In Sermon Illustrations: "Helping The Grieving"

Coach Jim Fassel's Son Bears Family Likeness, ...  PRO

Contributed by A. Todd Coget on Oct 17, 2003

[Coach Jim Fassel’s Son Bears Family Likeness, source: Bill Pennington, "34 Years Later: One Coach’s Sweetest Victory," New York Times (5-16-03)] As the head coach of the New York Giants, Jim Fassel has enjoyed great success on the football field with a trip to the Super Bowl as recently as 2001. A ...read more

Tags: Prayer Persistence, Prayer Adoration

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Trapping The Ball!" Psalm 25: 16-21 Key ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Jul 4, 2004

“Trapping the Ball!” Psalm 25: 16-21 Key verse(s): 21 “May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope is in you.” Integrity! Perhaps it is one of the loneliest words in the English language. For many it creates the image of one standing alone, apart from the others, because just the ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 25:16-21

Tags: Character

Denomination: Lutheran

Backing Out Of Life's Garage!" Exodus 20:18-21 ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Feb 20, 2005

“Backing Out of Life’s Garage!” Exodus 20:18-21 Key verse(s): 20:“Moses said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning’.” Graduating from a reel mower to a power mower, was a very big step in my life. I began ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 20:18-21

Tags: Fear And Worry

Denomination: Lutheran

Sometimes I Feel Like A Nut! ...

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Jul 25, 2005

Sometimes I Feel Like a Nut! (07.27.05--Appreciation--Isaiah 12:1-6) Sometimes you feel like a nut-- and sometimes you don’t. Just another one of those advertising jingles that has bored its way deep into my subconscious. As innocuous as many of these little ditties might seem (and as irritating ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 12:1-6

Tags: Joy, Peace

Denomination: Lutheran

A Prayer Nag! (09.28.05--Teach Me To ...

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Sep 26, 2005

A Prayer Nag! (09.28.05--Teach Me to Pray!--Colossians 1:9) Does god ever weary of hearing our prayers? I mean, it’s the same old, same old–day in and day out. Does He really need to hear the same things over and over again? Being a “broken record,” the one that just can’t get over the rut in ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 1:9

Tags: Prayer Persistence

Denomination: Lutheran

In Max Lucado's Book The Applause Of Heaven, He ...  PRO

Contributed by Timothy Smith on Jul 29, 2006

In Max Lucado’s book The Applause of Heaven, he gives an illustration, that cements Jesus’ point that the only way to change your life is to change your heart. At one time Max and his family lived in Rio De Janeiro, working as missionaries. Once, when they were leaving on a week long trip, Max ...read more

Tags: Betrayal

Denomination: Christian Church

Story Of Anne

Contributed by David Selleck on Oct 26, 2006

Story of Anne. Anne Lamott, a fellow messy Christian describes perfectly what happens when Jesus pursues us. In her book Traveling Mercies, Anne recounts her conversion to Jesus. Things were not going well in her life: addicted to cocaine and alcohol, involved in an affair that produced a child ...read more

Denomination: Methodist

The Name Auschwitz Brings Terror And Grief To The ...  PRO

Contributed by Fred Sigle on Mar 12, 2007

The name AUSCHWITZ brings terror and grief to the hearts of many people. It is the sight of an infamous NAZI DEATH CAMP where 4 million Jews died during World War II. A half-ton of hair is still PRESERVED. The SHOWERS that once sprayed POISON GAS still stand. Maximillian Kolbe, a Franciscan ...read more

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Compassion For

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 18, 2009

Compassion for "Dirty Dog Gentiles" Mark 7:36-37 Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.” (NIV) These ...read more

Scripture: Mark 7:36-37

Tags: Compassion

Complaining On The Day Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 30, 2009

Complaining on the Day of Judgment The story is told of billions of people scattered on a great plain before Almighty God’s Throne. Some of the groups near the front talked heatedly - not with cringing shame; but, with belligerence. "How can God Judge us?" said one. "What does He know about ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16-18

Tags: Injustice, God's Judgment

Making The Workplace A ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 22, 2010

Making the Workplace a Ministry Priscilla and Aquila are regular people, with regular jobs, but the impact that they have for Jesus Christ goes beyond many who were called to full time ministry in their day. I have a friend back home, Michael. Michael is without a doubt a man with a call from ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:14-16

Tags: Honesty, Workplace Evangelism

Angus' Mucker—a Story Of Giving

Contributed by Bobby Scobey on Apr 27, 2010

ANGUS' MUCKER--A STORY OF GIVING Ernest Gordon wrote a true account of life in a World War II Japanese prison camp, Through the Valley of the Kwai. How many of you saw the movie, "Bridge Over the River Kwai"? In the book, there is a story that never fails to move me. It is about a man who, ...read more

Tags: Christian Love

Denomination: Pentecostal

She Was Just Fifteen. Tears Filled Her Eyes And ...

Contributed by Ricki Lee Brooks on May 4, 2010

She was just fifteen. Tears filled her eyes and quivers moved her lips. Quickly she placed her hands over her ears. The shouting from her mother exploded her emotions and her restraint. And, suddenly, she screamed, “SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP!” Conflict. From all accounts, he stood above the rest. ...read more

Tags: Dealing With Conflicts

Missionary Explains Gospel To A Devoted ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 26, 2010

Missionary Explains Gospel to a Devoted Hindu Faith in Jesus is the means to appropriate God’s justification. Since Jesus Christ has finished the salvation of humanity, man’s response is to rely on that finished work. Reliance on Jesus for salvation is putting our total trust in Him. Perhaps a ...read more

Scripture: Romans 3:21-31

Tags: Missions, Salvation By Grace

A Shipwreck Motivates Success

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 21, 2011

A SHIPWRECK MOTIVATES SUCCESS In 1845 Royal Navy Rear Admiral Sir John Franklin and 138 specially chosen officers and men left England to find the Northwest Passage. They sailed in two three-masted ships with the daunting names the Erebus (the dark place, according to Greek mythology, through ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 19:21, Proverbs 4:1-25, Proverbs 4:1-27

Tags: Wisdom

Bennie Demerchant: God In Our Desperate Places

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 22, 2011

BENNIE DEMERCHANT: GOD IN OUR DESPERATE PLACES Brother Bennie Demerchant tells the story of an incredibly desperate place in his book Full Throttle in the chapter called "Extinguished Candles." The work in Brazil had been very productive with churches being established and converts being won. But ...read more

Scripture: Romans 15:13

Tags: God Brings Hope

All Because Of Angus

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 25, 2011

ALL BECAUSE OF ANGUS In Ernest Gordon’s true account of life in a World War II Japanese prison camp, Through the Valley of the Kwai, there is a story that never fails to move me. It is about a man who through giving it all away literally transformed a whole camp of soldiers. The man's name was ...read more

Scripture: John 15:13

Tags: Christian Witness

The Church Without Outreach

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 26, 2011

THE CHURCH WITHOUT OUTREACH Fred Craddock tells the story of his first church. It was a beautiful little white church on a hill in Oak Ridge, Tenn. The church was beautifully maintained. The pews had been hand-hewn from giant poplar trees that had grown nearby. Little kerosene lamps on the walls ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 3:14-22

Tags: Church Purpose Of

Coming To Grips With The Sovereign Will Of God  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 9, 2011

COMING TO GRIPS WITH THE SOVEREIGN WILL OF GOD I want to tell you a story about my friend, Jim Pence. Jim is an author who has written several books. But his first novel was titled "Blind Sight" and was published by Tyndale a number of years ago. Jim wrote this book, but he really didn't think it ...read more

Scripture: Acts 4:18-31, Job 1:21

Tags: God's Sovereign Will

The Invisible Enemy

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 7, 2011

THE INVISIBLE ENEMY "Good night, sleep tight, and don't let the bed bugs bite" has been spoken by loving mothers to their children for decades as they gently tucked their little ones to sleep and wished them a good night. The phrase itself carries within it the gentle reminder of a younger age and ...read more

Scripture: James 1:19-27

Tags: Sin Bondage To