind many of the stores and shopping centers to make sure there were no problems there. Of the patrol ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 6:8, Isaiah 6:9

Tags: Salvation, Repentance, Confession Of Sin

Denomination: Baptist

Our House Was Directly Across The Street From The ...  PRO

Contributed by Brian Mavis on Oct 30, 2000

Our house was directly across the street from the clinic entrance of John Hopkins in Baltimore. We lived downstairs and rented the upstairs rooms to outpatients at the clinic. One summer evening as I was fixing supper, there was a knock at the door. I opened it to see a truly awful looking man. ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 139:23-24, Ephesians 2:10, Ephesians 6:10-20, Matthew 7:1-24, John 4:13-25, Genesis 1:1-12, Matthew 3:1-12, Psalm 105:1-3, 2 Corinthians 4:16  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Christian Love, Christlikeness, Compassion, Forgiveness General, Truth  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Old Fisherman  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2002

THE OLD FISHERMAN Our house was directly across the street from the clinic entrance of John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. We lived downstairs and rented the upstairs rooms to out patients at the clinic. One summer evening as I was fixing supper, there was a knock at the door. I opened it to see ...read more

Tags: Heaven, Human Body, Joy

In His Book, "Just As I Am", Billy Graham Writes ...  PRO

Contributed by Thomas Black on Feb 2, 2005

In his book, "Just As I Am", Billy Graham writes of the following event. "One summer while in New Jersey, I was having lunch at a roadside diner when I was greeted by a big, smiling man whose eyes grew large as he studied me. "Hallelujah!" he shouted, grabbing and pumping my hand. "What an answer ...read more

Tags: Doubt

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Rich Family In Church By Eddie ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 11, 2009

THE RICH FAMILY IN CHURCH by Eddie Ogan I’ll never forget Easter 1946. I was 14, my little sister Ocy was 12, and my older sister Darlene 16. We lived at home with our mother, and the four of us knew what it was to do without many things. My dad had died five years before, leaving Mom with seven ...read more

Tags: Money

Guidance Behind Enemy ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 30, 2012

GUIDANCE BEHIND ENEMY LINES Every Monday night, when I was not sacking groceries at the Piggly Wiggly, we would go to the library in Dothan. One Monday evening, I “accidentally” found a paperback copy of William C. Anderson’s book, BAT-21. It was a story about Iceal "Gene" Hambleton, a U.S. Air ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 119:105

Tags: Golf, Christian Disciplines

It’s My Birthday I’ll Lie If I Want To

Contributed by James Snyder on Jul 25, 2020

I’m not a proponent of lying. I don't like it when people lie. If they lie once, how do you know they're not lying again? Lately, I've been thinking about what the definition of a lie really is. Is there some time when telling a lie is the best to do? And, is every lie a ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 40:4

Tags: Truth, Humor, Lies

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Ants, Ants, Ants, Where's The Uncles

Contributed by James Snyder on Mar 27, 2021

I have learned in my life that the small things are the ones that get you down. You would think the big things are the ones to steal most of your time. But those big things call attention to themselves from the very beginning. You know they're there, you know you have to do something about it, ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 30:25

Tags: Humor, Ants, Small Problems, Uncles

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance