In Sermon Illustrations: "Identity In Christ"

Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing

Contributed by Dave Kinney on Jan 24, 2009

COME THOU FOUNT OF EVERY BLESSING Robert Robinson was just a small boy when his dad died, and this meant that he had to go to work while still very young. Without a father to guide him, he fell in with bad crowd of friends. One day, his gang harassed a drunken gypsy. Pouring more whiskey into ...read more

Tags: Music

Denomination: Baptist

Messiah Fed The Hungry  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 28, 2009

"MESSIAH" FED THE HUNGRY When Handel wrote "Messiah" he had gone from riches to rags. For 30 years he had entertained Lords and Ladies with his operas. But those days seemed long past. Creditors were at his door. He was depressed. He could not sleep and he was plagued by rheumatism. He feared he ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 58:6-8

Tags: Christmas Advent

Alcoholics Anonymous And Celebrate Recovery

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 12, 2009

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS AND CELEBRATE RECOVERY By 1934, alcoholic Bill Wilson had ruined a promising Wall Street career because of his constant drunkenness. He was introduced to the idea of a spiritual cure by an old drinking buddy, Ebby Thacher. While in a hospital, Wilson underwent what he believed ...read more

Tags: Addiction

Life Without Easter  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 13, 2009

LIFE WITHOUT EASTER The story is told of a young mother who found herself on the last train out of Poland during Hitler’s regime. She had her first-born toddler and her newborn nursing infant with her. The bombing was fierce, and the train had to stop many times for the passengers to take cover. A ...read more

Scripture: Mark 16:6

Tags: Easter, Joy, Purpose, Eternal Life, Easter Resurrection  (view more)  (view less)

Live What You Believe  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 8, 2009

LIVE WHAT YOU BELIEVE After the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989, no person in all of East Germany was more despised than the former Communist dictator Erich Honniker. He had been stripped of all his offices. Even the Communist Party rejected him. Kicked out of his villa, the new government ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:13-14

Tags: Christian Love

The Contract Of ...

Contributed by David Rumley on Apr 16, 2009

THE CONTRACT OF FREEDOM: Defining the Contract: A contract involves two parties agreeing on a focused intent. The two parties in this contract are you and God. If you are like most of us you don’t sign a contract without knowing ahead of time what you are signing. So what is this contract of ...read more

Tags: Salvation

Denomination: Pentecostal

Henry Surber Is A Distant And Ancient Relative Of ...

Contributed by Chris Surber on Jul 31, 2009

Henry Surber is a distant and ancient relative of mine. The following is from “History of Montgomery County, Kansas”: The Rev. Henry Surber, a Campbellite preacher and an early settler of the "Hoosier State." The latter took his family to Iowa in the early settlement of that state and he aided ...read more

Tags: Preaching

Denomination: Christian Church

Pastor Li De Xian (Shee-An) Was Arrested 13 Times ...

Contributed by Rick George on Oct 29, 2009

Pastor Li De Xian (Shee-an) was arrested 13 times in six months for "illegal preaching" to his congregation of 100. During his first arrest he was drug outside, brutally beaten, repeatedly kicked in the stomach and groin before his congregation. Upon arrival at the police station, he was beaten ...read more

Tags: Persecution

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Orchard Experts Wound Fruit Trees To Bear More ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 2, 2009

Orchard Experts Wound Fruit Trees To Bear More Fruit In verse 8 Jesus teaches us that the proof of discipleship is spiritual fruitfulness (Mt. 7:20). “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. The branch produces what the life coursing through its ...read more

Scripture: John 15:1-8

Tags: Productivity

Italian Composer Antonio Rossini Didn't Know Why ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 20, 2009

Italian Composer Antonio Rossini Didn’t Know Why His Watch Was So Valuable You cannot go forward when you have plenty when you are empty on the inside. Harry Emerson Fosdick said that, “No horse gets anywhere until he is harnessed. No stream or gas drives anything until it is confined. No Niagara ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 2:16

Tags: Salvation, Cup Of Salvation

Little Boy Sees The Parade But Misses The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 16, 2009

Little Boy Sees the Parade but Misses the Circus Lowell Ogden tells the story of a little boy who lived out in the country around the turn of the century. He had never seen a traveling circus, and one was coming to his town on Saturday. The lad asked his father for permission to go and his dad said ...read more

Scripture: Luke 1:46-55

Tags: Worship Definition

God Will Make A Way In A ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 30, 2009

God Will Make A Way in a Tragedy 2 Thessalonians 3:1 Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you. (NIV) In other words, as we depend on the Lord, then we persevere in loving each other like Christ did. As we depend on the ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 1:12

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Answered Prayer Helps Persuade Agnostic While ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 28, 2010

Answered Prayer Helps Persuade Agnostic While F.B. Meyer on Oceanliner While crossing the Atlantic on an oceanliner, F.B. Meyer was asked to address the first class passengers. At the captain’s request he spoke on "Answered Prayer." An agnostic who was present at the service was asked by his ...read more

Scripture: Luke 18:1-8

Tags: Prayer Persistence

History Of The Ship Mv ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 27, 2010

History of the ship MV Doulos When built for the White Star Line in 1912 the Titanic was the marvel of her age. At nearly 883 feet in length, Titanic was longer than the tallest structures on Earth at the time. Over 1800 people left England on the “unsinkable ship”, but only 675 arrived. After ...read more

Scripture: John 6:1-13

Tags: God Brings Purpose

The Importance Of Church In The Face Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 4, 2010

The Importance of Church in the Face of Disillusionment The church has fallen on tough times. Sadly, some of the negative perceptions are the church’s fault. Stories of sexual abuse by a few ministers and avarice and greed by others have tarnished the testimony of the church. I am convinced that ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 10:23-25

Tags: Church General

Build Character Into Your Children  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 6, 2010

BUILD CHARACTER INTO YOUR CHILDREN David Kraft was a big, strong man -- all muscle. At the age of 32, he was six feet, two inches tall and weighed 200 pounds. He had been to seminary and ended up working with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, because of his athletic background. Then he was ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:1-4

Tags: Father's Day

Holiness Is Developed In Community

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 23, 2010

HOLINESS IS DEVELOPED IN COMMUNITY In the 3rd and 4th Centuries, and even to some extent today, the popular image of holiness was solitude, silence and severity. The really (quote) "holy people" back then were those who lived like hermits, wandering in the desert alone -- fasting, praying and ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 2:1-10

Tags: Holiness

Take My Hand  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 7, 2011

TAKE MY HAND The story is told of a man and his boy who was with him, when a little fellow, in Scotland, and for the first time he possessed what in that country is known as a top-coat. They were walking out one cold day, and the way was slippery. The little fellow's hands were deep down in his ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 16:18, Proverbs 16:18-33

Tags: God, Hands, Pride, Hold, Pluck  (view more)  (view less)

The Preacher And The Farmer  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 5, 2011

THE PREACHER AND THE FARMER Years ago, a young man had just gotten out of Bible College where he’d spent several years learning all the theological terminology that he thought would make him a successful preacher. He’d just been hired at a country church and he was determined to begin bringing new ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 2:1-5

Tags: Evangelism How To

A Confession Of Stealing

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 3, 2011

A CONFESSION OF STEALING Jack removes the envelope from the small pile of mail and draws in a deep breath. It is from his former employer. He has lost sleep waiting for it. What he is about to read could lead to his exoneration or to imprisonment. He had written to this man two weeks ago, ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 28:13

Tags: Confession Of Sin