In Sermon Illustrations: "Guarding Your Heart"

The Heart Of Mary: Highly Favored

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

The Heart of Mary: Highly Favored "The angel went to her and said, 'Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.'" (Luke 1:28) This spoken blessing into her life did not come from abroad, but from the very throne of God and the term "highly favored" (kecharitomene) is an active ...read more

Scripture: Luke 1:28

Tags: Christmas

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

There Is No Better Example Of Heart In Community ...

Contributed by Dale Pilgrim on Jan 19, 2009

There is no better example of heart in community than the life of Ebenezer Scrooge in the Charles Dickens' classic, A Christmas Carol. We watch the miserly, pointy-nosed, blue-lipped, red-eyed grouch barely giving his trusted employee Bob Cratchit time away from work on Christmas Day to be with his ...read more

Tags: Character

Denomination: Salvation Army

Thin Skinned And Hard Hearted

Contributed by John Bright on Feb 2, 2025

Somebody smarter than me said the greatest problem in the local church is that we are not who we were designed by God to be. As Believers, we were made to be thick-skinned and tender hearted. That’s how we can “love one another fervently with a pure heart.” (1 Peter 1:22) Instead, we have become ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 18:15-17, 1 Peter 1:22

Tags: Forgiveness, Fervent Love, Tender Hearted

Denomination: Methodist

When The Heart Says Yes

Contributed by David Dunn on Nov 12, 2025

I have often thought that the most beautiful sound in a service is not the organ, not the choir, not even the preacher’s voice, but the sigh of a surrendered heart—the moment when a man or woman stops ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 51:17, Isaiah 6:8

Tags: Surrender, Yielding

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

John Piper's Reading Plan

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 14, 2011

JOHN PIPER'S READING PLAN John Piper is a well-known Christian author and pastor. He tells about a plan that he says has changed his life. Suppose you read about 250 words a minute, and you resolved to devote just 15 minutes a day to some serious theological reading to deepen your understanding ...read more

Scripture: Deuteronomy 17:18-20

Tags: Learning

If Your Income Exceeds Your Outgo, Then Your ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"If your income exceeds your outgo, then your upkeep ...read more

Tags: Money

Your Son, Your Apprentice  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 9, 2002

YOUR SON, YOUR APPRENTICE "Consider your son to be your apprentice in life. That’s the way it used to be. The son was always with the father, either in the shop or in the field. So he learned from a very early age what being a man and a father was all about. Now we place more emphasis on our ...read more

Tags: Father's Day, Children, Parenting

Treasure Your Relationship, Not Your ...

Contributed by Wincci Yin Chee on May 30, 2006

Treasure your relationship, not your possession. ...read more

Tags: Friendship New Friends

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Your Beliefs Determine Your Attitudes

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on May 4, 2008

YOUR BELIEFS DETERMINE YOUR ATTITUDES Gary Smalley tells us "I can hardly overstate how life-changing it was to find that my beliefs, not my circumstances, determined my attitudes and actions. When I took my beliefs seriously and began to examine and change them, it did wonders for me by giving me ...read more

Tags: Christian Values

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Blue Marbles Reveal The Condition Of The Heart

Contributed by Raymond Petzholt on Mar 12, 2024

There was a young boy named John and his favorite past time was playing marbles. John was out in the playground one day when he saw Susie carrying a box of chocolates. Now John also loved to eat chocolates. So he thought for a while before saying to Susie: “Susie, if you give me your box of ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 22:12, 2 Corinthians 8:1-5, 2 Corinthians 8:9

Tags: Greed, Giving, Doubting God

Denomination: Baptist

Rebellion At The Heart Of Mankind (Funny Story)

Contributed by J Jeffrey Smead on Nov 20, 2025

When my granddaughter was about three years old, ... my wife Lee and I ... were babysitting our grandchildren in Morton Illinois. Anna wanted to go outside and play on our own. I thought this was a good teaching moment. So, ... I knelt down beside her ... so that we could look at each other ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 6:12-23, Romans 6:16-18, John 8:34, John 8:31-32  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Slave, Mortal, Freedom, Sin, Heart, Teach, Rebellion  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Anglican

Where Your Pleasure Is, There Is Your Treasure: ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"Where your pleasure is, there is your treasure: where your treasure, there your heart; where ...read more

Tags: Money

Do You Have One Heart?

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Aug 5, 2023

Missionary Jim Walton was translating the NT for the Muinane people of La Sabana in the jungles of Colombia. But he was having trouble with the word "peace". During this time, Fernando, the village chief, was promised a 20-minute plane ride to a location that would have taken him 3 days ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-11

Tags: Forgiveness, Peace, Missions, Unity, Relationships, Bitterness, Bond Of Peace  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Listen, My Friend Your Helplessness Is Your ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"Listen, my friend Your helplessness is your best prayer. It calls from your heart to the heart of God with greater effect than all your uttered pleas. He hears it from the very moment that you are seized with helplessness, and He becomes ...read more

Tags: Prayer How To

Your Legacy

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Oct 2, 2014

What is the soil of your heart like? Is it growing and producing fruit for the Kingdom of Heaven – are you using your life for eternity? 1. Quote: “I will not waste my life! I will finish my course and finish it well. I will display the Gospel of the grace of God in all I do. I will run my race to ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 3:23-24

Tags: Afterlife, Godly Legacy, Blessed Life

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor, Your Huddled ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore, Send these, the homeless, ...read more

Tags: Political Freedom

Its Not Your Iq, Its Your Fq, Your Failure ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"Its not your IQ, its your FQ, your failure quotient. Most of us handle failure in one of several ways. We blame it on somebody else, we deny it happened, we become embarrassed by it or we totally lose confidence ...read more

Tags: Hardship Of Life

You Are Not Your ...

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

You are Not Your Own Purchased at the Highest Price Corporate Worship The first step to enjoying public worship services is to understand that Christians are not their own. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Tags: Worship Purpose

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

How The Word Was Cut Into His Heart  PRO

Contributed by Bruce Howell on Mar 28, 2001

Illus.: “How the Word Was Cut Into His Heart” When the Christians in Lahore, India, wanted to stamp Matthew 11:28 on the back of Gospels they had printed, they found they could not obtain a rubber stamp with which to do it. The only way was to get a clever Moslem to cut the words in rubber for ...read more

Tags: God Brings Hope, Jesus Teachings, World Religions

Denomination: Wesleyan

God's Heart Is The Most Sensitive And Tender Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 16, 2001

God’s heart is the most sensitive and tender of all. No act goes unnoticed, no matter how insignificant ...read more

Tags: Promises Of God, God's Provision, God's Love