In Sermon Illustrations: "God Brings Purpose" showing 321-340 of 18,429

Whatever Your Present Environment May Be, You ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"Whatever your present environment may be, you will fall, remain or rise with your thoughts, your vision, your ideal. You will become as small as your ...read more

Tags: God Brings Hope

Hope And A Grateful Heart  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 24, 2009

HOPE AND A GRATEFUL HEART There is an old legend of a man who found the barn where Satan kept his seeds ready to be sown in the human heart. On finding the seeds of discouragement more numerous than others, he learned that those seeds could be made to grow almost anywhere. When questioned, Satan ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 12:27-29

Tags: God Brings Hope

Jesus' Words

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 8, 2009

JESUS’ WORDS There is a hopefulness in life as we hear and become empowered by Jesus’ words. A Sunday School teacher illustrated this concept of hopefulness in life by drawing on the blackboard two pathways. In the middle of one she placed a large rock, covering the entire path. At the end of ...read more

Tags: God Brings Hope

We Can Overcome

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 8, 2009

WE CAN OVERCOME Take for example Egyptian hieroglyphics. In seminary I had plenty of brilliant folks for classmates, just amazing people. One man, Kevin was with us on our trip to the Holy Land. Kevin finishing his M.Div at Princeton and was soon on his way to Harvard for a Ph.D. in biblical ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 5:4-5

Tags: God Brings Hope

Seasick Hope  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 28, 2009

SEASICK HOPE A passenger on an ocean liner was enduring a rough Atlantic crossing. As he leaned over the rail, his face a shade of green, a steward came along and tried to encourage him: "Don’t be discouraged, sir! No one’s ever died of seasickness yet!" The nauseous passenger looked up at the ...read more

Scripture: John 16:33

Tags: God Brings Hope

Hope In Anguish

Contributed by Richard Francis on May 10, 2009

HOPE IN ANGUISH I remember times of betrayal that cut deep into my heart, pain beyond a flesh wound. These are the deepest cuts that never seem to heal, a soul wound like Frodo stabbed by the ring-wraith's sword, an ache that will not heal. I remember times of fear wondering how the money would ...read more

Tags: God Brings Hope

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

There's Always Hope  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 25, 2009

THERE'S ALWAYS HOPE Ever felt like your life was the most unlucky of all? No matter what, the human spirit can be an amazing thing. Take for example the case of Larry Hanratty, who was named by the Los Angeles Times in 2007 the most unlucky man in California. This poor man was nearly executed to ...read more

Scripture: Lamentations 3:19-30

Tags: God Brings Hope

Ray Of Light, Ray Of Hope

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 10, 2009

RAY OF LIGHT, RAY OF HOPE There is a story about how the caverns north of Yellowstone National Park were discovered. As the story goes, one of the original explorers was walking along the top of that mountain and fell through a hole, and he dropped down several hundred feet into this cavern and ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:14

Tags: God Brings Hope

Mendelssohn And Rembrandt: Artists In Christ

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 10, 2009

MENDELSSOHN AND REMBRANDT: ARTISTS IN CHRIST This past Tuesday we noted the 200th anniversary of the birth of the composer Felix Mendelssohn. Mendelssohn was born into a family with deep spiritual roots. His grandfather Moses Mendelssohn was a rabbi and a philosopher. But Felix’s parents, ...read more

Tags: God Brings Hope

Depression Stats

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 10, 2009

DEPRESSION STATS The state of depression is a very real and common affliction among people of all ages, race and culture. In January of 2005, Bob Murray, PhD and Alicia Fortinberry, MS complied some staggering statistics on depression: - Depressive disorders affect approximately 18.8 million ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 88:15

Tags: God Brings Hope

Transcending Tradition

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 13, 2009

TRANSCENDING TRADITION During these tough economic times, churches all across the country are seeing a sharp drop in their offerings. Thankfully, we haven’t seen that here, yet, but a lot of churches have, one of them being the Cross Timbers Community Church in Argyle, Texas. Their drop in income ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 13:5

Tags: God Brings Hope

The Lord Is Your Shepherd, And That's Enough  PRO

Contributed by Larry Moyer on Aug 5, 2009

THE LORD IS YOUR SHEPHERD, AND THAT’S ENOUGH One time there was a newspaper office in that always had a practice that if the pastors in that city would call in and give them texts and titles to their messages, they would print them in the paper so all the people in the city would know on what ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 23:1

Tags: God Brings Hope

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Census Taker From Rome  PRO

Contributed by Dorothy Napier on Sep 21, 2009

THE CENSUS TAKER FROM ROME I am reminded of a story told of a cesus taker from Rome, who went to Galilee around 28 A.D. As he entered the region he came upon a man sitting on a donkey. he man had long hair and a flowing beard. He wore an old cloak, sandals, and beads. Pardon me the census taker ...read more

Tags: God Brings Hope

Denomination: Baptist

Alexander The Great On Hope

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 22, 2009

ALEXANDER THE GREAT ON HOPE Jesus is a sign of hope, and the friend of those who will not let hope die. He must increase, and we must decrease. The Macedonian king, Alexander the Great, was about to launch a great campaign. It would be trying and difficult. It would mean slogging across the ...read more

Scripture: John 3:25-30

Tags: God Brings Hope

The Power Of Hope

Contributed by Gary Birch on Dec 6, 2009

THE POWER OF HOPE I read that a few years ago some researchers performed an experiment to see the affect hope has on those undergoing hardship. Two sets of laboratory rats were placed in separate tubs of water. The researchers left one set in the water, and found that within an hour they had all ...read more

Tags: God Brings Hope

Dream Big

Contributed by Chris Jordan on Jan 2, 2010

DREAM BIG "I believe God wants us to dream, and to dream big, because He’s a big God who wants to do big things, and He wants to do them ...read more

Tags: God Brings Hope

Denomination: *other

Carrying Hope In Your Heart

Contributed by Luis Marquez on Jan 17, 2010

CARRYING HOPE IN YOUR HEART Vaclav Havel expresidente de Checoslovaquia dijo: "No soy un optimista porque no estoy seguro de que todo vaya a acabar bien; tampoco soy un pesimista porque no estoy seguro de que todo vaya a acabar mal. Yo solo llevo esperanza en mi corazon... y le doy gracias a Dios ...read more

Tags: God Brings Hope

Denomination: Baptist

Rene' Gets Lost

Contributed by Paul Kendall on Apr 23, 2010

RENE' GETS LOST In her freshman year of college, my daughter Rene’ agreed to take some friends to the Tampa airport as they returned home for Christmas break. They showed her the way there-—and to get back-—she would simply follow the same route backwards and then come on home to celebrate ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 32:8

Tags: God Brings Hope

Denomination: *other

The Importance Of Perspective  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 13, 2010

THE IMPORTANCE OF PERSPECTIVE When I think of perspective I am often reminded of a conversation between me and my son in the summer he turned four. That spring, Mark had asked for a spot in the family garden to call his own. He turned the soil, broke the clumps, and planted his favorite ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 55:8-9

Tags: God Brings Hope

Is There Any Hope?

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Nov 21, 2010

IS THERE ANY HOPE? Years ago an S-4 submarine was rammed by a ship off the coast of Massachusetts. It sank immediately. The entire crew was trapped in a prison house of death. Every effort was made to rescue the crew, but all ultimately failed. Near the end of the ordeal, a deep sea diver, who ...read more

Tags: God Brings Hope

Denomination: Brethren