In Sermon Illustrations: "Hard Heart"

When A Surgeon Enters An Operating Theater, He ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

WHEN A SURGEON ENTERS AN OPERATING THEATER, HE IS CAREFUL TO WORK IN A STERILE ENVIRONMENT, BY SCRUBBING HIS HANDS; WEARING A STERILIZED GOWN AND MASK TO PROTECT THE PATIENT AND HIMSELF, FROM ANY GERMS OR BACTERIA. L. THE THEOLOGICAL IMPLICATION IS THAT WE SHOULD HATE SIN, BECAUSE THE ONLY WAY WE ...read more

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Ernest Hemingway, Said This About His Life: "I ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Ernest Hemingway, said this about his life: “I live in a vacuum that is as lonely as a radio tube when the batteries are dead, and there is no current to plug into.” Hemingway lived his life in a way that would be the envy of any person who has bought in to the values of this world. But on a Sunday ...read more

Tags: Ot Kings

A Poem By William Stidger

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

A poem by William Stidger says it well: "I saw God bare his soul one day Where all the earth might see The stark and naked heart of him On lonely Calvary. There was a crimson sky of blood And overhead a storm; When lightning slit the clouds and light engulfed his form. Beyond the storm ...read more

Tags: God In The Hardships

Take Courage And Have Faith, God Is With Us, Is ...

Contributed by Richard Francis on May 19, 2007

Take courage and have faith, God is with us, is in control, he might shake the nations and bring disasters, but God is God, the silver is his, the gold is his and all the glory is his, rejoice and trust. Remember God loves us and whatever we do that will not change, he is there arms wide open ...read more

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

One Moment's Believing

Contributed by Rickey Bennett on Aug 18, 2009

ONE MOMENT'S BELIEVING Octavius Winslow said it this way. "One moment’s believing, close contact with the cross will do more to break the heart for sin, deepen the conviction of its exceeding sinfulness, and disenthrall the soul from all its bondage and its fears, bringing it into a sense of ...read more

Tags: Cross

Denomination: *other

Early African Converts To Christianity Were ...

Contributed by Bobby Scobey on Feb 22, 2010

Early African converts to Christianity were earnest and regular in private devotions. Each one reportedly had a separate spot in the thicket where he would pour out his heart to God. Over time the paths to these places became well worn. As a result, if one of these believers began to neglect ...read more

Tags: Prayer Persistence

Denomination: Pentecostal

I Like What S. D. Gordon Wrote: "It Is Startling ...

Contributed by Tony Abram on Feb 27, 2010

I like what S. D. Gordon wrote: "It is startling to think that Satan can actually come into the heart of a man in such close touch with Jesus as Judas was. And more--he is cunningly trying to do it today. Yet he can get in only through a door opened from the ...read more

Tags: Antichrist

Principles Of Materialism  PRO

Contributed by Derrick Tuper on May 8, 2010

PRINCIPLES OF MATERIALISM In Randy Alcorn’s book: God, Money and Possessions, we find some worthwhile principles: 1. God owns everything. 2. My heart always goes where I put my money. 3. Heaven, not earth, is my home. 4. Giving is the only antidote to materialism. ...read more

Tags: Giving General

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Quotes On Humility

Contributed by Billy Nale on Apr 13, 2011

QUOTES ON HUMILITY "To become truly great, one has to stand with people, not above them." -- Charles de Montesquieu "Modesty is a shining light; it prepares the mind to receive knowledge, and the heart for truth." -- Madame Guizot "None are so empty as those who are full of themselves." -- ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 3:8

Tags: Humility

Denomination: Baptist

Jesus Cared

Contributed by C. Philip Green on Jan 2, 2013

JESUS CARED Henri Nouwen once said, "What we see, and like to see, is cure and change. But what we do not see and do not want to see is care: the participation in the pain, the solidarity in the suffering, the sharing in the experience of brokenness. And still, cure without care is as ...read more

Scripture: John 11:35

Tags: Restoration, Caring Love

Denomination: Evangelical Free

Conviction Of Sin

Contributed by Alison Bucklin on Aug 28, 2023

“The new believer will often rest for days or months in the peace which follows the initial decision, but after a while they begin to become aware of “the ground of their heart, which God before would not disclose unto them lest the soul should fail before Him, and the spirit which He had made. Now ...read more

Scripture: Luke 5:8, Luke 5:27, Luke 19:8, Matthew 8:8

Tags: Conversion, Repentance, Conviction

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Death By Crucifixion

Contributed by John Bright on Apr 6, 2025

This a medical description of what happens: DEATH BY CRUCIFIXION: SLOW SUFFOCATION 1 - Shallowness of breathing causes small areas of lung collapse. 2 - Decreased oxygen and increased carbon dioxide cause acidic conditions in the tissues. 3 - Fluid builds up in the lungs. Makes the situation in ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 27:32-56

Tags: Crucifixion, Slow, Suffocation

Denomination: Methodist

Alexander Solzhenitsyn  PRO

Contributed by John Gullick on Dec 22, 2000

Alexander Solzhenitsyn was a prisoner in Russia. he was on a program of hard labour and slow salvation. One day he felt like giving up. He felt his life could not make a difference. He sat down on a bench knowing that when he was spotted by a guard he would be ordered back to work when he failed ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-6, Ephesians 5:4-7, Job 2:9, 1 Kings 19:4

Tags: God Brings Hope, Peace

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Writer & Speaker Joni Erickson Tada Was Paralyzed ...  PRO

Contributed by Steve Malone on Apr 5, 2001

Writer & speaker Joni Erickson Tada was paralyzed from the neck down in a diving accident. In her book Secret Strength, Joni wrote about facing temptation. I was in my late 20’s, single, and with every prospect of remaining so. Sometimes lust or a bit of fantasizing would seem so inviting and so ...read more

Scripture: Luke 5:18-26, Luke 5:1-7

Tags: Prayer Hardship, Sin General, Temptation Resisting

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

He Thinks He Knows Your Sister  PRO

Contributed by Patrick Doherty on Nov 19, 2001

HE THINKS HE KNOWS YOUR SISTER There was an elderly man and his hard of hearing wife travelling from Memphis to Nashville. The trip was progressing along fine until they began having car trouble. Pulling into the nearest gas station the mechanic struck up a converstation with the old man. ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:22-23

Tags: Christian Love, Communication General

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

In The Eleventh Century, King Henry Iii Of ...  PRO

Contributed by James Dunn on Feb 1, 2002

In the eleventh century, King Henry III of Bavaria grew tired of court life and the pressures of being a monarch. He made application to Prior Richard at a local monastery, asking to be accepted as a contemplative and spend the rest of his life in the monastery. "Your Majesty," said Prior Richard, ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 3:24

Tags: Faith

Denomination: Baptist

Many Years Ago, A Captain Of An English Ship ...  PRO

Contributed by Owen Bourgaize on Nov 7, 2002

Many years ago, a captain of an English ship sailing near Turkey was caught in a storm. As there was no harbour nearby he let down the anchor, but the wind blew so fiercely that it began to drag the anchor. It couldn’t get a grip on the sandy seabed and so the ship began to drift. Another anchor ...read more

Tags: Promises Of God, God The Father

Denomination: Baptist

A Teenage Boy, Who Stated Openly That He Didn't ...  PRO

Contributed by Kenneth Squires on Jan 17, 2003

A teenage boy, who stated openly that he didn’t believe in God, was asked why. “Our family was going through a very hard time,” he explained, “and I prayed that God would help us—but nothing happened.” On the other hand, another family with a teenager was in great need. The father had been out of ...read more

Scripture: 2 Chronicles 7:14

Tags: Prayer Supplication, Prayer Adoration

Denomination: Pentecostal

The Local Sheriff Was Looking For A Deputy, And ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 9, 2003

The local sheriff was looking for a deputy, and one of the applicants - who was not known to be the brightest academically, was called in for an interview. "Okay," began the sheriff, "What is 1 and 1?" "Eleven," came the reply. The sheriff thought to himself, "That’s not what I meant, but he’s ...read more

Tags: Communication General

Finding Real Power  PRO

Contributed by John Williams Iii on Jun 3, 2003

FINDING REAL POWER Someone has wisely said what it takes to find freedom in the power of the Holy Spirit. "It costs much to obtain the power of the Spirit. It costs self-surrender and humiliation and the yielding up of the most precious things to God. It costs the perseverance of long waiting ...read more

Tags: Holy Spirit Attributes, Holy Spirit General

Denomination: United Methodist