In Sermon Illustrations: "God Brings Purpose"

God Can't Take His Eyes Off Of Me!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 13, 2022

There were 2 boys playing one day when they got bored. Little Johnny turned to his buddy, Billy, and said, "You know something, I'm bored. Let's go to the store and steal some candy!" Billy says: "Oh no! I can't do that! God is watching me!“ Little Johnny replies: ...read more

Tags: God's Love, Dishonesty, Heavenly Father, God's Providence, Children  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

If We Could Only See From God's Perspective

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Nov 7, 2022

A man was walking along a railroad track on a very dark night when he came to a bridge.  He had gotten halfway across when he heard a train whistle up ahead.  He quickened his pace, but soon could see the light of the oncoming locomotive approaching.   With nowhere ...read more

Tags: Faith, Fear, Jesus, Obedience, Peter, Miracles, Sovereignty Of God  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Are You "all Ears" For God's Voice?

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 2, 2023

A missionary translator was endeavoring to find a word for “obedience” in the native language. This was a virtue seldom practiced among the people into whose language he wanted to translate the New Testament. As he returned home from the village one day, he whistled for his dog and it came ...read more

Tags: Holy Spirit, Discipleship, Obedience, Voice Of God, Hearing God  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

God's Providence Fills Every Second Of Our Lives

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Aug 21, 2023

In 1937 Walt Disney released the first full-length animated movie which has garnered almost one billion in total sales: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Producing an animated movie was a gargantuan task. Disney artists drew over one million pictures. Each picture flashed onto the screen for a mere ...read more

Tags: God's Will, Assurance, God's Providence, Protection, Comfort  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Have You Ever Asked God To Wake You Up In The Morning?

Contributed by Glynda Lomax on Dec 23, 2024

Be careful what you pray for. We all know the feeling of trying to wake up to a blaring alarm clock. I had been really tired from working late and had overslept several times in the past week. I was traveling at the time, not at home. It wasn’t an emergency since I work from wherever I am, but I ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:7, Mark 11:24, 1 John 5:14

Tags: Prayer, How To Pray, Answered Prayers, Faith

Denomination: Charismatic

[115]. A Message From A Poem – Have You Trusted The God Of Faithfulness?

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Jun 27, 2025

[115]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – HAVE YOU TRUSTED THE GOD OF FAITHFULNESS? God is faithful in proven circumstances. Have you actually proven the faithfulness of God in your life? We have a faithful God so we can anchor our faith in the faithfulness of God. {{Psalm 119:90 “YOUR FAITHFULNESS ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:9, Lamentations 3:22-23, Deuteronomy 32:3-4, Psalm 119:90

Tags: Christian Poems, God, Trust, Faithful, Christian Poetry  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[121]. A Message From A Poem – From Where Did God Originate?

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Jul 5, 2025

[121]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – FROM WHERE DID GOD ORIGINATE? The real title of this poem is HE IS BEFORE ALL THINGS, AND IN HIM ALL THINGS HOLD TOGETHER but the title is too long for SermonCentral to accept, so I changed the title. This is a dialogue poem. There are 4 speakers. Speaker 1 is a ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 1:16-17, Colossians 2:20-23

Tags: Rationalist, Christian Poetry, Christian Poems, Atheist, All Things, Agnostic, Gnostics, Gnosticism, Existence Of God, Christian, Creation, Jesus  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[170]. A Message From A Poem – Let Our Praise To God Arise

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Aug 21, 2025

[170]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – LET OUR PRAISE TO GOD ARISE This poem was written in two halves 25 years apart. It was originally to be a poem on praise but as I look at it, the poem is a hymn that can be sung to a number of tunes because the metre 7-6-7-6 is a common enough one. Through this ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 150:1-6

Tags: Praise, Heaven, Praise God, Praise The Lord, Christian Poems  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

God Moved Christian Across Pond To Save Him From Drowning

Contributed by Rick Crandall on Sep 25, 2025

God Moved Christian across Pond to Save Him from Drowning One of my favorite miracle stories is from Jan Ramsey. My wife Mary used to work at Lakeshore School with Jan. She was a member of First Baptist in Swartz. Jan gave this prayer testimony about her dad, James, and I think he was 81 at the ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 139:1-24

Tags: Solomon's Temple, Mother's Womb, Omnipotence, Omnipresence, King David, Fearfully Made, Wonderfully Made, Nathan The Prophet, Creation, Light, Darkness, Presence, Omniscience  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Ravi Zacharias Tells In One Of His Books About A ...  PRO

Contributed by Kenneth Henes on Jun 21, 2001

Ravi Zacharias tells in one of his books about a trip he made to Vietnam in 1971 to travel the country and preach. Wherever he traveled for a month in Vietnam a Vietnamese man who translated for him accompanied him. They were both young, and they saw many things that shocked them, things neither ...read more

Tags: God In The Hardships, Bible Influence, God's Provision

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Guidelines For Praying Succesfully

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Dec 31, 2021

GUIDELINES FOR PRAYING SUCCESSFULLY Devotional by Larry Petton Text: John chapter 15 Our devotional time with the Lord must be a balanced blend of the Word and prayer, truth and Spirit touching the head and heart. If you only focus on Bible study, you will dry up. If you only focus on prayer ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:7

Tags: Prayer, Will Of God, Seeking God, Answers To Prayer

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Unlocking Your Godly Potentials

Contributed by Godsgift Bee Willie on Feb 13, 2025

Deus Vocatio (Called of God) and the Mission Idea of The Called of God and God's Mission However; The idea of the called of God in systematic theology by Louis Berkhof point it out clear that "Calling precedes or predate regeneration; this mean calling go back to Jeremiah 1:5 that reveals ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 1:5, Isaiah 61:1-7

Tags: Potential, Unlock, The Call Of God

Denomination: Pentecostal

When Death Seemed So Close To Delos Miles In A ...  PRO

Contributed by Evie Megginson on Jul 9, 2004

When death seemed so close to Delos Miles in a bunker in North Korea, he began to pray. As he lay on the ground, a Chinese soldier put a rifle to his head. Miles prayed something like this: "Lord, if you are all-powerful like I’ve always heard you are, you can bring me out of here alive. If you ...read more

Tags: Evangelism, God In The Hardships

Denomination: Baptist

He Didn't Lift Us Up To Let Us Down  PRO

Contributed by Jim Kane on Apr 23, 2002

HE DIDN'T LIFT US UP TO LET US DOWN The Christian group the Imperials recorded one of my favorite songs over 20 years ago. It is called, “He Didn’t Lift Us Up To Let Us Down.” “He didn’t bring us this far to leave us. He didn’t teach us to swim to let us drown. He didn’t build His home in us ...read more

Tags: God's Provision, Faith

Denomination: Church Of God

John Kass, A Columnist For The Chicago Tribune, ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 16, 2001

John Kass, a columnist for the Chicago Tribune, recently wrote about a waiter named Bouch who works at a tavern in Chicago. Bouch decided to write to the King of his homeland, Morocco. The King, Mohammed VI, is immensely popular because he often interacts with his subjects in public. He ...read more

Tags: Promises Of God

If You Lack Knowledge, Go To School. If You Lack ...  PRO

Contributed by Dru Ashwell on Dec 16, 2001

If you lack knowledge, go to school. If you lack wisdom, get on your knees! Knowledge is not wisdom. Wisdom is the ...read more

Scripture: James 3:13-18

Tags: God's Omniscience

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

You Are Valuable Because You Exist. Not Because ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 20, 2002

You are valuable because you exist. Not because of what you do or what you have done, but simply ...read more

Tags: Promises Of God

Rabbi Harold] Kushner's Book [when Bad Things ...  PRO

Contributed by Paul Kuzma on Feb 19, 2002

[Rabbi Harold] Kushner’s book [When Bad Things Happen to Good People] was a best seller not only because it is so well written, but also because it caters to a narcissistic age. For us, any suffering, confusion or tragedy is patently unfair and undeserved because we stopped trusting a God whose ...read more

Tags: God In The Hardships

Denomination: Foursquare

The Temple In Jerusalem Was Built With A 3' To 4' ...  PRO

Contributed by Guy Mcgraw on Mar 18, 2002

The Temple in Jerusalem was built with a 3’ to 4’ high wall which ran through the court and separated the court of the Gentiles from the rest of the inner court. Only Jews were permitted past this dividing wall. Archaeologists in 1871 uncovered the inscription: ‘No man of another race is to ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:11-12

Tags: God's Holiness

Michael Elliot, Writing For Time, Was Not ...

Contributed by Don Hawks on Apr 14, 2002

Michael Elliot, writing for Time, was not exaggerating when he wrote, "For Americans, September 11, 2001, will go down in history as a day the ...read more

Tags: God's Provision

Denomination: Methodist