In Sermon Illustrations: "Gifts Talents"

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

I Love A Mystery When It's A Mystery

Contributed by James Snyder on Aug 1, 2020

Because of the situation we are in these days, the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage and I have spent some significant time watching mysteries. We enjoy a mystery movie. I have always loved mysteries. I have read all of the Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. I have read the Father ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 25:14

Tags: Mystery, Wager

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

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

You See, The Witch Knew Of The Deep Magic From ...

Contributed by Clark Tanner on Sep 27, 2005

You see, the Witch knew of the Deep Magic from the Dawn of Time. But she was not aware of the Deeper Magic from Before the Dawn of Time, as Aslan explained it to Susan and Lucy. He said that according to a decree from before the Witch’s time, “when a willing victim who had committed no treachery ...read more

Denomination: Orthodox

Antonio Was An Italian Boy Who Loved Music, But ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 15, 2005

Antonio was an Italian boy who loved music, but whenever he tried to sing the music that was in his heart, it came out so badly that all his friends laughed at him. Next to singing, the boy loved to hear the violin. He had a pocketknife he always carried with him and he would whittle all sorts of ...read more

Tags: Endurance

Mega Church Growth Slows: A New Study By Scott ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 6, 2006

Mega Church Growth Slows: A new study by Scott Thumma, Hartford Seminary, indicates that after 20 years of rapid growth, churches of more than 2000 members, growth has markedly slowed. There are approximately 500 such mega churches in the U.S. and nearly all have a conservative theological ...read more

Tags: Church General

Antonio Was An Italian Boy Who Loved Music, But ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 10, 2006

Antonio was an Italian boy who loved music, but whenever he tried to sing the music that was in his heart, it came out so badly that all his friends laughed at him. Next to singing, the boy loved to hear the violin. He had a pocketknife he always carried with him and he would whittle all sorts of ...read more

Tags: Evangelism How To

Imagine You Are At A Dinner Party; Elegant ...

Contributed by Timothy Smith on Oct 20, 2006

Imagine you are at a dinner party; elegant silverware, warm company, great food. At the end the hostess brings out a plate of dessert and stumbles dropping the dessert on the floor. Here’s how each person might respond according to their giftedness: Mercy: "Don’t feel bad, I should of offered to ...read more

Denomination: Christian Church

I Read About An Instant Cake Mix That Was A Big ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 21, 2001

"I read about an instant cake mix that was a big flop. The instructions said all you had to do was add water and bake. The company couldn’t understand why it didn’t sell-until their research discovered that the buying public felt uneasy about a mix that required only water. Apparently people ...read more

Scripture: 2 Kings 5:1-15

What Happened On Easter?  PRO

Contributed by Andrew Chan on Apr 9, 2002

WHAT HAPPENED ON EASTER? A Sunday School teacher asked her class on the Sunday before Easter if they knew what happened on Easter and why it was so important. One little girl spoke up saying: "Easter is when the whole family gets together, and you eat turkey and sing about the pilgrims and all ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:1-15, Mark 16:1-8, Luke 24:1-53

Tags: Resurrection, Easter Resurrection, Easter

Denomination: Evangelical Free

Faith Honors God And God Honors Faith! A Story ...  PRO

Contributed by Paul Fritz on Mar 12, 2002

Faith honors God and God honors faith! A story from the life of missionaries Robert and Mary Moffat illustrates this truth. For 10 years this couple labored faithfully in Bechuanaland (now called Botswana) without one ray of encouragement to brighten their way. They could not report a single ...read more

Tags: Examples Of Faith, Faith General

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

What Kids Need  PRO

Contributed by Lyn King on Jun 15, 2002

WHAT KIDS NEED Today’s kids desperately need Dads who: . . . play catch, enjoy tea parties or wrestle because the heart of a child is there and they set out to capture it. . . . laugh till their belly hurts and tears fall from their eyes while secretly creating deep friendships and memories that ...read more

Tags: Parenting

Denomination: Baptist