In Sermon Illustrations: "Great Commissio"

Attitude Not Aptitude  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 6, 2011

ATTITUDE NOT APTITUDE Jesus' message here is that everybody can be great ... because anybody can serve. Dave Stone says that "service is the language of grace." One day a couple of church members were out distributing loaves of bread in a low-income housing complex. They came to an apartment ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 4:10-11, 1 Corinthians 2:9-11, Mark 12:30-31, 1 Peter 4:10, Mark 12:1-27  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Love, Servanthood

To Be Needed

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 8, 2011

TO BE NEEDED Stu Weber, in his book Tender Warrior, includes an article written by a woman. She writes: One day the doorbell rang and there stood my beloved brother. It was a delightful surprise. His work as an executive of an international petroleum company keeps him out of the country most of ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 17:17

Tags: Friendship General

Steven Curtis Chapman: Still Blessing His Name

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 19, 2011

STEVEN CURTIS CHAPMAN: STILL BLESSING HIS NAME On May 17, 2008, Christian recording artist Steven Curtis Chapman and his family suffered a devastating loss. Their five-year-old adopted daughter, Maria Sue, was struck and killed when Chapman's seventeen-year-old son was backing his SUV out of the ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 5:10-11

Tags: God In The Hardships

Spiritual Redwoods

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 18, 2012

SPIRITUAL REDWOODS Can you imagine a redwood tree saying, "I’d just rather remain a little bush"? That would seem insane, right? I want to put up on the screen some pictures of redwood trees. They are truly magnificent. My oldest daughter and her husband were married at the foot of redwood that ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 1:3-14

Tags: Growth In Christ

He'll Always Catch You

Contributed by Bryce Thorpe on May 17, 2012

HE'LL ALWAYS CATCH YOU I love to play with my kids. Even as they have gotten older, they bring me a great deal of joy. But, I confess, it was easier when they were young. Especially my daughter, now 21, used to love it when I threw her in the air. But, as you might guess, that wasn't always ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 11:1

Tags: Faith General

Denomination: Baptist

Playpen

Contributed by Davon Huss on Dec 17, 2012

Jeffie was in his playpen and he was crying. Tears were rolling down his little cheeks, his face was red as it could be. He was crying, and he looked pitiful in his little baseball T-shirt and diaper. Then Jeffie’s Grandpa entered the room; Jeffie’s little face lit up when he saw his Grandpa! ...read more

Tags: Christmas

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Sin Causes God Pain

Contributed by Troy Borst on Apr 25, 2013

SIN CAUSES GOD PAIN There is a book I read a few years ago, "Theology of the Pain of God" by Kazoh Kitamori, which added to my view about how I see my relationship with God. It is a deep theological book which looks at our relationship with God from the perspective of pain... and not our pain, ...read more

Tags: Sin, God The Father

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Henry Ford: Resisting ...

Contributed by Perry Greene on Apr 30, 2013

HENRY FORD: RESISTING CHANGE Back in 1912, Ford Motor Co. had a production manager named William Knudsen - considered one of the best in his field. Knudsen became convinced that the Model T (which had been in production for 4 years now) had to be updated. But, the only problem was - Henry Ford ...read more

Tags: Change

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Strength Through Humility

Contributed by Gordon Mcculloch on Jul 7, 2014

And I must say here, this does not come automatically, we have to work at it and develop it, and many times we grit our teeth as we think we fail every now and again, but I will end with this analogy, it is the best I can up with, it is crude … but think of yourself when you give your offering, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 11:16-30

Tags: Humility, Strength

Denomination: Episcopal

The Turtle Tale  PRO

Contributed by Scott Reeves on Aug 26, 2014

It was near the end of the school year in LA (Lower Alabama) and the weather had turned unseasonably hot for mid-May. As I was driving home from the county school I’d substituted for that day I noticed a box turtle working to make his way across the hot pavement of the county road. I steered my car ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 29:11, Jeremiah 23:11

Tags: Grace, Saving

Denomination: Methodist

Suffering & The Riches Of His Glory

Contributed by Michael Grant on Sep 3, 2016

What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory,  even us whom He called, not ...read more

Scripture: Romans 9:22-24

Tags: God's Glory

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Long Ride Home

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Jan 19, 2020

(Note: I used this illustration as part of a funeral message in January 2017) Back when I was 11 years of age, I really discovered pro baseball! We lived about four hours away from Cincinnati, Ohio, at the time—which was no problem for me! Well, I must have really pestered Dad because he ...read more

Tags: Lazarus, Death Of Believers, Fathers And Sons, Assurance

Denomination: Baptist

Trust The Prayer

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Jan 2, 2021

A TRUSTING PRAYER Did you hear about the young preacher that graduated Bible School? He accepted a small country church to be the pastor. It was the only church that would have him. He was the only candidate that would go to the small church. So they were matched up pretty well. His first ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 17:7, Isaiah 40:28-31

Tags: Trust, Prayer

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Meditate On The Lord.

Contributed by Roy Fowler on Sep 18, 2021

Where I was Pastoring at the time I got 5th Sunday off. I had a favorite fishing hole. The water wasn’t very deep so I could wade in the water. That was fun for me. It had big trees that hung over the water and the sun would shine through them and made it look beautiful. It was great, this river ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 1:1-6

Tags: Life Is Rough, God Teaches To Smooth Us

Denomination: Independent/Bible

De-Evangelizing The Neighborhood

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 3, 2022

A few years ago I heard a story of a church that looked as though they were really thriving. They had about 500 people attending, had many outreach ministries reaching their community, and many people were coming to Christ and to church through their ministry. The problem was that the church was ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 10:24-25

Tags: Fellowship, Community, Small Groups

Powerful Prayer Delivered To The Kansas State Senate

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Dec 22, 2022

This prayer was delivered on January 23, 1996 by the Rev. Joe Wright in Kansas. It was said that most of those in attendance were outraged and some walked out. Without a doubt, it is a blunt and direct indictment on modern culture. Within just a few weeks, the Central Christian Church, where ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 33:3, 2 Chronicles 7:14

Tags: Holiness, Government, Politicians, Sin, America, Prayer, Revival, Repentance  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Evidence For The Resurrection Is Reliable And True

Contributed by Timothy Lueking on Apr 3, 2023

It was the middle of the 1800s and a man by the name of Simon Greenleaf was teaching a class on evidence of law at Harvard University. Greenleaf was considered by many to be the greatest expert on evidence of law the world has ever known. He had been praised for his knowledge and when it comes to ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, 1 Corinthians 15:12-20, Matthew 28:1-10, 1 Peter 1:3

Tags: Easter, Resurrection, Evidence, Reliability Of Truth, Jesus The Risen Savior  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Extraordinary Impact Through Simple Acts Of Kindness

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Apr 13, 2025

In March 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic intensified, Joanne Turner, a 56-year-old customer service representative at the Real Canadian Superstore in Kelowna, British Columbia, encountered a situation that called for compassion beyond her job description. During one of her shifts, Joanne received ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 2:6-7

Tags: Humility, Kindness, Impact, Serving

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

How The Philippian Jailer Got Saved - Crisis

Contributed by Rick Crandall on Oct 2, 2025

How the Philippian jailer got saved - Crisis This Philippian jailer was saved! He was saved by God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ. And if you have never trusted in the Lord, He wants to save you the same way. But let's take a closer look at how the Lord touched the jailer's ...read more

Scripture: Acts 16:16-34

Tags: Silas, Crisis, Christian Service, Philippian Jailer, Demon Possession, Spiritual Transformation, Evangelism, Paul, Salvation, Missions  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

[303]. A Message From A Poem - They Did This To My Saviour Lord - Easter

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Mar 3, 2026

[303]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM - THEY DID THIS TO MY SAVIOUR LORD This is not a complex poem and is written with Easter in view. It recounts some of the events of the Trial and hearing before Pilate. I have put a refrain into this poem, but I am not sure if it is one to be sung. Here and there ...read more

Scripture: John 19:1-3

Tags: Jesus Mocked, Jesus On Trial, Christian Poem, The False Trial, Jesus Scourged, The Crown Of Thorns, Easter, Pilate, Jesus Before Pilate  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational