In Sermon Illustrations: "God Strives"

Running With A Stopwatch

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 15, 2012

RUNNING WITH A STOPWATCH Long-distance runner Paavo Nurmi of Finland was an Olympic champion, winning twelve medals (nine of them gold) in the 1920, 1924, and 1928 Games. Nurmi was famous not only for his achievements, but also for running with a stopwatch in his hand to check his performance. ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 12:1-13

Tags: Disciplines General

Responding To Opposition

Contributed by Ken Henson on Jul 25, 2012

RESPONDING TO OPPOSITION Several months ago, a pastor sent some of his associate pastors into a village. They evangelized by knocking on doors and as God brought in healing and deliverance into these families, they would come to Christ. They once knocked on the door of a policeman, a very ...read more

Tags: Persecution

Denomination: *other

Fly To The Light  PRO

Contributed by Joe Bertone on Aug 20, 2012

FLY TO THE LIGHT Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky has this huge sanctuary that seats thousands upon thousands. Sometimes birds get in there. The facilities department has the job of trying to figure out how to get these birds out. The last thing you want Sunday morning is a bird ...read more

Scripture: John 8:12

Tags: Light, Darkness, Escape, Jesus Teachings

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Invitation To Drink Poison

Contributed by K. Edward Skidmore on Oct 17, 2012

INVITATION TO DRINK POISON David Timms said: "Skeptics, atheists, cynics, and unbelievers often cast Christianity as a legalistic burden, a lifestyle of bondage or a crutch for the weak to lean on. Well, perhaps it's time for those same voices to look around and see the fruit of recklessness. ...read more

Tags: Sin Deceptive

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Be Thankful

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Nov 11, 2012

BE THANKFUL Back in 1988, a Polish railway worker named Jan Grzebski was hit by a train. He lived ... but only barely. For the next 19 years (until the year 2007), Grzebski was in a coma. He awoke in 2007 to a whole new world. Nineteen years earlier, Poland was a communist state. Grzebski noted ...read more

Tags: Thanksgiving Holiday

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Cirrhosis Of The Giver

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Jan 23, 2013

CIRRHOSIS OF THE GIVER The disease cirrhosis of the giver was discovered in A.D. 34 by the husband-wife team of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1–11). It is an acute condition that renders the patient’s hands immobile when he is called on to move them in the direction of his wallet or her purse, and ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 9:7, Romans 12:1, Luke 9:23, Philippians 4:19

Tags: Giving General

Denomination: Baptist

A Story To Tell

Contributed by Bobby Jenkins on Feb 2, 2013

A STORY TO TELL (A poem to honor our military veterans ) By Pastor Bobby W. Jenkins Jr. A story to tell, one we can’t fully understand One of sacrifice and bravery of so many men A story to tell of a perilous fight That cost so many their lives and gathered such might A story to tell of the ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 33:12

Tags: Military, America, Soldier, Veterans, Holidays Civic  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Solving Problems; It's In The Angle

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 15, 2015

“With 900 million members worldwide and growing, Facebook is building its first European data storage facility—60 miles south of the Arctic Circle in Lulea, Sweden. The reason: natural air conditioning. Some Internet “server farms” spend as much to cool the machines as power them. Facebook’s Nordic ...read more

Scripture: John 15:1-12

Tags: Fruitfulness, Christian Growth

Clean Pigeon

Contributed by Davon Huss on Oct 9, 2015

Lester Roloff told about visiting a friend in Massillon, Ohio who had a number of pigeons. During the visit his friend showed him one of the birds and said, “See this bird. She just flew 500 miles from St. Louis to Massillon non stop.” Roloff interrupted his host: Come on, non stop! How do you ...read more

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:23

Tags: Clean, Holiness, Sanctify

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

When Good Intentions Go Wrong

Contributed by Jeremiah Menyongai on Mar 14, 2016

Illustration 2: In Tanzania, two guys went for an interview. One was smarter than the other but they were good friends and willing to work together so the less smarter could pass. The educated one said if he went first, he would come back with the answers to the interview questions. It happens that ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 26:1-33

Tags: Examine, Dull, Dummy, Ax, Evaluate, Test, Independent, Follower, Repeat, Mess, Ignorant, Stupid, Intention  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Charismatic

Cast Your Net On The Right Side

Contributed by Herb Pulse on Jun 28, 2017

I come from a fishing family. When I became old enough to walk, I became old enough to experience the wonderful world of fishing. One of things I particularly love is throwing a shad net. Often times it becomes very draining work, and at the tender age of 12 I became the primary go-to-guy for ...read more

Scripture: John 21:6

Tags: Jesus, Net, Cast

Denomination: Christian Church

Ten Word Sermon

Contributed by Kevin Barron on Aug 31, 2018

The shortest sermon I know is only ten words. It was preached by my grandfather to a small, country congregation on the story of the Good Samaritan (Mark 10:35-45). He read the account of an outsider who demonstrates true neighbor love by stopping on the road to care for a bleeding and badly ...read more

Scripture: Mark 10:35-45

Tags: Compassion, Good Samaritan

Denomination: Methodist

What Child Is This?

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Dec 20, 2020

What Child is this? • To the seeker, He's the Way; • to the philosopher, He’s the Truth; • to the penitent, He’s the Life. • • He is Joshua's captain, • He is Moses' smitten rock, • He is Ruth’s Kinsman Redeemer, What Child is this? • He is David’s Covenant King, • He is Esther’s ...read more

Scripture: John 1:1-12

Tags: Messiah, Christmas, Jesus, Salvation, Prophecy  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

What Are We Preaching?

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jan 25, 2021

WHAT ARE WE PREACHING? False teachings abound whenever people do not know the truth. Many of our churches today do not teach the truth because many pastors do not know the Bible. In our seminaries, almost 50 percent of professors now teach that there was no virgin birth of Jesus, and that story ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 4:1-3, 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Tags: Liberalism, Apostasy, Preaching The Word, Preachers

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Recognizing The Value Of The Gospel Offer

Contributed by Richard Tow on Sep 20, 2021

It’s a sad day when people are offered the kingdom of heaven, but they don’t see its value. They set it aside as a common thing and go their way. Image going to an antique store and finding a priceless antique there. The seller has priced it as a common item. But it is worth many times more than ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:44-46, Philippians 3:7-11, Matthew 6:19-34, Psalm 90:12, Proverbs 4:7, Luke 14:33  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Salvation, Gospel, Value, Invitation, Choice, Kingdom Of Heaven  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Charismatic

How Steinway Pianos Are Crafted

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Nov 14, 2021

THE POUNDER ROOM The Steinway piano has been preferred by keyboard masters such as Rachmaninoff, Horowitz, Cliburn, and Liszt and for good reason. It is a skillfully crafted instrument that produces phenomenal sound. Steinway pianos are built today the same way they were 140 years ago when Henry ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Tags: Discipline, Trials, Tests Of Faith

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Things That Happened At Midnight In The Bible

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Mar 12, 2022

"MIDNIGHT" — Did you ever notice how many things in the Bible took place at midnight?   A. It was at midnight that the Lord God passed through Egypt, killed all the firstborn, and brought Israel out of the land of bondage with his mighty hand and stretched out arm (Ex. 11:4; ...read more

Tags: Parables, Lord's Prayer, Persistence, Midnight, Prayer  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Stopping To Focus

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 28, 2022

Have you ever wondered why a pigeon walks so funny? According to an interesting article in the Detroit Free Press, a pigeon walks the way it does so it can’t see where it’s going. Because it can’t adjust its focus as it moves, the pigeon actually has to bring its head to a complete stop between ...read more

Scripture: Luke 4:1, John 15:1-11

Tags: Holy Spirit, Dependence

The Power Of Embraced Sacrifice Is Greater Than The Power Of Coercion

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Apr 8, 2022

"The cross has become the most widely recognized symbol in the world. It marks more graves, graces more jewelry, and sits atop more churches than any other design. The making of the sign of the cross is known from basilicas to baseball diamonds. Finding a logo has become big business, but no ...read more

Scripture: Mark 14:32-42, Mark 15:21-41

Tags: Sacrifice, The Cross, Symbols

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

What Have We Learned?

Contributed by Loyd C. Taylor on Mar 6, 2023

What Have We Learned? They shouted with praises, reaching the sky, Pushing and shoving to see Jesus pass by. Crying, “Hosanna, glory to the King!’ He comes to us today, great joy He doth bring." They threw down palm leaves, covering the way, Making a clear path for Him to travel that ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 21:1-11

Tags: Palm Sunday, Poetry, Holiday, The Passover, Ressurrection, Easter  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist