In Sermon Illustrations: "Heavenly Father"

Erma Bombeck Writes In One Of Her Books, "When ...

Contributed by Timothy Smith on Aug 2, 2004

Erma Bombeck writes in one of her books, "When did I become the mother and the mother become the child? Does it begin one night when you are asleep and your mother is restless? And you go in her room and tuck the blanket around her bare arms? Does it appear one afternoon when, in a moment of ...read more

Tags: Parenting, Children

Denomination: Christian Church

I Met Rosemary When I Was 15 Years Old. Her ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 28, 2005

I met Rosemary when I was 15 years old. Her father was the proprietor of a pool hall called El Rancho Grande. He had two rules concerning me and the pool hall. Rule #1 was “If you play and lose, you pay.” Rule #2 was “If you play and win, you play for free.” Needless to say, I got as good as I ...read more

Tags: Evangelism The Lost

Judge Alexander M. Sanders, Jr., The Chief ...

Contributed by D. Greg Ebie on Sep 20, 2007

Judge Alexander M. Sanders, Jr., the Chief Juctice of the South Carolina Court of Appeals, tells a story about what happened when his daughter Zoe was just three years old. Sanders came home from work one day to find his home – and especially his young daughter – in a state of turmoil. Zoe’s pet ...read more

Denomination: Assembly Of God

One Of My Favorite Books Is Called This I ...

Contributed by Anne Benefield on Feb 19, 2008

One of my favorite books is called This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women. It is a compilation of eighty essays based on the National Public Radio series of the same name. The essays are from the famous and the unknown. One of the essays that I found most moving is ...read more

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Every Branch That Bears Fruit Must Be Pruned To ...  PRO

Contributed by Stephen Smarowsky on Jun 14, 2008

Every branch that bears fruit must be pruned to bear much more fruit. I have a tomato plant that has been living for over two years now. Every winter the cold weather and heavy breeze kill more than half of the vines and leafs. If I don't prune the dead, it will spread and kill the whole plant. ...read more

Scripture: John 17:13, John 17:13-21

Tags: Growth In Christ

Denomination: Baptist

Not Easy Being ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 8, 2008

NOT EASY BEING MOM A University of Minnesota study on Motherhood released this week said moms should get $131,000 a year for what they do! When you add together all the different jobs they do it becomes obvious how valuable mothers are in our lives. Some reports say mothers do 17 different jobs ...read more

Tags: Mothers

National ...

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

National Foundation Expressing Fear of the Lord A nation with a firm foundation has Christians who have the heart of the Psalmist who wrote, “Teach me your ways, O Lord, and I will walk in Your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear Your name.” (Psalm 86:11) A nation that has a ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 112:1

Tags: Patriotism

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Ever-Flowing Stream Of Grace  PRO

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

Ever-flowing Stream Of Grace Walk and Not Be Faint: Isaiah 40:31 says, "But those wait for the Lord will gain new strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint" Christians who have close communion with God "...will walk and not ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 40:31

Tags: Grace, Pray

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Authors Give Hard Evidence To Back Up There ...

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Sep 2, 2008

The authors give hard evidence to back up there opening statement about the need for healing today. They shared the following statistics from pages 4-7 "Caring for People God’s Way": Marital Discord: Studies show 35% of persons who marry get a divorce, and 18% of those divorced are divorced ...read more

Tags: Statistics

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

What Are You Looking For?  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 2, 2008

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? A certain man went to Church one Sunday. He frowned when the organist missed a note during the opening hymn. He gave a mean stare at two teenagers talking to each other when the congregation was at prayer. During the Scripture readings, he kept looking impatiently at his ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:21-52

Tags: Weeds, Tares, Church General

On January 8, 1956 Jim Elliot, Along With Four ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 28, 2008

On January 8, 1956 Jim Elliot, along with four other missionaries was killed while trying to bring this Good News of Christ to the Waodoni people of the Auca Indians in Ecuador. In his journal published in a book titled SHADOW OF THE ALMIGHTY, Jim wrote these words: “One doesn’t learn to speak ...read more

Tags: Missions

I Recall One Sunny Afternoon When I Was 13 Years ...

Contributed by Chris Surber on Feb 5, 2009

I recall one sunny afternoon when I was 13 years old and had only recently moved to Butte, Montana where I lived for a couple of years during high school with my father and grandfather. One afternoon I was exploring a very old log cabin style garage on the back of the property where we lived. It ...read more

Tags: Purity

Denomination: Christian Church

Ipod ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 14, 2009

iPod Religion This is right up there with what 10-year-old Joshua wrote to his pastor: “Dear Pastor, My father says I should learn the 10 Commandments. But I don’t think I want to because we have enough rules already in our house.” That’s not as bad as what 11-year-old Ralph wrote: “Dear Pastor, I ...read more

Scripture: Deuteronomy 6:7-9

Tags: Youth

Nfl Quarterback's Pre-Game Generosity Impacts ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2010

NFL Quarterback’s Pre-Game Generosity Impacts Family There was a time when the bread-winner of the family worked a night shift in a low paying job and relied on food stamps to feed their large family. But that all changed after the Saint Louis Rams won the Super Bowl in 2000. And because of those ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 3:1

Tags: Generosity, Giving General

I've Been Reading A Book By Francine Rivers ...

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Mar 31, 2010

I've been reading a book by Francine Rivers lately about an old woman called Leota who loves the Lord and has an amazing impact upon the lives of other people in her life, yet is rejected and hated by her own daughter, Eleanor. Throughout the book there seems to be NO HOPE for this estranged ...read more

Tags: Miracles Of Jesus, Confidence In Prayer

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Deformed Foot Straightened By Long-Term Painful ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 26, 2010

Deformed Foot Straightened by Long-term Painful Pressure In Paul’s life he did face suffering for Christ - Colossians 1:24: "Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for His body’s sake, which is the Church." None of us ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:3-5

Tags: God In The Hardships, Discipline

How To Evangelize Jehovah's ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 7, 2010

How to Evangelize Jehovah’s Witnesses David Reed has much experience to draw from when teaching Christians to evangelize Jehovah’s Witnesses. He was a preacher and elder there for many years. Now his book, Jehovah’s Witnesses Answered Verse by Verse is in its 32nd printing and has sold more than ...read more

Scripture: John 20:19-31

Tags: Divinity Of Christ

Game Of Chance

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Jul 9, 2010

GAME OF CHANCE A person recently said to me as they were dying that the Bible was just a series of myths and stories, and if I want to, I can choose to live my life assuming that it is. I can choose to treat heaven like a GAME OF CHANCE and the Bible as something less than a sure thing. I can ...read more

Tags: Judgment

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

An Attack Of Conscience

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 8, 2011

AN ATTACK OF CONSCIENCE This was the story in MYFOX Boston from Friday 15 April 2011 41 years after the murder of 15 year old John McCabe of Tewksbury, three suspects finally go before the judge. 60-year-old Walter Shelley, of Tewksbury, and 57-year-old Michael Ferreira of Salem. New Hampshire are ...read more

Scripture: 1 Samuel 24:5-7

Tags: Conscience

America's Spiritual Bankruptcy

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 8, 2011

AMERICA'S SPIRITUAL BANKRUPTCY America is incrementally and systematically rejecting God. America’s moral bankruptcy is symptomatic of its spiritual bankruptcy. For example: • In 1962 the Supreme Court ruled against prayer in our schools. In 1963, they outlawed Bible Readings. • In Alaska public ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 14:34

Tags: America