In Sermon Illustrations: "Hoping" showing 261-280 of 2,652

Getting Worse Before It Gets Better

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 13, 2009

GETTING WORSE BEFORE IT GETS BETTER "Celente, who is CEO of Trends Research Institute, has the best track record in the professional forecasting industry, so when he speaks people listen. He was almost alone in predicting well in advance the 1987 stock market crash, the 1990 collapse of the Soviet ...read more

Tags: God Brings Hope

The Past Is Just The Beginning

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 16, 2009

THE PAST IS JUST THE BEGINNING There is in Washington D.C., a sign over the entrance to the U.S. Patent Office -- where new things are the order of the day. The sign proclaims: "The Past is but Prologue." One day a tourist asked a cab driver what the sign meant. Said the cabbie: "It ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 2:9

Tags: God Brings Hope

Far Away There In The Sunshine Are My Highest ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe ...read more

Tags: God Brings Hope

Whatever Your Present Environment May Be, You ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"Whatever your present environment may be, you will fall, remain or rise with your thoughts, your vision, your ideal. You will become as small as your ...read more

Tags: God Brings Hope

Jesus' Words

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 8, 2009

JESUS’ WORDS There is a hopefulness in life as we hear and become empowered by Jesus’ words. A Sunday School teacher illustrated this concept of hopefulness in life by drawing on the blackboard two pathways. In the middle of one she placed a large rock, covering the entire path. At the end of ...read more

Tags: God Brings Hope

We Can Overcome

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 8, 2009

WE CAN OVERCOME Take for example Egyptian hieroglyphics. In seminary I had plenty of brilliant folks for classmates, just amazing people. One man, Kevin was with us on our trip to the Holy Land. Kevin finishing his M.Div at Princeton and was soon on his way to Harvard for a Ph.D. in biblical ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 5:4-5

Tags: God Brings Hope

Mendelssohn And Rembrandt: Artists In Christ

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 10, 2009

MENDELSSOHN AND REMBRANDT: ARTISTS IN CHRIST This past Tuesday we noted the 200th anniversary of the birth of the composer Felix Mendelssohn. Mendelssohn was born into a family with deep spiritual roots. His grandfather Moses Mendelssohn was a rabbi and a philosopher. But Felix’s parents, ...read more

Tags: God Brings Hope

Depression Stats

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 10, 2009

DEPRESSION STATS The state of depression is a very real and common affliction among people of all ages, race and culture. In January of 2005, Bob Murray, PhD and Alicia Fortinberry, MS complied some staggering statistics on depression: - Depressive disorders affect approximately 18.8 million ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 88:15

Tags: God Brings Hope

Transcending Tradition

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 13, 2009

TRANSCENDING TRADITION During these tough economic times, churches all across the country are seeing a sharp drop in their offerings. Thankfully, we haven’t seen that here, yet, but a lot of churches have, one of them being the Cross Timbers Community Church in Argyle, Texas. Their drop in income ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 13:5

Tags: God Brings Hope

The Lord Is Your Shepherd, And That's Enough  PRO

Contributed by Larry Moyer on Aug 5, 2009

THE LORD IS YOUR SHEPHERD, AND THAT’S ENOUGH One time there was a newspaper office in that always had a practice that if the pastors in that city would call in and give them texts and titles to their messages, they would print them in the paper so all the people in the city would know on what ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 23:1

Tags: God Brings Hope

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Census Taker From Rome  PRO

Contributed by Dorothy Napier on Sep 21, 2009

THE CENSUS TAKER FROM ROME I am reminded of a story told of a cesus taker from Rome, who went to Galilee around 28 A.D. As he entered the region he came upon a man sitting on a donkey. he man had long hair and a flowing beard. He wore an old cloak, sandals, and beads. Pardon me the census taker ...read more

Tags: God Brings Hope

Denomination: Baptist

Ponder This Thought From Max Lucado, "If God Can ...

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Dec 28, 2009

Ponder this thought from Max Lucado, "If God can make a billion galaxies, can’t he make good out of our bad and sense out of ...read more

Tags: God Brings Hope

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Dream Big

Contributed by Chris Jordan on Jan 2, 2010

DREAM BIG "I believe God wants us to dream, and to dream big, because He’s a big God who wants to do big things, and He wants to do them ...read more

Tags: God Brings Hope

Denomination: *other

From A Cave To A Castle  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 21, 2010

FROM A CAVE TO A CASTLE Flat broke and homeless, brothers Geza and Zslot Peladi literally lived in a cave near Budapest for years. They left their dank home only to scrape together whatever money they could through selling scrap metal and candy. Theirs was a hopeless situation. But then ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 1:3-5

Tags: Blessing, Hope, Inheritance

Rene' Gets Lost

Contributed by Paul Kendall on Apr 23, 2010

RENE' GETS LOST In her freshman year of college, my daughter Rene’ agreed to take some friends to the Tampa airport as they returned home for Christmas break. They showed her the way there-—and to get back-—she would simply follow the same route backwards and then come on home to celebrate ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 32:8

Tags: God Brings Hope

Denomination: *other

The Importance Of Perspective  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 13, 2010

THE IMPORTANCE OF PERSPECTIVE When I think of perspective I am often reminded of a conversation between me and my son in the summer he turned four. That spring, Mark had asked for a spot in the family garden to call his own. He turned the soil, broke the clumps, and planted his favorite ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 55:8-9

Tags: God Brings Hope

The Bruised Reed

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Sep 29, 2010

THE BRUISED REED As I talked with Nancy that day she said,"I pray to God every night and ask Him why He has been so unfair to me. Why did He leave me alive?" She is an elderly woman suffering the results of a stroke. She said "My Mother died of a stroke. Why didn't He take me too, instead of ...read more

Tags: God Brings Hope

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Middle C

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Nov 22, 2010

MIDDLE C When Lloyd C. Douglas, author of The Robe and other novels, was a university student, he lived in a boarding house. Downstairs on the first floor was an elderly, retired music teacher who was infirm and unable to leave the apartment. Douglas said that every morning they had a ritual they ...read more

Tags: God Brings Hope

Denomination: Brethren

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

God Exists

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 6, 2011

"GOD EXISTS" One of my favorite stories is about this theologian named MacLeod. Now this man lived in Ireland back in the 1600s in a monastery. He worked part of his time as wood carver. MacLeod writes that very often he would awaken in the morning and wonder if God really existed. Finally one day ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:18-25

Tags: God Brings Hope