In Sermon Illustrations: "Grey Head"

A Forever Family

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 10, 2009

A FOREVER FAMILY Author Keith Miller tells of an outgoing 40-year-old woman who was part of a sharing group he led. Here is her story: "When I was a tiny little girl, my parents died and I was put in an orphanage. I was not pretty at all and no one seemed to want me. But I longed to be adopted ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 1:3-14

Tags: Adoption

History Will Prove That It Is When The Church Has ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 29, 2009

History will prove that it is when the church has endured great persecution that that is when the church has seen tremendous growth. It was true in the first century and it is true today. Listen to this story of a faithful disciple in China. Pastor Li De Xian (Shee-an) was arrested 13 times in six ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:12

Tags: Persecution

Grace At ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 20, 2009

Grace At Bat I read this week about a baseball game that one day took place. It seems that the Lord’s team was playing Satan’s team. The Lord’s team was at bat, the score was zero to zero, and it was in the bottom of the 9th inning with two outs. The Coach and the Lord stood by observing the game. ...read more

Scripture: Romans 3:21-26

Tags: Grace, God's Grace, E

Nfl Quarterback's Pre-Game Generosity Impacts ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2010

NFL Quarterback’s Pre-Game Generosity Impacts Family There was a time when the bread-winner of the family worked a night shift in a low paying job and relied on food stamps to feed their large family. But that all changed after the Saint Louis Rams won the Super Bowl in 2000. And because of those ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 3:1

Tags: Generosity, Giving General

Doubt In The Scientific World

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 6, 2010

Doubt in the Scientific World Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. In Albert Einstein’s early days, physicists had scratched their heads for some 50 years over the unexplainable orbit ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:16-17

Tags: Doubt

The Devil Made Me Do It

Contributed by Russell Brownworth on Feb 19, 2010

THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT When I served a church in Greenville, Florida, one of our men was Joe Ball Reams; about 6'4" and a man's man! He farmed tobacco, corn and cotton to pay the bills. One of his entrepreneurial ventures is a 600 acre hunting club on family land. He has entertained Southern ...read more

Tags: Temptation General

Denomination: United Methodist

My Youngest Grandson Had A Birthday Party Not Too ...

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on May 25, 2010

My youngest grandson had a birthday party not too long back. It was a pirate party so all his mates came dressed in pirate gear - eye-patches, head scarves, etc. At the door we presented every pirate with a plastic blow-up sword, which looked good but caused no damage at all. They wielded their ...read more

Tags: Spiritual Warfare, War

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Make Your Home In Me

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 13, 2010

MAKE YOUR HOME IN ME If I’m not abiding in Jesus, then where is it that I abide? I once asked myself. I began to notice that when I was tired or anxious, there were certain sentences I would say in my head that led me to a familiar place. The journey to this place would often start with me walking ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:6-7

Tags: Anxiety

The Atheists And The Pharisees

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Oct 9, 2010

THE ATHEISTS AND THE PHARISEES He was wide eyed but unable to speak properly. The nurses told me that he did not have long to live. Brian (not his real name) was experiencing spasms of pain and shortness of breath. He was groaning, and looked weak, drawn and afraid. I offered to pray for him. I ...read more

Tags: Atheism

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Imitating Everything

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Oct 22, 2010

IMITATING EVERYTHING The most influential person in my life was a man by the name of Charles. He was the pastor of the church where I went as a teenager. You may have heard me talk about Charles before, and, if you have, you may remember that he taught me how to drive, he helped me learn a trade ...read more

Tags: Examples Of Faith

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Listening To The Master's Voice  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 23, 2010

LISTENING TO THE MASTER'S VOICE One of the first exposes of the beliefs of our future ministers was made by Redbook magazine in August of 1961. The publishers hired one of the top pollsters in the nation to survey a full representation of our seminaries which are supposedly preparing men for ...read more

Scripture: James 1:22-25

Tags: Bible Truth

Motley, Cross-Breed, Half-Baked Sheep  PRO

Contributed by Andrew Moffatt on Nov 12, 2010

MOTLEY, CROSS-BREED, HALF-BAKED SHEEP Before I went off to train for ministry, I used to live in an old house in Oamaru with an acre and a half of land. I had the usual garden and lawn, but I also had about an acre and a quarter of pretty rough hillside that was planted in a variety of trees and ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 1:3, Numbers 6:22-27

Tags: Parable Lost Sheep

Denomination: Salvation Army

Common Bitterness

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Mar 11, 2011

COMMON BITTERNESS When I was in college, I worked as a youth director at a little church out in the country about an hour’s drive away. There were two families in that congregation that didn’t get along. When they came to worship, they would take up their positions on opposite sides of the room ...read more

Tags: Bitterness

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Helping The Fallen

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 25, 2011

HELPING THE FALLEN One of the most touching moments in NBA history took place in a 2003 playoff game between the Portland Trailblazers and the Dallas Mavericks. Actually, it happened before the game began. Natalie Gilbert was a 13-year-old 8th grader who had won the chance to sing the national ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 2:5-11

Tags: Encouragement

What Are You Being Saved From?

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 23, 2011

WHAT ARE YOU BEING SAVED FROM? Vance Havner tells the story of a who lady came forward during the invitation in one of his meetings to be saved. She was a very sophisticated and refined woman. She had a graduate’s degree and was very articulate and intelligent. When she came forward during the ...read more

Scripture: Romans 6:23

Tags: Evangelism How To

The Meaning Of The Cross

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 25, 2011

THE MEANING OF THE CROSS In the 19th century, Armenian Christians, under a Turkish Muslim government, experienced a tremendous amount of persecution. The government lifted the ban on Muslims converting to Christianity in 1856. Then just eight years later, they began arresting these Muslim converts ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 4:12-19

Tags: Persecution

A Study In Compassion

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Feb 10, 2012

A STUDY IN COMPASSION John Darley and Daniel Batson decided to replicate the story of the Good Samaritan with seminary students. A few variables were introduced. The seminarians were interviewed and asked why they wanted to go into ministry. There were a variety of responses, but the vast majority ...read more

Scripture: Luke 10:25-37

Tags: Compassion

Denomination: Baptist

Visited By Angels

Contributed by Tim Smith on Feb 19, 2012

VISITED BY ANGELS Dr. Ralph Harlow tells the story getting away with his wife Marion for a few days to visit family and of walking with his wife through the woods of Ballarvale, MA as Spring was breaking forth. The path that he and Marion were on was spongy as they walked along a beautiful creek. ...read more

Tags: Angels

Denomination: Methodist

At Christmas All Roads Lead Home

Contributed by Tim Smith on Feb 19, 2012

AT CHRISTMAS ALL ROADS LEAD HOME Marjorie Holmes writes, "At Christmas, all roads lead home. The filled planes, the packed trains and overflowing buses all speak eloquently of a single destination: home. Despite the crowding and the crushing, the delays, the confusion, we clutch our bright ...read more

Tags: Christmas Eve

Denomination: Methodist

Help I Cant Swim!  PRO

Contributed by Ronnie Miller on Nov 27, 2013

Help, I Can't Swim! Several years ago some friends and I would go fishing in the Yadkin River. There were 4 of us and we took 2 flat bottom aluminum boats. One friend of mine had a motor on his, but mine didn't have an engine. We would go after the sun went down and anchor upstream from the rough ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 43:2-3

Tags: God's Help, Divine Help, Enduring Trials, Deep Water

Denomination: Baptist