In Sermon Illustrations: "Good Reputation"

Your Best Isn't Good Enough

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 28, 2010

YOUR BEST ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH A pastor once went to a barber to get a haircut. All through the haircut, the pastor wanted to witness to the barber, but the barber kept talking non-stop and gave the pastor no chance to interrupt. Later, when the pastor was paying for the haircut, he asked the barber ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:8-9

Tags: Faith Vs. Works

Good Hope, Alabama Is A Small Town With Small ...

Contributed by Ed Sasnett on Jun 15, 2010

Good Hope, Alabama is a small town with small town values. In Cullman County you can’t legally buy beer. Daystar Church, which had grown dramatically under pastor Jerry Lawson, ran up against the sensibilities of this conservative north Alabama community by focusing a month-long series on sex. ...read more

Tags: Sexuality

Denomination: Baptist

We Need Christ In Good Times And Bad

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 24, 2011

WE NEED CHRIST IN GOOD TIMES AND BAD Presbyterian minister of the 19th century, J. R. Miller, once wrote that "We need Christ just as much in our bright, prosperous, exalted hours as in the days of darkness, adversity, and depression. We are quite in danger of thinking that religion is only for ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 1:18-22

Tags: Jesus Christ

A Good Name: The Case Of Butch O'hare

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 9, 2011

A GOOD NAME: THE CASE OF BUTCH O'HARE His name was Butch O'Hare, one of the heroes of World War II. He was a fighter pilot assigned to an aircraft carrier in the South Pacific. One day his entire squadron was sent on a mission. After he was airborne, he looked at his fuel gauge and realized that ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 22:1

Tags: Character

If People Are Coming.....the Product Must Be Good!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Mar 1, 2016

In his awesome book, Selling Jesus, by Douglas D. Webster, the author gives an incredible quote about the lack of spiritual discernment in American church growth and marketing today: "American Christianity is increasingly tolerant of any and all methods, as long as they bring NUMERICAL results. ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:1-17

Tags: Discernment, Truth, Church Growth, Marketing

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Overcoming Evil With Good; David, Saul, And God

Contributed by Nickolas Kooi on Aug 30, 2017

King Saul tried to kill David numerous times. When Saul would be in David’s hand, David would refrain from showing him evil. Instead, he would spare Saul. He showed respect for his office of king, which led him to showing the mercy that Saul didn’t deserve. Sometimes, this led Saul to seeing ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:17-21

Tags: Mercy, Revenge, Good, Overcome Evil

Denomination: Lutheran

Four Ways To Minister Like The Good Samaritan

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Apr 2, 2022

As we study the characteristics of the Good Samaritan, let’s ask ourselves if these qualities are true of us as well. He opened his eyes. Although all three men physically saw the critically wounded man, only the Samaritan looked and stopped to help. Before we can meet needs, we must be aware of ...read more

Tags: Service, Ministry, Parables, Neighbor, Kindness, Good Samaritan  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Go To God – He Is The Source Of Our Goodness On ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 1, 2008

Go to God – he is the source of our goodness on this earth. Matthew 7:11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! Story: This story about Hudson Taylor – a well known missionary ...read more

Tags: God's Provision

To Have A Church Full Of Good Order, Requires A ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 3, 2008

To have a church full of good order, requires a church full of disciples. Many Christians are only "Christaholics" and not disciples at all. Disciples are cross-bearers; they seek Christ. Christaholics seek happiness. Disciples dare to discipline themselves, and the demands they place on ...read more

We Learn To Walk During The Good Times And The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 3, 2008

We learn to walk during the good times and the bad times: One night while conducting an evangelistic meeting in the Salvation Army Citadel in Chicago, Booth Tucker preached on the sympathy of Jesus. After his message a man approached him and said, “If your wife had just died, like mine has, and ...read more

Top Business Books Good To Great, The World Is ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 7, 2008

Top Business Books Good to Great, The World is Flat, and Blink were the top 3 most recently read books by senior-level marketing execs. All -time favorite business books they’ve ever read Good to Great, Positioning, and 7 ...read more

Bold Book Marketing Ploy? In The Package-Goods ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 10, 2008

Bold Book Marketing Ploy? In the package-goods world, offering free samples is usually a slam-dunk: Customers fall in love with the freebie and then turn into paying customers. But in the world of book publishing, the news that Harper Collins will give away free electronic versions of ...read more

Tags: Internet

God Never Made A Promise That Was Too Good To Be ...

Contributed by Tony Abram on Apr 20, 2008

God never made a promise that was too good to be true. ...read more

Tags: Promises Of God

Good Old Spurgeon Says That Some Of The Promises ...

Contributed by Tony Abram on Jul 5, 2008

Good old Spurgeon says that some of the promises are like the almond tree--they blossom hastily in the very earliest spring. But, he says, there are others, which resemble the mulberry tree- -they, are very slow in putting forth their leaves. Then what is a man to do, if he has a mulberry tree ...read more

Tags: Promises Of God

God Never Made A Promise That Was Too Good To Be ...

Contributed by Tony Abram on Jul 5, 2008

God never made a promise that was too good to be ...read more

Tags: Promises Of God

Never Bad Enough, Never Good Enough

Contributed by Clark Tanner on Apr 13, 2009

NEVER BAD ENOUGH, NEVER GOOD ENOUGH You need to know today that you will never be bad enough to be beyond God’s grace to save and to sanctify, and you could never be good ...read more

Tags: Grace

Denomination: Orthodox

Dietrich Bonheoffer Wrote, "It Is A Good Thing ...

Contributed by Mark Armstrong on Jun 10, 2009

Dietrich Bonheoffer wrote, "It is a good thing to learn early that God and suffering are not opposites but rather one and the same thing and necessarily so; for me, the idea that God himself ...read more

Tags: Christian Witness

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Return Good For Evil - Martin Luther King

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on May 11, 2025

Jesus doesn’t just ask us to avoid revenge—he calls us to actively do good in return. Not because the other person deserves it, but because he deserves our obedience. And we’ve seen it lived out—not just in Bible times, but in our own history. Perhaps one of the clearest modern examples is Dr. ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:38-42

Tags: Evil, Martin Luther, Doing Good

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

One Of The Powerful Figures In Wall Street Fell ...  PRO

Contributed by Davon Huss on Jan 29, 2001

One of the powerful figures in Wall Street fell in love with an actress. For many months he was always seen escorting her about in the fashionable circles of town. Deciding to marry her, he first put a private detective to the job of looking into her former dealings and friends in order to guard ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:1-5, Luke 6:37-42

Tags: Holiness, Gossip, Judgment, Pride, Romantic Love, Reputation  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Father Forgive Them

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 11, 2008

FATHER FORGIVE THEM There was once a man who was born in a little town back east. He grew up and took on the family business. The only earthly father he had ever known died sometime in his teen years and as the oldest son he took on the responsibility of caring for his mother. He had a good ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness For Others