In Sermon Illustrations: "Friend"

General Douglas Macarthur I Shall Return

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Sep 1, 2021

Psalm 34:3 O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together. 4 I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. General Douglas MacArthur had a terrible battle. The struggle was against mighty odds. The ALLIED FORCES were lacking in support. There was ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 6:7-10, Luke 5:5

Tags: Heavy, I Shall Return, Weary

Denomination: Assembly Of God

I'm Only A General, But He's A Son!

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Nov 30, 2022

Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. grew up under the shadow of a large man. His father was the hero of San Juan Hill and the President of the United States. The pressure to excel often caused him problems, but Teddy, Jr. went on to be a highly decorated Brigadier General during World War II, receiving the ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 3:26-29

Tags: Children Of God, Authority, Sons, Mothers

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

C.s. Lewis And The Conversation Between Two Devils

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jan 2, 2023

One young devil asked an older devil: “How did you manage to bring so many souls to hell?” The old devil answered: “I instilled fear in them!” Answers the youngster: “Great job!" "And what were they afraid of? Wars? Hunger?” Answers the man: “No, they were afraid of the disease!” The ...read more

Scripture: James 4:7

Tags: Hell, Community, Devil, Relationships, Demons, Excuses  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

7 Ways To Build Self-Control

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Feb 27, 2023

To be self-controlled is to restrain ourselves by not giving in to our depraved desires. We can say “no” when everything in us is saying “yes” for all the wrong reasons. We deny worldly lusts when we withhold our consent from them and when we refuse the delight they suggest. God will give us the ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:22-23

Tags: Temptation, Character, Fruit Of The Spirit, Discipline, Works Of The Flesh, Self Control, Spirit Filled Life  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Strike While The Iron Is Hot - Salesman

Contributed by J Jeffrey Smead on Mar 3, 2023

Now ... Salespeople especially understand what it means to ... Strike while the iron is Hot I was reading an article written by Pat Zaby, .... a nationally known Real Estate speaker. He stated, ... One weekend, I told a friend that I was thinking of buying a convertible.... So, ... the first ...read more

Scripture: John 5:1-9, Mark 2:1-12, Mark 10:46-52

Tags: Moment, Strike, Awake, Act, Opportunity  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Anglican

You Are My Dear, Dear Child: I'm Delighted With You.

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Apr 22, 2023

A famous movie-maker had a huge legal wrangle with his longtime mentor and guide. The younger man simply couldn't handle criticism and ended up rejecting the person who had helped him so much. When it was all over, a close friend summed up the real problem. "It was all about an ungenerous ...read more

Scripture: Mark 1:9-13, Matthew 3:13-17

Tags: God's Love, Loved, Loved By God, Jesus Baptism

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Thief On The Cross Didn't Go To Church!

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Feb 3, 2024

A pastor saw one of his sheep in the grocery store and got around to asking where they had been lately. Was it something I said? Is it another church?" The man laughed and said, "Oh, no, we love you and the people of our church." The pastor was left to his own curiosity. He then ...read more

Scripture: James 2:14-26

Tags: Work, Excuses, Tithing, Thief On The Cross, Faith, Grace, Service, Baptism, Church, Salvation  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Singing When I Am Hurt?

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Jul 16, 2024

WHEN I AM HURT? GO FIGURE? I LOVE BIRDS. I LOVE TO WATCH BIRDS. EACH FAMILY OF BIRDS HAVE THEIR OWN DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS. In my limited study of birds I ran across WHAT IS CALLED ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SONG BIRDS. This SINGING BIRD is unique in many ways. This special little bird is ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 137:1-3

Tags: Hope, Sing, Song In The Night

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Putting Up Faith Or Fight When It’s Most Important

Contributed by Glynda Lomax on May 14, 2025

Over the decades of my life, I have learned there are some things in life worth fighting for and some not. We have to choose our battles and then fight with all our might those battles that really matter. Years ago, I attended the wedding of my niece, a beautiful blonde cowgirl. She married her ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-12, 2 Corinthians 10:4

Tags: Standing In Faith, Battles Worth Winning

Denomination: Charismatic

[281]. A Message From A Poem – The Lord Is

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Jan 31, 2026

[281]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – THE LORD IS This poem is the second shortest one I think I have written. I use lots of metaphors here – a metaphor is when you say something is another thing. A simile is saying something is like another thing. There is no rhyme scheme in the poem but there is ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 27:1, Psalm 18:2

Tags: Metaphor, Christian Poems, The Lord Is

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Story Of Apostle John - His Hobby

Contributed by J Jeffrey Smead on Feb 25, 2026

There are times ... when our lives move... so fast, ... that we need to slow down ... and let our souls catch up ... with our bodies. According to Early Church tradition ... when the Apostle John was Bishop at Ephesus, ... he had a hobby ... of raising pigeons. On one occasion... we are ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 46:10, Matthew 11:28, Psalm 37:7, Exodus 34:21, Ephesians 2:8-9, Hebrews 4:9-10  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Mind, Still, Hobby, Rest

Denomination: Anglican

Finishing Well

Contributed by Tim Smith on Aug 13, 2017

John Baker was too short and too slight to be a runner for his high school track team but he loved to run. His best friend was tall and lanky and had the perfect build to be a runner but wanted nothing to do with the sport. So John went to the track coach to convince him to let John on the team ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 9:24

Tags: Finish, Running The Race, Overcoming, Ending Well

Denomination: Methodist

Who Invented The Autocorrect?

Contributed by James Snyder on Apr 15, 2023

The other day I recognized something that had been happening for quite a while. As I was texting, I noticed that there was AutoCorrect. So whenever I spelled a word, it would finish the spelling before I was done. And, if I was spelling it wrong, it corrected me. A few times, I am typing a word, ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 119:11

Tags: Correct, Errors

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Don't Ever Tell John "Tex" Teixeria That Prayer ...  PRO

Contributed by Dana Visneskie on Feb 13, 2004

Don’t ever tell John “Tex” Teixeria that prayer doesn’t work. Tex spent his life as a fisherman in the channels of the Hawaiian Islands. On a deceptively calm night in 1967, Tex guided his 40-foot fishing boat toward the beach of an otherwise inaccessible canyon on the north side of Molokai. He had ...read more

Tags: Prayer Adoration

Denomination: Pentecostal

Years Ago, A Very Wealthy Man Shared With His ...

Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Dec 20, 2007

Years ago, a very wealthy man shared with his devoted young son a passion for art collecting. Together they travelled the world, adding only the finest art treasures to their collection. Priceless works by Picasso, Van Gogh, Monet and many others adorned the walls of the family estate. The ...read more

Denomination: Anglican

Marbles Of Love ...

Contributed by Joe Fain on Apr 6, 2009

Marbles of love ministry (As presented to Bible Baptist Church of Mt. Vernon, KY 40456) 1151 s. dogwood drive berea, KY 40403 859-302-2622 cjf3309@windstream.net Greetings in Christ Name: We would like to introduce you to a ministry that we feel God has laid upon our hearts to ...read more

Tags: Outreach

Denomination: Baptist

Lee Thomas On Praying For The Lost

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 26, 2010

LEE THOMAS ON PRAYING FOR THE LOST Prayer is really the starting place for all of our evangelistic efforts. We need to be like Paul in Romans 10:1, when he said: "Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved." *Lee Thomas is a great teacher on praying for the ...read more

Scripture: Romans 10:1

Tags: Evangelism The Lost

Authentic Or A Fraud

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Oct 30, 2010

Yesterday I was reading about a man called Han van Meegeren who was a Dutch artist and an extremely talented ART FORGER. He forged some of the world's most famous paintings so well that the best art critics and art experts of his time thought his paintings were GENUINE. Painting one of the finest ...read more

Tags: Miracles Of Jesus

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Lord Have Mercy Me

Contributed by D. Marie Hamilton on May 21, 2011

LORD HAVE MERCY ME I am a huge fan of the Christian band Mercy Me. They are my favorite band of all time! My favorite CD is Almost There. Those worship and praise songs inspire me to stay in the race even when I want to quit because working for the Lord can be overwhelming. I'm strengthen by ...read more

Scripture: John 21:20-25

Tags: Mercy

Denomination: Methodist

The Conflict Of Character

Contributed by Glynda Lomax on Dec 27, 2014

THE CONFLICT OF CHARACTER “You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.” - James D. Miles As she poured hot coffee into his mug early that morning, she noticed the guard’s countenance was more contemplative than usual. He was a man with ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 10:9

Tags: Truth, Integrity, Honesty, Christlike Character

Denomination: Charismatic