In Sermon Illustrations: "Great Shepherd"

Intending To Grow

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 19, 2011

INTENDING TO GROW In the 1920s there was a young African American child who was growing up in Cleveland. One day a famous athlete named Charlie Paddock, came to his school to speak to the students. At the time Paddock was considered "the fastest human being alive." He told the children, "Listen! ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 4:6-10

Tags: Growth In Christ

In Philadelphia

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Jul 2, 2011

IN PHILADELPHIA My father died in a Philadelphia hospital in 1999. Some weeks before his death, I was able to spend a few days with him. I stayed at the home of some friends in Washington Crossing, just a few miles north of Philadelphia, and each day I would drive into the city. The first morning ...read more

Tags: Patriotism

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

A Desire To Know Him More

Contributed by Paul Barreca on Aug 20, 2011

A DESIRE TO KNOW HIM MORE Just imagine how wonderful it would be if our greatest desire was to know God more! Dennis Wise really loved Elvis Presley--so much so that not long after Presley died, Dennis had his face lifted by a plastic surgeon and his hair contoured so that he took on an ...read more

Tags: Worship General

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Fervent Prayer  PRO

Contributed by Mark Stepherson on Aug 29, 2011

FERVENT PRAYER George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, future US Presidents, were among the delegates meeting at St. John's Church in Richmond, Virginia, on March 23, 1775, considering a resolution sending Virginia troops to the Revolutionary War. The Virginia House of Burgesses was unconvinced. ...read more

Scripture: James 5:17-18

Tags: Prayer, Fervent, Effectual, Earnest, Prayer How To  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Visions Of Glory

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 9, 2011

VISIONS OF GLORY Chan Gailey, who just began his second season as head coach for the Buffalo Bills, got his start coaching football at Alabama's Troy State University. In 1984, with a 12-1 record, he led the Troy State Trojans to a Division II NCAA national championship. A week before the big ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 5:5-6

Tags: Pride

The First Thanksgiving

Contributed by Paul Barreca on Nov 19, 2011

THE FIRST THANKSGIVING Let's consider the first Thanksgiving in America. It was in the fall of 1621, one year after the Pilgrim’s landed. There was great affliction in their voyage. 102 Pilgrims the left Holland, stopped briefly in England before sailing to America. They were at sea for 66 ...read more

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Tags: Thanksgiving Holiday

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

We Know Our Future Includes A Promise. But We Do ...  PRO

Contributed by Ed Lu on Nov 26, 2011

We know our future includes a promise. But we do not know how to transition into that promise. Maybe ’not knowing’ is just an excuse – we just straight out refuse to take that next step. That’s because while we are in the present, we often permit the past to occupy and govern our emotions. We drag ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 32:17-21, 2 Kings 5:1-14

Tags: Christian Disciplines

Denomination: Baptist

A True Story Of How My Close Relative's Urgent ...

Contributed by Suresh Manoharan on Dec 8, 2011

A true story of how my close relative's urgent financial need was met by God's Providence! Dear friends, Jesus is same yesterday, today & forever (Hebrews 13:8). Oh how many personal experiences I have had and oh how many true accounts I have heard from God’s servants of the Almighty using ...read more

Tags: Opportunity

Denomination: *other

Because The Prince Had Come  PRO

Contributed by J.d. Tutell on Jan 13, 2012

BECAUSE THE PRINCE HAD COME A man named Phillip Keller was born in Kenya and then moved to the United States. To describe this principle he tells the story of the growing up there. The majority of people did not really think of themselves as subjects of the King of England. After all they ...read more

Tags: Kingdom Of God

Denomination: Baptist

The Heritage Tree  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 11, 2012

THE HERITAGE TREE The Heritage Tree, Cape Perpetua, Central Oregon coast. This giant spruce is called The Heritage Tree because it stands almost 200 feet tall and because it started to grow as a seedling about the same time Martin Luther was pounding his theses on the church door at Wittenberg. ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 2:1-2

Tags: Discipleship

If I Am The Only ...

Contributed by William Akehurst on Aug 18, 2012

Illustration: What would you do if you were the only Christian in your circle of influence? If you are the only Christian in the shop, the store, or the office where you work, a peculiar: responsibility rests upon you, a responsibility which no other one shares with you. You are Christ's only ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 3:15

Tags: Witnessing, Examples Of Faith

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Mtv Gave Us Our First Ever "Reality Show", A ...

Contributed by Jay Winters on May 30, 2015

MTV gave us our first ever "reality show", a thing called "The Real World" that came out in 1992. The first "Real World" cast sought to show us what happens when you put seven strangers in a house together, and quote, "people stop being polite, and start being real". And the world sat there, glued ...read more

Tags: Reality, Pop Culture

Denomination: Lutheran

Beauty

Contributed by Tim Smith on Sep 25, 2016

Pastor Randy Kanipe tells the story of a Sabbath time away from his church while he was struggling with failure. He happened to be walking by a cow pasture and stopped to gaze over the fence, pondering the ’green pastures’ that he imagined God leading him through - my attention was drawn down to a ...read more

Scripture: James 3:2, John 1:5

Tags: Failure, Failures, Poop

Denomination: Methodist

A Good Word Made A Good Day!

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Dec 27, 2019

When was the last time you heard a good word from a total stranger? Some years back, as I was walking from the parking lot to the building where I worked at the time, that very thing happened to me. Usually there isn’t much interaction between people walking and the drivers or passengers, but ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 25:25

Tags: Respect, Sharing Good Things

Denomination: Baptist

Casket Stolen

Contributed by Roberta Karchner on Feb 28, 2020

Funerals usually go calmly. But sometimes things happen that change everything. Perhaps the greatest example is that of Easter morning, as the women arrive to prepare the body, only to find that the stone was rolled away and the body of Jesus was missing. There was much running around and great ...read more

Scripture: John 20:1-8, Matthew 28:1-10, Luke 24:1-10, Mark 16:1-8

Tags: Easter, Tomb, He Is Risen, Stone Rolled Away, Ressurection, Missing Body, Mary At Tomb  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

32 Simple Ways To Make Your Marriage Sizzle

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 4, 2021

32 WAYS TO HELP YOU HAVE A GREAT MARRIAGE..... 1. Communicate with your partner – work hard on listening. 2. Befriend each other’s friends and family 3. Know your spouse’s love language – Touch, talk, time, treasures, tasks 4. Give each other space to breathe without control 5. Take trips ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:18-31

Tags: Love, Marriage, Family, Relationships, Home  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Good News: Finish The Race!

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Jan 27, 2021

Philippians 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. WRONG WAY, ROY ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 3:13-14, Hebrews 12:1

Tags: Get Up, Finish Well

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Young Chicken Little And Panic.

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on May 6, 2022

THE STORY OF CHICKEN LITTLE… There is a lesson we know as YOUNG CHICKEN LITTLE… I have read how YOUNG CHICKEN LITTLE throws his whole small town into a great panic… CHICKEN LITTLE CLAIMED THE SKY WAS FALLING IN… This must be the end of the world. While CHICKEN LITTLE was hit in the head by a piece ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 73:1-3

Tags: Panic, Conclusions

Denomination: Assembly Of God

C.s. Lewis And The Conversation Between Two Devils

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 2, 2023

One young devil asked an older devil: “How did you manage to bring so many souls to hell?” The old devil answered: “I instilled fear in them!” Answers the youngster: “Great job!" "And what were they afraid of? Wars? Hunger?” Answers the man: “No, they were afraid of the disease!” The ...read more

Scripture: James 4:7

Tags: Hell, Community, Devil, Relationships, Demons, Excuses  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Man Who Couldn't Kill Himself

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Aug 21, 2023

Centuries after Esther lived, there lived a man named William Cowper. At the young age of thirty-two, wracked by deep depression and despair, Cowper decided finally to take matters into his own hands and kill himself. He hired a carriage to take him to the Thames River. The carriage driver, a ...read more

Tags: Hymn Stories, Mysteries, Death, Miracles, Depression, Providence, Suicide  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational