In Sermon Illustrations: "Giving"

Do You Know Where Pearls Come From? They Come ...

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Aug 25, 2006

Do you know where pearls come from? They come from oysters. An oyster is a shellfish that lives in the ocean. They have a very hard shell that protects them, but sometimes something like a small grain of sand can get inside the shell and it causes a lot of pain and discomfort for the oyster. God ...read more

Tags: Hardship Of Life

Denomination: Independent/Bible

One Other Christmas My Sister Did Something ...

Contributed by Don Jones on Dec 19, 2006

One other Christmas my sister did something rather strange. Thankfully we didn’t have ham or sharp knives anymore. We had all finished opening presents, everybody had loaded them in their cars and we were all visiting in the living room with coffee or punch. The Fryrear family got up to leave, ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Dietrich Bonheoffer Once Asked This Question Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Dietrich Bonheoffer once asked this question of us, "Do we understand that instead we get a messiah who gives us power all right, but it’s a whole new kind of power, it’s THE POWER OF SUFFERING LOVE It’s a power that looks me in the eye, forgives my sin, my fear, my anger, my resentment, my ...read more

Tags: God's Provision

His Book Folk Psalms Of Faith, Ray Stedman Tells ...

Contributed by Brian Matherlee on Nov 29, 2007

his book FOLK PSALMS OF FAITH, Ray Stedman tells of an experience H.A. Ironside had in a crowded restaurant. Just as Ironside was about to begin his meal, a man approached and asked if he could join him. Ironside invited his to have a seat. Then, as was his custom, Ironside bowed his head in ...read more

Denomination: Wesleyan

Valuable To God

Contributed by David Vanheuvelen on Dec 8, 2007

You are valuable to God. I can state that without fear of exaggeration. His Word makes it clear that He willing bought and paid for you. As I said before, a thing is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it. God was willing to give His Son and Jesus was willing to give His blood – that is ...read more

Denomination: Pentecostal

Cast In A Line For Yourself

Contributed by Richard Goble on Dec 30, 2007

Cast In A Line For Yourself A poor, hungry man stood idly on a bridge watching some fishermen. Seeing one of them with a basket full of fish by his side, he said, "if I had a catch like that, I’d be happy. I’d sell it and buy some food and clothes." "I’ll give you that many fish if you do a ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Andrew Murray Was Going Through A Personal Trial. ...

Contributed by Guy Mcgraw on Jan 21, 2008

Andrew Murray was going through a personal trial. One morning while he was eating breakfast, his hostess told him there was a woman downstairs that was going through a great trial and wanted to know if he had any advice for her. Murray handed her a piece of paper he had been writing on and said, ...read more

A Glass Of Water

Contributed by Carl Allen on Aug 12, 2008

OBJECT TALK: 1. Use a clear glass of clean water to signify the soul of the person cleansed by God. 2. Pour a little dirt into the glass to signify the nature of the World, if we allow it to find a place in us. Make the point, that a little dirt little doesn’t distort the view. 3. Add a lot ...read more

Tags: God's Forgiveness

Denomination: Baptist

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

The Treasure Of The Church  PRO

Contributed by Anne Benefield on Mar 5, 2009

THE TREASURE OF THE CHURCH St. Lawrence was martyred in 258 A.D., but we remember him not for his martyrdom. We remember him as the Archdeacon of Rome. His responsibilities included maintaining the sacred vessels of the small, struggling church and distributing alms to the poor. While he was ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 15:13-16

Tags: Poverty

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

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

Boice On The Virgin Birth  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 28, 2009

BOICE ON THE VIRGIN BIRTH One well-known Christian author, James Montgomery Boice, eloquently documents amazing things Jesus’ virgin birth, sinless life and sacrificial death accomplished for mankind as an amazing sign of His love. Jesus endured a human birth to give us a new spiritual birth. ...read more

Scripture: John 1:14

Tags: Birth Of Jesus

A Pow's Will To Live--French Surgeon Removes His ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 6, 2010

A POW’s Will to Live--French Surgeon Removes His Own Appendix When the French surrendered to General Giap and the Vietnamese at Dien Phen Phu, the long line of survivors were led on foot toward Hanoi. A French army surgeon among the prisoners realized that his appendix was in trouble. What would he ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 12:1-2

Tags: Endurance

Cast A Line For Yourself

Contributed by Bobby Scobey on Feb 23, 2010

CAST A LINE FOR YOURSELF A poor, hungry man stood idly on a bridge watching some fishermen. Seeing one of them with a basket full of fish by his side, he said, "If I had a catch like that, I'd be happy. I'd sell it and buy some food and clothes." "I'll give you that many fish if you do a small ...read more

Tags: Action

Denomination: Pentecostal

A Bug's Life: Small Steps Of Faith

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Mar 15, 2010

A BUG'S LIFE: SMALL STEPS OF FAITH A Bug’s Life, Start time 6:30 Overview from Belknapp: Dot complains to Flik about her underdeveloped wings. She wants to fly now! Flik encourages her, showing her that a seed that starts out small eventually grows into a towering tree-it only takes time and ...read more

Tags: Faith

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Hippocratic Oath

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 2, 2010

THE HIPPOCRATIC OATH We have all heard about the Hippocratic Oath, even if we don't know what all is in it, and what we do know is delivered through television and is wrong. We hear TV doctors say "remember what it says in the Hippocratic Oath: 'First, do no harm'" but that isn't in the ...read more

Scripture: 3 John 1:2

Tags: Abortion

Reputation And Character

Contributed by Rodelio Mallari on Dec 12, 2010

REPUTATION AND CHARACTER Character is the one thing we make in this world and take with us into the next. The circumstances amid which you live determine your reputation; the truth you believe determines your character. Reputation is what you are supposed to be; Character is what you are. ...read more

Tags: Character

Denomination: *other

Get Busy And Cast A Line

Contributed by Keith Peters on Jul 5, 2011

GET BUSY AND CAST A LINE A poor, hungry man stood idly on a bridge watching some fishermen. Seeing one of them with a basket full of fish by his side, he said, "If I had a catch like that, I'd be happy. I'd sell it and buy some food and clothes." "I'll give you that many fish if you do a small ...read more

Tags: Workplace Unemployment

Denomination: Baptist

Reactions Can Be Worse Than Actions  PRO

Contributed by Larry Wilson on Sep 12, 2011

REACTIONS CAN BE WORSE THAN ACTIONS While in seminary, I worked at a local Christian radio station. Part of my duties was to take hourly meter readings from the transmitter and place them on a log sheet that was subject to FCC review. The building featured indoor/outdoor green carpet, and the day ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 20:1-16

Tags: Action

Denomination: Baptist

A Man Once Came To Peter Marshall, Former ...  PRO

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Feb 13, 2012

A man once came to Peter Marshall, former chaplain of the Unites States Senate, with a concern about tithing. “I have a problem,” he said. “I have been tithing for some time. It wasn’t too bad when I was making $20,000 a year; I could afford to give up $2,000. But now that I am making $500,000, ...read more

Scripture: Luke 16:13

Tags: Money, Tithes, Materialism

Denomination: Baptist