In Sermon Illustrations: "God Cares For You"

When Your Sin Finds You Out.  PRO

Contributed by Larry Turner on Sep 16, 2013

I was 18 years old when I stole my first and only item. I was a bagger at a local grocery store. The store had some small battery operated record players that played 45s. (For those too young to remember what 45s were, they looked like bid CDs with a hole in the middle.) A lot of the record players ...read more

Scripture: Numbers 32:23

Tags: Truth, Unconfessed Sin

Denomination: Foursquare

Following What You Can't See

Contributed by Richard Wimpey on May 18, 2015

Last year I atteneded a miracle league softball game that my grandaughter Addie was playing in. It was amazing to watch all the children with disabilities play ball. Many of the parents would tell the kids when to swing the bat to help them connect with the ball. As one little girl hit the ball I ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 9:28-29

Tags: Holy Spirit, Blind Faith, Blind

Denomination: Baptist

A True Friend Is Someone Who Thinks That You ...

Contributed by Davon Huss on Aug 27, 2015

A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 17:17

Tags: Friends, Friend, Friendship, Faithful Friend

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

I May Never See You Again

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Apr 17, 2017

Phillips Brooks of Boston became quite ill and would see no visitors. However, when Robert Ingersoll, the noted atheist, heard that his friend was sick, he called at his home and was admitted at once. "I appreciate this very much," said Mr. Ingersoll. "But why do you see me when you deny ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 18:1

Tags: Heaven, Atheism, Hell, Death

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

When Are You Going To Talk About Sin?

Contributed by Roberta Karchner on Jun 28, 2019

It was early in the year, and I asked myself, “What is the most important things my congregation needs to know.” I had decided to preach a series on what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, or the Plain, if you go by Luke. I mapped out the series, then I began to talk about what Jesus had to ...read more

Tags: Forgive, Judging Others, Sermon On The Mount, Judgement, Forgiveness, Sin  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Preachers Who Make You Throw Up!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Aug 12, 2019

A Pastor was doing his Children's Church sermon where all the kids come down to the front & hear a story. The Pastor was discussing the story of Jonah. He quoted the Scripture from Jonah: "The Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah upon the dry land." When the Pastor ...read more

Scripture: Jonah 2:1-7

Tags: Jonah, Bad Preaching, Children's Church, Embarrassing Moments

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Have You Burned Your Ships Yet?

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 9, 2020

When the Spanish explorer Hernando Cortez landed at Vera Cruz, Mexico in 1519 he was intent on conquest. To assure the devotion of his men, Cortez set fire to his fleet of eleven ships! With no means of retreat, Cortez’s army had only one direction to move, into the Mexican interior. Cortez ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:1-12, James 1:8

Tags: Commitment, Discipleship, Following Jesus, Counting The Cost

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Thank You, Mom, For Being Strong For Me

Contributed by Jerry Cosper on May 4, 2020

It almost brings tears to my eyes when I watch the commercials where the child is growing up and is leaving home for college, or to get married and live in another city. I think about how difficult it must have been for my mom to watch me drive off to college in another city. And then later to ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:41-50

Tags: Mothers Day, Mothers Strength

Denomination: Baptist

If You Could Only Have One Book....

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 4, 2021

It is said that when the famous missionary, Dr. David Livingstone, started his trek across Africa he had 73 books in 3 packs, weighing 180 pounds. After the party had gone 300 miles, Livingstone was obliged to throw away some of the books because of the fatigue of those carrying his baggage. As ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 4:12-16, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:21, 2 Timothy 2:15, 2 Timothy 4:1-3  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Bible, Faith, Scripture, Books, Livingstone, Missionaries  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Have You Lost The "scent"?

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 1, 2021

DEMAS LOST THE "SCENT" A man bought a new hunting dog. Eager to see how the dog would perform, the man took him out to track a bear. No sooner had they gotten into the woods than the dog picked up the trail. Suddenly he stopped, sniffed the ground, and headed in a new direction. He had ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 4:10, 1 John 2:15-16

Tags: Compromise, Worldliness, Backsliding, Values, Loving The World  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

How Many Of You Read Alice In Wonderland? There ...

Contributed by Bobby Scobey on May 1, 2007

How many of you read Alice in Wonderland? There was a morning in Wonderland when Alice complained to the queen, “But I find it quite impossible to believe what you say!” At which her majesty mumbled, “Well, maybe you do, my dear; but when I was your age I made it a point to believe six impossible ...read more

Denomination: Pentecostal

Have Any Of You Been Confronted With A "Good ...

Contributed by K. Edward Skidmore on Jun 3, 2007

Have any of you been confronted with a “good news, bad news” situation lately? I heard about a man who got a call from his doctor. The doctor said, “Your test results are in, and I’ve got good news and bad news for you.” The man said, “Okay --- give me the good news first.” The doctor ...read more

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Why Should I Let You In?

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Why should I let you in? I was reading the other day. Three men died and went to heaven. Saint Peter asked each of them, ‘Why should I let you in?’ The first man said, ‘I was a Christian policeman, and I helped a lot of people be safe.’ Peter said to him, ‘Come on in.’ Saint Peter asked the next ...read more

Tags: Evangelism How To

If You Have The Truth And It's A Matter Of Life ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

If you have the truth and it’s a matter of life or death, you had better be assertive. For example, I do a tremendous amount of flying. It has been my observation that pilots are some of the most arrogant people you would ever want to meet. First of all, in all my years of air travel they have ...read more

Tags: World Religions

Did You Know That When A Beaver Builds The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Did you know that when a beaver builds the entrance to his home, he always takes into account how thick the ice will be the next winter. And even though ice thickness may vary from winter to winter, THE ...read more

Tags: Divinity Of Christ

Most Of You Might Not Recognize The Name Robert ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Most of you might not recognize the name Robert the Bruce. His character was in the Mel Gibson’s movie Braveheart. Robert the Bruce was the Scottish noble whose character is most remembered for betraying Wallace, but he later rose up to lead Scotland to freedom after Walllace’s execution. He died ...read more

Tags: Endurance

Did You Know That The Idea For Mothers Day Was ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Did you know that the idea for Mothers Day was born in a small Methodist church in Grafton, West Virginia? It was 1876 and the nation still mourned the Civil War dead. While teaching a Memorial Day lesson, Mrs. Anna Reeves Jarvis thought of mothers who had lost their sons. She prayed that one day ...read more

Tags: Parenting

Do You Know The Legend Of The Cherokee Indian ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Do you know the legend of the Cherokee Indian youth’s rite of passage? His dad takes him into the forest blindfolded and leaves him alone. He is required to sit on a stump the whole night and not take off the blindfold until the ray of sun shines through it. He is all by himself. He cannot cry out ...read more

Tags: Patriarchs Abraham

A. First You Jump Out Of An Airplane With A ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

A. FIRST YOU JUMP OUT OF AN AIRPLANE WITH A HUNDRED POUNDS OF GEAR, INTO THE MIDDLE OF A BURNING FOREST, AND YOU CHASE THE FIRE AND FIGHT IT BY HAND -- USUALLY WITHOUT WATER OR, FIRE RETARDANT AND YOU DO IT BECAUSE YOU’RE A SMOKE JUMPER B. MIMI SCISSONS, A 37-YEAR-OLD SMOKE JUMPER STATIONED IN ...read more

Tags: Commitment To Christ

In Consideration Of This, Let Me Help You To ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

In consideration of this, let me help you to understand what tragedy is: In the February 1998 edition of Reader’s Digest which told of a couple who took early retirement from their jobs in the Northeast. He was 59 and she was 51. Now they live in Punta Gorda, Florida, where they putter around the ...read more

Tags: Faith General