In Sermon Illustrations: "How To Pray"

He Didn't Ask

Contributed by Christian Cheong on Jul 21, 2011

HE DIDN'T ASK A man works as a signalman by the sea, giving important signals to the ships as they move into the narrow harbour. On one stormy night, a ship crashed because they couldn't see his signals. He was taken to court because they wanted how the accident happened. The judge asked, "Were ...read more

Tags: Christian Witness

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Quotations On Pride

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 8, 2011

QUOTATIONS ON PRIDE Pride is the only disease known to man that makes everyone sick except the one who has it. - "Uncle" Bud Robinson It is out of self-love that all other evil passions spring. - Alexander Whyte Pride is the ground in which all other sins grow. - William Barkley None are so ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 16:18

Tags: Pride

Winning In Losing  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 11, 2011

WINNING IN LOSING Both teams that play in the Super Bowl think they will win, so both teams have special t-shirts and hats designed that declare them the victors. It costs about $2 million to have the apparel made--which means for the losing team, $2 million goes to waste, right? Wrong. A recent ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 9:19-23

Tags: Giving General

The Reverend And The Rose

Contributed by Larry Wilson on Aug 30, 2011

THE REVEREND AND THE ROSE Rev. Jerry Parnell, pastor of the Canaan Baptist Church of Anderson, South Carolina, will often conclude one of his sermons with an illustration using a live rose. He tells how that God gives us a fresh flowing in life, but that over the course of time we make bad ...read more

Tags: Grace

Denomination: Baptist

Trespasses And Debts  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 31, 2011

TRESPASSES AND DEBTS The story is told of two congregations that were located only a few blocks from each other in a small community. They thought it might be better if they would merge and become one united, larger, and more effective body rather than two struggling churches. Good idea ... but ...read more

Scripture: Romans 15:1-7

Tags: Divisions

Destiny Around The Corner

Contributed by Kevin Taylor on Sep 10, 2011

DESTINY AROUND THE CORNER Sometimes emergency intersects with the anointing! God can use the most humble servant to speak some great directions into our lives. God sometimes puts very big messages in very little packages. Samuel spoke into Saul’s life because he heeded the word of his servant ...read more

Tags: Opportunity

Where Are You?

Contributed by Tim Smith on Feb 26, 2012

WHERE ARE YOU? But to be able to get where you’re going, you first have to know where you are. I learned this over Thanksgiving when I was in Atlanta. We used our Garman to get around as we were unfamiliar with the area. Garmans are great because all you do is enter the address of where you want ...read more

Tags: Faith

Denomination: Methodist

Aging: One Plus One  PRO

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Feb 29, 2012

AGING: ONE PLUS ONE Three old men went to the doctor for a memory test. The doctor asked the first old man, "What is one plus one?" "Two hundred seventy-four," he said. The doctor asked the same question of the second man, "What is one plus one?" "Tuesday," he said. The doctor tried the third ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 16:31

Tags: Aging

Denomination: Baptist

Silent Cal

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 7, 2012

"SILENT CAL" President Calvin Coolidge was a man of few words, and the words he spoke were often blunt. A female journalist once told him, "Mr. President I made a $100 bet with another journalist that I could get you to say more than three words. Would you care to comment?" Calvin Coolidge smiled ...read more

Scripture: James 1:2-4

Tags: God In The Hardships

More To Follow

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 4, 2012

MORE TO FOLLOW Preacher Charles Spurgeon tells of a man to whom was entrusted a large sum of money for the benefit of a poor minister. He thought it would be best to distribute the gift, instead of sending it all at once. So he mailed the poor minister five pounds and, inside the envelope, he ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:19

Tags: Men's Day

Testing The Genuine

Contributed by Joel Sumagaysay on Mar 19, 2013

TESTING THE GENUINE All sorts of things are tested to prove that they are genuine. When you go to a bank and give a $20 bill to the cashier, she holds it to a special light. Why would she do that? Because she is testing it to make sure it is genuine. During the time when the Philippines was not ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 22:1-19

Tags: Faith, Truth, Testing, Miscellaneous

Denomination: Baptist

Betting On Goliath  PRO

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Apr 2, 2013

BETTING ON GOLIATH Death was handled differently in the ancient world. An archaeologist was digging in the Negev Desert in Israel and came upon a casket containing a mummy. After examining it, he called the curator of a prestigious natural history museum. "I've just discovered a 3,000 year old ...read more

Tags: David

Denomination: Independent/Bible

The "Stream Of Forgiveness"  PRO

Contributed by Ken Pell on Apr 14, 2013

THE "STREAM OF FORGIVENESS" Mirosalv Volf wrote a fantastic book on forgiveness titled "Free of Charge: Giving and Forgiving in a Culture Stripped of Grace." In the book he uses the beautiful imagery of a stream to show how God's character (love) is poured into us by His Spirit and becomes our ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 3:13

Tags: Forgiveness For Others

Denomination: Nazarene

A Woman Sees A Father Shopping With A Fussy ...  PRO

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Jun 3, 2013

A woman sees a father shopping with a fussy two-year-old in his grocery cart. “Be patient, Billy,” he whispers. “You can handle this, Billy. It’s okay, Billy.” The woman said to him, “I don’t mean to interrupt your shopping, but I just had to tell you how wonderfully loving and patient you are ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:22-33, Genesis 15:1-6

Tags: Holy Spirit In Believers

Denomination: Baptist

Joseph Is A Type Of Christ

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jan 27, 2014

Unforgiveness is a cancer to our souls that carries many curses. However, somehow Joseph was able to overcome that cancer and forgive his brothers when he had the chance to take their lives (Genesis 49-50). His act of forgiveness is a foreshadowing of how Christ forgave his enemies from the Cross ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 50:15-20

Tags: Typology, Patriarchs Joseph

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Hope

Contributed by Don Berry-Graham on Mar 1, 2016

In September 1988, Hurricane Gilbert hit the Louisiana coast. At that time it was considered the “Storm of the century.” It battered the shoreline, severely disrupting the shrimping business. Many shrimp boats were lost, causing great concern for several families dependent on shrimping for their ...read more

Scripture: Daniel 1:1-16

Tags: Hope, Hope Deferred

Denomination: Baptist

The Flu

Contributed by Roberta Karchner on Feb 21, 2020

After one of our members came down with the flu, was in intensive care for 10 days, we became very aware of how easily it is passed, especially to our elderly members. Which brought about these thoughts. 1) You are 70% Less likely to get the flu (or pass it) if you wash your hands properly. ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 40:30-32, Leviticus 14:8-9, Matthew 15:17-20

Tags: Wash, Avoiding Sin, Coronavirus, Covid19, Influenza A, Spreading The Gospel, Wash Hands  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Staying Where You Started!

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Dec 2, 2020

The problem is that Christians do not go on with God. They get saved, give a testimony of their salvation, and that’s all they ever have. They never maintain a serious study of the Word of God, which is essential to growth. They are like the little girl who fell out of bed one night. When the ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 12:1-2, Colossians 3:1-4

Tags: Christian Life, Spiritual Growth, Running The Race, Perserverance

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Anxiety And Relationships

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Dec 27, 2020

Anxiety can be the ruin or the salvation of our relationships. It is an alarm mechanism. It alerts us to potential danger. But sometimes it goes off too often or quickly. Sometimes we do not seem able to regulate it. Shocked, we lash out, hold our ground, or retreat. However, anxiety can be our ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:11-32

Tags: Anxiety, Relationships

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Maturity

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Dec 27, 2020

Automatic behaviour is the hallmark of immature people bent on survival, they accept few challenges and experience little growth. Immature people react with a small part of themselves to a small part of the world. They limit themselves by paying attention only to what is close-up, by focusing on ...read more

Scripture: John 12:24

Tags: Maturity, Immaturity

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed