In Sermon Illustrations: "God Brings Purpose"

Prayer Is The Strongest Form Of Abiding That ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 1, 2008

Prayer is the strongest form of abiding that there is. A retired teacher was giving her little nephew some help with his schoolwork. He was normally a good, attentive child, but on this occasion he could not fix his mind on his work. Suddenly he said, "Aunt Sally, may I kneel down and ask God to ...read more

Tags: Faith

Someone Named J. R. Illingworth Once Said, ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 30, 2008

Someone named J. R. Illingworth once said, "Prayer has been defined to be a wish referred to God; and, if we could keep this thought before us, it would help us to acquire the habit of prayer by making us refer each wish, as it comes into our minds, to God, for His assistance in furtherance or ...read more

Tags: Prayer General

Jim Always Thought He Was A Pretty Good Guy. Oh ...

Contributed by Fred Schaeffer on Dec 5, 2008

Jim always thought he was a pretty good guy. Oh ... he made some mistakes once in a while ... but overall he thought he was OK. He knew that he wasn’t a BAD person. Oh, he fudged on his income tax a little bit .. not really cheated he said .. just fudged a little bit. He would stay out on ...read more

Tags: Repentance, Self-Righteousness

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Payer Is The Strongest Form Of Abiding That There ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 12, 2008

Payer is the strongest form of abiding that there is. -- A retired teacher was giving her little nephew some help with his schools work. He was normally a good, attentive child, but on this occasion he could not fix his mind on his work. Suddenly he said, "Aunt Sally, may I kneel down and ask God ...read more

Tags: Prayer General

Mary Had The Little Lamb

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Dec 20, 2020

Mary Had The Little Lamb Mary had the little Lamb, who lived before His birth; Self-existent Son of God, from Heaven He came to Earth. Micah 5:2 Mary had the little Lamb; see Him in yonder stall- Virgin-born Son of God, to save man from the Fall. Isaiah 7:14 Mary had the little Lamb, obedient Son ...read more

Scripture: John 1:1-12

Tags: Mary, Messiah, Christmas, Jesus, Prophecy, Return Of Christ  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Astronomer Sir Percival Lowell Deceived By Eye ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 6, 2010

Astronomer Sir Percival Lowell Deceived by Eye Condition At the turn of the century the world’s most distinguished astronomer was Sir Percival Lowell. He was esteemed for his study of the solar system and had a particular fascination with Mars. He was certain that he had determined that there were ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 119:18

Tags: Mistakes

This Morning When You Came Into The Citadel You ...

Contributed by Andrew Moffatt on Sep 30, 2009

This morning when you came into the citadel you found the seats up against the wall, confusing, a bit of a nuisance? This was used to illustrate what life without God’s Grace is like, it is confusing, it’s not ordered, each of us as individual’s are lost and in turmoil, we do foolish things we are ...read more

Tags: Change

Denomination: Salvation Army

Company Changes Cake Mix Recipe That Was Too Easy ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 29, 2009

Company Changes Cake Mix Recipe That Was too Easy in order to Increase Sales Years ago a cake mix company put together a cake mix that was a big flop. The instructions said all you had to do was add water and bake. The company couldn’t understand why it didn’t sell, until their research discovered ...read more

Scripture: 2 Kings 5:1-15

Tags: Business, Business And Marketplace

The Love Me Not

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 11, 2011

THE LOVE ME NOT Dostoevsky tells the story of a woman who found herself in hell and felt she did not belong there. She could not bear the suffering and cried out in agony for the mercy of God. God listened and was moved with pity and so He said to her: "If you can remember one good deed that you ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:7

Tags: Mercy

Before It's Too Late

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 11, 2011

BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE USA Today had an article on the front page about those who escaped the World Trade Center on September 11. After interviewing over 300 survivors and family members of victims, USA Today concluded that in the South tower those who didn’t delay but ran for safety immediately ...read more

Scripture: Luke 9:57-62

Tags: Evangelism Urgency

What The Cross Displayed  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 11, 2011

WHAT THE CROSS DISPLAYED Author Henri Nouwen tells the story of a family he knew in Paraguay. The father, a doctor, spoke out against the military regime there and its human rights abuses. Local police took their revenge on him by arresting his teenage son and torturing him to death. Enraged ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 52:13-15

Tags: Cross

J. C. Ryle On Zeal  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 15, 2011

J. C. RYLE ON ZEAL Recently I found a book by Bishop J.C. Ryle, the first bishop of Liverpool, England on the subject of zeal. He wrote: "Zeal is a burning desire to please God, to do His will, and to advance His glory in the world in every possible way. A zealous man is preeminently a man of ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:9-21, Romans 12:1-2

Tags: Zeal

3-D Theology

Contributed by Johnny Wilson on Feb 20, 2009

3-D THEOLOGY When people like Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins claim that they can prove that God doesn’t exist, they are making an arrogant mistake. Pardon me while I draw an example from modern animation. When I was a child, the most glorious cartoons were 2-dimensional animations where ...read more

Tags: Atheism

Denomination: *other

At The Time Of This Writing, The Story ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

At the time of this writing, the story dominating the national news involves the execution of former Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein. On December 30, 2006 the gun-toting dictator, who ruled Iraq with an iron fist for 24 years, was taken to the gallows. This 69-year-old despot, who ruled in ...read more

Tags: Guilt

The Young Pastor Came Before His Congregation And ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 28, 2007

The young pastor came before his congregation and began to preach his sermon. God had placed it on his heart to begin a series on loving God, loving others. He preached his heart out, making points and using illustrations that moved people to tears and emotion. The pastor came to the end of the ...read more

My Favorite Story About The Holy Spirit Is The ...

Contributed by Rick Crandall on Jul 12, 2008

My favorite story about the Holy Spirit is the story C.S. Lewis told about a college student who wrote to him. The young man was an atheist. And he was very concerned, because he had made friends with some Christian students. They were enthusiastically witnessing to him about Jesus, and it had ...read more

Tags: Holy Spirit General

Denomination: Baptist

I Believe Many Of Us Need Cut Loose The ...

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Jul 21, 2008

I believe many of us need cut loose the “Christian Bill of Rights” today. You may be thinking but “Pastor I did not know there was such a thing! What are they?” Well glad you asked here are the Christian Bill of Rights: a. We Christians have the right to seek God and ask Him to tell us what we ...read more

Tags: Servanthood

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Living Word

Contributed by Tim Smith on Aug 13, 2017

Ravi Zacharias tells of ministering in Vietnam in 1971, and one of his interpreters was Hien Pham, an energetic young Christian. He had worked as a translator with the American forces, and was of immense help both to them and to missionaries such as myself. Hien and I traveled the length of the ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16

Tags: Scripture, Romans, Living Word, The Bible, Persevering Grace  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Methodist

Solar Powered

Contributed by Todd Catteau on Apr 27, 2021

The other day I was sitting on my back porch. On my porch is a bird bath with a small solar-powered fountain. The fountain only works when the sun is directly on it and, since that day was a clear day, the fountain was operating at full steam. As I was sitting enjoying the day a brief passing ...read more

Scripture: John 8:12

Tags: Spirit, John, Light, Power, Life, Darkness  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Trapped Coal Miners Discover Old ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 14, 2009

Trapped Coal Miners Discover Old Passage In one of the coal mines of the north, the top of the pit fell in while a considerable number of the miners were down below, and the shaft was completely blocked. Those who were in the mine gathered to a spot where the last remains of air could be breathed. ...read more

Scripture: James 4:4-10

Tags: Humility