In Sermon Illustrations: "Good Intentions"

Reward For Doing Right: Joseph Told Israel Of His ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 28, 2008

Reward for Doing Right: Joseph told Israel of his brother’s evil doings. He was faithful to reveal rather than conceal the matter. Certainly it took a great deal of courage to do what he did. The exercising of that courage showed forth faithfulness. He also was faithful to his job requirements. ...read more

Tags: Ot Characters

The Tea ...

Contributed by Paul Carlson on Feb 21, 2009

The Tea Cup There was a couple who used to go England to shop in a beautiful store. This was their 25th wedding anniversary. They both liked antiques and pottery and especially tea-cups. They said, "May we see that? We’ve never seen one quite so beautiful." As the lady handed it to them, suddenly ...read more

Tags: Sanctification

Denomination: Baptist

Standing In The Doorway  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 17, 2009

STANDING IN THE DOORWAY John Todd was born in Rutledge, Vermont, into a family of several children. They later moved to the village of Killingsworth back in the early 1800s. And, there, at a very young age, both John’s parents died. The relatives wondered what they would do with so many ...read more

Scripture: John 14:1-3

Tags: Death

A Mom's View Of Herself: A Confirmed ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 12, 2009

A MOM’S VIEW OF HERSELF: A CONFIRMED SHOUTER (from Forever Erma By Erma Bombeck, March 5, 1969) Ever since President Nixon’s inaugural plea to "speak quietly enough so that our words can be heard as well as our voices," I’ve had misgivings about my big mouth. I’ve always admired parents who ...read more

Tags: Mothers

The Ride Home From Coco Beach

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Jun 10, 2009

THE RIDE HOME FROM COCO BEACH We were driving back to the hotel at 70 miles an hour on the interstate when a major rain storm hit, we could hardly see and then it happened. It was like something right out of Nascar - cars going airborne spinning and crashing into each other. I watched cars right ...read more

Tags: God's Provision

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

True ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 10, 2009

TRUE WORSHIP I want to read to you an excerpt from James Montgomery Boice’s book, "Whatever Happened to the Gospel of Grace?" to preface my opening statements. This is from his chapter entitled, "Reforming Our Worship". In it he cites two sources from which he got his information. I cite my ...read more

Scripture: John 4:23-24

Tags: Worship, Worship Definition

Messiah Sighting In Brooklyn

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 30, 2009

MESSIAH SIGHTING IN BROOKLYN In 1993 I saw a news report on T.V. it was about a "Messiah sighting" in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York. Twenty thousand Lubavitcher Hasidic Jews live in Crown Heights, and many of them believed the Messiah was dwelling among them in the person of ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 9:6-7

Tags: Jesus Christ

Alzheimer's Patient Recalls The Old Rugged ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2010

Alzheimer’s Patient Recalls The Old Rugged Cross In his book, Reaching the Invisible God, author Philip Yancey tells the story about his wife, Janet, who leads a weekly “Christian Circle” at a local nursing home. An Alzheimer’s patient named Betsy faithfully attends, led there by a staff worker, ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 12:1-3

Tags: Cross

Last Year I Came Across The Story Of Frida ...

Contributed by Warner Pidgeon on Feb 1, 2010

Last year I came across the story of Frida Gashumba. Her autobiography is called ‘Chosen to Die, Destined to Live – A miraculous escape from the Rwandan Genocide’. Her best friend Claudette was Hutu. Frida was Tutsi. One day at school the Head Teacher asked Hutus to stand. He then asked Tutsis to ...read more

Tags: Racism

Denomination: Anglican

The Pearl Of Greatest Price  PRO

Contributed by Jesse Roncales on Mar 12, 2010

THE PEARL OF GREATEST PRICE A Christian missionary in India had befriended a devoted Hindu, and had explained that salvation is a gift. Then one day the Hindu told the missionary he was going to crawl many miles on his knees to Delhi as a means of earning salvation. But before he leaves he gave ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 10:10-14, Ephesians 2:8-9

Tags: Salvation

Denomination: Assembly Of God

When We Truly Are The Church

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Feb 6, 2011

WHEN WE TRULY ARE THE CHURCH Chuck Colson tells this story: "My mind goes back to a Christmas 20 years ago in Romania, when the country was still in the grip of communist tyranny. The story begins with Laszlo Tokes, pastor of a fast-growing reformed church in the city of Timisoara. His ...read more

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Denomination: Methodist

Bullet-Proof Vest Of Righteousness  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 27, 2011

BULLET-PROOF VEST OF RIGHTEOUSNESS Terry Schafer, a young wife, lived with her husband in the small city of Moline, Illinois. She had a special gift she wanted to give to her husband for Christmas but was afraid that they would not be able to afford it. She started shopping for it in September, ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:14

Tags: Righteousness

Speaking The Same Language

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Jun 10, 2011

SPEAKING THE SAME LANGUAGE Back in 1991, I went on a mission trip to the former Soviet Union. Twenty-or-so of us arrived on a snowy November day in Samara, a city of more than a million people located on the Volga River. We were there for about ten days, and our mission was to help start a ...read more

Tags: Preaching

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Steering By Mother's Light

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 6, 2011

STEERING BY MOTHER'S LIGHT To illustrate the great influence of a Godly mother, let me tell you the story of Susannah Prentice. This story goes back to 1950. Susannah and her husband, Miles, lived in a 2-story house located on the coast of Maine. Miles and Susannah had 2 sons and a daughter. ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 1:5

Tags: Mother's Day

Ravi Zacharias: Changed Lives Show The Truth Of ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 9, 2011

RAVI ZACHARIAS: CHANGED LIVES SHOW THE TRUTH OF CHRIST In his book Has Christianity Failed You? Ravi Zacharias points to one of the greatest proofs for the truth of Christ and the reality of his resurrection: the changed lives of Christians. He writes: "During the course of nearly 40 years, I ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:13-16

Tags: Christian Witness

The Clarence Principle

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 7, 2011

THE CLARENCE PRINCIPLE That's what spiritual maturity is--It's not just being a Christian for a little while. It's being able to discern the difference between right and wrong, because you have practiced applying the principles of God's Word in your every-day life. It's being able to discern the ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 5:1-4

Tags: Leadership General

Fire In The Hole

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 7, 2011

FIRE IN THE HOLE Centralia was a small mining town in the eastern part of Pennsylvania with about 1000 residents making their income off of the coal dug just underneath the crust. The town had existed the same way for over a century when pre-Civil War settlers moved out to dig up the anthracite ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:21-30

Tags: Hell

Howard Hughes Vs. Jim Elliot

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 8, 2012

HOWARD HUGHES VS. JIM ELLIOT Howard Hughes' last years were spent in isolation, hidden on the top floor of the Xanadu Hotel in the Bahamas. One biographer wrote about Hughes' appearance before he died: "He was emaciated, practically skeletal, with only 120 pounds stretched over his six-foot, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 16:24-28

Tags: Discipleship

A Little Parable For Mothers  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 24, 2012

A LITTLE PARABLE FOR MOTHERS The young mother set her foot on the path of life. "Is the way long?" she asked. And her guide said: "Yes, and the way is hard. And you will be old before you reach the end of it. But the end will be better than the beginning." But the young mother was happy, and she ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 31:10-31

Tags: Mother's Day

Our Greatest Need

Contributed by Ed Sasnett on Dec 20, 2012

If we were to go out on the streets and ask people at random, “What is your greatest need?” we would probably get a number of different responses. We wouldn’t be surprised in this economy if we got several answers of people needing a job so they could provide for their home and family. If people ...read more

Tags: Salvation

Denomination: Baptist