In Sermon Illustrations: "Free Will"

Currently Rudy Is Locked Up And Locked Up Is What ...

Contributed by Sam Wrisley on Oct 24, 2007

currently Rudy is locked up and locked up is what he deserves. I met Rudy 4 years ago. He was drunk at a bus station. He wanted a bus ticket and I bought it for him. It would not be the last ticket i would buy for Rudy. Rudy was arrested for robbery when he was 17. The judge sentanced him to ...read more

Scripture: John 8:34-36

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Our Family Dog Happy Is A Big Baby! For Such A ...

Contributed by Chris Surber on Oct 25, 2007

Our family dog Happy is a big baby! For such a big dog, she is afraid of some of the silliest and smallest things. Recently my wife and I were at the store and our two year son Sebastian saw a toy that he just had to have. It is a plastic ball that has little raised numbers and farm animals on ...read more

Denomination: Christian Church

Walking In The Confidence Of God

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

Walking in the Confidence of God Marks of Contentment "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.' So we say with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 13:5-6

Tags: Helper, Fear, Confidence

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

I Recently Heard Robert Fergusson A Minister At ...

Contributed by Richard Francis on Aug 19, 2008

I recently heard Robert Fergusson a minister at the Hillsong Church in Sydney define four types of people with a heart for people, people who are inspiring, not comfortable to be around, go out into communities to help the sick, wounded, bleeding, dying ones into a deep pool of blessing, these ...read more

Tags: Christian Values

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Nfl Quarterback's Pre-Game Generosity Impacts ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2010

NFL Quarterback’s Pre-Game Generosity Impacts Family There was a time when the bread-winner of the family worked a night shift in a low paying job and relied on food stamps to feed their large family. But that all changed after the Saint Louis Rams won the Super Bowl in 2000. And because of those ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 3:1

Tags: Generosity, Giving General

Game Of Chance

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Jul 9, 2010

GAME OF CHANCE A person recently said to me as they were dying that the Bible was just a series of myths and stories, and if I want to, I can choose to live my life assuming that it is. I can choose to treat heaven like a GAME OF CHANCE and the Bible as something less than a sure thing. I can ...read more

Tags: Judgment

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Make Your Home In Me

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 13, 2010

MAKE YOUR HOME IN ME If I’m not abiding in Jesus, then where is it that I abide? I once asked myself. I began to notice that when I was tired or anxious, there were certain sentences I would say in my head that led me to a familiar place. The journey to this place would often start with me walking ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:6-7

Tags: Anxiety

The Eden Project

Contributed by Ken Pell on Sep 13, 2010

In Cornwall, England, you can visit a place called “The Eden Project.” The Eden Project attempted to build the perfect environment in which plants and trees could flourish. Obviously named for the Garden of Eden, this collection of “biomes,” huge domes, provide a tightly monitored atmosphere with a ...read more

Tags: Stress

Denomination: Nazarene

In God We Trust

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 17, 2011

IN GOD WE TRUST I think it quite appropriate that on this day we celebrate who we are as a nation and reflect on how we came to be the nation we are. It is because we still stand firm in our national motto,” IN GOD WE TRUST”. Did you ever wonder where it came from – how did these words come to be ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 33:6-22, Proverbs 16:1-4

Tags: Independence Day

God's Chair

Contributed by Antonio Silveira on Feb 26, 2011

GOD'S CHAIR When I was small, I used to play a game with my friends called musical chairs. Do you remember it? The object of the game was to be in possession of a chair when the music stopped. All through life it often seems we’re caught up in this game. There are different kinds of chairs and in ...read more

Tags: Kingdom Of God

Denomination: Baptist

Church Asks Non-Participants To Leave

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 21, 2011

CHURCH ASKS NON-PARTICIPANTS TO LEAVE Just a few years ago, Larknews.com carried the following fictional piece of satire on its website. In the form of a news release, it reported: Julie and Bob Clark were stunned to receive a letter from their church in July asking them to "participate in the ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:15-16

Tags: Church Growth

Helping The Fallen

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 25, 2011

HELPING THE FALLEN One of the most touching moments in NBA history took place in a 2003 playoff game between the Portland Trailblazers and the Dallas Mavericks. Actually, it happened before the game began. Natalie Gilbert was a 13-year-old 8th grader who had won the chance to sing the national ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 2:5-11

Tags: Encouragement

What Really Matters  PRO

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: Luke 2:1-40

Tags: Christmas, Tree, Poem, Santa Claus

Denomination: Baptist

An Attack Of Conscience

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 8, 2011

AN ATTACK OF CONSCIENCE This was the story in MYFOX Boston from Friday 15 April 2011 41 years after the murder of 15 year old John McCabe of Tewksbury, three suspects finally go before the judge. 60-year-old Walter Shelley, of Tewksbury, and 57-year-old Michael Ferreira of Salem. New Hampshire are ...read more

Scripture: 1 Samuel 24:5-7

Tags: Conscience

America's Spiritual Bankruptcy

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 8, 2011

AMERICA'S SPIRITUAL BANKRUPTCY America is incrementally and systematically rejecting God. America’s moral bankruptcy is symptomatic of its spiritual bankruptcy. For example: • In 1962 the Supreme Court ruled against prayer in our schools. In 1963, they outlawed Bible Readings. • In Alaska public ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 14:34

Tags: America

Healing House: "I Thought You Were Dead."  PRO

Contributed by Tim Smith on Jan 6, 2013

HEALING HOUSE: "I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD." Healing House is in Kansas City, Ks. It's a home for drug addicts started by a woman named Bobbie Jo. Bobbie Jo had been walking the streets for many years but then someone cared enough to share the Gospel with her and she was born again. At the same time, ...read more

Scripture: Deuteronomy 26:1-11, Ephesians 2:1-10

Tags: Giving General

Denomination: Methodist

Pres. Teddy Roosevelt Once Told Of A Very ...  PRO

Contributed by Melvin Newland on Oct 11, 2001

Pres. Teddy Roosevelt once told of a very interesting incident in his own life. He wrote, "On the beautiful little island of Islamorada, there are several hundred homes that belong to people who come to stay for the summer. I fell in love with that island & spent 4 summers up there." "I had ...read more

Tags: Church Practices, Growth In Christ

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

John Hildebrand Who Has Lived In The Artesian ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 16, 2001

John Hildebrand who has lived in the Artesian Valley, near Fowler, Kansas, since he was two years old, remembers why the valley has the name it does. "There were hundreds of natural springs in this valley. If you drilled a well for your house, the natural water pressure was enough to go through ...read more

Tags: Christian Disciplines, Faith

Fear, Love, Joy  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 7, 2003

FEAR, LOVE, JOY In the movie First Knight, Lancelot (played by Richard Gere) is a wanderer and highly skilled swordsman who fights for whoever will pay him. Seeing a princess and her entourage under attack in the woods, he decides to save her. Attracted to the princess, Guinevere, he later visits ...read more

Tags: God Brings Hope, Love Of The Disciples, Joy

A Small Congregation In The Foothills Of The ...  PRO

Contributed by Richard Crow on Sep 2, 2003

A small congregation in the foothills of the Great Smokies built a new sanctuary on a piece of land willed to them by a church member. Ten days before the new church was to open, the local building inspector informed the pastor that the parking lot was inadequate for the size of the building. Until ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 21:21

Tags: Prayer Adoration, Prayer Answered

Denomination: Baptist