In Sermon Illustrations: "Hands On" showing 2,281-2,300 of 4,526

John Newton Was A Rough, Dirty Sailor With A Foul ...

Contributed by Tim White on Jun 19, 2009

John Newton was a rough, dirty sailor with a foul mouth and an appetite for rotten living. He hated life and life hated him. He was captain of a slave ship. Then someone placed in his hands a copy of Thomas a Kempis’ The Imitation of Christ. He also had the gift of a good mother who told him about ...read more

Tags: Lordship Of Christ

Denomination: Baptist

Not Location But ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 24, 2009

NOT LOCATION BUT LOYALTY John Hess Yoder writes in Leadership magazine: While serving as a missionary in Laos, I discovered an illustration of the kingdom of God. Before the colonialists imposed national boundaries, the kings of Laos and Vietnam reached an agreement on taxation in the border ...read more

Scripture: Joshua 2:1-24

Tags: Kingdom Of God

Two Days After The 9/11 Attacks On Our Nation, ...

Contributed by Dr. Jerry N. Watts on Sep 13, 2009

* Two days after the 9/11 attacks on our nation, Anne Graham Lotz was being interviewed by Jane Clayson on the CBS early show and was asked, "I’ve heard people say, those who are religious, those who are not, if God is good, how could God let this happen? To that, you say?" Lotz replied, "I say God ...read more

Tags: Repentance, National Repentance

Denomination: Baptist

Hang A White Handkerchief

Contributed by Wes Richard on Oct 5, 2009

HANG A WHITE HANDKERCHIEF I once read about a young man who had run away from home because he could not get along with his parents. Somehow, his parents were able to get a message to him, inviting him back home. He wrote back, saying that he was coming home and if they were sure he was welcome, ...read more

Tags: God's Love

Denomination: Brethren

Selling What You Believe In

Contributed by Warren Whitaker on Feb 10, 2010

Selling What You Believe In My best friend in high school is now a teacher, but when we were in college, he tried his hand at selling things. He worked for Amway, Long Distance Telephone services, all sorts of those door to door, sign-you-up, pyramid-type business. I even remember him selling ...read more

Tags: Discipleship

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

I'm Now Just Another Number In The System Of

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Feb 22, 2010

I'm now just another number in the system of "New Start". I made a phone call for Unemployment Benefits yesterday, while I am looking for a ministry opportunity. It took me a long time to get through and I was asked by a computer a series of questions before speaking personally to someone. Then the ...read more

Tags: Unconditional Love

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

There Were Three Men Who Went Bear Hunting ...

Contributed by Bobby Scobey on Feb 23, 2010

There were three men who went bear hunting together: a lawyer, a drunk and a preacher. As they were walking through the woods to pick their places, a bear ran right in front of them. All three with quick reflexes took quick aim and fired. The bear fell down dead. An argument arose about who had ...read more

Tags: Possession

Denomination: Pentecostal

A Stinging Blow For Good  PRO

Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on Mar 2, 2010

A STINGING BLOW FOR GOOD Always remember that God knows what he is doing with us, even if we don’t know. Many years ago there was found in an African mine the most magnificent diamond in the world’s history. It was presented to the King of England to wear in his crown. The king sent it to ...read more

Scripture: James 1:1-12

Tags: Affliction

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Friend Of The Son

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 9, 2010

FRIEND OF THE SON Rick Warren talks about Ron Dunn, a friend of his, who took his young son to a carnival one time for his birthday. His son had picked six boys to go with him, so Ron bought a roll of tickets. Every line he'd come up to, he'd pull off seven tickets and give them to all the kids. ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 5:1-12

Tags: Friendship New Friends

It’s All ...

Contributed by Donnie Martin on Jul 7, 2010

It’s All Mine George W. Truett, a well-known pastor, was invited to dinner in the home of a very wealthy man in Texas. After the meal, the host led him to a place where they could get a good view of the surrounding area. Pointing to the oil wells punctuating the landscape, he boasted, “Twenty-five ...read more

Tags: Possession

Denomination: Baptist

Psalm 47 And Rosh Hashanah

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Sep 20, 2010

PSALM 47 AND ROSH HASHANAH When a brand new believer in 1974, my friend loaned his LP Album by Messianic Jewish group "Lamb." When I married Marylu in 1980, I married into Lamb albums. One of the songs was titled, "Clap Your Hands, All Ye People," and was a paraphrase of Psalm 47. Preparing this ...read more

Tags: Holidays

Denomination: Independent/Bible

St. Augustine On The Trinity

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Nov 29, 2010

ST. AUGUSTINE ON THE TRINITY One day when St. Augustine was at his wits' end to understand and explain the Trinity, he went out for a walk. He kept turning over in his mind, "One God, but three Persons. Three Persons--not three Gods but one God. What does it mean? How can it be explained? How can ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 1:3-23

Tags: Trinity

Denomination: Brethren

Religion A Vs. Religion B

Contributed by Rodelio Mallari on Dec 31, 2010

RELIGION A VS. RELIGION B The 19th-century Danish theologian Soren Kierkegaard identified two kinds of religion--Religion A and Religion B. The first is "faith" in name only (2 Tim. 3:5). It's the practice of attending church without genuine faith in the living Lord. Religion B, on the ...read more

Tags: Religion

Denomination: *other

Bangedy Bang

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 4, 2011

BANGEDY BANG A soldier in the heat of battle had his gun jam on him. The enemy was charging straight for him and he was defenseless, desperate! For some unknown reason he pointed his finger at the man and said "Bangedy bang" and the guy fell down dead. He looked at his hand and thought, wow! ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-18

Tags: War

Don't Waste Your Life

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 20, 2011

DON'T WASTE YOUR LIFE In his book Don’t Waste Your Life, John Piper recounts a story his father often told of his days as a fiery Baptist evangelist. It is the story of a man who came to saving faith in Jesus Christ near the end of his earthly existence. Piper writes: "The church had prayed for ...read more

Scripture: Acts 20:24

Tags: Conscience

I Wish You Had Helped Me

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Jul 4, 2011

I WISH YOU HAD HELPED ME Two soldiers, traveling together, were set upon by a robber. The one fled away; the other stood his ground, and defended himself with his stout right hand. The robber being slain, the timid companion runs up and draws his sword, and then, throwing back his traveling ...read more

Tags: Friendship General

Denomination: Independent/Bible

A Church Moves On

Contributed by Michael Walther on Jul 29, 2011

A CHURCH MOVES ON "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 12.21). A church that was already struggling financially suffered a loss of $5,000 which one of its members had embezzled. This put the church in even greater peril because of its difficulty in meeting financial ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness For Others

Denomination: Lutheran

The Impact Of A Mother's Prayer

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 6, 2011

THE IMPACT OF A MOTHER’S PRAYER Picture an old woman with a halo of silvered hair--the hot tears flowing down her furrowed cheeks--her worn hands busy over a washboard in a room of poverty--praying--for her son John--John who ran away from home in his teens to become a sailor--John of whom it was ...read more

Scripture: James 5:16-20

Tags: Die, Mother's Day

People Matter

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 10, 2011

PEOPLE MATTER One woman told the time her professor in nursing school gave a pop quiz. She said "I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions, until I read the last one: 'What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?'" She thought: "Surely this was some kind ...read more

Scripture: John 10:14

Tags: Christian Values

Taste Is All Wrong

Contributed by Tim Hinrichs on Nov 29, 2011

TASTE IS ALL WRONG I remember one of the stories from the Chronicles of Narnia from the book "The Last Battle." It was the story of a number of dwarfs who just didn't believe in Aslan (who represented Jesus Christ in all the books). They were blind to reality refusing to be "taken in" by those ...read more

Scripture: John 12:39-40

Tags: Sin Deceptive

Denomination: Lutheran