In Sermon Illustrations: "Free Will"

John Ortberg In His Book, "Everyone Is Normal ...

Contributed by Alan Tison on Feb 21, 2008

John Ortberg In his book, “Everyone is normal until you get to know them” speaks of this dilemma of getting close to one another without getting hurt. With the following illustration; The North American Porcupine is a member of the rodent family and has about thirty thousand quills attached to his ...read more

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

I Want To Tell You A Story About Paul Morphy ...  PRO

Contributed by Aubrey Vaughan on Feb 24, 2008

• I want to tell you a story about Paul Morphy was the world’s champion chess player in the 19th century. One day he was invited by a friend to look at a valuable painting titled, “the chess player.” in the painting, Satan was represented as playing chess with a young man, the stake being the young ...read more

Tags: Good Shepherd

Denomination: Baptist

More Than A Decade Ago, Matt Thom, A Few Help...

Contributed by Charles Wilkerson on Aug 1, 2008

More than a decade ago, Matt Thom, a few helpful young teens and me conceived of and set in motion a tree house for our back yard. The tree had a great section where branches came together but it wasn’t large enough for a good side platform. Instead, we placed four 12’ pressure treated 4x4’s around ...read more

Tags: Workplace

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Kent Hughes, Who Pastored In Chicago, Tells ...

Contributed by Glenn Durham on Aug 13, 2008

Kent Hughes, who pastored in Chicago, tells something which happened to a dear friend. This lady was a missionary on furlough after a particularly difficult season of service. Now, for the first time since they had been missionaries, they had bought a place of their own to rest and recover. The ...read more

Tags: Mercy

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Myron

Contributed by Bobby Scobey on Sep 11, 2008

Myron Do you need encouragement on a smaller scale for a person with lesser abilities? Kenneth Dodge, San Leandro, California: In a small town in the Midwest where I spent six years of my early youth, there lived a mentally retarded adult named Myron. It was during depression years and there was ...read more

Tags: Disability

Denomination: Pentecostal

Heroes Who Can't Swim

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 28, 2008

HEROES WHO CAN'T SWIM Paul Harvey tells the story of Ray Blankenship preparing his breakfast and gazing out the window, when he saw a small girl being swept along in the rain-flooded drainage ditch beside his Andover, Ohio, home. Blankenship knew that farther downstream, the ditch disappeared with ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:13

Tags: Christian Disciplines

Without Realizing It Many Of Us Have Fallen Prey ...

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Jun 2, 2009

Without realizing it many of us have fallen prey to thinking that people of most significance are people like star athletes, actors, actresses, musicians, and even politicians. These are the ones we applaud and become excited to meet in person. These are the ones who we ask for their autographs and ...read more

Tags: Sacrifices

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Romanians Take Vengeance On Former Dictator, ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 5, 2009

Romanians Take Vengeance on Former Dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu A few years ago Nicolae Ceausescu, the cruel dictator of Rumania, was executed by revolutionaries. You probably remember seeing his bullet riddled body on the newscasts. The revolutionary forces emptied their rifles of ammunition as ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 16:5

Tags: Political Freedom

Do You Believe In The God Of ...

Contributed by Warner Pidgeon on Apr 3, 2010

Do you believe in the God of surprises? Now, let’s be clear, just in case anyone’s not sure. Although The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is one of my favourite books, and one of my favourite films, I know that it’s only make-believe; but just like the parables that Jesus told – the stories he ...read more

Tags: Narnia

Denomination: Anglican

Video Illustration: Wingclips.com Narnia Movie ...

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Apr 13, 2010

Video Illustration: Wingclips.com Narnia movie clip “The Wardrobe.” The following from Wingclips.com: Some journeys take us far from home. Some adventures lead us to our destiny. Based on the beloved classic novel by ‘CS Lewis’, Four London children are sent to a professor’s country home in order ...read more

Tags: Salvation

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

I Love You ...

Contributed by Donnie Martin on May 10, 2010

I Love You Enough “You don’t love me!” How many times have your kids laid that one on you? Someday when my children are old enough to understand the logic motivation [of] a mother, I’ll tell them: ü I loved you enough to bug you about where you were going and what time you would get home. ü I ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Chess Game With Satan

Contributed by Rodelio Mallari on Dec 12, 2010

CHESS GAME WITH SATAN From a great chess player of Cincinnati, we learn that in the early part of the last century an artist who was also a great chess player painted a picture of a chess game. The players were a young man and Satan. The young man manipulated the white pieces; Satan the black ...read more

Tags: Satan

Denomination: *other

Identity

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 1, 2011

IDENTITY Nicolas Sarkozy, President of France has proposed a decree that would ban anyone from wearing religious symbols of any kind. The decree is aimed particularly at forbidding Muslim women from wearing their traditional burqa with a full-faced veil. However the decree is broad enough that it ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 3:26-28

Tags: Religion

What Really Matters

Contributed by Ronnie Miller on Jul 28, 2011

WHAT REALLY MATTERS It was two weeks before Christmas and it began to start. Everyone was scrambling and rushing to get to Wal-Mart. Their credit cards were in the orange and checking account in the red in hopes that their rich uncle would soon be dead. Old Saint Nick sitting high on a mountain ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 9:6

Tags: Christmas, Season, Gift, Santa, Xmas, Clause  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Chess Game With Satan

Contributed by Rodelio Mallari on Jan 10, 2012

CHESS GAME WITH SATAN From a great chess player of Cincinnati, we learn that in the early part of the last century an artist who was also a great chess player painted a picture of a chess game. The players were a young man and Satan. The young man manipulated the white pieces; Satan the black ...read more

Tags: Satan

Denomination: *other

Nolan Ryan Didn't Change Me  PRO

Contributed by Tim White on Feb 1, 2012

NOLAN RYAN DIDN'T CHANGE ME In 1991, Ryan, our son, age 6 at the time, played Challenger Baseball, a modified version of the game for disabled children. At the end of the season, each child received an official Challenger baseball for his or her participation. We asked Ryan what he wanted to do ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 1:6-7

Tags: Sanctification

Denomination: Baptist

A Timely Testimony

Contributed by Tim Hinrichs on Feb 23, 2012

A TIMELY TESTIMONY Jim Cymbala tells an amazing story of one Sunday in his church: (Fresh Faith pp. 78-82) During the choir anthem, Pastor Jim was touched by the words of one of the young men who was featured as a soloist during the song. As the song concluded, Pastor Jim was strongly prompted ...read more

Tags: Testimonies About Jesus

Denomination: Lutheran

Horror To Hope—a Story From The Holocaust  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 7, 2012

HORROR TO HOPE--A STORY FROM THE HOLOCAUST In Jerusalem there is a Holocaust Museum dedicated to the memory of the millions of Jews who were killed by the Nazis in World War II. It has been said that going through the museum is a very depressing experience because you see these horrible pictures ...read more

Scripture: Job 42:10-17, Jeremiah 29:10-14

Tags: God Brings Hope

Thoughts On The Church

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Jun 20, 2012

THOUGHTS ON THE CHURCH Here are some thoughts on The Church from a few 30 on down in age, individuals from the book "The Relevant Church": Quotes: Tyler Watts, "I think I disconnect from the Gospel of Jesus Christ when I'm not involved in close relationships with other believers." Philip Evans, ...read more

Tags: Church General

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Witch Of Wall ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 13, 2012

THE WITCH OF WALL STREET Hetty Green, nicknamed "The Witch of Wall Street" (November 21, 1834 – July 3, 1916), was an American businesswoman, known for her frugality during the Gilded Age, as well as for being the first American woman to make a substantial impact on Wall Street. She was born ...read more

Scripture: James 5:1-6

Tags: Money, Greed