In Sermon Illustrations: "Gods Timing"

A Free Flowing River Purifies Itself And Is ...  PRO

Contributed by Bob Briggs on Dec 8, 2000

A free flowing river purifies itself and is alive with life. So also is the Christian who becomes involved with others in sharing the Gospel. That Christian will discover the reason for his or her existence. Being involved in the ...read more

Tags: Sharing Your Faith, Sharing My Testimony, God Brings Purpose

Denomination: Pentecostal

A Pastor Was Preparing A Christmas Message And ...  PRO

Contributed by Harold Miller on Dec 15, 2000

A pastor was preparing a Christmas message and fell asleep in his study at the church. He dreamed that he was in a world into which Jesus had never come. He walked out on the streets, but no church spires pointed to heaven. He was summoned by a weeping child to visit her dying mother, but on ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:10-11

Tags: God Brings Hope, Forgiveness In Jesus, Jesus Is The Way, Christmas Advent

Denomination: Mennonite

Simple Confession, Profound Forgiveness  PRO

Contributed by Timothy Peck on Feb 1, 2001

SIMPLE CONFESSION, PROFOUND FORGIVENESS In 1818 one out of six women who had children died of something called "childbirth fever." A doctor’s daily routine back then started in the dissecting room, where he performed autopsies, and from there he made his rounds to examine expectant mothers. No one ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 1:9

Tags: Forgiveness, Cleansing, Confession Of Sin, Lord's Supper, Mothers, God's Forgiveness  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

C. S. Lewis Once Said: "It Is Easier To Be ...  PRO

Contributed by Mary Lewis on Feb 12, 2001

C. S. Lewis once said: "it is easier to be enthusiastic about humanity with a capital "H" than it is to love individual men and women, especially those who are uninteresting, … exasperating, depraved, or otherwise unattractive. ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 22:37-39

Tags: Fake, Excuses, Compassion, True Love, Promises Of God, Sincere Love  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

The Story Is Told Of A Father Of 5 Who Came Home ...  PRO

Contributed by Steve Malone on May 15, 2001

THE STORY IS TOLD OF A FATHER OF 5 WHO CAME HOME WITH A TOY, HE SUMMONED HIS CHILDREN AND ASKED WHICH ONE SHOULD BE GIVEN THE PRESENT. "WHO IS THE MOST OBEDIENT, NEVER TALKS BACK TO MOM AND DOES EVERY THING HE OR SHE IS TOLD TO DO?" HE ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 32:9-10, Genesis 5:3-16

Tags: Father's Day, Father, Faith, Doing God's Will, Obedient, Respect, Present  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Leaders And Followers  PRO

Contributed by Darren Ethier on May 7, 2002

LEADERS AND FOLLOWERS S. I. McMillen, in his book "None of These Diseases," tells a story of a young woman who wanted to go to college, but her heart sank when she read the question on the application blank that asked, "Are you a leader?" Being both honest and conscientious, she wrote, "No," and ...read more

Tags: Follower, Follow, Hypocrisy, Honesty, Knowing God's Will, Leadership, Obedience, Risk  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Pentecostal

Life In A Box! (09.02.05--The Temporal ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Aug 31, 2005

Life In a Box! (09.02.05--The Temporal Things!--Matthew 6:21) Did you ever stop to think, about the legacy that you will leave once this life is over? Will you be remembered for the things you did or the things that you owned? I was asked that question the other day and the asker simply asked me ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:21, Psalm 34:10

Tags: Immanuel, God With Us, Goals, Legacy, Finding Fulfillment, Testimony, Struggles  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Lutheran

The Power Of Godly Hope

Contributed by Rick Crandall on Feb 23, 2006

*King Duncan tells the story that reminds us of the power of this hope. This happened in 1993, to a man named Terry Stout. Terry was the business manager for the Psychiatry Department at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. *One Fall morning Terry was running a little late, but (I’m sure led by ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:1-2, Hebrews 6:17-20

Tags: Despair, Godly Hope, Salvation, Suicide, Power Of God's Word, Hope  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Computers

Contributed by Roberta Karchner on Feb 21, 2020

Three ways our choice to follow God is like a computer (phone/electric device) 1. We need to stay plugged in to keep our batteries charged. (prayer, scripture, worship all charge our batteries) 2. We need to keep our Virus Protection up-to-date. (Sin is as prevalent as viruses on the internet. ...read more

Scripture: Deuteronomy 30:15-20, 2 Timothy 1:12

Tags: Computers, Virus, Connected, Phones, Charged, Virus Protection, In God's Hands  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Billy Graham's Great Regret

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Dec 2, 2020

Billy Graham was once asked, "If you had to live your life over again, what would you do differently?" He answered: “One of my great regrets is that I have not studied enough, I wish I had studied more and preached less. People have pressured me into speaking to groups when I should ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Timothy 2:15

Tags: Bible, Scripture, Bible Study, Word Of God, Pastors, Sermon Preparation  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Outline Of The Lord's Prayer

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Mar 8, 2022

This profoundly simple model captures everything we need to know about prayer. It sets the standard, or pattern, for praying the way Jesus prayed. Outline: The paternity of prayer: “Father” The priority of prayer: “Hallowed be your name” The program of prayer: “Your kingdom come” The ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness, Prayer, Temptation, Lord's Prayer, Daily Bread, Kingdom Of God  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

I Was That Baby Boy Who Almost Died

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Mar 15, 2022

When I was 15 years old, I met Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior. It was the summer before my sophomore year in high school. That summer, the Lord called me to preach with an unmistakable calling on my life. I had a dream of one of my best friends one night. He was surrounded by flames and ...read more

Tags: Gospel, Miracles, God's Call, Prodigal Son, Testimonies, Father, Healing  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Dead Religion

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Nov 13, 2022

Steven Cole gives us a powerful personal application of the story in Luke 13:10-17. Luke concludes this story by noting that Jesus’ opponents were being humiliated, but the multitude was rejoicing over all the glorious things being done by Him (Lk 13:17). As we saw before, Jesus and His teaching ...read more

Tags: Faith, Church, Satan, Preaching, Revival, Religion, Kingdom Of God, Outlines  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Miracle Of Eddie Rickenbacker

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Nov 20, 2022

It is gratitude that prompted an old man to visit an old broken pier on the eastern seacoast of Florida. Every Friday night, until his death in 1973, he would return, walking slowly and slightly stooped with a large bucket of shrimp. The sea gulls would flock to this old man, and he would feed them ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:28

Tags: Thanksgiving, Protection, Angels, Rescue, Miracles, Gratitude, God's Will, Deliverance, Providence  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Face To Face With Christ

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jun 12, 2023

Fanny Crosby was one of the greatest hymn writers in the history of the Church. However, she was born blind, but never used her issue to blame God or play the victim. In fact, she once praised God for her blindness and said, "God did her a favor by making her blind" because the first ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 3:1-3

Tags: Blindness, Hymns, Fanny Crosby, Sovereignty Of God, Death, Glory, Heaven  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

When A Thief Was Surprised At Church!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Nov 13, 2023

When I was pastoring in Texas, something strange happened one Christmas that I will never stop laughing about. Because it was a Christmas holiday, we were at home with our family taking a break from our normal ministry schedule. We did not go to the church campus for the weekend. But, while we ...read more

Scripture: Malachi 3:10-11, Proverbs 3:9-10, 1 Timothy 6:10, 1 Corinthians 16:1-2

Tags: Pastors, Tithing, Robbing God, Stealing, Surprises, Church, Giving, Humor  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Difference Christmas Makes

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Dec 24, 2023

At Christmastime, we set up our Christmas trees and toy trains. We may even walk along singing carols, or we may preach a sermon, but these bits and pieces are barren if we are thinking only of them or even thinking only of being in heaven, and are not stopping to ask ourselves, “What difference ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:8-20

Tags: Shepherds, Christmas, Glory, God's Glory, Ordinary People, Making A Difference  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

What Are The Five Solas Of The Reformation?

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Nov 11, 2024

What are the 5 Solas of the Reformation? The 5 “Solas” of the Reformation (“solas,” meaning, “alones”) are five principles that are foundational to the doctrine of salvation that were the focus of the Protestant Reformation. These five "solas" led to the rejection of the false teachings ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:5, Romans 5:1-8

Tags: Faith, Grace, Scripture, Sin, Salvation, Theology, Glory Of God, Reformation  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Let Me Tell You A Story From Alberta History: ...  PRO

Contributed by Steven Simala Grant on Dec 12, 2002

Let me tell you a story from Alberta history: Cree Chief Maskepetoon met Rev. Robert Rundle, and at their first meeting declared "I will never become a Christian as long as there are horses to steal and scalps to take." Nevertheless Maskepetoon became a staunch friend to Rundle and his attitude ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:20

Tags: Christian Liberty, Anxiety, Forgiveness General, God's Image, Prayer, Moving Forward, Supplication  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

[093]. A Message From A Poem – Foraging In The Depths Of Scripture

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Apr 30, 2025

[093]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – FORAGING IN THE DEPTHS OF SCRIPTURE This poem deals with getting into the heart of scripture. There are images and techniques and encouragement in these stanzas. I actually make the comparison between a mudskipper that flits across the shallows on the water, and ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 4:12, Psalm 119:27, 2 Timothy 2:15, 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Tags: Buried Treasure, Inspired, Dig Deep, Eel, Mudskipper, Scripture, Word Of God, Workman  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational