In Sermon Illustrations: "Illustrated"

Save One More For Jesus  PRO

Contributed by Robert Garrett on Aug 8, 2005

ILLUSTRATION “SAVE ONE MORE FOR JESUS” Rick Warren shares in his book “The Purpose Driven Life” about his dad who was a pastor for over fifty years serving mostly small rural churches. His dad was not simply a preacher but was a man with a mission. He loved taking teams of volunteers overseas to ...read more

Tags: Evangelism Urgency

Denomination: Baptist

Love Your Enemies  PRO

Contributed by Bruce Howell on Aug 28, 2001

Illus.: “Love Your Enemies” We found ourselves on the same track with several carloads of Japanese wounded after we were freed from the Kwai prison camp. These unfortunates were on their own without medical care. No longer fit for action in Burma, they had been packed into railway cars which were ...read more

Tags: Compassion, Promises Of God, Grace

Denomination: Wesleyan

A Young Boy By The Name Of James Had A Desire To ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 16, 2001

A young boy by the name of James had a desire to be the most famous manufacturer and salesman of cheese in the world. He planned on becoming rich and famous by making and selling cheese and began with a little buggy pulled by a pony named Paddy. After making his cheese, he would load his wagon and ...read more

Tags: Call Of The Disciples, Focus, Finding Fulfillment, Priorities

Encouragement: -- There Were Four Boys, All ...  PRO

Contributed by Larry Thornton on Nov 23, 2006

Encouragement: -- There were four boys, all brothers, walking along the banks of a stream, and playing as they went. Like most boys, their idea of fun was to go as far into danger as they could, and at length one of them fell into a deep place. He could not swim, but immediately his brother who ...read more

Denomination: Pentecostal

Imagine This Scene For A Moment. A Woman Notices ...

Contributed by Darren Mccormick on Dec 4, 2006

Imagine this scene for a moment. A woman notices her husband forgot to shut off his computer. She goes over to it with the intention of turning it off. To her shock and dismay she discovers that the computer is logged on to a pornographic website. She quickly does a search of sites visited and ...read more

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

I Told You I Was Reading A New Book By Max ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

I told you I was reading a new book by Max Lucado called, “Come to the Sweet Spot.” This illustration was in this book. He had a daughter in college. He had set up a checking account for her so that she would have some money at school and could be responsible to pay her bills through this account. ...read more

Tags: Sin Bondage To

The Church's Mission—a Parable As Told By Philip ...

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Sep 6, 2007

THE CHURCH’S MISSION—A PARABLE as told by Philip Anderson: Not long ago I visited my sister, a director of patient services for the children’s unit of a large southern California hospital. She was conducting me on a tour through that unit. All the time—echoing through the halls—we could hear the ...read more

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Pastor And Author Stuart Briscoe Writes: I Was In ...

Contributed by Bruce Ritter on Feb 2, 2008

Pastor and author Stuart Briscoe writes: I was in Edinburgh about a year ago speaking at Charlotte Chapel, and a delightful young lady gave her testimony. She had come back from Kabul, Afghanistan, where she was a missionary nurse. She said how she was really enjoying the work she was doing there, ...read more

Denomination: Assembly Of God

John Ortberg In His Book, "Everyone Is Normal ...

Contributed by Alan Tison on Feb 21, 2008

John Ortberg In his book, “Everyone is normal until you get to know them” speaks of this dilemma of getting close to one another without getting hurt. With the following illustration; The North American Porcupine is a member of the rodent family and has about thirty thousand quills attached to his ...read more

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

I Want To Tell You A Story About Paul Morphy ...  PRO

Contributed by Aubrey Vaughan on Feb 24, 2008

• I want to tell you a story about Paul Morphy was the world’s champion chess player in the 19th century. One day he was invited by a friend to look at a valuable painting titled, “the chess player.” in the painting, Satan was represented as playing chess with a young man, the stake being the young ...read more

Tags: Good Shepherd

Denomination: Baptist

Tom Dooley Was A Young Doctor Who Organized ...

Contributed by Richard Goble on Mar 20, 2008

Tom Dooley was a young doctor who organized hospitals, raised money, and literally poured out his life in the service of the afflicted peoples of Southeast Asia. Here was a man whose deep relationship with God motivated him to abandon a soft career in the United States for a desperately difficult ...read more

Tags: Peace

Denomination: Baptist

I Go Home, Daddy

Contributed by Chris Surber on Dec 22, 2008

"I Go Home, Daddy." Christ offers the lasting hope and promise of a new and lasting home. My three-year-old son Sebastian is a wonderful little boy. My children’s antics and lives provide me with a wealth of sermon illustrations and stories. Not long ago, Sebastian had to go through some ...read more

Tags: Heaven

Denomination: Christian Church

New Year's ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 1, 2010

New Year’s Resolutions How are you coming thus far in 2010 in terms of your new year’s resolutions? Author, innovation consultant, and speaker Stephen Shapiro, with the help of Opinion Corporation of Princeton, New Jersey, offers the following interesting statistics concerning New Year’s ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 4:8

Tags: New Year's Day

Jonathan Edwards, Who Was One Of America's ...

Contributed by Bret Toman on May 20, 2010

Jonathan Edwards, who was one of America's greatest theologians, was a New England pastor of the 1700s. Edwards was brilliant. At age 6 he studied Latin. He entered Yale when not quite 13 and graduated when barely 15. He was ordained at 19, taught at Yale by 20 and later became president of ...read more

Tags: Sin Separates From God, Great Awakening

Denomination: Baptist

If I Loved Him Better, I Would Paint Him ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 27, 2010

"If I loved him better, I would paint him better!”--Paul Gustave Doré Paul Gustave Doré was born in Strasburg, January 10, 1833. He was well-known for illustrating many works, including a version of the Bible. (You can download the set of pen and ink drawing from Project Gutenberg.) The story is ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 31:2-3

Tags: Jesus, Love For God

Chess Game With Satan

Contributed by Rodelio Mallari on Dec 12, 2010

CHESS GAME WITH SATAN From a great chess player of Cincinnati, we learn that in the early part of the last century an artist who was also a great chess player painted a picture of a chess game. The players were a young man and Satan. The young man manipulated the white pieces; Satan the black ...read more

Tags: Satan

Denomination: *other

The Lukewarm Sheep  PRO

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Aug 29, 2011

THE LUKEWARM SHEEP Now, for the sake of my illustration, I want to break a flock of sheep down into 3 groups. 1. The first group of sheep had DECIDED to look to Shepherd & follow Him wherever He leads. These are the "Good sheep" who follow the "Good Shepherd. Jesus said: "My sheep hear my voice, ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 3:14-22, John 10:4, John 15:1-11

Tags: Parable Lost Sheep

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

A Religion Worth Having  PRO

Contributed by Larry Wilson on Aug 30, 2011

A RELIGION WORTH HAVING Dr. F. E. Marsh used to tell that on one occasion he was preaching on the importance of confession of sin and, wherever possible, of restitution for wrong done to others. Afterward a young man came up to him and said: "Pastor, you have put me in a sad fix. I have wronged ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 27:1-2

Tags: Restoration

Denomination: Baptist

Chess Game With Satan

Contributed by Rodelio Mallari on Jan 10, 2012

CHESS GAME WITH SATAN From a great chess player of Cincinnati, we learn that in the early part of the last century an artist who was also a great chess player painted a picture of a chess game. The players were a young man and Satan. The young man manipulated the white pieces; Satan the black ...read more

Tags: Satan

Denomination: *other

Sometimes We Need A Steward

Contributed by Francis Balla on Nov 15, 2012

SOMETIMES WE NEED A STEWARD If you ever get to Venice, one of the places to see is Saint Mark's Square, the spot Napoleon called "the drawing room of Europe." But if you go there, make sure your belly is covered up. It’s not that there's exactly a dress code, but there is an expectation of ...read more

Tags: Holy Spirit In Believers

Denomination: Baptist