In Sermon Illustrations: "Free Moral Agency"

Erwin Mcmanus And His "John The Baptist"

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 28, 2011

ERWIN MCMANUS AND HIS "JOHN THE BAPTIST" As we begin today I would like to read a true account of an experience that pastor, speaker, and author, Erwin McManus had in the early years of his ministry. Listen to what he says... "I got a message through the urban grapevine that I was dead. It might ...read more

Scripture: Romans 1:14-17

Tags: Evangelism How To

Grocery Store Meltdown

Contributed by Eduardo Quintana on Oct 4, 2015

Many times you’ll have no clue what to do. But you still have to pretend you are in control. Like when your three-year old melts down at the grocery store. What do you do? You are wearing a "WWJD" bracelet and still you have no valid answer. You’ve read a ton of parenting books and although many ...read more

Scripture: Malachi 4:6

Tags: Parenting, Fatherhood, Dads

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Not Because Me, But Because Of You Lord!

Contributed by Charlie Roberts on May 12, 2019

Not because me, but because of You! Illus. From Guideposts, “Miracles of Healing” There was a woman and her son Mark that went shopping in a large department store one day. On their way down to the main floor her son hopped on the escalator. She then followed. Suddenly her son Mark screamed like ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:28

Tags: Mothers, Faith, Trust, Miracles

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Temptation Is Oh So Tempting

Contributed by James Snyder on Aug 7, 2021

At the beginning of the week, the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage informed me that she and some of her friends would be going thrift store shopping on Thursday. I nodded my head and smiled, not knowing where she was going with this. “Now,” she said, “you will have to take care of your lunch. ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:13

Tags: Temptations, Yielding, Humor

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Unsung Heroines-The Women Who Prepared Materials For The Tabernacle

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Jun 1, 2022

Introduction: The Tabernacle. For the first time in history, the God of Heaven agreed to dwell in one location with His special people, Israel. Sometimes it’s easy to get lost in the details of the construction, the listed steps and instructions, and other things but it’s important to remember: ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 35:20-29

Tags: Tabernacle, Offerings, Unsung Heroines

Denomination: Baptist

Touch My Coffee And You Die

Contributed by James Snyder on Mar 16, 2024

Recently, illegitimate aliens of the worst kind have invaded our house illegally. It came to a head just the other day when we were sitting down to lunch, and The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage had a lovely bowl of tomato soup. I forgot what I was eating because all the attention went to her ...read more

Scripture: James 3:5

Tags: Fire, Pest

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Second Thoughts Can Be Dangerous To My Health

Contributed by James Snyder on Mar 30, 2024

Many things in life can be rather dangerous. For me, the most dangerous things in my life are thoughts. I thought about this one day, and by the end of the day, I was in deep trouble. Thoughts have a way of doing that with me. My New Year’s resolution one year was to have one thought per day. ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 4:12

Tags: Obedience, Opinion, Thoughts

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Story Behind The Hymn "when Peace Like A River"

Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Oct 21, 2025

Story: The last but one time that I went to Israel , when we went to the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem our Guide pointed across Jersualem to some buildings and told us that is where Horatio Spafford used to live. Many on our trip didn’t know who Spafford was. Horatio Spafford, a well-known Chicago ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:24-34

Tags: River, Perspective, Horatio Spafford, Peace, Worry  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Anglican

[237 L] [12]. A Message From A Poem - Scenes From The Gospels - Part 12

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Dec 14, 2025

[237 L] [12]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM - SCENES FROM THE GOSPELS - PART 12 THIS IS THE LAST ONE OF THESE CAMEO SCENES 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 ...read more

Scripture: Luke 1:1-4, Matthew 13:10-13, Matthew 14:15-21, Matthew 7:13-21, Mark 11:12-13, Mark 11:19-22, John 18:1-11, Matthew 14:22-33  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Roman Cohort, Whom Do You Seek, Peter Had A Sword, Broad Way, Fourth Watch Of The Night, Five Loaves Two Fishes, Five Thousand Men, Jesus Cursed The Fig Tree, Fig Tree Withered, Judas, Betrayal, Malchus, Narrow Gate, Little Faith, Walk On Water, Fear, Disciples  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Memories Of A Magnificent Man

Contributed by Eduardo Quintana on Jun 12, 2017

My father was born in 1911. His older brother, his only sibling, had already died. His father died two years later. In that era no government programs existed to provide for them, so his mother, an Irish immigrant, moved in with his paternal grandparents. His grandfather was a blacksmith, and his ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 1:3

Tags: Fatherhood, Parenting, Legacy

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Temperance Reformation

Contributed by David Johnston on Sep 24, 2006

The Temperance Reformation This story took place in the years when social drinking was a common thing even among many of the churches. However, many men of God were beginning to speak out against drinking and taking a stand against it from their pulpits. One Sunday, the pastor, who was a ...read more

Denomination: Pentecostal

The Gold Watch- Lucille Wales' Husband Henry ...

Contributed by Lloyd Ludwick on Jan 15, 2007

The Gold Watch- Lucille Wales’ husband Henry retired from his job as a mechanic at the local Ford dealership he was given a gold watch inscribed with his name. Henry was so proud it became his greatest treasure. "Now I have something special I can leave to our son" he would tell his wife. But the ...read more

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Can We Love Someone We Find Unloving? Galatians ...

Contributed by Clifford Good on Jul 18, 2008

Can we love someone we find unloving? Galatians 5:13-14 says that we are given freedom to serve one another in love. Whenever I take a trip I come home with lots of stories that come out of the things I see and the people I meet. Here is a story from the last trip to highlight this point about ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:13-14

Tags: Love Of The Disciples

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

From Homeless To Home

Contributed by Sean Harder on Nov 19, 2008

FROM HOMELESS TO HOME A young woman about 20 years old had been living on the streets of a suburban neighborhood for about five years because of her severely abusive alcoholic parents. She was a pleasant-looking young woman behind the tattered and dirty clothes, oily hair, and dirty makeup-free ...read more

Tags: Examples Of Faith

Born Identity

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 28, 2008

BORN IDENTITY Jimmy Gupton tells of when he was 93 and ready to go on home to God. For the 1000th time, he had prayed for God to take him home. His wife had been gone for seven years, and it was getting harder and harder to go through the motions of the holiday. He had a big silver Christmas tree ...read more

Tags: Christmas

I Am With You, No Matter What: The Story Of Salty

Contributed by Rick Crandall on Oct 20, 2013

I Am With You, No Matter What: The Story of Salty Those people believed the truth about Jesus, and they received Him as their Lord and Savior. But we see more here in Acts 17:4. We see a commitment of their lives. Verse 4 tells us that these new Christians "joined Paul and Silas." The KJV says ...read more

Scripture: Acts 17:1-6, Matthew 28:18-20, Hebrews 13:5-6

Tags: Commitment, Faithfulness, Faithfulness Of God

Denomination: Baptist

From One Turkey To Another

Contributed by James Snyder on Nov 23, 2019

As a child, my favorite holiday was Christmas, second only to my birthday. These holidays were important because of the gifts I received. Oh, did I look forward to those holidays and all the presents I was going to delight in. And delight, I certainly did to the extreme. Then slowly things ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 3:10

Tags: Thanksgiving, Hoiliday

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Where Does Santa Get His Naughty Or Nice List?

Contributed by James Snyder on Dec 14, 2019

This week the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage approached me with a serious question. As far as I am concerned, life is full of questions, but coming from her, I need to be very careful. I have found out that a question with her is not merely a question. It can be a whole lot more than that ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 2:20

Tags: Christmas, Righteousness

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

What Would The World Be Without Apple Fritters?

Contributed by James Snyder on Apr 24, 2021

Stress is not something new in my life or anybody else's, for that matter. The thing about stress is that you never get used to it, or at least I don't. I don't know what I would do if one week I had no stress at all. When that happens, I'll let you know. This past week has not ...read more

Scripture: John 16:33

Tags: Stress, Pleasure

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Will We Be Served Coffee In Heaven?

Contributed by James Snyder on Jun 5, 2021

The last several weeks have truly been hectic in every sense of the word. Trying to catch up can be a never-ending job. When I think I’m caught up, I see another thing I need to do. I have learned that kicking the can down the street only hurts your big toe. With so much to do lately, it's ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 1:3

Tags: Coffee, Stress, Heaven

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance