In Sermon Illustrations: "Good Shepherd"

The Bottle That Didn’t Take The Heat!

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Jul 5, 2024

Text: 1 Corinthians 3:12-15, KJV: 12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 3:12-15

Tags: Rewards, Tests, Plastic Bottles

Denomination: Baptist

Thank You, God, For Sending A Professional!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jul 8, 2024

As I was gathering my sermon, I couldn’t help thinking about a story of a little girl who was home alone and ill. She called her mother at work and told her, “Momma, I need you and I need you really bad.” This mother asked to get off work and frantically rushed down to the corner drug store to ...read more

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Tags: Prayer, Thanks, Humor, Miracles, Gratitude, Thieves, Answered Prayer  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Life Full Of Gratitude

Contributed by Saumiman Saud on Feb 22, 2025

Life Full of Gratitude My Father in Heaven, forgive me if I have been negligent in giving thanks to You, even though the blessings I receive are always abundant. Although I am not wealthy, I am not poor, thanks to God's grace. Thank you, Lord, Thank you. Give thanks in all circumstances; for ...read more

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Tags: Life, Gratitude

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[116]. A Message From A Poem – Having A Chat With God

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Jun 27, 2025

[116]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – HAVING A CHAT WITH GOD There is nothing pretentious here. It is a simple prayer mixed with thoughts of the Lord. This poem is a meditation, one that I hope you can relate to in your life. Some make prayer a sanctimonious affair and it is about as dead as a ...read more

Scripture: Titus 3:7, 2 Thessalonians 2:16, 1 John 4:19

Tags: Grace, Love, Hope, Prayer, Christian Poetry, Christian Poems, Chat  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

There Was A Certain Professor Of Religion Named ...  PRO

Contributed by Rick Pendleton on Nov 9, 2004

There was a certain Professor of Religion named Dr. Christianson, a studious man who taught at a small college in the Western United States. Dr. Christianson taught the required survey course in Christianity at this particular institution. Every student was required to take this course his or ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 53:5, John 3:16-17

Tags: Forgiveness In Jesus, Promises Of God

Denomination: Baptist

Grow As You Go.' The First Sermon In This Series ...  PRO

Contributed by Jim Kane on Jan 7, 2008

‘Grow as You Go.’ The first sermon in this series took us to Moses and his encounter with God. We were told that God had a role, an important one at that, for Moses and it was in line with God’s plan and story and not Moses’ plan and story. In other words, we ‘grow’ in our Christian faith and ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 95:1-11, Matthew 12:33-37, Acts 4:1-37

Tags: Outreach, Worship, Faithfulness, Practice, Examine, Education  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Church Of God

Scooping Up Manna

Contributed by Paul Davidson on Jan 27, 2021

I wrote the following poem titled “Scooping Up Manna” on March 3rd, 2011 as an entry in my private journal during a time of great internal struggle and turmoil over whether or not I would choose to be obedient to follow after God. This poem is based on the Biblical account found in Numbers ...read more

Scripture: Joshua 1:9

Tags: Sacrifice, Obedience, Purpose, Meaning, Regret, Struggle  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

One Saturday Afternoon A Father And His Six-Year ...  PRO

Contributed by Brent Zastrow on Apr 18, 2001

One Saturday afternoon a father and his six-year old son Mickey were fishing near a bridge by the Kokomo Reservoir when a woman lost control of her car, slid off the bridge and hit Mikey at a rate of about 50 mph. Sheriff Marr, the boys grandfather, had seen the results of ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 9:10

Tags: Saint, Miracles Of Jesus, Jesus Christ, God's Provision

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

How Much Does Prayer Weigh?  PRO

Contributed by Danny Thomas on May 21, 2001

How Much Does Prayer Weigh? Louise Redden, a poorly dressed lady with a look of defeat on her face, walked into a grocery store. She approached the owner of the store in a most humble manner and asked if he would let her charge a few groceries. She softly explained that her husband was very ill ...read more

Tags: Prayer Answered, God's Provision, Examples Of Faith

Denomination: Pentecostal

Adopted By Christ  PRO

Contributed by Bruce Howell on Jul 9, 2001

Illus.: “Adopted by Christ” John was born into a family of 12 children. They were very poor. He was the youngest. He never remembered his father eating a meal with the rest of the family. He had to work long hours to feed his family. One day his father ran off with another woman, leaving his ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 15:11-20

Tags: Beauty, Ashes, Children, God's Provision, Trinity  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Wesleyan

Worship In Spirit And In Truth, By Leann Gabel ...  PRO

Contributed by A. Todd Coget on Aug 3, 2001

[Worship in Spirit and in Truth, by Leann Gabel of Amarillo, TX] In Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman, it didn’t take long before their conversation turned to worship. I would guess that was as hot a topic then as it is today. The woman’s question was sincere, "I know there are two ways to ...read more

Scripture: Nehemiah 1:5

Tags: Church Practices, Bible Truth, Holy Spirit General, Woman At Well

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

: "Scarred Hands” (James S. ...  PRO

Contributed by Bruce Howell on Aug 21, 2001

Illus.: “Scarred Hands” (James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited, pp. 119-120) A small orphaned boy lived with his grandmother. One night their house caught fire. The grandmother, trying to rescue the little boy asleep upstairs, perished in the smoke and flames. A crowd gathered around the ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:6-8

Tags: Forgiveness In Jesus, Christian Disciplines, Lordship Of Christ

Denomination: Wesleyan

Want To Know What Your Boat Is? Your Fear Will ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 22, 2001

Want to know what your boat is? Your fear will tell you. Just ask yourself this: What is it that produces fear in me - especially when I think of leaving it behind and stepping out in faith? For David, it is his vocation. He has been a builder for thirty-five years; he is in his late ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 14:22-33

New Orleans (Bp)--An Explosive New Study Says ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 31, 2001

NEW ORLEANS (BP)--An explosive new study says some gay people can turn straight if they really want to. Robert L. Spitzer, a psychiatry professor at Columbia University who led the study, said he couldn’t estimate what percentage of highly motivated gay people can change their sexual orientation ...read more

Tags: The Word, Words

A Preacher Recalls One Such Instance During ...  PRO

Contributed by Melvin Newland on Oct 11, 2001

ILL. A preacher recalls one such instance during the Sunday evening service. When he finished speaking, he asked, "Is there anyone else who would like to say something?" At that, a rather dignified visitor stood up & said, "Yes, sir, I’d like to say something. This is the first time I’ve been ...read more

Scripture: John 8:1-11

Tags: Repentance, Forgiveness For Others

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Imagine A Group Of People Coming To Your Home And ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2002

Imagine a group of people coming to your home and interrupting your Twinkie-eating, TV-watching routine with an urgent message: “Good News! We’re from the United States Olympic Committee. We have been looking for someone to run the marathon in the next Olympics. We have statistics on every person ...read more

Scripture: Acts 20:24, 1 Corinthians 9:24, 2 Timothy 4:7, Hebrews 12:1, James 1:1-4  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Race, Disciplines, Discipleship

I Recently Heard About A Doctor Who Seemed To ...  PRO

Contributed by Cameron Horsburgh on Feb 1, 2002

I recently heard about a doctor who seemed to have had a huge amount of success as a GP. Whilst he only had a small number of patients on his books, they all stayed in remarkable health. A journalist heard about this doctor, and decided to pay him a visit. Now this journalist, a man by the name of ...read more

Scripture: Luke 5:29-32, 2 Chronicles 7:14

Tags: God Brings Hope

Denomination: Holiness

Praying For Reagan  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 29, 2002

PRAYING FOR REAGAN Peggy Noonan, in her book "When Character Was King" shares a facinating story about President Reagan and his belief in Prayer: "'Do you know about his ulcer?' Nancy Reagan asked me. We were talking about his early days in the governship. He came home a few months into ...read more

Tags: God's Omnipotence, Worry, Prayer Adoration, Prayer General

I Needed My Past" - Keith Miller – "Habitations ...  PRO

Contributed by Gary Regazzoli on May 10, 2002

“I Needed my past” - Keith Miller – “Habitations of Dragons” I’ll never forget Alice’s face. We were in a small group of adults, and were getting acquainted by going around the room, each of us telling something about our childhood. One older lady had had a good many disappointments and seemed ...read more

Denomination: Christian Church

New Hope From Nothing  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 10, 2002

NEW HOPE FROM NOTHING In Jim Cymbala’s book, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, there is the story of a woman named Roberta Langella. A story she tells in her own words. At the age of 16 she left a broken home to move to New York City where she began living with a man twice her age. A man that got her into ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:5

Tags: Faith, God Brings Hope