In Sermon Illustrations: "Good Seed"

The Year Was 1980, Bill Brodherst Who Hadn't Ran ...  PRO

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Jan 12, 2003

The year was 1980, Bill Brodherst who hadn’t ran in any race since his high school days decided to begin training for a marathon known as the Pepsi Challenge 10k in Omaha Nebraska. Sending in his application, he wasn’t sure they would accept him as a participant, but soon the approval came back ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 4:7-8

Tags: Church Small Groups, Fulfillment, Endurance

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Enjoy Them All! (07.04.05--Joy Every ...

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Jun 30, 2005

Enjoy Them All! (07.04.05--Joy Every Day--Ecclesiastes 11:7-10) Only a dozen or so years and then, sweet, sweet retirement. Having worked for over 35 years, my time of hope and sweet happiness is now firmly planted on the horizon. In but a decade or so, I could be retired. No more getting up at ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 11:7-10

Tags: Finding Fulfillment

Denomination: Lutheran

Let Go Of That Balloon! (07.08.05--Joy Every ...

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Jul 6, 2005

Let Go of That Balloon! (07.08.05--Joy Every Day--Ecclesiastes 11:1-6) Carpe diem! Engraved in the keystone of the old fellowship hall I passed every day on my way to the office, I had glanced at it countless times. But on this particular day, with my youngest daughter in the car, her question ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 11:1-6

Tags: Joy

Denomination: Lutheran

Foot In Mouth Disease! (07.20.05--Pride--John ...

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Jul 19, 2005

Foot In Mouth Disease! (07.20.05--Pride--John 7:51) Open mouth, insert foot! There are few times in life more embarrassing than when we say something we didn’t mean to say or let something slip that should not have been said. On the occasion of a recent birthday in our household, I was given ...read more

Scripture: John 7:51

Tags: Humility, Christian Disciplines

Denomination: Lutheran

I'll Get Back To You! (08.04.05--Boldness ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Aug 2, 2005

I’ll Get Back to You! (08.04.05--Boldness Too!--Acts 3:11) “Let me think about it and I’ll get back to you.” How often have you heard that said in your life. If we could count the number of times action has been spared by inaction due to the “thought process” necessary beforehand, we’d probably ...read more

Scripture: Acts 3:11

Tags: Love Of The Disciples

Denomination: Lutheran

Leveling The Ground! (10.21.05--That ...

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Oct 19, 2005

Leveling the Ground! (10.21.05--That Person!--Genesis 5:3-5) As I paid for my fuel purchase in he came. Everyone in town knew him as just plain Frank. He was dirty, loud and smelly. Most people avoided him because he was just different from most other folks. He didn’t bath or shower but once in a ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 5:3-5

Tags: Racism

Denomination: Lutheran

God Knows I Tried! (10.25.05--Making It!--Genesis ...

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Oct 21, 2005

God Knows I Tried! (10.25.05--Making It!--Genesis 31:1-2) Success is a measure of looking down and not looking up. It all about winning and losing. For me that winning and losing began when I left college over thirty years ago. I had spent four years and a lot of money along with thousands of ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 31:1-2

Tags: Peace, Christian Disciplines

Denomination: Lutheran

I Heard Bro. J. T. Pugh Tell A Story Of One Of ...

Contributed by Philip Harrelson on Feb 8, 2006

I heard Bro. J. T. Pugh tell a story of one of the four men who made such a dramatic impact on his life. He mentioned that this man was an evangelist back in the 1940’s. The nation was still in the midst of great financial throes from the Great Depression and from the Second World War. He said ...read more

Tags: God In The Hardships

Denomination: Pentecostal

Teddy Stallard

Contributed by Richard Sharp on Mar 29, 2007

Ill- Teddy Stallard Teddy Stallard was an unattractive and unmotivated fifth grade boy. His teacher, Mrs. Thompson found him difficult to like due to his deadpan, expressionless, unfocused stare. She had to admit that down deep inside she took pleasure in marking his papers with red ink and ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Whoever Takes The Son  PRO

Contributed by Christian Cheong on Dec 2, 2003

Whoever Takes the Son Many years ago, there was a very wealthy man who shared a passion for art collecting with his son. They had priceless works adorning the walls of their family estate. One day, the nation was at war and the young man left to serve his country. After only a few short weeks, ...read more

Tags: Christmas Advent

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Mitsuo Fuchida Was The Pilot In Charge Of ...  PRO

Contributed by Melvin Newland on Jul 26, 2004

ILL. Mitsuo Fuchida was the pilot in charge of one of the most successful aerial attacks in recorded history. Under his command was a squadron of 360 specially selected pilots, & on Dec. 7, 1941, Fuchida’s squadron bombed Pearl Harbor. He quickly became one of the most highly decorated pilots ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:43-47

Tags: Change

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Dad's Coming Home--Mom's In The Kitchen!" John ...

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Nov 16, 2004

“Dad’s Coming Home--Mom’s in the Kitchen!” John 16: 1-16 Key verse(s): 7: “But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” Growing up, one thing that I always was pretty sure of was ...read more

Scripture: John 16:1-16

Tags: Holy Spirit Attributes

Denomination: Lutheran

Clutching My Cane--Straightening The Derby!" ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Nov 25, 2004

“Clutching My Cane--Straightening the Derby!” Acts 8: 18-25 Key verse(s): 24: “Then Simon answered, ‘Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.’” There’s an old East Texas saying: “It doesn’t matter how much milk you spill just so long as you don’t lose the cow.” To ...read more

Scripture: Acts 8:18-25

Tags: Leadership General

Denomination: Lutheran

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 Jan 31, 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