In Sermon Illustrations: "Heavenly Places"

Here Are Some Of The More Humerous Tombstone ...

Contributed by John Braland on Apr 3, 2007

Here are some of the more humerous tombstone enscriptions found around the globe. Harry Edsel Smith of Albany, New York: Born 1903-Died 1942 Looked up the elevator shaft to see if the car was on the way down. It was. • In a Thurmont, Maryland, cemetery: Here lies an Atheist All dressed up And ...read more

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Pitchers Need Their Team

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 8, 2009

PITCHERS NEED THEIR TEAM Behold, a team went forth to play a game of baseball. Just as the umpire was saying, "Batter up," the catcher for the home team arrived and took his place behind the plate. The center fielder didn’t show up at all but sent his regrets. The third baseman likewise failed to ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 10:24-25

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Spiritual Growth Takes Time  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 25, 2009

SPIRITUAL GROWTH TAKES TIME There was once a farmer who went to town to purchase seeds for his farm. As he was returning home one of the squash seeds he had purchased fell from his pocket onto the ground. It happened that within a few feet was another seed of a different type. The place where the ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 4:12-13

Tags: Spiritual Growth, Growth In Christ

What Is Your Money Doing To ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 14, 2009

WHAT IS YOUR MONEY DOING TO YOU? On their way to church on Sunday, a mother gave her child a one-dollar bill and a quarter. "Sweetheart," the mother said, "you can place either one in the offering plate. It’s entirely up to you." As they were driving home, the mother asked the daughter what she ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:10

Tags: Money

Baptism Is A Burial…. I Heard One Preacher Who ...

Contributed by Brian B on Jul 29, 2009

Baptism is a burial…. I heard one preacher who told the story of being a young kid who lived on a farm….. one day one of his puppies died and he took it out to the back yard and dug a hole and placed the puppy in the hole and…… well the point of the story is that you bury dead things….. ...read more

Tags: Baptism

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

We Always Turn To Something

Contributed by Aubrey Vaughan on Jan 30, 2010

We Always Turn to Something In Thessalonica, notice those who heard the gospel responded by 1Thes1:9 turning to God from idols to serve the true and living God. In our 21st century western society there has been a huge paradigm shift, a turning away from Judea/Christian God centred worldview, ...read more

Tags: Idolatry

Denomination: Baptist

You Can't See It, Hear It, Or Touch It, But Scent ...

Contributed by Ajai Prakash on Apr 7, 2010

You can’t see it, hear it, or touch it, but scent is powerful. The smell of things like crayons, petunias, and colognes evoke memories that transport me to the past and bring to mind people and places I might not otherwise recall. Some celebrities have fragrances named after them. Fans can ...read more

Tags: Scent, Christian Values

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

More Beyond  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 15, 2010

MORE BEYOND The Strait of Gibraltar is the strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea. On either side of the Strait of Gibraltar there are two mountains, which were known in ancient times as the Pillars of Hercules. According to Greek mythology, Hercules built these pillars ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:13-18

Tags: Heaven

Leave The Bones  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 23, 2010

LEAVE THE BONES A clergyman took a seat in a dining car on a train traveling along the Hudson River. Opposite him was an atheist who, seeing his clerical collar, started a discussion. "I see you are a clergyman." "Yes," came the reply. "I am a minister of the gospel." "I suppose you believe the ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 2:15

Tags: Bible Study

Spirit: A Life Changing Force

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Nov 8, 2010

SPIRIT: A LIFE CHANGING FORCE There are those who think the Spirit is a thing. They view Him as a lifeless blob that God sets inside of us that doesn’t physically affect us during our lives. They tend to view God’s Spirit like a coin you put in a pop machine or a candy machine. The coin goes in ...read more

Tags: Holy Spirit In Believers

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Forgiven

Contributed by Larry Wilson on Aug 30, 2011

FORGIVEN My pastor for most of my life, Dr. Harold Sightler, used to tell of a woman bad to shout. (He would stop there and say, I mean "good" to shout.) When they mentioned Jesus in sermon or song, she would say, "Hallelujah, praise the Lord." The dead, dry church she attended didn’t like this. ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 43:25, Genesis 39:17-30

Tags: Dependence, Forgiveness In Jesus

Denomination: Baptist

Hiding The Word Of God

Contributed by Perry Greene on Jan 10, 2012

HIDING THE WORD OF GOD During World War II, Jewish inmates of the Yanov labor camp in occupied Poland defied their Nazi guards, secretly conducting religious services inside their darkened barracks. To observe their ritual, the Jews had cut religious scrolls into sections, bound the parchment ...read more

Tags: Bible Influence

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Christlikeness: A Painful Process  PRO

Contributed by Josh Hunt on May 9, 2012

CHRISTLIKENESS: A PAINFUL PROCESS The truth is that the Spirit of the living God is guaranteed to ask you to go somewhere or do something you wouldn’t normally want or choose to do. The Spirit will lead you to the way of the cross, as He led Jesus to the cross, and that is definitely not a safe or ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:18, Matthew 16:24-25, Revelation 12:1-2

Tags: Holy Spirit In Believers

Denomination: Baptist

Do You Fear What You Need Not Fear?

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 11, 2012

DO YOU FEAR WHAT YOU NEED NOT FEAR? A friend told me a story of some hunting dogs that he had. They were good hunting dogs that he used when he went to hunt pigs in the mountains. He shared however, that the dogs, as tough as they were, were deathly afraid of chickens. I couldn’t believe it, so I ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 2:14-18

Tags: Satan

True Christianity

Contributed by Gene Gregory on Aug 27, 2012

This past Wednesday, many across our country and others, went to their local churches to have ashes placed on their foreheads, as a sign of repentance. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, a 40-day period that many “give-up” something in preparation for the coming of Easter. In the ...read more

Tags: Discipleship

Denomination: Baptist

Safety Against The Fire

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 23, 2013

FIRE SAFETY There is a story told of a pioneer family traveling across the western plains in a covered wagon. They watched in horror as a huge prairie fire rushed toward them driven by a strong wind. They were afraid they would be killed by the fire, but the man acted quickly. He jumped down and ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:47-50

Tags: God's Judgment

The Power Of Silence

Contributed by Michael Deutsch on Jun 4, 2016

They say silence is golden – but is it possible that too much silence is not such a good thing? There’s a room in the United States that’s so quiet it becomes unbearable after a short time. The longest anyone has survived in the ‘anechoic chamber’ at Orfield Laboratories in South Minneapolis is ...read more

Scripture: John 10:4-5

Tags: Silence, Listening To God

Denomination: Baptist

Gun Laws

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Mar 18, 2018

Gun Laws Laws - "are sent by Him to punish those who do wrong and commend those who do right." 2 Peter 2:14 - Keeping this truth in the context of guns. Nothing wrong with making sure there are laws which make it hard for wicked or mentally ill people from getting guns. Those (mentally ill or ...read more

Tags: Guns, Laws, Gun Laws

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

God's Doing Something

Contributed by Steve Kinnard on Feb 14, 2019

GOD IS DOING SOMETHING Gas Station Business Card A few years ago, I was impressed of God to design a business card that had a picture of hell on the front with the words “GET OUT OF HELL FREE” on the back I placed Salvation Scriptures. I was driving to work early one morning and nearing my exit, ...read more

Scripture: Mark 10:27

Tags: Obedience, Unexpected

Denomination: Pentecostal

The Bible. God's Manual For Life

Contributed by Jesse Crooks on Mar 10, 2020

The Bible God’s manual for living Joshua 1:8 Psalm 119: 11 Last year we finally traded vans. We drive one until it falls apart in the road. Our van would no longer go in reverse, and it would have been too expensive to replace the transmission. The new one didn’t have the owner’s manual, ...read more

Scripture: Joshua 1:8, Psalm 119:11

Tags: Bible, Manuel