In Sermon Illustrations: "Getting Worse"

Secret Service Christians

Contributed by David Dunn on Sep 30, 2025

A man was coming out of church one day. The pastor stood at the door to shake hands and gently pulled him aside. “Brother,” he said, “you need to join the Army of the Lord.” The man smiled, “Pastor, I’m already in the Lord’s army.” “Then how come I only see you at Christmas and Easter?” He ...read more

Scripture: John 2:11, Matthew 5:14-16

Tags: Commitment, Discipleship, Kingdom

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

Can We Love Someone We Find Unloving? Galatians ...

Contributed by Clifford Good on Jul 18, 2008

Can we love someone we find unloving? Galatians 5:13-14 says that we are given freedom to serve one another in love. Whenever I take a trip I come home with lots of stories that come out of the things I see and the people I meet. Here is a story from the last trip to highlight this point about ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:13-14

Tags: Love Of The Disciples

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

And Then It Was Silent No More

Contributed by James Snyder on May 23, 2020

During this time of exclusive lockdown, I and the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage have grown accustomed to silence. Don't get me wrong here. I do not object to noise as long as it's the right kind of noise. However, I do have a good warm feeling about silence. What was that song? ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 3:13

Tags: Books, Silence, Noise

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

If I Had A Nickel For Every Blunder I Made…

Contributed by James Snyder on Jul 18, 2020

I am not very agile when it comes to finances. Do not get me wrong, I know how to spend money; it is just that I do not know how to save money. Somewhere I lost my little piggy bank. One of my father's favorite quotes was, "A penny saved is a penny earned." It never made sense to me, ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 1:8-9

Tags: Remember, Mistakes, Humor

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

When Everything Goes My Way

Contributed by James Snyder on Nov 7, 2020

I have had a certain dream many times over the years. Of course, it might lean towards being a nightmare if it does not come true. The dream is that one day in the week; I can have everything go my way. The nightmare part of that dream is that it never tells me which day everything will go my ...read more

Scripture: Amos 3:3

Tags: Partnership, Together, Choice

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Being Nice Does Have Its Rewards

Contributed by James Snyder on Nov 21, 2020

It was one of those weeks. It seems that every week of mine is "one of those weeks." Just when I think everything was looking fine, I discovered I was looking in the wrong direction. I should know better than thinking. Several problems developed with my vehicle, and I had to take it to ...read more

Scripture: Luke 6:38

Tags: Nice, Relationship

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Ants, Ants, Ants, Where's The Uncles

Contributed by James Snyder on Mar 27, 2021

I have learned in my life that the small things are the ones that get you down. You would think the big things are the ones to steal most of your time. But those big things call attention to themselves from the very beginning. You know they're there, you know you have to do something about it, ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 30:25

Tags: Humor, Ants, Small Problems, Uncles

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

What Would Life Be Without Mistakes?

Contributed by James Snyder on Oct 9, 2021

Let me be clear from the beginning. I have made a lot of mistakes during my life. I have made mistakes that I don’t even know about to this day. Even the ones I do know about, I cannot remember very clearly. Mistakes are a part of life. Unfortunately, some people believe they live their whole life ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 19:12

Tags: Mistakes, Cleansing, Errors

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

I Can Never Have Too Much Ice Cream

Contributed by James Snyder on Oct 30, 2021

It was one of those hectic weeks that flew by, and I didn’t know it until the end of the week. Friday night at supper time, it was one of those sneaky crashes. But, unfortunately, all the energy during the week had been pushing both of us forward, and we had no options but to keep plowing ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 56:11

Tags: Greed, Discipline

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

A Switch In Time On My Behind

Contributed by James Snyder on Apr 2, 2022

Recently, I was reminded of my father’s passing 12 years ago. It’s funny how time quickly goes by, and then something happens to remind you of the past. When I was growing up, spankings were normal. And, for someone like me, those spankings were quite regular. Today my father would be arrested for ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 22:6

Tags: Humor, Discipline

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

It Never Dawned On Me Until

Contributed by James Snyder on Aug 20, 2022

I must confess I am too poor to pay attention at this time in my life. I hope one day I will win the lottery and be able to afford to pay attention. But, of course, The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage says that you can’t win a lottery unless you play the lottery. Well, I don’t play the lottery. ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 3:5-6

Tags: Attention, Listening

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

What’s A Whopper Got To Do With Anything

Contributed by James Snyder on Jun 10, 2023

After my heart attack, The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage enacted a dietary regimen in accordance with improving my health. The theme of this dietary regimen is vegetables, vegetables, vegetables. I did not know there were so many vegetables in the entire world. Her primary vegetable, much to ...read more

Scripture: James 1:2-3

Tags: Diet, Patience

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

So This Is Old Age

Contributed by James Snyder on Jul 29, 2023

Dr. James L. Snyder The other morning I got up; at least, I tried to get up, but the bones in every part of my body had organized a labor strike against me. I’m not quite sure what they were protesting. As I lay there groaning over these bones, I did not realize how many bones I had in my body. ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 32:3

Tags: Age, Bones

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Where Did The Summer Go?

Contributed by James Snyder on Oct 14, 2023

This past week started out as the best week of the whole year. At least, I thought so at the time. I finished my book manuscript and sent it to the publisher. I caught up with some other projects that were lagging. And I had time to balance my checkbook. What could be better than that? The ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 118:24

Tags: Summer, Time

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Ice Cream Solves A Lot Of My Problems

Contributed by James Snyder on Feb 24, 2024

Like everybody else, I face problems almost every day. Or maybe I should say, my problem faces me. Every Monday, when I get up, I say to myself, “How many problems will I have this week? How many will I solve?” Unfortunately, myself never replies back. Problems are part of life, but it’s tough ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:6-7

Tags: Prayer, Problems, Decisions

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

And Then It’s Monday… Again

Contributed by James Snyder on Jul 26, 2025

I'm not sure if it's just me getting old or something altogether different. Time seems to go by fast. My father used to say, "The older you get the faster time goes." I'm finally beginning to understand what he meant by that. At the time, I laughed at him and didn't ...read more

Scripture: James 4:13-15

Tags: Time, Monday

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Is That My Grandfather’s Hand?

Contributed by James Snyder on Aug 26, 2025

This past week, I thought of my maternal grandfather. I haven't thought of him for a long time because he died over 50 years ago. I'm not sure what inspired me to think about my old grandpa. As a youngster, I used to spend summers with him on his farm. He owned a farm up in the mountains ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 17:6

Tags: Family, Old Age

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Where Oh Where Is My Hair

Contributed by James Snyder on Oct 25, 2025

It is true that I don't pay attention to many things in life. I guess I'm just too busy to notice everything. The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage always asks me why I'm not paying attention. To keep engaged in that argument, I say, "I'm too poor to pay attention. Could I ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 1:10

Tags: Bald, Old, Hair

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

The Train And The Boy  PRO

Contributed by Brent Williams on Jun 7, 2001

The Train and the Boy I would like to tell you a story about a man named John Griffith. John was the father of an 8-year-old boy during the 20’s and 30’s. John was very fortunate during those times, because he had job. John loved his son very much. He was the apple of his eye. John’s son was a ...read more

Tags: Sacrifice, Atonement, Christian Disciplines, Forgiveness In Jesus, Workplace  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

We Need To Understand That Our World Is A Fast ...  PRO

Contributed by Steve Malone on Sep 25, 2001

We need to understand that our world is a fast changing world. Change is not necessary bad - if fact change is normal - Change is really a sign of life. Do you know, what the medical definition of death is? a body that does not change... During my sermon your body is going to change - ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Tags: Change, Creation, Growth In Christ, Workplace

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ