In Sermon Illustrations: "Godly Thinking"

Loss Of Joy = Incomplete Obedience

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 2, 2012

LOSS OF JOY = INCOMPLETE OBEDIENCE F. B. Meyer: Sometimes a soul comes to its spiritual adviser, speaking thus: "I have no conscious joy, and have had but little for years." "Did you once have it?" "Yes, for some time after my conversion to God." "Are you conscious of having refused obedience to ...read more

Scripture: John 14:15

Tags: Obedience

Drop That Baby!  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 8, 2012

"DROP THAT BABY!" A pastor called on a lady from his church and found her very despondent and feeling that God had forsaken her. Looking at the baby in the woman’s arms, the pastor said to her, "Drop that baby on the floor." Startled by the suggestion, she looked at him in disbelief. "Well," he ...read more

Scripture: John 10:22-30

Tags: God In The Hardships

Overcomers

Contributed by Ronald Franklin on Jul 10, 2012

ILLUS: I watched Serena Williams win the Wimbledon tennis championship yesterday. She cruised through the first set. But in the second set, her opponent rallied and got hot, and won the set. Then, in the 3rd set, Serena got her game back on track and she just overwhelmed her opponent to win going ...read more

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Denomination: Baptist

More From Technology, Less From One Another

Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on Jul 18, 2012

MORE FROM TECHNOLOGY, LESS FROM ONE ANOTHER Sherry Turkle, a professor at M.I.T. and author of Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other, has spent the last 15 years studying how our "plugged-in lives" have changed who we are. She claims that all of our ...read more

Tags: Communication General

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Like A Child

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 17, 2012

LIKE A CHILD Yo-Yo Ma, one of the most famous cellists in our day, once said, "When people ask me how they should approach performance, I always tell them that the professional musician should aspire to the state of the beginner. In order to become a professional," he says, "you need to go through ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 18:4

Tags: Humility

Kyle Idleman On Going Where Jesus Goes

Contributed by Kevin Karhoff on Mar 18, 2013

The most literal way to define a follower of Jesus is "Someone who goes where Jesus goes." I'm not sure how you can call yourself a follower of Jesus if you refuse to go where Jesus went. If you're following Jesus "wherever," he will take you towards a sinner that others wouldn't want to be seen ...read more

Scripture: Luke 9:57-58

Tags: Surrender, Jesus Christ, Commitment To Christ, Call To Discipleship

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

No Atheists In The Water  PRO

Contributed by Paul Barreca on Mar 31, 2013

NO ATHEISTS IN THE WATER David Harrell wrote a book telling the story of his father, Edgar Harrell. Edgar was one of the 300 survivors of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis, the last US ship sunk by enemy contact in WW2. 600 of the 900 men who survived the ship's sinking were stranded in the ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 2:15

Tags: Shipwreck, Death, Dying, Loneliness, Atheism  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Transformed Versus Conformed -- The Case Of The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 5, 2013

TRANSFORMED VERSUS CONFORMED -- THE CASE OF THE JAPANESE WATERMELON Farmers in Zentsuji, Japan, are preparing full-grown watermelons for shipment -- only these are no ordinary melons: they're square! They were placed in tempered-glass cubes while they were still growing. Why would anyone want a ...read more

Scripture: James 12:1-2

Tags: Sanctification

The Trouble Telescope  PRO

Contributed by Perry Greene on May 8, 2013

THE TROUBLE TELESCOPE Most of you have seen the wonderful images from the Hubble Space Telescope. From the far reaches of space, we're able to see God's most breathtaking creations. Do you remember that in the beginning the Hubble Space Telescope was not the wonderful machine that it is today. ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:12

Tags: Self

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Bumper Stickers

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 12, 2014

BUMPER STICKER CONSCIENCE This is a true story. I have a pastor friend in Alabama named Bill who was driving to speak at a church in another county and he was running late. He was driving about 20 miles over the speed limit, when suddenly he remembered he had a Christian bumper sticker on his car. ...read more

Scripture: Romans 13:1-7

Tags: Conscience, Obey Authorities

Tearing Down The Name Of Jesus  PRO

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Feb 19, 2014

TEARING DOWN THE NAME OF JESUS When I was in college at Dallas Baptist University, I drove through Dallas on the way to my classes. I would always see a huge sign of a dynamic church in the area that said, "Lifting Up the Name of Jesus!" It was very impressive. One day while I was driving to ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 2:1-11

Tags: Discipleship, Hypocrisy, Conviction, Name Of Jesus

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Too Wicked For Ministry

Contributed by Keith Foskey on Apr 16, 2014

Paul Washer is a powerful preacher and evangelist. He once had a seminary student send him a message. He was afraid that he was too bad to enter the ministry. He sent him a message that simply said, "I think I am too wicked to be in the ministry." And Paul Washer wrote him back and said, "You are ...read more

Scripture: Romans 3:19-26

Tags: Assurance, Confidence, Reliance On God

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Nfl...a Moral Compass?

Contributed by Robert Harmon on Oct 4, 2014

How would you like to have the NFL as your moral compass? Last week, we were hammered by reports about Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson and how the NFL was responding (or not responding) to the allegations of abuse. Tabloids, Social Media, and ESPN have been overloaded with their stories and many ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:24-27

Tags: Firm Foundation, Becoming Like Christ, Nfl

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Nearness Of God

Contributed by Bruce Lee on Jun 9, 2015

Acts 17:27 says, "He is not far from each of us." A little boy and his sister were playing outside. The boy said something ugly to his sister. She said, "God hears what you say." The boy said, "No, God didn’t hear me He is to far away." That’s how many people think of God. So, we rely upon our own ...read more

Scripture: Acts 17:27

Tags: Wisdom, Strength, Nearness Of God, Self-Reliance

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Disguised

Contributed by Glynda Lomax on Aug 15, 2018

I live in Arkansas. I LOVE when autumn comes and fall leaves drift down on autumn breezes. But in Arkansas, you have to be careful about those leaves on the ground because some of them conceal SERPENTS. There are lots of Copperhead Snakes here. Copperheads are venomous Pit Vipers that strike you ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 11:14, Genesis 4:7, Genesis 3:1, Proverbs 23:27, Proverbs 22:14, Ecclesiastes 7:26  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Discerning, Affairs, Snares, Sin, Deception, Serpent, Adultery, Deceive, Disguise  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Charismatic

Sexual Sins

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Oct 15, 2019

Greek & Roman religions taught very little about personal holiness. A person could bring sacrifices to an idol, say a few prayers & go away from the altar and commit sin freely. No one would ever think he was inconsistent in his faith. This is not so with the life of a follower of ...read more

Tags: Lust, Uncleanness, Sexual Sins

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Grace & Works Story/Joke

Contributed by Bruce Blythe on Oct 23, 2021

Made this one up for my sermon on the whole Book of Romans (Works, Grace & Living). Hope some people find it helpful. Blessings. Bruce A Jew, and an Islamic, and a Christian were drinking coffee. As they sat and talked the conversation turned toward God. The Islamic said, “Now, regular prayer ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:1-6, Romans 12:3-8, Romans 3:20, Romans 12:1-2

Tags: Grace, Christian Living, Works

Denomination: Baptist

Buried With A Fire Extinguisher!

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jun 6, 2022

An interesting newspaper clipping from 1999 told of a British man who was quite a character. Two or three days AFTER his funeral his friends started getting signed postcards from him. The cards said "wish you were here" and were addressed from ...read more

Tags: Hell, Death, Eternity, Judgment, Deceived  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Be Doers Of The Word

Contributed by Brad Beaman on Oct 8, 2022

There is a made-up story about a man who had a dream about heaven. The story is not true but the point it illustrates is true. In this story a man had a dream he died and went to heaven. He toured heaven and it was marvelous just as he imagined it would be. He sees mansions, streets of gold and ...read more

Scripture: James 1:19-25

Tags: Doing, Great Sermons, Doers Of The Word, Practical Faith, Not Hearers Only, Do What It Says, James On Doing  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

He's A Liar!

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jul 2, 2023

A missionary to the American Indians was in Los Angeles with an Indian friend who was a new Christian. As they walked down the street, they passed a man on the corner who was preaching with a Bible in his hand. The missionary knew the man represented a cult, but the Indian saw only the Bible. He ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 4:1-5, John 17:17, 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Tags: Spirit Of Error, Satan, Discernment, Truth, False Teachers, False Teaching, Spirits, Holy Spirit  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational