In Sermon Illustrations: "Genesis 1 4 1"

I Read About How Japan Celebrates Christmas, ...

Contributed by Scott Weber on Dec 16, 2005

I read about how Japan celebrates Christmas, which has become a major event over there. They put up decorations, exchange presents, send cards, sing yuletide songs, decorate trees, serve special seasonal treats (especially strawberry-decorated cakes), and make a big fuss over St Nick, Rudolph and ...read more

Tags: Christmas

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Pastors Perceptions: Barna Research Has Recently ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

Pastors Perceptions: Barna Research has recently completed an extensive survey of Senior Pastors in America. 83% describe themselves as "evangelical Protestant and 81% say they are "theologically conservative." 37% claimed to be Wesleyan or Arminian and 32% are Reformed or Calvinist in their ...read more

Tags: Church General

Joe Theismann Enjoyed An Illustrious 12-Year ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 10, 2006

Joe Theismann enjoyed an illustrious 12-year career as quarterback of the Washington Redskins. He led the team to two Super Bowl appearances--winning in 1983 before losing the following year. When a leg injury forced him out of football in 1985, he was entrenched in the record books as Washington’s ...read more

Tags: Christian Values

No Trust Or Full Trust — Haddon Robinson  PRO

Contributed by Christian Cheong on Oct 15, 2006

No Trust or Full Trust - Haddon Robinson Years ago, Monroe Parker was traveling through South Alabama on a hot day. He stopped at a watermelon stand, picked out a watermelon, and asked the proprietor how much it cost. "It’s $1.10," he replied. Parker dug into his pocket, found only a bill and ...read more

Tags: Doubt

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Many Of Us Live Our Lives Like Monopoly. You ...

Contributed by D. Greg Ebie on Nov 16, 2006

Many of us live our lives like MONOPOLY. You know how the game works. Players accumulate property, build houses and hotels, and then wait for the other players to land on their property so they have to pay up. Eventually you hope to bankrupt everyone else and have all the money and property. ...read more

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Life Examples: Isaiah: A Life-Changing Encounter ...  PRO

Contributed by Nathan Parker on Mar 10, 2007

Life Examples: Isaiah: A Life-Changing Encounter (Isaiah 6:1-7) Isaiah’s whole life changed when he saw the majestic Lord seated on His heavenly throne. His awesome vision of God pierced him to cry out, "I am a man of unclean lips...For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts" (Isaiah 6:5). ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 6:1-7, John 3:1

Tags: Patches, Heart, Fix

Denomination: Baptist

Do You Remember The Symbolism Behind Water ...  PRO

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Apr 3, 2007

Do you remember the symbolism behind Water Baptism? The 2nd step of submersion in Water Baptism deals with a circumcision of the heart according to Francis Anfuso’s booklet Water Baptism he states on page 12: a. In the Old Testament, God established circumcision to be an outward work which ...read more

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Phil Vischer's Fresh ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 17, 2009

PHIL VISCHER’S FRESH START Phil Vischer is the creator of Veggie Tales. He is the voice of Bob the Tomato and other various characters. In 2004, Phil was one of the guest speakers at my minister’s convention that I attend each year. Phil told about his dream coming to an end. He told about Big ...read more

Tags: Mistakes, Trust God

I Wish I Could Be Like That  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 17, 2009

I WISH I COULD BE LIKE THAT It was the Christmas season and Paul had received a special pre-Christmas gift from his brother. It was a beautiful brand new automobile. On Christmas Eve, when Paul came out of his office, a street kid was walking around the shiny new car, admiring it. When Paul ...read more

Tags: Christian Love

Deprived Of God's Light

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 17, 2009

DEPRIVED OF GOD’S LIGHT I was reading in one of the CIA espionage or spy books I love to read, and the writer was discussing the strange effects we suffer when we are deprived of sunlight during the winter months. Drs. Michael Terman and Jamie Rifkin wrote: "During the cold war with Russia, B-52 ...read more

Tags: Christian Disciplines

You Know Not ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 24, 2009

YOU KNOW NOT WHEN The people of Martinique sent representatives to that smoldering volcano, Mount Pelee, to see what the condition was. They returned and gave false reports and the city slept on, in all its vice. Nature took warning and the reptiles commenced crawling down the mountainside, birds ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 24:43-44

Tags: Second Coming

Prayer Improves Health Care For Coronary ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 7, 2009

PRAYER IMPROVES HEALTH CARE FOR CORONARY PATIENTS Research at San Francisco General Hospital has revealed that victims of heart attack, heart failure and other cardiac problems who were remembered in prayers fared better than those who were not. Cardiologist Randy Byrd assigned 192 patients to the ...read more

Scripture: James 5:13-16

Tags: Prayer General

Minimum Pleasure, Maximum ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 8, 2009

MINIMUM PLEASURE, MAXIMUM PENALTY When we sin, we often do so with the futile hope that we shall obtain the maximum amount of pleasure at the minimum penalty. It seldom works that way, however. I once heard the story of a man and his wife who decided to go to a drive-in movie. They thought the ...read more

Tags: Sin Wages Of

Worship In Spirit And ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 9, 2009

WORSHIP IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH When Lawrence of Arabia was in Paris with some of his Arab friends after World War I, he took them to see the sights of the city. His friends showed little interest in the Louvre, the Arch of Triumph, or Napoleon’s tomb. The thing that really interested them was the ...read more

Scripture: John 4:23

Tags: Worship General

As For Me — "Henry"

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 9, 2009

AS FOR ME -- "Henry" Dangling over eternity are many unlearned souls, Gripping the bands of God’s mercy, Stretching them all they can go, Living the most deceptive nightmare, As it is written, they are living a lie, They can’t even allow themselves the luxury of breaking down to cry, Unable to ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 14:12

Tags: Endurance

Evangelism Is Just The Beginning

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 14, 2009

EVANGELISM IS JUST THE BEGINNING Many feel that the mission of the church is to merely be witnesses to a lost world. It is true that we are to bear witness of the risen Christ and His transforming power. We are told in Acts 1:8 that we are to be His witnesses to the ends of the world. Again we are ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:18-20

Tags: Discipleship

It Is A Terrible Thing For One¡¦s Destiny To Be ...

Contributed by Akinsanya Adubi on Sep 21, 2009

It is a terrible thing for one¡¦s destiny to be truncated. This is a true story. There were two pastors driving on one of the roads in Lagos, Nigeria. One is a Nigerian, the other a foreigner. They got to a point under a bridge, where the people that we called "area boys" were begging for money ...read more

Tags: Anxiety

Denomination: Pentecostal

Redeeming The Rag, Tag And Bobtail

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 26, 2010

REDEEMING THE RAG, TAG AND BOBTAIL Luke 19:10 "...the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." In the 3rd-century, a skeptic named Celsus made fun of Origen (a Christian leader of day) "When most teachers go forth to teach, they cry, ’Come to me, you who are clean and worthy,’ and they ...read more

Scripture: Luke 19:10

Tags: Evangelism The Lost

A Child's Sincere Worship Heard In A Man's ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 6, 2010

A Child’s Sincere Worship Heard in a Man’s Dream A man was carried in a dream to a church. In his vision he saw the organist vigorously playing the organ, but no sound was heard. The choir and congregation began to sing, but their voices were not heard. Then the minister began, energetically, to ...read more

Scripture: John 4:23-24

Tags: Worship General

Should Christians Attend Church?  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 6, 2010

SHOULD CHRISTIANS ATTEND CHURCH? An old question: "Can I be a Christian without joining the church or attending worship?" Answer: "Yes, it is possible. But it is something like being: a. A student who will not go to school; b. A soldier who will not join the army; c. A citizen who does not pay ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 10:24-25

Tags: Church Body Of Christ