In Sermon Illustrations: "Giving Spirit"

A Man Was Walking Through An Art Gallery When He ...

Contributed by David Moore on Dec 9, 2008

A man was walking through an art gallery when he came upon a picture of the Lord Jesus dying upon the cross. He stopped and looked at the beautiful portrait of Calvary’s love. As he stared into the face of Christ, so full of agony the gallery guard tapped him on the shoulder. “Lower,” the guard ...read more

Tags: Worship Definition

Denomination: Baptist

God's Will Prevails

Contributed by Ed Sasnett on Dec 15, 2008

God's Will Prevails David Aikman, formerly of Time magazine, in 2002 spent three months researching the state of Christianity in China. He tells an incredible story. The Chinese church after fifty years of persecution and repression is thriving. When the Communists took control of China five ...read more

Tags: God's Sovereign Will

Denomination: Baptist

Responsibility Comes With The Gift

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 16, 2008

RESPONSIBILITY COMES WITH THE GIFT 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 ...read more

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

What's The Big Deal About The Church?

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 28, 2008

WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL ABOUT THE CHURCH? A little girl became restless as the preacher's sermon dragged on and on. Finally, she leaned over to her mother and whispered, "Mommy, if we give him the money now, will he let us go?" I'm sure that's probably how some people feel about most preachers and ...read more

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Christ Was Love  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 16, 2009

CHRIST WAS LOVE I read a story that I thought was a perfect illustration as to what the perfect gift looks like at Christmas. It centered on a school Christmas pageant. Of course there was nothing there to make it religious. Only snowmen, reindeer and the like. And so the kindergarten class was ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16

Tags: Christmas

Accepting Or Complaining

Contributed by Paul Carlson on Feb 16, 2009

ACCEPTING OR COMPLAINING In 2002, Lisa Beamer was interviewed by a writer for Today’s Christian Woman. She was asked "What happened to you on 9-11?" Lisa gave some details of the early part of that day and then says, "As soon as I heard that (it had been her husband’s flight), I cried out 'No!' ...read more

Tags: Hardship Of Life

Denomination: Baptist

Loyalty To God Or Ourselves?

Contributed by Mark Eberly on Feb 19, 2009

LOYALTY TO GOD OR OURSELVES? When I was in seminary, I had some conversations with some fellow students, with a good mentor and friend Ron Mabry, with a Dr. Stafford and the credentialing team in Indiana. Through these interactions God was speaking to me and asking me where my loyalties to lie? Is ...read more

Tags: Commitment To Christ

Denomination: Church Of God

Sole Witness

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 17, 2009

SOLE WITNESS A fine lad entered the Army. He faced a real test the first night he went to be in the barracks. He had formed the commendable habit of placing his Bible on his bed at home and kneeling down to read a chapter while having his daily prayer time before retiring. Surrounded by scores of ...read more

Tags: Christian Witness

The Nobel Story

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 17, 2009

THE NOBEL STORY In 1866, Alfred Nobel invented dynamite and built up companies and laboratories in more than 20 countries all over the world. In the process, he amassed a considerable fortune. When Nobel’s brother died, the newspaper made a mistake and ran an obituary for Alfred Nobel. In the ...read more

Tags: Character

Population Control Stats

Contributed by K. Edward Skidmore on Mar 30, 2009

POPULATION CONTROL STATS The God of Israel stood apart in the ancient world as the One and Only God who cares about even the most helpless little infant. Exodus 1:20 says that God rewarded these brave midwives by giving them families of their own. You see, our God sees babies as blessings! ...read more

Tags: Birth Control

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Truth Will Always Come Out.

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Apr 18, 2022

We live in a generation of government corruption and evil that is unparalleled. How long will God tolerate this? The Bible says in Luke 8:17 (NLT), "For all that is secret will eventually be brought into the open, and everything that is concealed will be brought to light and made known to ...read more

Tags: Evil, Truth, Corruption, Last Days, Lies, Government, Reaping  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

God Provides But We Personally Must Take Actions!

Contributed by Paul Clemente on Nov 10, 2022

Genesis 7 Was Noah righteous because he never sinned? - See Hebrews 11:7 What were God’s instructions to Noah? Go into the ark, you and your whole family Take in the ark animals (what were they?) “Clean” animals “unclean” animals Birds How many days did God give Noah to bring in the animals? – ...read more

Tags: Judgement, Love, Sin, God, Actions  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Hope Ain't Hoping

Contributed by John Bright on May 27, 2023

I want to give you a shorthand way of remembering the difference between the hope in our Bibles and the hope out in the world. Hope ain’t hoping. Today, folks plan outside events and say, “I sure hope it doesn’t rain.” Every Sunday, some folks may show up here and say, “I sure hope PJ doesn’t ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 1:3-5

Tags: Faith, Hope, Hoping

Denomination: Methodist

Who's In Charge?

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Jun 3, 2023

One of the most disturbing movies ever produced is Francis Ford Coppola’s classic reflection on the Vietnam War, Apocalypse Now. The film tracks an American officer who is sent upriver into the heart of the war-torn countryside in order to find and eventually assassinate a renegade commander who ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 6:1-17

Tags: God's Sovereignty, Wrath, Apocalypse, Four Horsemen

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Outline Of Psalm 119 - The Power Of God's Word

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jun 14, 2023

Psalms 119 - David proclaims the power of God's Word. David in this Psalm describes God's Word in 48 different ways. Here are a few: 1. The Word of God is the source of cleansing - Psalms 119:9 (KJV) Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Tags: David, Bible, Psalms, Word Of God

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Mimic The Owner

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Jul 5, 2023

I read of a wealthy woman that owned a very rare and expensive MACAW. It was so beautiful. It was so smart it could talk unbelievable. Over a period of time the MACAW developed an extremely irritating and terrible hacking cough. The lady called the local vet and they discussed the problem and ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 24:19, Romans 8:28

Tags: Pretender, Wounded

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Sowing And Reaping

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Oct 16, 2023

John Smith was a loyal carpenter, working for a very successful building contractor who called him into his office one day and said, "John, I'm putting you in charge of the next house we build. I want you to order all the materials and oversee the whole job from the ground up." John ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 6:7, Numbers 32:23

Tags: Sowing, Reaping, Cheating, Stealing, Judgment, Selfishness  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Traveling To Heaven

Contributed by Joel Pankow on Mar 29, 2024

Throughout my life I had always wanted to go to Germany. It wasn’t until my son moved over there and got married that we finally were able to do so. The trip wasn’t always easy, as we were stranded in New Jersey for a night after a flight was canceled. We were tired from the journey. But once ...read more

Scripture: Job 19:26

Tags: Resurrection, Heaven

Denomination: Lutheran

Boxer Illustration For Spiritual Battles

Contributed by Richard Tow on Jul 9, 2024

Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:26: “I do not fight like a man beating the air (NIV).The NLT says, “I am not like a boxer who misses his punches.” A boxer can throw a lot of punches, but if none of them hit the opponent, he will lose the fight. This is one reason a boxer trains so that he punches with ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 9:26, Ephesians 6:10-18

Tags: Devil, Spiritual Warfare, Opposition, Overcoming, Boxing, Battles  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Charismatic

A Word Of Encouragement For Discouraged Pastors

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Aug 12, 2024

A great evangelist, Dr. Chapman, has often told an amazing story about himself. He had been in business and became minister of a great church in Philadelphia. One Monday he was more than usually dispirited. (Mondays are hard on pastors!). The Sunday had been a poor one, and he felt, as ministers ...read more

Scripture: Joshua 1:9, Isaiah 40:31

Tags: Faith, Ministry, Hope, Encouragement, Anointing, Discouragement, Pastors, Calling, Quitting, Resigning  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational