In Sermon Illustrations: "Growing Old"

Asking God Questions

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on May 29, 2010

I get the privilege and opportunity to speak to many old people in the course of my day. Being a chaplain and Pastor in an aged care facility (fancy name for old people’s nursing home) I am fascinated by the amazing lives that they have led. Last week I spoke to a woman in her 90’s who said she ...read more

Tags: Doubt

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Chris Paul: Forgiving The Murderers

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 23, 2011

CHRIS PAUL: FORGIVING THE MURDERERS In April, 2011, Rick Reilly wrote a moving story about forgiveness from the life of Chris Paul, the all-star basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets. Reilly writes: On the moonless night of November 15, 2002, five boys ran across a park, jumped a ...read more

Scripture: Luke 11:4

Tags: Forgiveness For Others, Ask Seek Knock

Beginning Again  PRO

Contributed by Sam Mccormick on Dec 29, 2016

BEGINNING AGAIN The opening lines of a poem by Louisa Fletcher express this plaintive wish: I wish that there were some wonderful place Called the "Land of Beginning Again," Where all our mistakes, and all our heartaches, And all of our poor selfish grief Could be dropped like a shabby old coat ...read more

Scripture: John 3:3-8

Tags: Resolution, Born Again, New Year, New Start

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Grace At Christmas

Contributed by Joel Arndt on Jan 9, 2020

Early on in my ministry, I was called to the home of one of the people in the congregation who said they had a Christmas gift for me. Shortly after getting out of my vehicle I heard shouting coming from the house that I was called to. I gently knocked on the door and the woman of the house opened ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 6:23

Tags: Christmas, Grace, Forgiveness, Gift

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

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

Quit all the comparisons: IT IS ABOUT GOD’S GLORY. HAGGAI and ZECHARIAH LEARNED TO ENCOURAGE THOSE THAT WERE DOING A WORK THAT SEEMED SMALL IN THEIR OWN EYES. Get excited. Haggai 2:2 Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high ...read more

Scripture: Zechariah 4:10

Tags: Glory, Small Things

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Amy Was Very Close To Her Grandmother. They ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Amy was very close to her Grandmother. They visited often and shared some of the most memorable moments. When she was very small, they played together, walked together and when Amy was sick Grandma would stay with her so Mom and Dad could go to work. So they loved each other in all situations and ...read more

Tags: God's Provision

The High ...

Contributed by Eric Ferguson on May 8, 2008

The High Dive Harley and Matt lived in a nice neighborhood where the people were friendly-except for one man who lived at the end of the street in a big house with a gigantic swimming pool. His pool had the highest diving board they had ever seen-so high they could see it over the big fence that ...read more

Tags: Temptation General

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Baseball And Golf

Contributed by Peter Loughman on May 15, 2008

BASEBALL AND GOLF One of my tasks as an associate pastor was to go through the list of people who were on the rolls, but didn't come to church anymore. My task was to visit these people, find out why they chose not to attend the church anymore, and then try to convince them to give it another try. ...read more

Tags: Arrogance

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

No More Merry Christmas: Henry Wadsworth ...

Contributed by Johnny Creasong on Dec 19, 2008

No More Merry Christmas: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow On July 13th, Frances changed Henry’s life by saying "YES" to Him in marriage. Less than a year later, their little home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, was blessed with the birth of their first child, Charles. Eventually, the Longfellow household ...read more

Tags: Christmas

Denomination: Church Of God

The Baby's Smile

Contributed by Bruce Lee on Dec 28, 2022

The Baby’s Smile “A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.” John 16:21 We are in the last few days of the year. Most of our thoughts on Christmas is that it is ...read more

Scripture: John 16:21

Tags: Smile, Hope, Cross, Baby Jesus, After Christmas, Cradle To The Cross  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Miracles Through Prayer In China

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Apr 15, 2024

In his book Sit, Walk, Stand, Watchman Nee describes a preaching mission to an island off the South China coast. There were seven in the ministering group, including a sixteen-year-old new convert whom he calls Brother Wu. The island was fairly large, containing about 6,000 homes. Nee had a contact ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 33:3

Tags: Prayer, Miracles, China, Rain, Elijah, Missions  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Pickle Jar As Far Back As I Can Remember Sat ...  PRO

Contributed by Tim Zingale on Nov 13, 2001

The pickle jar as far back as I can remember sat on the floor beside the dresser in my parents’ bedroom. When he got ready for bed, Dad would empty his pockets and toss his coins into the jar. As a small boy I was always fascinated at the sounds the coins made as they were dropped into the jar. ...read more

Tags: Descriptions Of God, Family, Giving General

Denomination: Lutheran

My Mother And My ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 12, 2009

MY MOTHER AND MY FRIENDS (Excerpted from Simple Treasures - Garnet Hunt White. Stories for a Woman’s Heart, p. 187.) The Prov. 31 woman has grateful children – “Her children stand and bless her” (Prov. 31:28 NLT). Mother accepted my friends as they were, and they loved her for it. They liked the ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 31:1-31

Tags: Mother's Day

[213]. A Message From A Poem – Parable Of The Fence Sitter

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Sep 26, 2025

[213]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – PARABLE OF THE FENCE SITTER Uncommitted, disinterested, neutral, indecisive, impartial, indifferent, apathetic – just some English words that describe a person who does not take sides and has no real opinion about anything. When it comes to matters in the world ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 6:2, 1 Kings 18:21

Tags: Impartial, Indecisive, Christian Poems, Sitting On The Fence, Decide For God, A Fence Sitter, Indecision, Indifferent, Uncommitted, Neutral, Apathetic, Disinterested, Decision, Salvation, Conversion  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[314]. A Message From A Poem - Thoughts Based On Psalm 27 - Version 2

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Mar 19, 2026

[313]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM - THOUGHTS BASED ON PSALM 27 - VERSION 2 This poem is Version 2 for Psalm 27. The difference between the two versions is metre. The first has a metre of 10 throughout but Version 2 has a metre of 11 throughout. Psalm 27 has 14 verses and contains some famous ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 27:1, Psalm 27:4, Psalm 27:9, Psalm 27:5, Psalm 27:3  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: David, Faith, Protection, Light, Salvation, Strength, Wait, Deliverance, King David, Enemies, Christian Poems  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

And Then It All Came To An End

Contributed by James Snyder on Dec 28, 2024

Time has a way of getting ahead of me. Just when I think I’ve caught up, I find out I was wrong. The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage and I were sitting down, relaxing after a wonderful Christmas activity with all the kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids. It was a wonderful time, but with my ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 1:9

Tags: Christmas, Time, New Years

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

One More Candle On Another Cake

Contributed by James Snyder on Jul 19, 2025

The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage and I were finishing our supper. If anyone can put together a marvelous supper, it is she. If anybody can eat a marvelous supper, it is me. As we were finishing, she looked over at me and said, "My dear, do you know what we will be celebrating next ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 118:24

Tags: Celebration, Aging, Birthday

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

With His Life In Disarray, Steven Lavaggi Sat On ...  PRO

Contributed by James Wilson on Nov 23, 2000

With his life in disarray, Steven Lavaggi sat on his bedroom’s wooden floor, and began searching his Bible for answers. His wife had just left him to marry a writer for The Rolling Stone Magazine. Ten days later, Steven discovered his son was stricken with Juvenile Diabetes. As if coping with the ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 45:3-15

Tags: Leadership General, Workplace Evangelism

Denomination: Baptist

Chuck Swindoll In His Book, Improving Your Serve, ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 1, 2001

Chuck Swindoll in his book, Improving Your Serve, gives a memorable illustration: Let’s pretend that you work for me. In fact, you are my executive assistant in a company that is growing rapidly. I’m the owner and I’m interested in expanding overseas. To pull this off, I make plans to travel ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 3:1-13

Tags: Call Of The Disciples, Discipleship, Faith

Let’s Play ‘let’s ...  PRO

Contributed by Darren Ethier on Jul 11, 2001

Let’s play ‘Let’s Pretend’. Let’s pretend that you work for me. In fact, you are my executive assistant in a company that is growing rapidly. I’m the owner and I’m interested in expanding overseas. To pull this off, I make plans to travel abroad and stay there until a new branch office gets ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 26:1-16, James 2:11

Tags: Discipleship, Faith, Bible Study

Denomination: Pentecostal