In Sermon Illustrations: "Hope After Grave"

Shed The Load

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Nov 18, 2010

SHED THE LOAD A missionary in the Philippines was driving in a large flat back truck. He saw a local farmer who he knew walking with a really heavy load tied to his back. The load was obviously heavy and weighing him down, so the missionary stopped and told the farmer to jump on board the truck. ...read more

Tags: Worry

Denomination: Brethren

The Four Sham Pillars

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Nov 23, 2010

THE FOUR SHAM PILLARS In 1689 the architect Sir Christopher Wren designed the interior of Windsor Town Hall near London. He built a ceiling supported by pillars. After city fathers had inspected the finished building, they decided the ceiling would not stay up, and so they ordered Wren to put in ...read more

Tags: Hypocrisy

Denomination: Brethren

You Are My Best Gift

Contributed by Suresh Manoharan on Dec 28, 2011

YOU ARE MY BEST GIFT A daughter of a renowned preacher, who was used to gifts her loving dad used to purchase and bring for her after every overseas' trip, was once in for a major disappointment. Due to a mess-up in the airport customs, the gift was lost and her doting Dad landed home without a ...read more

Tags: Gifts General

Denomination: *other

Alcohol Use

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Mar 12, 2012

ALCOHOL USE According to MSNBC, “Alcohol abuse kills some 75,000 Americans each year and shortens the lives of these people by an average of 30 years, a U.S. government study suggested Thursday. Excessive alcohol consumption is the third leading cause of preventable death in the United States ...read more

Tags: Alcohol

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Anger: Strength In Your Claws

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Mar 12, 2012

ANGER: STRENGTH IN YOUR CLAWS The biggest lobster ever caught in Maine, a 27-pounder (12.25 kg) with claws tough enough to snap a man's arm, was released back into the ocean on Thursday after being trapped in a shrimp net last week, marine officials said. The 40-inch (one-meter) male crustacean, ...read more

Tags: Anger

Denomination: Independent/Bible

God Pursues You  PRO

Contributed by Lalachan Abraham on Jan 10, 2013

GOD PURSUES YOU God is constantly initiating and seeking man to come to him. Malcolm Muggeridge, socialist and philosophical author, wrote, "I had a notion that somehow, besides questing, I was being pursued." C.S. Lewis said he remembered, "...night after night, feeling whenever my mind ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 118:1-2

Tags: God's Love

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Going In Circles

Contributed by Spencer Miller on May 19, 2013

GOING IN CIRCLES A family who moved into a new neighborhood had a late start one morning. As a result their six-year-old missed her school bus. Though it would make him late for work her father agreed to take her to school if she gave him directions. After 20 minutes of going in circles they ...read more

Tags: Commitment To Christ

Denomination: Baptist

Satisfaction

Contributed by Shine Thomas on Nov 9, 2018

Michael Jackson was an American singer, songwriter, and dancer, dubbed the "King of Pop.” He was one of the most popular entertainers in the world and one of the best-selling music artists of all time. Thriller is the best-selling album of all time, with estimated sales of over 66 million copies ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 2:17

Tags: Riches, Contentment, Satisfaction

Denomination: Assembly Of God

A Dying Church

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Oct 13, 2019

John MacArthur tells this awesome story: There once was an old church in England. A sign on the front of the building read, ''We preach Christ crucified.'' After a time, ivy grew up and obscured the last word and it read, 'We preach Christ.'' The ivy grew some ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 3:1-10

Tags: Church, Revival, Repentance, Mission

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Jewish Roots Of "tongues"

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Nov 12, 2019

• Talmud taught about power for all people in the Ten Commandments: R. Johanan said: What is meant by the verse, The Lord giveth the word: They that publish the tidings are a great host? — Every single word that went forth from the Omnipotent was split up into seventy languages. The School of R. ...read more

Scripture: Romans 1:8-17, Acts 2:1-20

Tags: Pentecost, Tongues, Languages

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Do It Again, Lord!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Dec 2, 2020

There’s a story of a group of college students who went to visit the home of John Wesley, founder of the Methodist church. They noticed there were indentions on the floor of his room where he knelt to pray each day. After the tour, the class loaded on their bus. When the teacher counted, there was ...read more

Scripture: 2 Chronicles 7:14

Tags: Prayer, Revival, Billy Graham, Evangelism, Holy Spirit, America  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

My Ears Heard You, But My Legs Didn't!!!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Apr 2, 2022

One day a man's little granddaughter was playing with her toys. Her mother, who was folding laundry across the room, noticed the child's shirt was dirty and needed to be changed. After calling two times with no response her mother called out as loud as he could to her stubborn daughter, ...read more

Tags: Word Of God, Rebellion, Hearing God, Hearers And Doers, Stubborness, Obedience  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Where I Used To Go To Church!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on May 4, 2022

A man was stranded on a deserted Pacific island for years. Finally, one day a boat comes sailing into view, and the man frantically waves and draws the skipper’s attention. The boat comes near the island and the sailor gets out and greets the stranded man. After a while the sailor asks, ...read more

Tags: Church, Worship, Humor, Strife, Division, Church Splits  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Bible Is Not About Science Or Philosophy

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Oct 8, 2022

The Bible has a single purpose. It was given to reveal the love of God as manifested in the divine provision of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. This is its aim, and sound interpretation must never lose sight of this aim. Consequently, it is a serious and misleading error to regard the ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 2:15, 1 Corinthians 2:12-13

Tags: Science, Inspiration, Philosophy, Interpretation, Hermeneutics, Exegesis, Love Of God, The Bible, Human Authors  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

A Suitcase Of Pavement

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Dec 13, 2022

A story is told about a man who found out it was his time to go to Heaven. He asked the Lord if he could bring just one thing. The Lord said, “No”. Finally after many requests the Lord said, “You can bring one thing.” Happily, the man packed his suitcase full of gold. When he arrived in Heaven ...read more

Scripture: John 14:1-6, Revelation 21:1-7

Tags: Death, Heaven, Funerals, Streets Of Gold

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Backhanded Compliments

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jul 13, 2023

Soon after our last child left home for college, my husband was resting next to me on the couch with his head in my lap. I carefully removed his glasses. "You know, honey," I said sweetly, "without your glasses, you look like the same handsome young man I married." Her husband ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:18-31

Tags: Compliments, Marriage, Husband, Wife, Family, Words, Growing Old, Love  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Boy, Have I Got News For You!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Nov 29, 2023

A five year old boy had only one line to remember in a church Christmas pageant. Appearing in angel's garb, he was to say to the audience, "Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy! After practice, the little lad asked his mother, "What in the world does "tidings" ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:1-12, John 1:1-12

Tags: Humor, Birth Of Christ, Christmas Jokes, Christmas, Children, Advent  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

I'm Going For Help

Contributed by David Dunn on Sep 28, 2025

An airliner was making its way from New York to San Francisco. Midway across the country, one of the engines caught fire. The captain came on the intercom and calmly reassured the passengers, > “Don’t worry. The fire will be out soon. This aircraft can fly just fine with three engines.” Not ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 46:1-2, Isaiah 41:10, Matthew 28:20, John 14:27, Hebrews 13:5  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Trust, Sovereignty, Assurance, Providence, Faith  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

Prayer

Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Oct 21, 2025

Story: A friend of mine, Alun Morris was a pastor in a Swiss Pentecostal Church for many years. One day, he went to a funeral and saw a man who he knew to be an atheist come into church and bow his head for about a minute in front of the altar as he came in. It seemed to Alun that the man was ...read more

Scripture: Luke 18:9-14

Tags: Prayer, Atheist

Denomination: Anglican

Christians Do Get Divorced. Some For Biblical ...  PRO

Contributed by James Wilson on Nov 22, 2000

Christians do get divorced. Some for Biblical reasons. According to researcher George Barna, the ratio of Christians who have been divorced is higher than the percentage of non-Christians. In his sample of almost 4000 adults, Christians led non-Christians in divorce by a margin of 3 percentage ...read more

Tags: Faith, Divorce, Marriage Commitment

Denomination: Baptist