In Sermon Illustrations: "Good And Evil"

Struggling With God?

Contributed by Andrew Moffatt on Jun 17, 2024

Here is a wee question, is struggling with God a bad thing? Where is a person's character developed? Did the saints of God become saints before or without struggling with God, without responding to those things in the scriptures or the words of Jesus that offended them, before they repented of ...read more

Tags: Faith, Fear, Holy Spirit, Pentecost, Abraham, Disciples, Becoming The Church, Journey, Jacob, Isaac, Struggling, The Upper Room, Character Development  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Salvation Army

Apples And The Things We Usually Miss

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Feb 20, 2026

I brought something with me today. (Bring out the apples.) These are apples. Nothing fancy. Not miraculous. Not smuggled out of the Garden of Eden. Just apples. But here’s what I want you to notice. An apple is sweet. An apple is useful. An apple is good. But the apple is not the point. The point ...read more

Scripture: John 15:1-8

Tags: Faithfulness, The Church, Remain, Abide, Fruitfullness, Discipleship  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Busyness - Work Without Rest

Contributed by J Jeffrey Smead on Feb 25, 2026

The New Testament speaks to work: if a man will not work, he should not eat. (2 Thessalonians 3:10) But too much work ... without rest ... is not a good thing. We should build into our lives ... a rhythm of working ... and resting. When God created the world, ... He wasn't giving us a law ...read more

Scripture: 2 Thessalonians 3:10, Exodus 34:21, Matthew 11:28

Tags: Quiet, Busyness, Busy, Time, Rest, Resting, Sabbath  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Anglican

[359]. A Message From A Poem – Everyone Is Greedy For Money

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Jun 3, 2026

[359]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – EVERYONE IS GREEDY FOR MONEY Everyone is greedy for money and they have a multitude of schemes to acquire it. Because I am old I can remember back in the 1950s when we went shopping with mum and shopkeepers were honest and always gave you good value. In those ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 6:13, Hebrews 13:5, 1 Timothy 6:9, Matthew 8:20, 1 Timothy 6:10-11  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Money, Greed, Poverty, Gain, Extortion, The Love Of Money, Christian Poems, Multinationals, Prices, Heavenly Riches  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Delusional Spiritual Myopithy!" John 15:26-John ...

Contributed by Mark Brunner on May 12, 2005

“Delusional Spiritual Myopithy!” John 15:26-John 16:4 Key verse(s) 26:“When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.” Oh that dreaded sign! “Caution––Men Working!” Normally I am pretty good about ...read more

Scripture: John 11:45-53

Tags: Holy Spirit Attributes, Holy Spirit In Believers

Denomination: Lutheran

Is The Doctor Behind?" Psalm 13:1-6 Key ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on May 30, 2005

“Is the Doctor Behind?” Psalm 13:1-6 Key verse(s) 5:“But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.” Waiting is not something that comes natural to me. When I am put to wait, the time drags by so slowly, so tediously. While other more accommodating individuals are able ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 13:1-6

Tags: Doubt

Denomination: Lutheran

He Was Graduated From The Finest Four-Star ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 10, 2006

He was graduated from the finest four-star Christian college. The product of a distinguished evangelical church, he had a good personal grasp of the Scriptures. From a strong Christian family, he was a personable and handsome green shoot -- the whole nine yards! Like many in his league, however, ...read more

Tags: Discipleship

A Woman Named Ruth Went To Her Mail Box And There ...

Contributed by Don Hawks on Jul 10, 2007

A woman named Ruth went to her mail box and there was only one letter. She picked it up and looked at it before opening, but then she looked at the envelope again. There was no stamp, no postmark, only her name and address. She read the letter: Dear Ruth: I’m going to be in your neighborhood ...read more

Denomination: Methodist

A Little Boy Converts His Mother

Contributed by Dwight L. Moody on Jun 11, 2009

A LITTLE BOY CONVERTS HIS MOTHER I remember, when on the North Side, I tried to reach a family time and again and failed. One night in the meeting, I noticed one of the little boys of that family. He hadn’t come for any good, however; he was sticking pins in the backs of the other boys. I thought ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 11:6

Tags: Evangelism How To

Denomination: *other

John W. Peterson Learns A Valuable Lesson After ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 1, 2010

John W. Peterson Learns A Valuable Lesson After Vocal Chords Damaged In Robert J. Morgan’s book, The Promise, he tells the story of John Peterson. When John was a teenager he had a remarkable singing voice and was in high demand as a performer. His greatest ambition was to become a famous ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:28

Tags: God In The Hardships

[021] A Message From A Poem - Artificial People Living Artificial Lives

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Jun 26, 2024

[021] A MESSAGE FROM A POEM - ARTIFICIAL PEOPLE LIVING ARTIFICIAL LIVES They say you can’t trust funeral directors, real estate agents (relators) and used car salesmen. That may be a generalisation but I think it does contain an element of truth. Anyway, moving to the core of the subject here ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:3

Tags: Artificial Lives, Hypoctites, Rolex, Play Actor, False, Fake, Artificial, Pretence  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Building A Relationship With God (Running The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 19, 2009

Building a Relationship with God (Running the Race) It was the summer before my Senior year at Jamestown College. I had taken up riding my bike several times a week and had gotten up to riding 10-20 miles in a single go. Needless to say… I was feeling pretty good about myself. So when school ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Tags: Sports

Unsung Heroes: The Servants At The Wedding In Cana

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Nov 12, 2020

Introduction: Wedding feasts were happy times, especially in the days of the Bible. This story describes how a handful of people kept a disaster from taking place! Text (John 2:1-11, KJV): 1 And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: 2 And both ...read more

Scripture: John 2:1-11

Tags: Miracles, Jesus Christ, Servants, Cana Of Galilee, Weddings And Marriages  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Laughter Is Not For Sissies

Contributed by James Snyder on Mar 12, 2022

Since birth, I have been infected with a Laughter-Virus. I’m not sure which side of the family it came from, or it could’ve come from both sides. But the least little thing will make me laugh. Sometimes I have a hard time stopping laughing. I have yet to find a mask big enough to cover my face ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 126:2

Tags: Virus, Laughter

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

An Apple Fritter On My Mind

Contributed by James Snyder on Jul 2, 2022

The last few weeks have been rather hectic, and I’ve struggled to keep up with everything. If it weren’t for The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage, I probably would not have gotten where I am today. I don’t know anybody who can plan out a day, week, or month better than her. She has everything ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 25:21

Tags: Stress, Humor

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Whatever Happened To Reality

Contributed by James Snyder on May 18, 2024

During my health hiatus I did things I never had time to do before. One of them was to check out some Reality TV Shows. I never had much interest in these TV shows, but I thought now would be a good time to check some of them just to see what their idea of reality really was. Of course, my health ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:8

Tags: Reality, Tv Shows

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Justin  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 13, 2009

JUSTIN I want to tell you about a 12-year-old boy we’ll call Justin. Justin never knew anything good. His parents, if you want to call them that, were completely without qualifications to birth the boy, having done so quite unintentionally, making far less effort to raise him than they made to ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16-17, Romans 5:8, Colossians 1:21-22

Tags: Grace, Atonement, Substitution

Some Time Ago I Was Reading About The 18th ...  PRO

Contributed by Tim Gibson on Nov 23, 2000

Some time ago I was reading about the 18th century German sculptor Johann Heinrich von Dannecker. His skills were impressive. He could bring stone to life with his tools. At the height of his powers, he wanted to do something special with his gifts -- he wanted to shape a statue of Christ that ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 2:4-8

Tags: Divinity Of Christ, Workplace Integrity

Denomination: *other

Christian Author And Speaker Joni Eareckson Tada ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 30, 2001

Christian author and speaker Joni Eareckson Tada writes: I’m a quadriplegic, yet I can drive a van (my hand is secured to a big joystick so I can steer, accelerate, and brake). I enjoy being independent, so if there’s something I can do, I will - even if it means tackling the drive-thru at a ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 50:19-20, Ephesians 2:11-22

Tags: Patience, Peace, Lord, Giving General, Give Thanks, Forgiveness, Christian Disciplines  (view more)  (view less)

Clarence Jordan Was A Man Of Unusual Abilities ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 16, 2001

Clarence Jordan was a man of unusual abilities and commitment. He had two Ph.D.s, one in agriculture and one in Greek and Hebrew. So gifted was he, he could have chosen to do anything he wanted. He chose to serve the poor. In the 1940’s, he founded a farm in Americus Georgia, and called it ...read more