In Sermon Illustrations: "Gifts Mercy"

Grace Or Permission?

Contributed by Norman Lawrence on Oct 12, 2008

Grace or Permission? You're worried about permissiveness—about the way the preaching of grace seems to say it's okay to do all kinds of terrible things as long as you just walk in afterward and take the free gift of God's forgiveness. While you and I may be worried about seeming to give ...read more

Tags: Grace

Denomination: Assembly Of God

What Must I ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 24, 2009

WHAT MUST I DO? Harvey Penick’s Little Red Book on golf has sold more than a million copies. It is one of the biggest things in the history of sports books. In the 1920s, Penick bought a red spiral notebook and began jotting down observations about golf. He never showed the book to anyone except ...read more

Scripture: Acts 16:29-31

Tags: Salvation

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

The Practice Of ...

Contributed by Bobby Scobey on Aug 6, 2009

The Practice of Restitution. Do those lofty ideals ever get put into practice? Yes, by specific individuals. Years ago we had in this church a man who had been saved after beginning to attend here. He was serious about Christ and had a strong desire to witness for Christ. The apostle Peter gave a ...read more

Tags: Repentance

Denomination: Pentecostal

Charles Stanley On Forgiveness

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Oct 22, 2009

CHARLES STANLEY ON FORGIVENESS Charles Stanley, in his book The Gift of Forgiveness, states, "A person who has an unforgiving spirit is always the real loser, much more so than the one against whom the grudge is held." He adds, "Un-forgiveness, by its very nature, prevents individuals from ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness For Others

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

A Christmas Story: Filling The Hole

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Dec 30, 2009

A CHRISTMAS STORY: FILLING THE HOLE One of the most popular films [of this season] is a little vignette set in the 50s called A Christmas Story. In the plot, young Ralphie sets his heart on an air rifle for Christmas, enduring ridicule and scorn in his quest for this gift he believes will make him ...read more

Tags: Desire

Denomination: Catholic

Stolen Art  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 16, 2011

STOLEN ART I was surprised to learn that if you had a museum that contained the world’s stolen art, it would be one of the biggest in the world. It would contain 174 Rembrandt’s, 43 Van Gogh’s, over 500 Picassos, and works by Renoir and da Vinci. You may remember that a few years back someone ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 9:23

Tags: Surrender, Jesus Christ, Right, Caesar, Render, Don't Give Up  (view more)  (view less)

Pain Passes, But Beauty Remains  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 26, 2011

PAIN PASSES, BUT BEAUTY REMAINS Pierre Auguste Renoir is a famous French artist who lived in the late 19th century to the early 20th century. He was known for his paintings, mostly depicting family life. But there was one disease that tormented this gifted artist -- he had arthritis that plagued ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:1-5

Tags: Suffering Joy In

Aussie Common Sense  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 3, 2011

AUSSIE COMMON SENSE Common sense is taking into consideration all the realities you see in front of you and coming to a right conclusion. After having dug to a depth of 10 feet last year, British scientists found traces of copper wire dating back 200 years and came to the conclusion that their ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 1:9-11

Tags: Wisdom

God Gives Us What We Need

Contributed by Tim Smith on Aug 13, 2017

Dana Chau tells the story about a missionary in Africa who had poor health and depended on goat milk for his source of vitamin. One day, the tribal leader came to visit the missionary. After a few minutes, it was obvious that the tribal leader was interested in the goat. The missionary decided to ...read more

Scripture: Titus 3:4

Tags: Provision, Giving

Denomination: Methodist

How Jesus Trained The Disciples

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Dec 2, 2020

Robert E. Coleman wrote the book, The Master's Plan of Evangelism, and gave us the principles that Jesus used to spread the Gospel around the world until He returns. Here is the list: 1. SELECTION:   “He chose from the twelve.” (Luke 6:13)  2. ASSOCIATION: The principle of ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 1:8

Tags: Evangelism, Outreach, Discipleship, Missions, Witnessing  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Recently I Received An E-Mail Which Dealt ...  PRO

Contributed by Michael Tkachuk on Dec 23, 2004

Recently I received an e-mail which dealt beautifully with the true meaning of Christmas. The theme of the message focused on children and was entitled, “Teach the Children.” Let me share it with you this morning. This is what it said: “I just finished the household chores for the night and was ...read more

Tags: Christmas Eve

Denomination: Catholic

Bill Hybels And Soccer Coach (Across The Room ...  PRO

Contributed by Paul Wallace on Feb 22, 2007

Bill Hybels and Soccer Coach (Across the Room p30) Bill tells about his sons soccer coach (Brian). One day he felt prompted to leave the sideline and go introduce himself and help put the balls and equiptment away. He wasn’t thrilled to find out Bill was a pastor. After several months of ...read more

Denomination: Wesleyan

Why Wait So Long-----I Worked For This Department ...

Contributed by Peter Loughman on Mar 31, 2010

WHY WAIT SO LONG-----I worked for this department store in SF for many years. We had a return policy that went like this: If you are not satisfied with what you purchased return the item for a full replacement or for full store credit. Now that may not sound like an unusual return policy, I’m sure ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness, Salvation

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Proud People Vs Broken People

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Nov 20, 2022

Proud people focus on the failures of others. Broken people are overwhelmed with a sense of their own spiritual need. Proud people have a critical, fault-finding spirit; they look at everyone else’s faults with a microscope but their own with a telescope. Broken people are compassionate; they can ...read more

Scripture: Luke 9:23, Galatians 2:20

Tags: Humility, Revival, Repentance, Pride, Brokenness  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[105]. A Message From A Poem – Godliness With Contentment Is Great Gain

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Jun 8, 2025

[105]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – GODLINESS WITH CONTENTMENT IS GREAT GAIN This is a one off for me in this particular style. I had in mind to write a song and got this far. The lyrics are not a problem, just the tunes. This poem would be a song for more than one singer as I see the parts in the ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:5-7, 1 Timothy 6:11, Hebrews 13:5, 2 Corinthians 12:10

Tags: Christian Poems, Godliness, Contentment, Gain, Materialism, Difficulty, Christian Poetry  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[237 C]. A Message From A Poem - Scenes From The Gospels - Part 3

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Nov 8, 2025

[237 C]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM - SCENES FROM THE GOSPELS - PART 3 They are here to enjoy! Scenes from the Gospels are very special to me. I love them. They have taken a lot of effort, and many, many months revision to get them as correct as possible with the difficult word limitations. ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 2:1-2, Matthew 2:9-12, Luke 24:13-32, Matthew 14:25-33, Matthew 15:21-28, Matthew 23:23-33, Luke 1:1-4, Matthew 13:10-13  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Parables, Poetry Reading, On The Emmaus Road, The Canaanite Woman, Pharisees, Peter Walks On Water, Stories, The Magi, Christian Poetry, Christian Poems  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Hat In Hand Thankfulness!" 1 Thessalonians 5: ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Nov 24, 2004

“Hat In Hand Thankfulness!” 1 Thessalonians 5: 12-28 Key verse(s): 18: “. . . give thanks under all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” Thanksgiving! It is easy to forget, especially when our lives are so filled with other things. Perhaps that’s why we have a ...read more

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Tags: Thanksgiving Holiday

Denomination: Lutheran

A Little Boy's Knots!" Revelations 19:11-17 Key ...

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Mar 15, 2005

“A Little Boy’s Knots!” Revelations 19:11-17 Key verse(s): 16:“On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KINGS OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” There’s something about being rescued this is so completely satisfying. A number of years ago (pre-cell phone days) I was driving along the ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 19:11-17

Tags: God's Provision, God's Forgiveness, God Cares, Protector, Provider, Strengthen  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Lutheran

Max Lucado: Angels Were Silent  PRO

Contributed by Daniel Devilder on Dec 4, 2006

Max Lucado (Angels were Silent) Describes how in a similar way we cry out for something to cut through the clutter of life, turning to faith and religion to give us simplicity, instead finding things just as complicated: Enter, religion. We Christians have a solution for the confusion don’t we? ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 23:1, Romans 11:3-6

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ