In Sermon Illustrations: "God Shows Up"

Wait...god Did Come

Contributed by Soon-Hock Lim on Dec 23, 2010

WAIT...GOD DID COME Philip Yancey tells the story of a migrant farmhand in his book "Where is God When It Hurts": Last year we went to a little church in New Jersey.... We had all our children there, the baby included. The Reverend Jackson was there, I can't forget his name, and he told us to be ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 1:23

Tags: Christmas, Incarnation

Denomination: Evangelical Free

God's Taking My Picture  PRO

Contributed by Lalachan Abraham on Jan 23, 2013

GOD'S TAKING MY PICTURE I heard a story of a little girl who walked to and from school daily. The weather one morning was questionable and clouds were forming, yet she made her daily trek to the elementary school. As the afternoon progressed, the winds whipped up, along with thunder and ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 18:1-5

Tags: God Brings Hope

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

What If God Was One Of Us?" By ...  PRO

Contributed by Troy Borst on Aug 19, 2004

ILLUSTRATION... “What if God Was One of Us?” by Joan Osborne The world sometimes wonders about God and wonders what He is like and what He is up to. Most people believe there is a God up there but they do not know what He is like. A pop song in 1995 by Joan Osbourne entitled, ’What if God was ...read more

Tags: Humanity Of Christ

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Free Gas: God Knew

Contributed by Brad Henry on Sep 6, 2011

FREE GAS: GOD KNEW Yesterday we had an "event" at church. We were told to come with comfortable clothes and that was all the direction we received. When we got to church, the pastor said, "OK folks, today we are going to the gas station up the street. We are going to give $25.00 of gas to 150 cars ...read more

Tags: Prayer Answered

There Is No Racial Distinction In The Kingdom Of God

Contributed by Howard Gunter on Mar 29, 2017

All human beings are equally created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26-27). God loved the world so much that He sent Jesus to lay down His life for us (John 3:16). The “world” obviously includes all ethnic groups. I like to use the following illustration which works as well with ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 1:26-27

Tags: Human Life, Jesus Died For All

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Do You Believe In The God Of ...

Contributed by Warner Pidgeon on Apr 3, 2010

Do you believe in the God of surprises? Now, let’s be clear, just in case anyone’s not sure. Although The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is one of my favourite books, and one of my favourite films, I know that it’s only make-believe; but just like the parables that Jesus told – the stories he ...read more

Tags: Narnia

Denomination: Anglican

You Can Shut Him [jesus] Up For A Fool, You Can ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 11, 2007

"You can shut him [Jesus] up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon, or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come with any ...read more

Tags: Jesus Christ

God's Forgiveness And The Jump Drive

Contributed by James Webster on Jan 14, 2012

GOD'S FORGIVENESS AND THE JUMP DRIVE Most of you know I keep most of my office work in the corner of the family room in the parsonage since we moved back. Most of my study I do early before anyone gets up. However, for the past couple of weeks I have been coming over to the church office early ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness General

Denomination: Nazarene

William Temple On Worshiping God

Contributed by Suresh Manoharan on Feb 6, 2014

WILLIAM TEMPLE ON WORSHIPING GOD A devout Saint (William Temple) summed up worship thus: "Worshiping God is nothing but opening our hearts to the love of God, quickening our conscience to the Holiness of God, purging our imagination with the beauty of God, ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 6:29

Tags: Adoration, Aroma, Assignment

Denomination: *other

[162]. A Message From A Poem – Jewels Of God’s Reflected Beauty

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Aug 12, 2025

[162]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – JEWELS OF GOD’S REFLECTED BEAUTY This was a difficult poem to write trying to get it right the way I wanted. It is probably an unusual subject anyway. By jewels, I mean literal jewels. I love gemstones though I have none. Can’t afford them, but my God has so ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 2:9, Revelation 21:18-21, Revelation 21:16-17, Revelation 21:10-11, Revelation 21:1-3  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: The New Jerusalem, Christian Poetry, Christian Poems, Gemstones, Home Of The Bride, Precious Gems, Gold, Pearl, Gems, Colors, Pearls, The Holy City, Color  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

God Prepares Us For Heaven

Contributed by Guy Glass on May 5, 2023

Dr. Billy Graham tells of a friend of his who went through the Depression in the 1920s, losing a job, a fortune, a wife, and a home. But he was a believer in Jesus Christ, and he tenaciously held to his faith even though he was naturally depressed and cast down by circumstances. One day in the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:10-12

Tags: Persecution, Heaven, Depression

Denomination: Baptist

Don't Give Up—the Case Of Mrs. Ruth Ertel

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 8, 2012

DON’T GIVE UP--THE CASE OF MRS. RUTH ERTEL In 1965 a divorced mother of two, found a classified ad offering a restaurant for sale. She mortgaged her house to purchase the restaurant, the original Chris’s steakhouse. In 1976 a fire forced her to relocate. Under the original purchase agreement, the ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:3-5

Tags: Endurance

God Made Himself Understandable  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 15, 2011

GOD MADE HIMSELF UNDERSTANDABLE I read of a story from the famous Danish philosopher from the mid 1800s, a Christian theologian named Soren Kierkegaard. It is a familiar story, a story rewritten by many over the ages in many different forms, yet it is still relevant today. Here’s what he wrote: A ...read more

Scripture: John 1:1-14, Habakkuk 1:1-5

Tags: Christmas, Understandable

You're Beautiful To God  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 12, 2011

YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL TO GOD R.C. Buckner, a big, bold and brash man, lived about 100 years ago in Texas. This imposing figure had a very tender heart for children, starting Buckner's Children's Homes all across the state. The children affectionately called him "Papa Buckner" and would run up to him ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 9:9-13

Tags: Compassion

I Was Woke Up At 4am One Morning And Could Only ...

Contributed by Paul Wallace on Jul 17, 2008

I was Woke up at 4am one morning and could only think of one possible person to pray for. I felt no real burden or annointing. I did and went back to sleep. I asked them about it. They said they were thinking of crashing their car into a tree to kill ...read more

Tags: Prophecy

Denomination: Wesleyan

God Communicates Through Dreams

Contributed by Tim Smith on May 28, 2015

God still speaks in dreams today. In the second year of serving at Gretna, I had a dream that the 2 acres next door where a pediatrician’s office was located was going to be sold and become townhouses. The owner Dr. Jerry Fortino attended the WestBank Rotary Club which met at the church every ...read more

Scripture: Acts 16:1-10

Tags: Holy Spirit, Dreams, God's Leading

Denomination: Methodist

C.s. Lewis Observed, "You Can Shut Him Up For A ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Hensley on Aug 30, 2001

C.S. Lewis observed, "You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left ...read more

Tags: Jesus Teachings, Apologetics Jesus, Trinity

Denomination: Baptist

Success Is Seeing God In Common Tasks And ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

Success is seeing God in common tasks and responsibilities and then showing God in the ...read more

Tags: Workplace Success

It's Better Higher Up! (08.31.05--Sickness!--John ...

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Aug 30, 2005

It’s Better Higher Up! (08.31.05--Sickness!--John 16:32) Webley our oldest dachshund has a thing about long walks. Simply, he doesn’t like them very much. Webley is eight and getting up there in years. Anything over a mile or so can be grueling for him. And, because of this the pads of his paws ...read more

Scripture: John 16:32

Tags: Hardship Of Life

Denomination: Lutheran

1938 God Moves In Mysterious ...

Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Jun 15, 2009

1938 God Moves In Mysterious Ways At age 32, William Cowper passed through a great crisis in his life. He tried to end his life by taking laudanum. Then he hired a horse-drawn cabbie, ordering the driver to take him to the Thames, intending to throw himself from the bridge. It was one of London’s ...read more

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Denomination: Other