In Sermon Illustrations: "Growing Old"

Margaret: The Hard Soil

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Jan 13, 2011

MARGARET: THE HARD SOIL Each week I give a devotion in each of the 8 dining areas of the Shalom Centre and Margaret (not her real name) is there, with ears which will not hear. Her heart is a fortress, cold, hard, defensive. The gates are huge, old and impenetrable, bolted with fear and pride that ...read more

Tags: Unbelief

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Olonga's Persecution

Contributed by Warner Pidgeon on Mar 10, 2011

OLONGA'S PERSECUTION Henry Olonga tells of when he was first selected for the Zimbabwean cricket B-Team. They were touring South Africa and staying in a luxurious Johannesburg Hotel. At that time they had to share a hotel room with a teammate and he was sharing with a more famous, white, senior ...read more

Tags: Persecution

Denomination: Anglican

Reality Therapy

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 21, 2011

REALITY THERAPY Aaron was an eleven-year-old boy whose behavior was described by Dr. William Glasser, his psychiatrist, as horrible. In his book, Reality Therapy, Glasser says Aaron was the most obnoxious child he had ever met. The boy would kick, scream, run away and hide, become withdrawn, ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 22:6

Tags: Parenting

Warfield's Faithfulness  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 28, 2011

WARFIELD'S FAITHFULNESS There’s an old story about Dr. Benjamin Warfield. He was a theology professor at Princeton Seminary. While he was still at the height of his academic powers, his wife got sick. And she became an invalid. He took care of her for ten years. During that ten year period, he ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:25-33

Tags: Marriage Faithfulness

Colossian Philosophy: "Borrowed" Features

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 6, 2011

COLOSSIAN PHILOSOPHY: "BORROWED" FEATURES I used to collect basketball cards. This was way back in the early 90s, though I still have held on to them. Basketball cards took off well after baseball cards, and each brand over time had its own unique features. Some were UV coated, others had gold ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 1:15-23

Tags: False Teaching

A Liar Rips His Pants

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 20, 2011

A LIAR RIPS HIS PANTS Aaron Siebers. The 27-year-old Denver man, a Blockbuster employee, was skateboarding one afternoon when he fell and ripped his uniform pants. Due to work last night--and concerned about getting "written up" by Blockbuster superiors for not wearing his work-issued ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 12:22

Tags: Lies

A Little Girl's Trust

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 9, 2011

A LITTLE GIRL'S TRUST It's a lesson we need to learn, as well. Our true security comes from God and God alone, so we must learn to trust Him. Don't trust in a lie. Don't trust in an idol. Trust in the Lord. Then and only then will you be truly secure. Five-year-old Jessica became a bit ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 30:1-24

Tags: Trust

The Spirit Of The Law

Contributed by Sean Harder on May 11, 2011

THE SPIRIT OF THE LAW I knew a woman who stopped for a few drinks every night after work to let traffic die down, then drove home, about a 45 minute drive in lower mainland traffic. She would say, "I'm fine, I've never had an accident and there are never any roadblocks on my route home. It's not ...read more

Tags: Obedience

God's Preparing You For Great Things  PRO

Contributed by Paul Barreca on Jun 11, 2011

GOD'S PREPARING YOU FOR GREAT THINGS SOME believe that they have been unfairly treated by circumstances in life. Consider my high school friend. At the age of 19, he found himself as the leader of a camping trip with a group of young teens. One of those teens drowned in a lake about an hour’s ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 3:10-12

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Harry And The Mountain

Contributed by Guy Mcgraw on Jun 22, 2011

HARRY AND THE MOUNTAIN On March 17th of 1980, a radical thing took place in the state of Washington, something that hadn’t happened in at least 123 years. It started when an earthquake registering 4.1 on the Richter scale was reported near Mt. St. Helens in S.W Washington. Forest rangers were ...read more

Tags: Revelation

Singing For The Girls

Contributed by Guy Mcgraw on Jun 22, 2011

SINGING FOR THE GIRLS Last Sunday night I preached in a town called San Miguel. It was known for witch doctors and demonic things going on. We had a constant string of problems happening one after another. The church was crowded with every seat taken and faces looking through the back doors and ...read more

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Trust Made The Difference

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Jul 3, 2011

TRUST MADE THE DIFFERENCE Years ago, when my nephew Josh was about 9 years old, we were out in the yard playing tag. He had tagged me and was running for all he was worth to get away from me. He was laughing and laughing as he looked back at me chasing him. Then he turned around and ran into a ...read more

Tags: Trust

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Bury It Right!  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 1, 2011

BURY IT RIGHT! The story is told of a teenage son who wanted to be Scripturally baptized. His father told him that the sprinkling he got as a baby was sufficient. The son tried to explain that you can only picture the idea of burial by completely being submerged. Angry, the father told him to ...read more

Scripture: Acts 8:36-39

Tags: Baptism

The Maker

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 6, 2011

THE MAKER An old Model T Ford was pulled off to the side of the road with its hood up, and a young man was trying desperately to get it running. He had been working at it for a long time without any success when a beautiful, chauffeur-driven limousine stopped behind him, and a well-dressed man got ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 3:5-6

Tags: Knowing God's Will

Greek Words For God's Love

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Aug 8, 2011

GREEK WORDS FOR GOD'S LOVE The Hebrew words for love are more meaningful than the Greek ones, especially two of them. aheb, "...The intensity of the meaning ranges from God's infinite affection for his people to the carnal appetites of a lazy glutton..." (Theological Wordbook of the Old ...read more

Tags: God's Love

Denomination: Independent/Bible

The Spirit Of The Law

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 9, 2011

THE SPIRIT OF THE LAW I knew a woman who stopped for a few drinks every night after work to let traffic die down, then drove home, about a 45 minute drive in lower mainland traffic. She would say, "I'm fine, I've never had an accident and there are never any roadblocks on my route home. It's not ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 20:1

Tags: Alcohol

The Beautiful Sounds Of The Stradivarius

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 11, 2011

THE BEAUTIFUL SOUNDS OF THE STRADIVARIUS Years ago, there was a master violinist in Europe. He would play in concerts, and he had a magnificent Stradivarius violin, extremely expensive. He would play the Stradivarius violin in concert and everyone would whisper in the crowd, "Listen to the ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 38:20, Isaiah 38:1-8

Tags: Born Again

Tears And Trust

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 23, 2011

TEARS AND TRUST Years ago, when my nephew Josh was about 9 years old we were out in the yard playing tag. He had tagged me and was running for all he was worth to get away from me. He was laughing and laughing as he looked back at me chasing him. Then he turned around and ran into a tree. It ...read more

Scripture: Habakkuk 3:17-19

Tags: Faith, Trust

A Texas-Sized Sword

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 24, 2011

A TEXAS-SIZED SWORD In 2000, we drove across the country from Maryland to California and back. On our return, we blew past this Great Big Cross along the highway in Texas. By the time we saw the exit, we had passed it and continued our journey home. The image of that great big cross stuck in my ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:18-25

Tags: Cross

Jesus Saves Me Now

Contributed by Larry Wilson on Aug 30, 2011

JESUS SAVES ME NOW The old version used to tell us that He was able to keep us from falling. The new version, giving a closer rendering of the Greek, tells us that He is able to guard us from stumbling. So He can. So He will. But we must trust Him. Moment by moment we must look into His face, and ...read more

Tags: Security

Denomination: Baptist