In Sermon Illustrations: "Friends"

Bible: Life Support

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Oct 29, 2010

BIBLE: LIFE SUPPORT I didn’t always go to church; in fact, I didn’t start attending anywhere regularly until I was in the ninth grade. But I wasn’t exactly a stranger to church. Occasionally, this friend or that one would invite me to go to Sunday School. I remember one time -- I must have been ...read more

Tags: Bible Influence

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Redefining Sin

Contributed by Bret Toman on Jan 4, 2011

REDEFINING SIN "In recent years, and especially since the 1960s, the democratic societies of the West have been enlarging the boundaries of acceptable behaviour, in effect redefining sin. The sexual revolution of my youth dismantled barriers against premarital sex and encouraged open marriages. ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:1-11

Tags: Sin Exposed

Denomination: Baptist

Just Follow Directions  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 5, 2011

JUST FOLLOW DIRECTIONS Robert Kupferschmid was an 81-year old man who had no flying experience. However, due to a tragic emergency, he was forced to fly an airplane. On June 17, 1998, he and his 52-year-old pilot friend, Wesley Sickle, were flying from Indianapolis to Muncie, Indiana. During the ...read more

Scripture: James 2:14-26

Tags: Faith Vs. Works

The Sound And Wind

Contributed by Chuck Sligh on Apr 14, 2011

THE SOUND AND WIND The sound and wind symbolize the awesome power the Holy Spirit possesses! The Holy Spirit fills every believer with the same force and strength that was evidenced that day at Pentecost. I have seen the power of the wind. I remember as a teenager in Okinawa, about once every ...read more

Tags: Power

Denomination: Baptist

Hope Of Maria

Contributed by Ken Pell on Jun 5, 2011

HOPE OF MARIA Hope weans God’s people from seeking and trusting this world. The story is told of Maria. She lived in a small town in southern Kentucky. She did not see or hear from her husband for years. Edward was assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division during the Korean war and captured when the ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 3:2-3

Tags: Pleasing God, God Brings Hope

Denomination: Nazarene

Works-Driven Rituals

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 4, 2011

WORKS-DRIVEN RITUALS Every year a great throng of people make pilgrimage to the Shrine of Guadalupe in Mexico, a site where supposedly the Virgin Mary once stood...however unlikely that is. They go there hoping to get her attention, and to get her to intervene for them with her son Jesus. They ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 1:7-10

Tags: Action

Special Delivery: Miracle Mandy

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 11, 2011

SPECIAL DELIVERY: MIRACLE MANDY The doctor told Marsha Mark and her husband they needed to accept the fact they would never have biological children. Amid the discouragement, Marsha clung to a friend's words: "Somehow, Marsha, God is going to use your struggle with infertility for his glory." ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 113:9

Tags: Prayer Answered

Where Can I Get A Heart Like Yours?

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 12, 2011

WHERE CAN I GET A HEART LIKE YOURS? Bill White of Paramount, California talks about being in Compton, California, working with volunteers from several different churches on a Saturday doing projects to serve the city. At lunch time, he was headed down a narrow side street when he saw dozens of ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 2:11-12

Tags: Christian Witness

The Last Letter Of Karen Watson

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 18, 2011

THE LAST LETTER OF KAREN WATSON Our International Mission Board is working on a project called "The Last Letter." It’s actually an old tradition of soldiers and missionaries who as they boarded a ship, wrote their family and friends a letter that they think might be their final ...read more

Scripture: Mark 8:34-38

Tags: Missions

The Beginning Of Marilyn Manson

Contributed by Derrick Tuper on Feb 27, 2012

THE BEGINNING OF MARILYN MANSON Brian Warner started going to church with a friend years ago. Brian was a skinny pizza faced nerdy looking kid that nobody liked. He was also a loner who looked out of place most of the time. The youth group took a trip to an amusement park one weekend and when ...read more

Tags: Judgment

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Joni And Jesus

Contributed by Joe Bertone on Jul 23, 2012

JONI AND JESUS A vase of roses could always be found next to Joni's hospital bed. Although Joni was only five she had many admirers. She liked flowers. And she liked painting, crayons, the "play lady," and riding her IV pole like a skateboard down the hall of the hospital each night before going ...read more

Tags: Death, Heaven, Afterlife, Home

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

So Many Valuable Possessions  PRO

Contributed by Perry Greene on Sep 26, 2012

SO MANY VALUABLE POSSESSIONS Waylon Prendergast, 37, of Tampa, Florida, committed a spur-of-the-moment robbery while on his way home from a late-night drinking session. A very inebriated Mr. Prendergast forced his way into the house through an open upstairs window, filling a suitcase with cash and ...read more

Scripture: Luke 21:25-31, Luke 23:28-34

Tags: Blessing, Forgive, Nightmare

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

From Shackles To Statue

Contributed by Lee Strawhun on Sep 17, 2014

It was 1985 when Tim Cole was picked out of a lineup for a rape he never committed but would be convicted of and sentenced to serve 25 years. He was near the Texas Tech campus when the rape occurred and as a result was sent to prison because the victim picked the wrong man and the courts sentenced ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:5-9

Tags: Hope Of Justice, Victim, Forgiveness For Others, Continue In Faith

Denomination: United Methodist

Impersonating A Christian

Contributed by Shawn Miller on Jan 16, 2015

In her recently published book “Dance with the Devil” Barbara Bentley shares her experience with former husband, John Perry, a mysterious man, whose father was supposedly portrayed by John Wayne in a World War II movie. She fell in love with him when He dazzled her and her friends with his heroic ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:21-23

Tags: Hypocrisy, Day Of Judgment, False Believer, Imposter

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Loving Neighbour

Contributed by Don Berry-Graham on Feb 29, 2016

A Little Pointer on Keeping a Balance Here’s a little bonus tip that I’ve found helpful to keep my wits about me as I live next to these wild Vikings we call sinners, pagans, and wacko unbelievers while keeping my vertical relationship with God strong. It’s called “whimsical holiness,” which is ...read more

Scripture: Luke 7:34

Tags: Witnessing Tools, Loving Neighbor

Denomination: Baptist

Isaiah's Prophecies And The Dead Sea Scrolls

Contributed by Mark Stepherson on Jan 14, 2017

There was a time when skeptics claimed that the prophecies in Isaiah 53 were too detailed, too specific, too accurate to be mere coincidence. I agreed. But then the skeptics argued that the ONLY logical explanation was that Isaiah was written after the gospels and patterned the suffering Servant ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 53:1-12

Tags: Dead Sea Scrolls, Prophecy, Reliability Of Bible, Fulfilled Prophecy

Denomination: Baptist

The Horse Won't Stop!

Contributed by John Bright on Jan 17, 2021

There's this guy who had been lost and walking in the desert for about 2 weeks. One hot day, he sees the home of a missionary. Tired and weak, he crawls up to the house and collapses on the doorstep. The missionary finds him and nurses him back to health. Feeling better, the man asks the ...read more

Scripture: Mark 1:35

Tags: Supplication, Prayer

Denomination: Methodist

Pardoned Fugitive

Contributed by Roger Byrd on Jul 17, 2021

He was an unlikely criminal. In the difficult days after World War I, many veterans like Robert Elliot Burns had taken to “riding the rails” in search of work. A native of New Jersey, Burns had found the times very trying so when a friend told him of a job, he immediately agreed. The problem was ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 11:28

Tags: Pardon, Historical

Denomination: Baptist

We’re Not Always Headed In The Direction We Think We Are

Contributed by Glynda Lomax on May 30, 2022

Once while living in Dallas, I witnessed to someone I worked with who proceeded to tell me they believed they just needed to be a good person to go to Heaven. Though I explained what the Bible says about being saved, they rejected my witness and went on with their life. It was clear to me they were ...read more

Scripture: Jonah 1:17, Proverbs 3:6

Tags: Deception, Truth, Right Path, Wrong Doctrine

Denomination: Charismatic

The Marathon

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Oct 17, 2022

On Sunday, October 16, 2022 my daughter, aged 25, ran her first marathon – the Toronto Waterfront marathon. Though I’m currently living 3000 kms away in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada – I was there at the race to cheer her on. I was not prepared for the emotional intensity of the ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 12:1-2, 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, Philippians 3:14

Tags: Salvation, Perseverance, Gospel, Discipleship, The Cross  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational