In Sermon Illustrations: "Hating Others"

Is It A Weight Or A Wing?

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Dec 2, 2020

“The race of the Christian life is not fought well or run well by asking, "what's wrong with this or that?" but by asking, "is it in the way of greater faith, greater love, and greater purity? Not: “Is it a sin?” But: “Does it help me run the race! Is it in the way? ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 12:1

Tags: Purity, Christian Life, Running The Race, Habits, Weights, Hindrances  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

If I Had But One Sermon To Hear

Contributed by David Parks on Jun 16, 2021

IF I HAD BUT ONE SERMON TO HEAR In 1906 Charles Reynolds Brown was preaching in the San Francisco Bay area of California. That spring, on the Sunday generally designated as Easter, he and the other preachers of the region spoke to full houses. Years later, he mentioned that particular Sunday in his ...read more

Scripture: James 4:13-14

Tags: Death, Decision, Judgment, Natural Disasters

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Undependable Directions

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Aug 16, 2021

Three young women escaped the sinking Mercedes-Benz SUV after the vehicle's GPS directed them down a boat launch and into the Mercer Slough in Bellevue, Washington. The driver thought she was on a road while following her GPS unit just after midnight, but she was actually heading down the ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 29:8-11

Tags: Trust, Guidance, Authority, Leading, Independable  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Cheating

Contributed by David Parks on Jan 23, 2023

Cheating now more common Once upon a time in a tiny French village, the townspeople decided to honor their parish priest by each bringing a bottle of wine the following Sunday for the pastor’s empty wine barrel. The pastor was delighted, and he asked all in attendance to join him for a glass of ...read more

Scripture: James 5:12, Matthew 5:37

Tags: Truth, Integrity, Honesty, Cheating, Lying  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Idolatry Of Cell Phones

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 26, 2023

t’s no surprise that 45% of Americans say that their phone is the most valuable possession. What is surprising is how far our obsessions with cell phones go: Over one-third of Americans (36%) say they’d give up their pets to keep their cell phone. 53% say that in a house fire or other disaster, ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:22-23, Galatians 6:1-2

Tags: Cell Phones, Lust, Faithfulness, Idolatry, Time, Fruit Of The Spirit, Self Control  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Reveal Your True Colors

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Nov 10, 2023

TO SHOW YOUR TRUE COLORS DATES BACK TO THE 1700s. Ships were required to fly flags at sea. These flags would identify where the ship was from and the type of cargo. PIRATES OFTEN HID THEIR REAL IDENTY BY FLYING FALSE FLAGS. By doing doing this the PIRATES WOULD DECEIVE OTHER SHIPS TO NOT RAISE ...read more

Scripture: James 1:3

Tags: Faith, Flag

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Pledge -- Prayer

Contributed by David Dunn on Oct 6, 2025

Two men were arguing at work one day about religion. Neither really knew what they were talking about. Finally one said, “Man, you don’t know anything about religion. I’ll bet you ten dollars you can’t even repeat the Lord’s Prayer.” The other grinned. “Oh yeah? It’s a bet!” He straightened up ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Hebrews 4:12, Psalm 119:105

Tags: Scripture, Discipleship, Truth, Authority

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

In The Spring Of 1940, War Between England And ...  PRO

Contributed by Tony Miano on Apr 30, 2001

In the spring of 1940, war between England and Germany was beginning to wage in the Atlantic. The allied fleets of America and England were still abiding by a disarmament treaty that limited the size of warships. But the Germans were building ships of gigantic proportions. One such ship, the ...read more

Scripture: Luke 22:20, Hebrews 9:1-30

Tags: God's Omnipotence, Emotions, Faith General

Denomination: *other

Recently, I Saw A Letter Written By A Relatively ...  PRO

Contributed by Steven Chapman on May 2, 2001

Recently, I saw a letter written by a relatively new Christian to the person whose life had influenced hers so greatly. She actually lists about a dozen qualities she found contagious in the life of this older Christian. Listen to some of what she wrote: You know when we met; I began to discover a ...read more

Tags: Sharing Your Faith, Self Esteem, Sharing My Testimony, Great Commission

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Music Pastor At Ben Franklin Middle School  PRO

Contributed by Jim Kane on Dec 13, 2001

THE MUSIC PASTOR AT BEN FRANKLIN MIDDLE SCHOOL Jack Martens is a fifty-six year old teacher who has spent 33 years teaching music at Ben Franklin Middle School in San Francisco. “Over 50 percent of Martens’ students are from broken homes. The same number are on welfare. Nearly that many come ...read more

Tags: Christian Love, Compassion, Giving General

Denomination: Church Of God

Awl For The Good  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 25, 2002

AWL FOR THE GOOD In 1809, Simon Renee Braille and his wife Monique welcomed their fourth child into the world-- a lively boy named Louis. They lived in a small stone house near Paris where Braille was the local harness maker. Leather working tools are dangerous, so the toddler had been ...read more

Scripture: John 9:1-41

Tags: God's Omniscience, God In The Hardships, Grace

Life Is Like A Jar Of Rocks  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 31, 2002

Life Is Like A Jar Of Rocks A philosophy professor stood before his class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a large empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, rocks about 2 inches in diameter. He then asked the students if the jar was ...read more

Tags: Growth In Christ, Giving Yourself, Disciplines General

Thank God, Not Everyone Lets The Negatives Of ...  PRO

Contributed by Donnie Martin on Jun 19, 2004

Thank God, not everyone lets the negatives of life keep them from accomplishing what God wants them to do. On June 18, 1999 Gary and Gloria Sloan, Southern Baptist missionaries, who had been on the field of Mexico only six months, were enjoying a birthday celebration for their daughter, Carla, at ...read more

Tags: Examples Of Faith

Denomination: Baptist

A Man Was Charged Thursday (July 15) In The ...

Contributed by Davon Huss on Jul 19, 2004

A man was charged Thursday (July 15) in the murder of a West Bend (near Milwaukee) teenager. According to the charges, 18-year-old Katie Gensmer was killed so she wouldn’t talk about a past relationship. David Brace, 20, showed little emotion as he was led into court, 12 News Nick Bohr said. Now ...read more

Tags: Sin Exposed, Sin General

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Movie: Pay It Forward  PRO

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Sep 14, 2004

Video Illustration: Movie Pay It Forward. Clip is from the beginning of the movie were a reporter becomes the recipient of a random act of kindness after his car is smashed at a police domestic scene. The reporter is given a new jaguar by a stranger to replace his old wrecked mustang. He responds ...read more

Tags: Sharing Your Faith, Christian Disciplines

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Some Might Think That A Sermon Examining Doctrine ...  PRO

Contributed by Bill Sullivan on Dec 17, 2004

Some might think that a sermon examining doctrine is dry and boring. More than that, they might think that doctrine isn’t as important as something you can apply directly to your life situation. You might think, you want something that will help you with your marriage, with your other ...read more

Tags: Bible Study

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Woodland Creature Known As The Porcupine ...

Contributed by Lisa Delay on Sep 8, 2005

The woodland creature known as the porcupine weighs 15-20 pounds. This primarily nocturnal animal gets its name from the Latin word for pig and the French word for thorn. These “prickly pigs” have 30,000 quills each are a mass of tiny overlapping barbs. When threatened these rodents first try to ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness General, Faith

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

My Son Nathan Is Autistic, So He Struggles ...  PRO

Contributed by Lisa Delay on Oct 8, 2005

My son Nathan is autistic, so he struggles everyday with many things most of us take for granted. We, as his family, struggle too along with him. Things like speaking, a change in his environment, certain sounds, interruptions in his plans or routine and a host of other things often cause him great ...read more

Tags: Prayer Hardship, Hardship Of Life

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

All Across The World There Are People Who Clearly ...

Contributed by K. Edward Skidmore on Apr 13, 2006

All across the world there are people who clearly understand the message of Christianity but who have chosen to reject Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Just like in the days when Jesus was on earth, some people will do anything to silence His message. In our country, we have to ...read more

Tags: World Religions

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Most Neo-Pagans Have The Following Factors In ...

Contributed by K. Edward Skidmore on Apr 18, 2006

Most Neo-Pagans have the following factors in common: • Their religion was almost or completely wiped out in the past and has since then been reconstructed from ancient information sources • They are either duo-theistic or poly-theistic in nature (recognizing a goddess and god or many gods.) • Most ...read more

Tags: Cults

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ