In Sermon Illustrations: "Gift Of Salvation"

Without God

Contributed by John Raulerson on Oct 15, 2005

(Rick Warren, Purpose Driven Life, p21) Andrei Bitov, a Russian novelist, grew up under an atheist communist regime. But God got his attention one dreary day. He recalls, “In my twenty-seventh year, while riding the metro in Leningrad I was overcome with a despair so great that life seemed to ...read more

Tags: Assurance Of Salvation

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Protestants Are More Than Twice As Likely As ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 10, 2006

Protestants are more than twice as likely as Catholics to be born again Christians (57% vs. 22%). (Foster ...read more

Tags: Assurance Of Salvation

An Asian Warlord Was Defeated In Battle. He Was ...

Contributed by Gene Gregory on Mar 21, 2006

An Asian warlord was defeated in battle. He was locked up in solitary confinement, discouraged, ready to give up until he saw a little ant in a corner of his cell. This ant tried to carry a kernel of corn over a wall. The kernel was larger than the ant itself. Sixty-nine times the ant tried to ...read more

Tags: Assurance Of Salvation

Denomination: Baptist

When A Calvinist Says That All Things Happen ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 10, 2006

When a Calvinist says that all things happen according to the predestination of God, he speaks the truth, and I am willing to be called a Calvinist. But when an Arminian says that when a man sins, the sin is his own, and that if he continues in sin, and perishes, his eternal damnation will lie ...read more

Tags: Assurance Of Salvation

After John Wesley Had Been Preaching For Some ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 10, 2006

After John Wesley had been preaching for some time, some one said to him, "Are you sure, Mr. Wesley, of your salvation?" "Well," he answered, "Jesus Christ died for the whole world." "Yes, we all believe that; but are you sure that you are saved?" Wesley replied that he was sure that provision had ...read more

Tags: Assurance Of Salvation

An Elderly Man Said To H.a. Ironside, "I Will Not ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 10, 2006

An elderly man said to H.A. Ironside, "I will not go on unless I know I’m saved, or else know it’s hopeless to seek to be sure of it. I want a definite witness, something I can’t be mistaken about!" Ironside replied, "Suppose you had a vision of an angel who told you your sins were forgiven. Would ...read more

Tags: Assurance Of Salvation

The Unsaved Come Most Freely, Being Made Willing ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 17, 2006

The unsaved come most freely, being made willing by His grace. ...read more

Tags: Assurance Of Salvation

There Is Only One Thing About Which I Am ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"There is only one thing about which I am certain, and that is that there is very little ...read more

Tags: Assurance Of Salvation

The Breakfast Of Champions Is Not Cereal, Its ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"The breakfast of champions is not cereal, its ...read more

Tags: Assurance Of Salvation

When I Was A Boy, My Father, A Baker, ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

“When I was a boy, my father, a baker, introduced me to the wonders of song,” tenor Luciano Pavarotti relates. “He urged me to work very hard to develop my voice. Arrigo Pola, a professional tenor in my hometown of Modena, Italy, took me as a pupil. I also enrolled in a teachers college. On ...read more

Tags: Assurance Of Salvation

There's An Old Saying That Goes Something Like ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

There’s an old saying that goes something like this: “Some people will change when they see the light. Other ...read more

Tags: Assurance Of Salvation

When The Author Walks Onto The Stage, The Play ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

“When the author walks onto the stage, the play is over. God is going to invade, all right; but what is the good of saying you are on His side then, when you see the whole natural universe melting away like a dream and something else comes crashing in? This time it will be God without disguise; ...read more

Tags: Assurance Of Salvation

Tom Carried His New Boat To The Edge Of The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Tom carried his new boat to the edge of the river. He carefully placed it in the water and slowly let out the string. He marvelled at how well the ship he built moved in the water. Tom sat in the warm sunshine and enjoyed the boat. Suddenly a strong current caught the boat. Tom tried to pull it ...read more

Tags: Assurance Of Salvation

Fanny Crosby, Blinded By An Illness At 6 Weeks ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Fanny Crosby, blinded by an illness at 6 weeks of age, would grow to write over 9,000 poems and hymns. One of her many hymns begin this way: Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it, Redeemed by the blood of the ...read more

Tags: Assurance Of Salvation

C. H. Spurgeon, A Baptist Minister In The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

C. H. Spurgeon, a Baptist minister in the mid-eighteen hundreds, claimed that 98 percent of the people he met-- including the criminals he visited in England’s prisons--told him that they believed the Bible to be true. But the vast majority had never made a ...read more

Tags: Assurance Of Salvation

At A Meeting Of The American Psychological ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

At a meeting of the American Psychological Association, Jack Lipton, a psychologist at Union College, and R. Scott Builione, a graduate student at Columbia University, presented their findings on how members of the various sections of 11 major symphony orchestra perceived each other. The ...read more

Tags: Assurance Of Salvation

I Like The Story Of A Couple Celebrating Their ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

I like the story of a couple celebrating their 50th anniversary. She offered her secret to long and happy marriage: "On my wedding day, I decided to make a list of ten of my husband’s faults which, for the sake of our marriage, I would overlook." One guest asked what some of them were. "To tell ...read more

Tags: Marriage, Salvation

During The Vietnam War A Rural Village Had Been ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

During the Vietnam war a rural village had been bombed and an orphanage run by missionaries had been hit. An 8 year old girl had multiple injuries and was bleeding profusely. A Navy doctor and nurse came but only had their medical kits. The girl was in critical condition and needed an immediate ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Tags: Thought, Salvation

A $200 Life-Changing Miracle

Contributed by Rick Crandall on Aug 23, 2007

*Did you see the story in the Baptist Message about the two seminary students in New Orleans, who stopped at a local grocery store? It happened years ago, and one of the students was Don Wilton. *In the store they noticed a scruffy looking couple with a baby dressed only in a diaper. God’s Spirit ...read more

Scripture: Romans 1:9-17

Tags: Salvation, Testimonies

Denomination: Baptist

Writing In The Christian Reader, Laura Conklin ...

Contributed by R. David Reynolds on Mar 23, 2008

Writing in The Christian Reader, Laura Conklin shares a family story. “My husband and I home school our two children, Seth and Glenna. One day, the lesson was on opposites. “Glenna, who was six at the time, was being quizzed. I would say a word and she would give its opposite. “When I said, ...read more

Tags: Assurance Of Salvation

Denomination: Methodist