In Sermon Illustrations: "Hospitality"

Prevailing Grace  PRO

Contributed by Rick Stacy on Oct 15, 2003

Prevailing Grace My wife is a woman of grace. With her permission I’ll tell this story on her. I was serving on a board here in town and was told about one of the key employee’s having been told that she had cancer. I was told that she wanted to keep it quiet and that the board was asked to ...read more

Tags: Christian Love, Compassion

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

A Year Ago At This Time, I Was Preparing To Head ...

Contributed by Karl Kruse on Jul 31, 2004

A year ago at this time, I was preparing to head to Tanzania for a short-term mission trip. A few weeks before that I was back in Minnesota on a family vacation when my dad told me and my brother that he had prostate cancer, and was setting all of his affairs in order. He started giving away some ...read more

Tags: Fulfillment

Denomination: Lutheran

In L880, James Garfield Was Elected President Of ...

Contributed by Dave Mcfadden on Nov 16, 2004

In l880, James Garfield was elected president of the United States, but after only six months in office, he was shot in the back with a revolver. He never lost consciousness. At the hospital, the doctor probed the wound with his little finger to seek the bullet. He couldn’t find it, so he tried a ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness For Others

Denomination: Baptist

A Couple Of Years Ago, Newsweek Magazine Ran An ...  PRO

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Jun 6, 2005

A couple of years ago, Newsweek magazine ran an article on “Faith and Healing.” The article began with this unsettling story: “On a quiet Saturday afternoon, Ming He, a fourth-year medical student in Dallas, came across a man dying in the VA Hospital. Suffering from a rare cancer and hooked up ...read more

Tags: Fulfillment

Denomination: Methodist

3. On Sunday Morning, October 23, 1983, ...

Contributed by Tim Richards on Oct 19, 2006

3. On Sunday morning, October 23, 1983, terrorist bombed the Marine barracks in Beirut. Hundreds of Americans were killed or wounded as they slept. Many of us can still recall the terrible scenes as the dazed survivors worked to dig out their trapped brothers from beneath the rubble. A few days ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

On An Average Day In The Usa: 1,169,863 People ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 10, 2006

On an average day in the USA: 1,169,863 people take a taxi, 176,810,950 eggs are laid, 21,000 gallons of oil are spilled from tankers and barges, 63,288 cars crash, 28 mailmen are bitten by dogs, 2 billion $1 bills are in circulation, industry generates nearly 1 pound of hazardous waste for every ...read more

Tags: Men And Women

Just Before General Eisenhower Died, Billy ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Just before General Eisenhower died, Billy Graham was invited to visit him at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, DC He was told he could stay thirty minutes. When he went in, the general was wearing his usual big smile, even though he knew he didn’t have long to live. Later Billy Graham told what ...read more

Tags: Parable Ten Virgins

Don Fuller, 67 Years Old,a Good Friend Of Mine, ...  PRO

Contributed by Daniel Owens on Jan 10, 2008

Don Fuller, 67 years old,a good friend of mine, just had a 4 by-pass heart surgery about 4 months ago. My wife and I visited him at the hospital in Indianapolis. I greeted Don in my usual fashion, “How ya doin’, Brother?”, and he replied as he always did; “Sittin’ on top of the mountain looking ...read more

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Deepest Demonstration Of Love Is To Willingly ...

Contributed by Ajai Prakash on Mar 3, 2008

The deepest demonstration of love is to willingly sacrifice oneself for the benefit of another. There is a story about Pat Thorne who was a sniper atop a tree, saw a platoon of Canadian soldiers walking on a road in the direction of a German contingent. Wanting to warn them and knowing he couldn’t ...read more

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

A Body Is Not Crippled 'til Its Heart Has Ceased ...

Contributed by Bruce Howell on Jan 22, 2009

A body is not crippled ’til its heart has ceased to praise. Louis Albert Banks tells of an elderly Christian man, a fine singer, who learned that he had cancer of the tongue and that surgery was required. In the hospital after everything was ready for the operation, the man said to the doctor, "Are ...read more

Tags: Suffering Joy In

Denomination: Wesleyan

Before You Judge

Contributed by Jim Kane on Feb 6, 2009

BEFORE YOU JUDGE Steven Covey recalls riding on the New York subway one Sunday morning. It was a quiet time with many simply reading the paper, resting, or thinking quietly to themselves. But the quiet was shatter when a man and his children entered the car Covey was sitting in. The man sat down ...read more

Tags: Judgment

Denomination: Church Of God

Remember With Me If You Can When Your Last Child ...

Contributed by Paul Carlson on Feb 17, 2009

Remember with me if you can when your last child was born. For my wife and me it was in Hoffman Estates Medical Center, on October 17, 1986 at 1:58 a.m. We entered the hospital on a cool dark evening with great expectation about what was soon to occur. Birth pains gradually came in shorter and ...read more

Tags: Salvation

Denomination: Baptist

With My Last ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 17, 2009

WITH MY LAST SONG Louis Albert Banks tells of an elderly Christian man, a fine singer, who learned that he had cancer of the tongue and that surgery was required. In the hospital, after everything was ready for the operation, the man said to the doctor, "Are you sure I will never sing again?" The ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 150:1-6

Tags: Worship General

The Road To ...

Contributed by Bill Butsko on Aug 5, 2009

“The Road to Safety” A news correspondent, forced to jump from a crippled plane over New Guinea, landed safely. He sought a way out of the jungle. Up mountains, down the rivers, through the thick jungle growth he traveled, only to return discouraged to his starting point. Day by day, week by ...read more

Tags: Salvation

Denomination: Christian Church

Deceptive Flowers

Contributed by Peter Loughman on Sep 22, 2009

DECEPTIVE FLOWERS I have a friend who is a pastor at a church in the lower 48 who was telling me about the flowers in his church. His church, like ours, will take the flowers that were in the worship service that morning, and give them to shut ins or someone who is in the hospital. He said he ...read more

Tags: Lies

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

These ...

Contributed by Bill Butsko on Apr 30, 2010

“These Hands” A young man and a young woman were engaged to be married and were looking forward to a near wedding day when the young man was suddenly called to serve his country. From the field of warfare letters regularly came and went and love shone brightly in all of them. The letters from ...read more

Tags: Commitment

Denomination: Christian Church

Not If Jesus Is Like Dad  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 21, 2011

NOT IF JESUS IS LIKE DAD Some months ago I heard a touching story about a humble, consecrated pastor whose young son had become very ill. After the boy had undergone an exhaustive series of tests, the father was told the shocking news that his son had a terminal illness. The youngster had accepted ...read more

Scripture: John 14:1-3

Tags: Father's Day

Responding To Opposition

Contributed by Ken Henson on Jul 25, 2012

RESPONDING TO OPPOSITION Several months ago, a pastor sent some of his associate pastors into a village. They evangelized by knocking on doors and as God brought in healing and deliverance into these families, they would come to Christ. They once knocked on the door of a policeman, a very ...read more

Tags: Persecution

Denomination: *other

Lisa Beamer: Faith In Tragedy

Contributed by Paul Carlson on Feb 16, 2009

LISA BEAMER: FAITH IN TRAGEDY In her book, "Let’s Roll" she explains how she was reared in a loving home where the Lord was honored. She goes on to record: "On October 25, 1984, pain seared through his chest and everyone thought he was having a heart attack. The next morning at 5:00 a.m. the ...read more

Tags: Hardship Of Life

Denomination: Baptist

Do You Remember The Little Girl From Canada That ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Haines on Mar 8, 2001

Do you remember the little girl from Canada that slipped into the backyard alone wearing only a diaper a couple of weeks ago? It was –20 C. She ended up collapsing on the snow-covered lawn before being found by distraught family and friends. The mother, who had been sleeping with the girl and a ...read more

Tags: God's Omnipotence, Miracles Of Jesus

Denomination: Wesleyan