In Sermon Illustrations: "Green"

Everyone Is Familiar With Sherlock Holmes, ...

Contributed by R. David Reynolds on Nov 18, 2006

“ Everyone is familiar with Sherlock Holmes, his faithful companion Dr. Watson, and Holmes’s keen power of observation that solved countless crimes. Yet few of us know that Holmes thought deduction and observation were even more necessary to religion. Tucked away in "The Adventure of the Naval ...read more

Tags: Communication General

Denomination: Methodist

Silence: Taking Your Soul With You  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 25, 2009

SILENCE: TAKING YOUR SOUL WITH YOU Author Kathleen Norris used to play a game with elementary-school children in which she would make a deal with them. "First you get to make noise," she would bargain, "and then you’ll make silence." The time of noise was always predictably chaotic -- shouting, ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 46:10

Tags: Maturity, Disciplines Silence

The Miracle In A Bug  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 25, 2009

THE MIRACLE IN A BUG Shortly before his death, the legendary film producer Cecil B DeMille wrote this beautiful meditation: "One day as I was lying in a canoe, a big black beetle came out of the water and climbed up into the canoe. I watched it idly for some time. Under the heat of the sun, the ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 1:26

Tags: Creation

Leaving A Message For ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 13, 2009

LEAVING A MESSAGE FOR GOD In March 2009, Dutch artist Johan van der Dong decided God needed a telephone number. So, he got him one, a cell phone number to be exact--to show that God was "available anywhere and anytime." In an interview, Dong said, "In earlier times you would go to a church to say ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 15:29

Tags: Prayer, Prayer General

Rare Copy Of Declaration Of Independence ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 28, 2009

Rare Copy of Declaration of Independence Discovered at Garage Sale As Stan Caffy and his fiancé prepared to get married, they cleaned out their respective garages and sold everything to Goodwill. Between the two of them, they sold an assortment of clothes, bicycles, tools, computer parts, and a ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 2:3

Tags: Discovery

Rights Vs. Responsibilities, Owners Vs. ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 8, 2009

Rights vs. Responsibilities, Owners vs. Stewards While scouting locations for a popular TV series, an advance team came upon the perfect site for an action scene—an impressive house with a beautiful, large, lush, green lawn. The script called for the cars to be spinning out of control and crashing ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 25:14-30

Tags: Stewardship

Medical Terminology Play On ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 7, 2009

Medical Terminology Play on Words Sandy has seen a lot of doctors this last year, and as I’ve tagged along, I have learned a lot of medical terminology. I’m sure many of you, as you’ve had medical issues, have learned some interesting terminology, as well. It’s a strange language, isn’t it, because ...read more

Scripture: 3 John 1:2

Tags: Words

Shoe Repair Receipt Submitted After 20 ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 1, 2010

Shoe Repair Receipt Submitted After 20 Years Many years ago, the L.A. Times carried a story about a man who went to the house where he grew up and knocked on the door. It had been 20 years since he lived there, so he grew a little sentimental. He asked the current owners if he could walk through ...read more

Scripture: 2 Thessalonians 3:10

Tags: Workplace

A Young Boy Gets A Driving ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 6, 2010

A Young Boy Gets A Driving Permit A young boy had just gotten his driving permit. He asked his father if they could discuss his use of the family car. His father took him into his study and said, “I’ll make a deal with you. You bring your grades up, study the Bible a little, get your hair cut, ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 3:4-5

Tags: Parenting

Waiting Vs. Watching For Him

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 23, 2011

WAITING VS. WATCHING FOR HIM The Lord told us not only to wait for him but to watch for him, and he has pronounced a special blessing on those who watch. The difference between waiting and watching is illustrated in a story told of a Scotch fishing village. After days at sea, the skipper of a ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 25:1-13

Tags: Second Coming

Golf Revenge  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 24, 2011

GOLF REVENGE The story is told of two long-time golfing buddies who decided one day that they would play the ball where it lies, no matter what. On the 14th hole, one of them sliced his drive and it ended up on the cart path. As he reached down to pick up his ball to get relief, his friend said, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:38-48

Tags: Anger

De-Sanctified Churches

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 19, 2011

DE-SANCTIFIED CHURCHES Not too long ago, a real estate listing in Dallas had the simple headline: "Converted Church." In other words, what had once been a church facility is now somebody's house. The listing under the heading had this description: "The altar has been adapted for use as a granite ...read more

Scripture: 2 Thessalonians 1:3-4

Tags: Church Purpose Of

Is God Good?

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 25, 2011

IS GOD GOOD? Randy Alcorn talks about what happened to his friend, Ethel Herr in his new book, What Good is God. She had had a double mastectomy. Then two months later, doctors discovered that the cancer had spread. One of Herr's friends in shock asked her, "And how do you feel about God now?" ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 4:12-19

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

They're Not Ready For Heaven

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 25, 2011

THEY'RE NOT READY FOR HEAVEN The movie The End of the Spear tells the true story of five missionaries who gave their lives to reach the violent Waodoni tribe in the jungles of Ecuador in the 1950s. Led by Nate Saint, the missionaries were eager to reach the Waodoni people before they all died off ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 4:12-19

Tags: Missions

God Is For Us

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 11, 2012

GOD IS FOR US Keith Hartsell of Wheaton, Illinois, was driving around with a friend of his in California, when he noticed that his friend's cell phone was locked with an unusual password -- pro nobis. Keith asked him what pro nobis meant and why he chose that for a password. Keith's friend told ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:28-39

Tags: God's Love

Abraham Lincoln And Criticism

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 2, 2013

ABRAHAM LINCOLN AND CRITICISM A practicing lawyer loved to attack his opponents through scathing letters printed in newspapers. In 1842, he ridiculed the wrong man. James Shields did not take kindly to the anonymous writer who lampooned him in the Springfield Journal. Mr. Shields tracked down ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:1-5

Tags: Criticism, Tongue

Humorous Hospital Charts

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 23, 2013

HUMOROUS HOSPITAL CHARTS I came across some notes supposedly found on hospital charts, and I thought you might enjoy them as I did: • The patient refused autopsy. • Note: Patient recovering from forehead cut. Patient became very angry when given an enema by mistake. • Patient has chest pain if she ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 18:1-27

Tags: Leadership General

Busyness  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 3, 2013

BUSYNESS Busyness is no sign of spirituality or any kind of a full life. In fact, it’s more likely the sign of an empty life. Tim Kreider, in an article he wrote for The New York Times called The Busy Trap put it this way: “If you live in America in the 21st century, you’ve probably had to listen ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 11:28-30

Tags: Complaining

Deep Wells Of Hope.

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Jun 9, 2021

MIA: MISSING IN ACTION… WHAT DO YOU SEE? MAN IS SHORT OF DAYS AND FULL OF TROUBLE… Years ago I read where a farmer in California was having a terrible time. They had had 4 years of drought in their area and many farmers spoke of leaving farming and moving back into the city. So the exodus began. ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 12:3, Romans 4:18

Tags: Water, Hope, Wells

Denomination: Assembly Of God

How Does Adoption Change Things? ...  PRO

Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Mar 1, 2008

Illustration: How does adoption change things? Here’s a secular example: In 1952 a probation officer in New York City tried to find an organization that would assist in the adoption of a twelve-year-old boy. Although the child had a religious background, none of the major denominations would assist ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 2:15-17, 1 John 2:25-26

Denomination: Other