In Sermon Illustrations: "Genesis 1 1 2 4a"

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

Betty Crocker ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 10, 2009

BETTY CROCKER SALVATION In 1952, when the Betty Crocker company first began selling cake mixes, they offered a product which only needed water, and you would get a perfectly moist cake every time. But it bombed, and they couldn’t understand why! So they commissioned a study and found that people ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 16:25

Tags: Salvation

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

Drink Deeply  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 10, 2009

DRINK DEEPLY Picture this: You have just finished a ten-mile hike on a 95 degree day, and on the entire journey you haven’t had a thing to drink. Stumbling with thirst, you come to your father’s house and plea for water. With love and concern, he brings you a cold pitcher of water and a glass and ...read more

Scripture: John 4:1-26

Tags: Faith

Ray Of Light, Ray Of Hope

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 10, 2009

RAY OF LIGHT, RAY OF HOPE There is a story about how the caverns north of Yellowstone National Park were discovered. As the story goes, one of the original explorers was walking along the top of that mountain and fell through a hole, and he dropped down several hundred feet into this cavern and ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:14

Tags: God Brings Hope

The Bridge ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 10, 2009

THE BRIDGE BUILDER An old man, going down a lonely highway, Came at the evening cold and gray, To a chasm vast and wide, Through which was flowing a swollen tide, The old man crossed in the twilight dim, The swollen stream had no fear for him. But he turned when safe on the other side, And built a ...read more

Scripture: John 17:20-26

Tags: Unity, Christian Unity

Nicolaitan Compromise With Idolatry In Church Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 2, 2009

Nicolaitan Compromise with Idolatry in Church of Pergamum Bruce Longenecker's book, "The Lost Letters of Pergamum" (pp. 165-166) illustrates their teaching in a story about a Nicolaitan (Kalandion) that attended the Pergamum church. Kalandion is visiting a Christian who has been imprisoned for ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 2:12-17

Tags: Idolatry, Reputation

General Douglas Macarthur Unique Signature At The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 22, 2009

General Douglas MacArthur Unique Signature at the Japanese Surrender Ending World War II We need to understand not just the pain, but the power to come. We need to appreciate not just the hard times, but the victory ahead. We need to grasp not just the cross, but the crown to follow. On ...read more

Scripture: Mark 9:2-10

Tags: War

Vance Havner On How To Reach The Masses  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 28, 2010

VANCE HAVNER ON HOW TO REACH THE MASSES Preacher Vance Havner used to tell this story: Years ago a convention met in Indianapolis to discuss "How to Reach the Masses." One day during that convention a young man stood on a box on a corner and began to preach. A crowd gathered, mostly workingmen ...read more

Scripture: Romans 10:14-15

Tags: Evangelism How To

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

Yearning For Your Beloved

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Nov 27, 2010

YEARNING FOR YOUR BELOVED Hearing God’s voice begins as a matter of affection. We have to listen for the voice of God the way a lover listens for the voice of the beloved. During the year before my wife and I were married, I lived in a remote city, and what I discovered is that there is no pain ...read more

Tags: Love For God

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Jeweled Lady Of Pompeii

Contributed by Rodelio Mallari on Dec 31, 2010

THE JEWELED LADY OF POMPEII Of the 20,000 inhabitants of Pompeii, some 2,000 lost their lives, among them a woman who loved finery above all else. As the deadly rain of fire came down, she decided to run to the harbor and escape by ship. That was wise, but this rich and beautiful woman stayed ...read more

Tags: Materialism

Denomination: *other

Deceiving Ourselves: The Pentium Cover-Up  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2011

DECEIVING OURSELVES: THE PENTIUM COVER-UP Intel learned that its Pentium processing chip had a flaw. The chip would occasionally give wrong answers for division problems using large numbers. Intel believed this was a minor flaw, something they felt would affect the average user once every ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:21-23

Tags: Confession Of Sin

The Signet Ring

Contributed by Antonio Silveira on Sep 4, 2011

THE SIGNET RING "...I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you,' declares the LORD Almighty" (Haggai 2:23). We don't often hear about signet rings anymore; but in Bible times, they were very significant. f In other words, you knew something was from the king because it was marked ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 40:31

Tags: Attitude General

Denomination: Baptist

Sometimes We Must Start Over

Contributed by Brad Henry on Oct 18, 2011

SOMETIMES WE MUST START OVER When Jonah was in the belly of the fish he didn't know he was going to Nineveh. He thought his life was over. So he tried to make things right with God. Jonah 2:8 "Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs." So what does this mean? ...read more

Tags: Obedience

A Man Once Came To Peter Marshall, Former ...  PRO

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Feb 13, 2012

A man once came to Peter Marshall, former chaplain of the Unites States Senate, with a concern about tithing. “I have a problem,” he said. “I have been tithing for some time. It wasn’t too bad when I was making $20,000 a year; I could afford to give up $2,000. But now that I am making $500,000, ...read more

Scripture: Luke 16:13

Tags: Money, Tithes, Materialism

Denomination: Baptist

All Moms Know This Stuff  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 7, 2012

ALL MOMS KNOW THIS STUFF One mom was out walking with her 4-year-old daughter when her girl picked up something from the ground and started to put it in her mouth. The mother tells what happens in her own words: "I took the item away from her and I asked her not to do that." My daughter quickly ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 31:10-31

Tags: Mother's Day

Timanthes And The Do-Over

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Jan 5, 2013

TIMANTHES AND THE DO-OVER Over 2,000 years ago a young Greek artist named Timanthes (Tim-an-thes) painted this picture - The Sacrifice of Iphigenia. Before he painted this masterpiece when the artist Timanthes (Tim-an-thes) was a young man, he studied under a well-known and highly respected tutor. ...read more

Tags: Learning

Denomination: Brethren

Pray With Me: An Intercession Story

Contributed by Davon Huss on May 31, 2014

In his book Stories for the Journey, William White tells of a European seminary professor and his wife, Hans and Enid. During WW2 they escaped to America, where Hans began teaching in a seminary. Students loved this Bible teacher, and they enjoyed observing the tender love that Hans and Enid ...read more

Scripture: John 16:20-22

Tags: Grief, Prayer Partner, Intercessory Prayer

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Robes Of Righteousness

Contributed by Suresh Manoharan on Feb 28, 2015

Dr Ravi Zacharias came up with a true witty story of a New Zealand Shepherd who was happy on a Christmas morning, sad in the afternoon but once again happy in the evening. What exactly contributed to his mood swings? Here goes…in the morning two of his ewes’ “A” and “B” gave birth to two lambs “a” ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 61:10

Tags: Grace, Gratitude, God's Righteousness, Grimy

Denomination: *other