In Sermon Illustrations: "Happenings"

Blind But Now I See  PRO

Contributed by Michael Buckingham on Jul 8, 2011

BLIND BUT NOW I SEE Peter spent a few years trying to cope with his blindness, learning ways of looking after himself so that he wasn’t so much a burden upon his family, although they still continued to visit on the odd occasion. He also learned how to read Braille. Then one day he was informed ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:13

Tags: Beauty

Denomination: Baptist

When Do We Worship

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 7, 2011

WHEN DO WE WORSHIP Author Douglas J. Moo: "Worship is not merely, or even mainly, what we do on Sunday morning. Worship is a 24/7 matter. We worship God when we give ourselves to him in service. We worship God when we show love to others, when we do our jobs faithfully and with integrity, when we ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:1

Tags: Worship Definition

Poor Man's Philanthropist  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 11, 2011

POOR MAN'S PHILANTHROPIST In 2005, when Thomas Cannon died of colon cancer in a hospital in Richmond, Virginia, he was 79. Thomas described himself a "poor man's philanthropist." When Thomas was three years old, his father died. Once Thomas' mother remarried, the family of six lived in a ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 9:1-15, 2 Corinthians 9:15

Tags: Giving General

I Could Have Done More  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 18, 2011

I COULD HAVE DONE MORE The film Schindler's List chronicled the heroic efforts of a German industrialist named Oskar Schindler. Through his unselfish activities, over a thousand Jews on the trains to Auschwitz were saved. After Schindler found out what was happening at Auschwitz, he began a ...read more

Scripture: John 15:9-17, Luke 16:9

Tags: Stewardship, Illustration

A Religion Worth Having  PRO

Contributed by Larry Wilson on Aug 30, 2011

A RELIGION WORTH HAVING Dr. F. E. Marsh used to tell that on one occasion he was preaching on the importance of confession of sin and, wherever possible, of restitution for wrong done to others. Afterward a young man came up to him and said: "Pastor, you have put me in a sad fix. I have wronged ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 27:1-2

Tags: Restoration

Denomination: Baptist

Instructions Are Life Or Death

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 1, 2012

INSTRUCTIONS ARE LIFE OR DEATH Imagine with me if you can. You're rafting down the Ocoee, splashing through a huge rapid when all of a sudden, you find yourself flying over the front of the boat. You're tossing and turning in the waves, and your mind and body are telling you to get stabilized. Our ...read more

Scripture: Luke 9:23-27

Tags: Discipleship, Mothers

Henri Dunant, Founder Of The Red Cross  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 20, 2012

HENRI DUNANT, FOUNDER OF THE RED CROSS Henri Dunant was a wealthy 19th century Swiss banker when the Swiss government sent him to Paris to work on a business deal with Napoleon. When he got to Paris, they told him that Napoleon was off fighting a war against the Austrians in Solferino, Italy. So ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 14:13-14

Tags: Compassion

Prayer And The Motorcycle  PRO

Contributed by Bruce Ball on Nov 13, 2012

PRAYER AND THE MOTORCYCLE There was a woman at work when she received a phone call that her daughter was very sick with a fever. She left work and stopped by the pharmacy to get some medication for her daughter. She returned to her car to find that she had locked the keys inside the car when ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:28, John 13:31-38, Proverbs 28:9, 1 Thessalonians 5:17

Tags: Renewal, Alive, Rededication, Prayer Hardship

Denomination: *other

The Vastness Of The Galaxy

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Jan 21, 2013

THE VASTNESS OF THE GALAXY Have you ever considered the speed of light? It’s pretty fast you know — about 186,000 miles per second. Since the distance around the earth is about 25,000 miles, at this speed a "particle" of light can zip around the earth about 7 or 8 times in just 1 second. That’s a ...read more

Tags: Creation

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Attitude Is Everything

Contributed by Lalachan Abraham on Feb 3, 2013

ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING Mahatma Gandhi, popularly known as the ’Father of the Nation, India also known as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, was born on October 2, 1869, and died on January 30, 1948. Gandhi was a great freedom fighter who played a significant role in achieving independence for India from ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:12

Tags: Attitude General

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Heavenly Home

Contributed by Davon Huss on Nov 3, 2014

Daniel Overdorf- One Friday afternoon I struggled to prepare for the weekend. The week’s hectic pace, filled with activities, left me scrambling on Friday to finish my sermon. While I hunched over my desk, unable to develop anything that resembled a sermon, the office phone rang. From the ...read more

Scripture: 2 Peter 3:13

Tags: Heaven, Heavenly Home, Entering God's Rest

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Pastoral Ministry Crisis

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 30, 2015

2009 Statistics Of Why Pastors Leave the Ministry by Fuller Institute, George Barna and Pastoral Care Inc, Focus On The Family. 1,500 pastors leave the ministry permanently each month in America. 4,000 new churches start each year in America. 7,000 churches close each year in America. 25% of ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 11:28-29

Tags: Pastoral Leadership, Pastoral Ministry

Don't Quit

Contributed by Richard Tow on Jul 18, 2017

Ignace Jan Paderewski, the famous pianist, was scheduled to perform at a great concert hall in America. It was a high-society extravaganza. Present in the audience that evening was a mother and her fidgety nine-year old. She had brought him in the hopes that when he heard the great composer play, ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 18:9-15, 1 Peter 4:12, Hebrews 11:11

Tags: Discouragement, Disappointment, Perseverance

Denomination: Charismatic

Remembering God's Faithfulness

Contributed by Tim Smith on Aug 13, 2017

Michelle Johnson writes, “Sometimes we need to take a look at where we’ve been with God to really understand His faithfulness and love for us. She was staying with her son at the hospital following a serious surgery. On that particular morning, she was exhausted by their stay, and her steps were ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 50:15

Tags: God, Faithfulness, Faithfulness Of God

Denomination: Methodist

The Sound Of Silence

Contributed by Matt Neace on Sep 23, 2018

In their song The Sound of Silence, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel sing the words, "The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls and the tenement halls and whispered in the sounds of silence." But their friendship has come to replicate the sound of silence. Paul Simon gave his final ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:26-27, Ephesians 4:32, Proverbs 24:17, Hebrews 12:14

Tags: Resentment, Bitterness, Unforgiveness, Grudges

Denomination: Baptist

Watch Out For Icebergs

Contributed by Steve Kinnard on Feb 10, 2019

: On April 14, 1912 there was another boat out on the water in Trouble. this ship was considered unsinkable, it had the latest Technology built in. The Captain of the ship said “ I can’t Imagine any condition that would cause this ship to flounder I cannot conceive of any vital disaster ...read more

Scripture: Mark 4:35-41

Tags: Disaster, Touble

Denomination: Pentecostal

Corrie Ten Boom Had To Forgive

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 30, 2020

Corrie Ten Boom's example of forgiveness (from The Hiding Place) in which she describes an unexpected encounter with one of the Nazi guards who had mistreated her at Ravensbruck concentration camp, where her sister had Betsie died and she herself had been subjected to horrible indignities. ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:1-12

Tags: Mercy, Forgiveness, Beatitudes, Holocaust

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Bee The Body Of Christ

Contributed by Dr. Bradford Reaves on Jan 14, 2022

My dad has bees. Today I went to his house and he showed me all of the honey he had gotten from the hives. He took the lid off of a 5 gallon bucket full of honey and on top of the honey there were 3 little bees, struggling. They were covered in sticky honey and drowning. I asked him if we could ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:27, Galatians 6:2

Tags: Caring, Bees, Love, Church, Family, Body Of Christ, Helping  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Brethren

There's A Scene In The Movie, Harry Potter And ...

Contributed by Maurice Schaus on Feb 11, 2008

There’s a scene in the movie, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone where the main character, Harry Potter, encounters an enchanted mirror, the mirror of Erised. Earlier in the book we learned that Harry’s parents died when he was only a baby, and he was raised by his Aunt Petunia and Uncle ...read more

Denomination: Lutheran

This Past Week I Heard A Man Named Paul Peck ...

Contributed by Anne Benefield on Feb 14, 2008

This past week I heard a man named Paul Peck speak. He talked about watching the riots in Los Angeles in April of 1992 following the acquittal of the four white officers who beat Rodney King. Paul watched in horror as African Americans burned down their own communities and businesses, but instead ...read more

Tags: Death

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed