In Sermon Illustrations: "Gifts"

Get Off The Bench And Get In The Game!

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Aug 2, 2023

A well-known coach was once asked, “How much does college football contribute to the national physical-fitness picture?” “Nothing,” the coach replied abruptly. “Why not?” the startled interviewer asked. “Well,” said the coach, “the way I see it, you have 22 men down on the field desperately ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-13

Tags: Service, Ministry, Church, Disciples, Spiritual Gifts, Volunteers  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

God Has Said That Every Christian Has At Least ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 11, 2007

"God has said that every Christian has at least one spiritual gift for the benefit of the whole body of Christ. No one has all the gifts, all have at least one gift, ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:7, Romans 12:1-6

Tags: Character

Are We Ready To Do What God Designed Us To Do?

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 26, 2004

Are we ready to do what God designed us to do? Some of you may remember back in January I showed you this cordless drill that I had as a gift from my Mother for Christmas. As with gifts that God gives us, I mentioned, at the time, that it would be no point in me having this gift if I didn’t use it. ...read more

Tags: Doing God's Will, Knowing God's Will

Father's Day Is The 4th Most Important Retail ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

Father’s Day is the 4th most important retail gift holiday, after Christmas, Mother’s Day, and Valentines. 55% of Americans celebrate the day with a gift, according to new Unity Marketing research the typical gift-giver ...read more

Too Many Christians Are Not Serving. When You ...  PRO

Contributed by Charles R. Swindoll on Nov 1, 2004

Too many Christians are not serving. When you ask them to do something they say, "Well, uh, sorry, but that is not my spiritual gift." Trouble is they seem to think they have no spiritual gift because they say that about everything. Brethren, I tell you the truth in Christ that are no such gifts as ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:22-26

Tags: Christian Disciplines

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

As Clayton J. Schmit Put It In His Commentary On ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 31, 2008

As Clayton J. Schmit put it in his commentary on our text, “The moment of birth is one of unspeakable joy. Yet, if parents stopped to count the cost of taking a child home (which, fortunately, they never do) they might be tempted to turn the gift down. The cost of baby food and diapers, sleepless ...read more

I Think, At A Childs Birth, If A Mother Could ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"I think, at a childs birth, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful ...read more

Tags: Curiosity

Shoppers Expect To Spend An Average Of Only $671 ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2006

Shoppers expect to spend an average of only $671 on Christmas gifts this year, down 1% from last year, reports Gift Tracker survey. American consumers feel wrung out and are not particularly bullish about their holiday gift shopping. But what consumers say and what they ...read more

Tags: Christmas

Proclaiming ...

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

Proclaiming God’s Word A Necessity in Corporate Worship Congregational worship opens the door for the Holy Spirit gift of proclaiming God’s Word. Jesus said, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4) Knowing exactly what the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 4:4

Tags: Worship Purpose

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Christmas Is Less Than What It Can Be And Less ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"Christmas is less than what it can be and less than what it was intended to be where gifts are given grudgingly, and ...read more

Tags: Christmas

Long Walk Part Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 28, 2009

"Long Walk Part of Gift" A young boy once came up to a missionary and said, “I love you and I want you to have this.” He pulled from a straw basket the most beautiful shell the missionary had ever seen. As she admired its beauty, she recognized it as a special shell only found on the far side of ...read more

Scripture: John 1:14

Tags: Birth Of Jesus

I Visited A Couple One Time In Their Home Who ...

Contributed by Curt Cizek on Sep 15, 2007

I visited a couple one time in their home who complained about a niece who got married. All the invitations were sent out and everything was in order but they never received a thank you card for the gift they sent. They were very upset. I asked them if it was a gift they sent. They said yes. ...read more

Denomination: Lutheran

F. B. Meyer Once Said, "I Used To Think That ...  PRO

Contributed by Mitchell Skelton on Apr 1, 2003

F. B. Meyer once said, “I used to think that God’s gifts were on shelves one above the other; and that the taller we grew in Christian character, the easier we could reach them. I now find that God’s gifts are on shelves one beneath the other. It is not a question of ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 1:4-6, Jeremiah 1:4-10, Philippians 2:5-11

Tags: Christian Disciplines, Forgiveness General

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Richard Baxter, The Puritan Preacher Of The 17th ...  PRO

Contributed by Owen Bourgaize on Oct 18, 2000

Richard Baxter, the Puritan preacher of the 17th century conveys the urgency, the zeal of Christian witness when he said, "I preached as never sure ...read more

Tags: Great Commission, Gifts Prophecy, Sharing Your Faith

Denomination: Baptist

Power Can Be Used In At Least 2 Ways. It Can Be ...  PRO

Contributed by James May on Apr 20, 2001

Power can be used in at least 2 ways. It can be unleashed or it can be harnessed. Drop an atomic bomb and just watch as raw power is unleashed or harness the power of the atom and it will produce energy to make enough electricity for entire states. On the Day of Pentecost, and on the day you ...read more

Scripture: Acts 2:38, Acts 2:1-4

Tags: Holy Spirit Attributes, God's Omnipotence, Gifts General

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Norman Cates Shared The Humorous Story Of A Guy ...  PRO

Contributed by Richard Crow on May 21, 2001

Norman Cates shared the humorous story of a guy who prayed this prayer every morning: "Lord, if you want me to witness to someone today, please give me a sign to show me who it is." One day he found himself on a bus when a big, burly man sat next to him. The bus was nearly empty but this guy sat ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 86:11-17, Matthew 6:11-15, Romans 12:5, Luke 18:1-8

Tags: Endurance, Evangelism Fear Of, Spiritual Gifts, What Is Evangelism?

Denomination: Baptist

H.b. London, Jr. And Neil B. Wiseman, In Their ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 19, 2002

H.B. London, Jr. and Neil B. Wiseman, in their book Pastors at Risk, present some statistics on risk factors related to ministers today. Some of these statistics are as follows: Ninety percent of pastors work more than forty-six hours a week. Eighty percent believed that pastoral ministry ...read more

Tags: Gifts General, Church Body Of Christ, Leadership General

Huge Reserves  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 19, 2002

HUGE RESERVES Dr. Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ tells this story of a famous oil field called Yates Pool: During the depression this field was a sheep ranch owned by a man named Yates. Mr. Yates wasn’t able to make enough on his ranching operation to pay the principal and interest on ...read more

Scripture: Acts 1:8, Acts 1:1-8

Tags: God's Omnipotence, Holy Spirit In Believers, Gifts General

Transformed By An Elevator  PRO

Contributed by A. Todd Coget on May 24, 2002

Transformed by an Elevator A family from a remote area was making their first visit to a big city. They checked in to a grand hotel and stood in amazement at the impressive sight. Leaving the reception desk they came to the elevator entrance. They’d never seen an elevator before, and just ...read more

Scripture: Luke 13:10-16

Tags: Change, Gifts General, Transform, Holy Spirit General

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

What Is The Goal Of Playing Football?  PRO

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Oct 31, 2002

WHAT IS THE GOAL OF PLAYING FOOTBALL? Well, of course, we would say winning. But there is a clearer point than winning, it is scoring points. We might score 6 points in a touchdown, three points in a field goal, two points in a safety, or one point in a point after the touch down. WHAT IF I TOLD ...read more

Tags: Church Body Of Christ, Gifts General, Leadership General

Denomination: Assembly Of God