In Sermon Illustrations: "Good Intentions"

How Martin Luther Overcame The Devil

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 22, 2011

HOW MARTIN LUTHER OVERCAME THE DEVIL Martin Luther was often very graphic in his description of the activities of the Devil. Asked one time how he overcame the Devil, he replied, "Well, when he comes knocking upon the door of my heart, and asks 'Who lives here?' the dear Lord Jesus goes to the ...read more

Scripture: James 4:7

Tags: Satan

Ministry: A Character Profession

Contributed by Rodelio Mallari on Apr 13, 2011

MINISTRY: A CHARACTER PROFESSION Ministry is a character profession. To put it bluntly, you can sleep around and still be a good brain surgeon. You can cheat on your mate and have little trouble continuing to practice law. Apparently, it is no problem to stay in politics and plagiarize. You can be ...read more

Tags: Character

Denomination: *other

Who Lives Here?

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 20, 2011

"WHO LIVES HERE?" Martin Luther was often very graphic in his description of the activities of the Devil. Asked one time how he overcame the Devil, he replied, "Well, when he comes knocking upon the door of my heart, and asks, 'Who lives here?' the dear Lord Jesus goes to the door and says, ...read more

Scripture: James 4:7

Tags: Temptation Resisting

Ineffective Churches

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 5, 2011

INEFFECTIVE CHURCHES Chuck Colson makes an interesting observation. He points out that when the Communists took over Russia in 1917, they did not make Christianity illegal. The Soviet constitution guaranteed freedom of religion. What they did do is make it illegal for the churches to do any "good ...read more

Scripture: Titus 3:14

Tags: Christian Witness

Winning In Losing  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 11, 2011

WINNING IN LOSING Both teams that play in the Super Bowl think they will win, so both teams have special t-shirts and hats designed that declare them the victors. It costs about $2 million to have the apparel made--which means for the losing team, $2 million goes to waste, right? Wrong. A recent ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 9:19-23

Tags: Giving General

Saving A Stranger

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 23, 2011

SAVING A STRANGER In his book Open the Door Wide to Happy Living, T. Huffman Harris told of a young man named Eddie who became tired of life and decided to leap from a bridge into a turbulent river. Jim, a total stranger, saw Eddie being swept downstream and plunged into the water in an effort to ...read more

Scripture: James 1:2-4

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Cruel Christians

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 29, 2011

CRUEL CHRISTIANS During the Spanish conquest of Mexico under Hernando Cortez in the early 1500s, a resistance leader named Hatney was captured after a fierce battle and sentenced to be burned alive. After tying him to the stake, his captors urged him to become a Christian so that at his death his ...read more

Scripture: Titus 2:1-10

Tags: Christian Witness

Trespasses And Debts  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 31, 2011

TRESPASSES AND DEBTS The story is told of two congregations that were located only a few blocks from each other in a small community. They thought it might be better if they would merge and become one united, larger, and more effective body rather than two struggling churches. Good idea ... but ...read more

Scripture: Romans 15:1-7

Tags: Divisions

Chicken For Dinner

Contributed by Tim White on Sep 7, 2011

CHICKEN FOR DINNER When my dad was a small boy, he wanted to go fishing, but no one would take him. He sat on his porch with his fishing pole and pretended to be fishing until that became too boring. So he put a hook on and put a piece of bread on the hook. My grandmother let her chickens run ...read more

Tags: Sin Punishment Of

Denomination: Baptist

Do You Know Who I Am?

Contributed by Jimmy Haile on Oct 9, 2011

DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM? At an evening social for army officers and their wives, the commanding general of the base had been given a special award and proceeded to drone on in a long speech of thanks. A lieutenant mumbled to the woman at his side, "Why they would award him a prize is beyond me. He's ...read more

Tags: Tongue

Denomination: Baptist

The Promise Of A Flat-Screen  PRO

Contributed by Johnny A. Palmer Jr. on Dec 8, 2011

THE PROMISE OF A FLAT-SCREEN Reminds me of a 42-year-old woman from South Bend, Indiana. She called the police after being sold what she thought was a flat-screen TV. She was approached by a man who offered her a great deal on the TV, a new flat-screen TV for only $500 dollars. She admitted it ...read more

Tags: Sin Deceptive

Denomination: Baptist

Lord Of The Rings: Fellowship Will Protect Him

Contributed by C Jordan on Apr 29, 2012

LORD OF THE RINGS: FELLOWSHIP WILL PROTECT HIM Lord of the Rings is a story written by J.R.R. Tolkien, a devout Christian who led C.S. Lewis to the Lord. Although he made it clear that his stories are not allegories, he still wrote from a Christian worldview and you can learn good biblical ...read more

Tags: Church General

Denomination: *other

Steering Your Ship In A Storm

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 7, 2012

STEERING YOUR SHIP IN A STORM An old seaman once said, "During the fiercest storms the only way a ship can survive is to keep its nose pointed straight into the wind. If you try to turn to the left or the right, the ship may capsize. If you try to run from the wind, the waves can surge over the ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 12:1-13

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Porn Stats

Contributed by Davon Huss on Sep 24, 2012

PORN STATS The Internet is a good tool but it can also be used to fuel heat of sexual lust. Statistics are truly staggering. This is from 2006 and worldwide statistics: According to compiled numbers from respected news and research organizations, every second $3,075.64 is being spent on ...read more

Tags: Temptation Sex

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Love One Another...?

Contributed by Fr Mund Cargill Thompson on Nov 13, 2012

LOVE ONE ANOTHER...? A story from the Peanut’s cartoons - you know - with Snoopy and Charlie Brown: It’s Christmas time and Lucy comes in where Charlie Brown is standing and says, "Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown. `Tis the season of peace on earth and good will toward men. Therefore, I suggest we ...read more

Tags: Christmas

Denomination: Anglican

I Sure Wish Jesus Could Have Been There!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 28, 2014

I SURE WISH JESUS COULD HAVE BEEN THERE! A church had a special concert and the worship center was packed. The congregation had one of their greatest times of worship ever! Later that evening, a young mother from the church was putting her little boy to bed. He had enjoyed the concert so much ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 33:1-20

Tags: Jesus, Children, Prayer, Presence Of God

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Audrey Hepburn's Beauty Tips

Contributed by Perry Greene on Aug 18, 2014

Below is a wonderful poem Audrey Hepburn wrote when asked to share her ’beauty tips.’ It was read at her funeral years later. For attractive lips, speak words of kindness. For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people. For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry. For ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:8-9

Tags: Beauty, Hands, Inner Beauty

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Real Story Of Unequally Yoked.  PRO

Contributed by Davon Huss on Jan 31, 2015

David Slagle, a minister at a small church in Atlanta, tells the story of a woman in her late 20’s. The woman had befriended a man living in her apartment complex. Slagle and his wife asked whether the two were dating. The man in question was a known atheist. The young woman answered, “No, I’m ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:1-10

Tags: Marriage, Premarital, Unequally Yoked, Pre-Marital Counsel

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Hope

Contributed by Don Berry-Graham on Mar 1, 2016

In September 1988, Hurricane Gilbert hit the Louisiana coast. At that time it was considered the “Storm of the century.” It battered the shoreline, severely disrupting the shrimping business. Many shrimp boats were lost, causing great concern for several families dependent on shrimping for their ...read more

Scripture: Daniel 1:1-16

Tags: Hope, Hope Deferred

Denomination: Baptist

If Billy Goes To Hell, Do You Care?

Contributed by Steve Kinnard on Feb 10, 2019

Billy was born in 1972 into a family of drug abusers. His mother died of an overdose when little Billy was three years old, His father was wanted in Tennessee for selling drugs. Little Billy was slipped into Tennessee to live with relatives. In all reality little Billy spent his life looking for ...read more

Scripture: Luke 16:19-31

Tags: Hell, Compassion

Denomination: Pentecostal