In Sermon Illustrations: "How To Get Stronger"

Survival: What Would You Take?  PRO

Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Jan 4, 2011

SURVIVAL: WHAT WOULD YOU TAKE? About 20 years ago I went on a training conference when I was working as a Patent Attorney for a Swiss multinational company called Sandoz. And one of the conundrums they set us to test our ingenuity was this: You are in a plane flying over the desert and as you are ...read more

Tags: Security

Denomination: Anglican

Two Men, Two Soils  PRO

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Jan 28, 2011

TWO MEN, TWO SOILS Two of the men have impacted my life. Both of them died of cancer. For many years one of these men allowed his CIRCUMSTANCES to harden him towards those in his family and towards God. I thought my dad was about as far away from God as he could be. He seemed to be represented ...read more

Tags: Parable Sower And Seed

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Treating The Disease, Not The Symptoms  PRO

Contributed by Ken Pell on Jan 31, 2011

TREATING THE DISEASE, NOT THE SYMPTOMS I know a man who has diabetes. It has gone unchecked and he has some serious problems with his feet. He is always hindered by his foot problems and he's afraid he will lose one to amputation so he has the tendency to treat the foot concerns. The problem is ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:8-17

Tags: Holy Spirit In Believers

Denomination: Nazarene

Mercy Me: Hold Fast

Contributed by Davon Huss on Feb 7, 2011

MERCY ME: HOLD FAST Mercy Me is a Christian band (I Can Only Imagine) and recently they sang a song called, "Hold Fast." Bart Millard tells the story of the inspiration for "Hold Fast": "I was standing in the back of the bus going to our next concert. We were in a traffic jam and we passed a ...read more

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Risk Of Fishing For Souls  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 3, 2011

THE RISK OF FISHING FOR SOULS A little more than 10 years ago (2000), a movie called The Perfect Storm was released, which graphically portrayed the dangers of the fishing industry even in modern times. The movie is about the crew of the Andrea Gail, a fishing boat out of Gloucester, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 10:14-39

Tags: Evangelism Fear Of

Face Your Fears, Don't Run From Them

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 11, 2011

FACE YOUR FEARS, DON'T RUN FROM THEM A few years ago, a canoeing friend of mine and I went to a talk one evening at the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Center. I could hardly wait to hear the couple that was to speak. It was Verlen and Valerie Kruger. They had recently completed a 21,000 mile ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:6-7

Tags: Fear And Worry

The "Glue" Of Jesus

Contributed by Guy Mcgraw on Jun 22, 2011

THE "GLUE" OF JESUS The diameter of the Earth around the equator is 7,926.6 miles. The earth’s circumference is about 25,000 miles. It weighs an estimated 6,000 million, million, million tons. And it just hangs there in mid air. Not held up by anything visible. The earth is spinning 1,000 ...read more

Tags: Creation

True Beauty

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 18, 2011

TRUE BEAUTY Carre Otis was once among the world’s top super models for 17 years, beginning her career at the age of 14. To prepare for each photo shoot, she routinely binged and purged, took laxatives and diet pills, and exercised intensely. Being extremely thin made possible a modeling career ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 3:1-2

Tags: Servanthood

Lucado On Thankfulness

Contributed by Derrick Tuper on Nov 23, 2011

LUCADO ON THANKFULNESS Max Lucado tells about living as an American in Brazil. One day, as he was walking along the street on his way to the University to teach a class, he felt a tug on his pants leg. Turning around, he saw a little boy about 5 or 6 years old with dark beady eyes and a dirty ...read more

Tags: Thanksgiving Holiday

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Spiritual Redwoods

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 18, 2012

SPIRITUAL REDWOODS Can you imagine a redwood tree saying, "I’d just rather remain a little bush"? That would seem insane, right? I want to put up on the screen some pictures of redwood trees. They are truly magnificent. My oldest daughter and her husband were married at the foot of redwood that ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 1:3-14

Tags: Growth In Christ

The Bottom Line

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 8, 2012

THE BOTTOM LINE A dairy farmer went to buy a new pickup truck. He had seen an ad in the paper about discounts and factory rebates, so he decided to trade in his old clunker. He chose a new model and was ready to write the check for the full amount. The salesman said, "Wait, I haven't given you the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 16:24-28

Tags: Discipleship

The Kool-Aid Stand Parable

Contributed by Rick Pendleton on Jan 20, 2013

THE KOOL-AID STAND PARABLE Jason wanted to buy Tubby's old bike. Tubby got a new one for his birthday and would sell Jason his old one for $10. It was a great deal. The problem was that Jason didn't have any money. His cousin, Scott, in another town, was making good money with his Kool-Aid stand. ...read more

Tags: Ambition

Denomination: Baptist

Lessons Walter Payton Taught Us. Never Die Easy.

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Jan 27, 2017

WE MUST LEARN THE BATTLE IS BEFORE US... I HAVE ANOTHER HERO: HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF WALTER PAYTON? Walter Jerry Payton from the state of Mississippi. Payton lived from July 25,1954 until November 1, 1999. He was 45 years old when he died of a liver disease. Mike Ditka was Payton's coach and ...read more

Scripture: Romans 13:12

Tags: Perseverance, Never Die Easy, Walter Payton

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Humphery The Whale

Contributed by Clarence Eisberg on Sep 6, 2017

Remember Humphrey the humpback whale? Humphrey became a national celebrity in 1985 when he made his way into the San Francisco Bay and headed up the Sacramento River into fresh water which, of course, could have been fatal for him. Each evening a large local television audience would tune in for ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 1:15-19

Tags: God Is Personal, God Communicates

Denomination: Lutheran

Humphery The Whale

Contributed by Clarence Eisberg on Sep 6, 2017

Remember Humphrey the humpback whale? Humphrey became a national celebrity in 1985 when he made his way into the San Francisco Bay and headed up the Sacramento River into fresh water which, of course, could have been fatal for him. Each evening a large local television audience would tune in for ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 3:1-5

Tags: Original Sin, False Beliefs

Denomination: Lutheran

Two Boys

Contributed by Ray Mckendry on Mar 12, 2019

Two Boys Two young boys are playing happily in the garden and are great companions for some time, but then something bad happens. One boy gets ill and is stunted and is never the same again, while the other one grows to full and healthy mature manhood even though he suffers far more than his sick ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:15, Ephesians 2:16

Tags: Reconciliation, Jesus' Cross

Denomination: Baptist

The Long Ride Home

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Jan 19, 2020

(Note: I used this illustration as part of a funeral message in January 2017) Back when I was 11 years of age, I really discovered pro baseball! We lived about four hours away from Cincinnati, Ohio, at the time—which was no problem for me! Well, I must have really pestered Dad because he ...read more

Tags: Lazarus, Death Of Believers, Fathers And Sons, Assurance

Denomination: Baptist

Trust The Prayer

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Jan 2, 2021

A TRUSTING PRAYER Did you hear about the young preacher that graduated Bible School? He accepted a small country church to be the pastor. It was the only church that would have him. He was the only candidate that would go to the small church. So they were matched up pretty well. His first ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 17:7, Isaiah 40:28-31

Tags: Trust, Prayer

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Do We Have A Mouse's Heart?

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Aug 6, 2021

ABRACADABRA--- THE MAGICIAN AND THE MOUSE… There was a very fearful mouse that heard a very famous and powerful magician was coming to town. The mouse was so happy, his fearful life of worry could change if he could get to the magician. The date arrived and the mouse was so afraid but he ...read more

Scripture: Ezekiel 37:1-6, John 6:5-9

Tags: Attitude, Heart

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Danger: Listen

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Aug 21, 2021

DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE YOUNG GIRL CUTTING THROUGH THE WOODS TO TAKE HER GRANDMOTHER SOME FOOD? The weather had turned very cold. The snow was coming down. The cold north wind was blowing so hard. The young girl was walking through the field returning home. She heard someone calling to her. ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 107:8-9, John 10:10, Judges 20:18

Tags: Listen, Danger, Ready

Denomination: Assembly Of God