In Sermon Illustrations: "Freedom From Bondage" showing 6,721-6,740 of 18,016

Before You Judge

Contributed by Jim Kane on Feb 6, 2009

BEFORE YOU JUDGE Steven Covey recalls riding on the New York subway one Sunday morning. It was a quiet time with many simply reading the paper, resting, or thinking quietly to themselves. But the quiet was shatter when a man and his children entered the car Covey was sitting in. The man sat down ...read more

Tags: Judgment

Denomination: Church Of God

On Excellent ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 13, 2009

ON EXCELLENT WORK A year or so ago, on the cover of the New York "Herald Tribune" Sunday magazine, I saw a picture of the Statue of Liberty taken from a helicopter. It showed the top of the statue’s head. I was amazed to see the detail there. The sculptor had done a painstaking job with the ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 3:23

Tags: Christian Values

Finishing Well

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 17, 2009

FINISHING WELL Dr. J. Robert Clinton, professor at Fuller Seminary, did a study of male leadership in the Bible and determined that only 30% of them finished well. Wow! The odds are against us! Consider also this next example. The World Cup is over. Italy beat France in a shootout, 5-3, in the ...read more

Tags: Christian Witness

The Stages Of The Christian Life

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 24, 2009

THE STAGES OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE Several years ago I heard someone describe the Christian experience as similar to that of a piano player, and suddenly the commands of the Bible made more sense and seemed less daunting. When a person begins playing piano, do we expect them to play a piece by ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 2:1-3

Tags: Growth In Christ

Staring At The Gates Of Hell

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 28, 2009

STARING AT THE GATES OF HELL Auguste Rodin was a French impressionist sculptor. He created The Thinker. The Thinker was originally meant to sit on top of Rodin’s greatest masterpiece, the Gates of Hell. The Thinker is contemplating an eternity of judgment separated from God. Author Neil Cole ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 16:18

Tags: Church Purpose Of

Three Types Of Arrows Used By The Roman ...

Contributed by Rev Dr Randall M Deal Sr on Jun 7, 2009

Three types of arrows used by the Roman military: 1. plain arrows – like arrows you’d shoot from a bow today. 2. Arrows that were dipped into tar, set on fire, and then shot through the air… with brush all around…soldiers intentionally try to catch the arrows into their shields…so they’d stick and ...read more

Tags: War

Denomination: Baptist

Divorce Barbie

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 25, 2009

DIVORCE BARBIE Too many times, we are more concerned with what we get out of giving than what we are trying to give in the first place. A father was sitting in his chair one night reading the paper. All of a sudden, he realized it was his young daughter’s birthday, and he had forgotten to get her ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:38-42

Tags: Giving Yourself

Because Dad ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 10, 2009

BECAUSE DAD CRIED The great author Walter Wangerin has a wonderful story, called "Matthew, Seven, Eight, and Nine" where he writes: "I tried to stop my son Matthew from stealing comic books. I even took him to the police station and reported his actions to a detective who I thought scared the ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 13:24

Tags: Parenting

Christian Maturity: It's In The Details

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 16, 2009

CHRISTIAN MATURITY: IT'S IN THE DETAILS Ted Williams, who died in 2002 was arguably the best hitter baseball has ever known. He was the last baseball player to hit better than .400 in a season. Upon his death, George Will said in his column "There is no joy in Red Sox Nation, a.k.a. New England, ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 5:14

Tags: Growth In Christ

An Old Preacher Wants To Die Between Two Greedy ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 16, 2009

An Old Preacher Wants To Die Between Two Greedy Men from His Congregation An old preacher was dying. He sent a message for his banker and his lawyer, both church members, to come to his home. When they arrived, they were ushered up to his bedroom. As they entered the room, the preacher held out his ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:3-7

Tags: Greed

Elizabeth Elliot On His Sufficient Grace For ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 22, 2009

Elizabeth Elliot on His Sufficient Grace for Discipleship It’s the anticipation of that “glory of victory” that helps us to persevere in the hard times. It’s the assurance of that coming crown that helps us bear our cross today. Just one year after her husband was slain in Ecuador, along with ...read more

Scripture: Luke 14:26-27

Tags: Discipleship, Count The Cost

General Ulysses S. Grant's Loyal Friend, John A. ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 1, 2009

General Ulysses S. Grant’s Loyal Friend, John A. Rawlins General Ulysses S. Grant, who commanded the Union soldiers for Lincoln, was such a disciplined hard man on his soldiers that few knew of his weakness for liquor. One of those who was keenly aware of Grant’s shortcoming was his faithful ...read more

Scripture: 1 Samuel 18:1-5

Tags: Friendship General

The Explosive Christmas Story  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 7, 2009

THE EXPLOSIVE CHRISTMAS STORY James Martin tells about a trip to the Holy Land. While there, he buys a nativity set for his Sunday School class. It was carved out of olive wood in the town of Bethlehem and had all the traditional figures: sheep and oxen; wise men and the shepherds; Mary, Joseph, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 2:1-23

Tags: Birth Of Jesus

Boice On The Virgin Birth  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 28, 2009

BOICE ON THE VIRGIN BIRTH One well-known Christian author, James Montgomery Boice, eloquently documents amazing things Jesus’ virgin birth, sinless life and sacrificial death accomplished for mankind as an amazing sign of His love. Jesus endured a human birth to give us a new spiritual birth. ...read more

Scripture: John 1:14

Tags: Birth Of Jesus

A Christmas Story: Filling The Hole

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Dec 30, 2009

A CHRISTMAS STORY: FILLING THE HOLE One of the most popular films [of this season] is a little vignette set in the 50s called A Christmas Story. In the plot, young Ralphie sets his heart on an air rifle for Christmas, enduring ridicule and scorn in his quest for this gift he believes will make him ...read more

Tags: Desire

Denomination: Catholic

Gary Smalley's Daughter Carrie Came To Him One ...

Contributed by Davon Huss on Jan 25, 2010

Gary Smalley’s daughter Carrie came to him one day and said, “Dad, I know that you love us and I know that you love Michael (one of his sons), but you are always picking on Michael, you are constantly criticizing Michael. Dad, what you are doing is like someone who is locked in a room and someone ...read more

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Tags: Encouragement

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

One Of Them Men That Served As A Role Model For ...

Contributed by Jim Kane on Feb 27, 2010

One of them men that served as a role model for me in my early adult life was Dr. David McKenna, fourth president of Asbury Seminary. Dr. McKenna is a man of deep faith and wrote many wonderful books about leadership and service. One of the stories that I remember from his chapel remarks had to do ...read more

Tags: Obedience

Denomination: Church Of God

N. T. Wright Is The Bishop Of Durham And A New ...

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Mar 6, 2010

N. T. Wright is the bishop of Durham and a New Testament scholar without equal in my judgment. Bishop Wright describes the kingdom as God’s “ultimate future and urgent present.” What does he mean? He means what so many others mean when they say the kingdom is both now and not yet. There is a ...read more

Tags: Kingdom Of God

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Psychoanalyst Victor Frankl And His Friends ...

Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on Mar 23, 2010

The psychoanalyst Victor Frankl and his friends were imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp during World War II. It was winter. They had been marched off to work in the morning, spent the day at hard labor, been given only a little thin soup to eat, and then staggered back to camp in the late ...read more

Tags: Hope, Security

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Why Circumcision? Why Not A Tattoo On The Arm Or ...

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Apr 10, 2010

WHY CIRCUMCISION? Why not a tattoo on the arm or something similar? Circumcision was a hidden sign. It seems to me it has something to do with the promise of Abraham having many descendants, being fruitful and multiplying. The sign reaffirms God's promise right at the very place where the sexual ...read more

Tags: Marriage Faithfulness

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational