In Sermon Illustrations: "Image Of God"

Once Upon A Time, A Congregation Outgrew Their ...

Contributed by Stephen Evoy on Jan 4, 2008

Once upon a time, a congregation outgrew their church building. Everyone agreed that they needed to build a new church; but they couldn’t agree on a blueprint, a budget or a building site. In desperation, the pastor invited everyone to join him for an evening of special prayer. One woman came, ...read more

Denomination: Free Methodist

Giftedness

Contributed by Jerry Blaxton on Aug 1, 2008

GIFTEDNESS Every now and then, I will have a home repair project to do. I don't mind trying to do some of these things. When we lived in South Dakota, there was a time when the toilet got clogged up. Well, the first thing I did was use a plunger, and it cleared it. But the very next time we had ...read more

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Denomination: Baptist

Stable Stabilizing

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

Stable Stabilizing Luke 2:12 says, "Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord... You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Just as Christ was humble enough to be born in a stinky stable and all stables have a bad smell, no matter how ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:12

Tags: Christmas

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Above The Circumstances

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 11, 2008

ABOVE THE CIRCUMSTANCES David and Becky Guinn have been on my mind this past week. In 1997, the Lord blessed me to go with David on a mission trip to Ukraine. It was a life-changing experience for me. David and Becky deeply love the Lord. They have faithfully served the Lord for years in college ...read more

Tags: Endurance

Redemptive Love Changes People

Contributed by Tim Smith on Mar 9, 2009

REDEMPTIVE LOVE CHANGES PEOPLE John Ed Mathison, former pastor of Frazier Memorial UMC, tells the story of Tommy Waite, an African-American man serving time in jail and converted through Frazier’s Prison Ministry. They didn’t stop there though. They discipled him and even helped him to get his ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness For Others

Denomination: Methodist

Christian Character Saves A Muslim

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 27, 2009

CHRISTIAN CHARACTER SAVES A MUSLIM From Betty Lukens--Nabil Kareen was a truck driver in the army of his country. But Nabil was more than a truck driver; he used his truck for smuggling, which was against Army rules. Nabil carried watches and quinine pills wrapped in bundles and hid them under the ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 2:14-16

Tags: Christian Witness

Peace Corps Manual Explains How To Escape From An ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 22, 2009

Peace Corps Manual Explains How to Escape from an Anaconda Pastor Jeff Nichols refers to a book by Gary Oliver called, Raising Kids to Love Jesus, in which he quotes from a U.S. Government Peace Corps manual for volunteers who work in the Amazon jungle. Among other things, this manual explains what ...read more

Scripture: Nehemiah 4:13-14

Tags: Satan

Wycliffe Bible Translator Chet Bitterman's Death ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 30, 2009

Wycliffe Bible Translator Chet Bitterman’s Death Motivated Others for Missionary Service Jesus Himself said that the end would come only after the “gospel of the Kingdom” is “preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations” (Matthew 24:14). As His coming approaches, Jesus wants the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 24:14

Tags: Missions, Bible Translation

Object Lesson: Energy Drinks

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Jan 12, 2010

OBJECT LESSON: ENERGY DRINKS (Show the energy drink.)This drink has energy in it, and when you drink, it is released into your body. (Take a drink of the energy drink!) Energy drinks are soft drinks advertised as providing energy to improve physical activity of the drinker, as compared to a ...read more

Tags: Holy Spirit In Believers

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

More Like ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2010

More Like Jesus What then is it to be more like Jesus in righteousness and faithfulness. Consider the story of: William Howard Doane (who) was a wealthy nineteenth-century industrialist who entered the business world at age sixteen and was president of his own manufacturing company by age ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 10:24-25

Tags: Music

Phillip Yancey On Expectations And ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 1, 2010

Phillip Yancey on Expectations and Disappointment Phillip Yancey had this to say about people’s expectations: Daniel Boorstin, former librarian of Congress and director of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, offers this assessment of contemporary culture: When we pick up our ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:25-34

Tags: Disappointment

Phantom Guilt

Contributed by Larry Wilson on Jul 9, 2010

PHANTOM GUILT Amputees often experience some sensation of a phantom limb. Somewhere, locked in their brains, a memory lingers of the nonexistent hand or leg. Invisible toes curl, imaginary hands grasp things, a "leg" feels so sturdy a patient may try to stand on it. For a few, the experience ...read more

Tags: Guilt

Denomination: Baptist

Rejoicing In Pain  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 3, 2011

REJOICING IN PAIN Richard Stearns, the president of World Vision, visited a church in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, nearly a year after the devastating earthquake. The church's building consisted of a tent made from white tarps and duct tape, pitched in the midst of a sprawling camp for thousands of ...read more

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Tags: Gratitude

Holiness And Red Buttons  PRO

Contributed by Mark Stepherson on Aug 6, 2011

HOLINESS AND RED BUTTONS In studying holiness as a prayer key, I got bogged down with trying to understand it. I had an even harder time trying to explain it. I felt like the Red Buttons character in the movie, "Hatari." In that movie, John Wayne led a team of hunters in Africa capturing wild ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 2:8, Matthew 22:15-22

Tags: Holy, Prayer, Holiness

Denomination: Baptist

Christian Conviction: Roger Williams

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 30, 2011

CHRISTIAN CONVICTION: ROGER WILLIAMS Roger Williams was a graduate of Cambridge University, where in order to receive his degree he was forced to sign articles declaring that the king was by right the head of the English Church, that worship according to the Book of Common Prayer and church ...read more

Scripture: Romans 13:1-7

Tags: Christian Witness

You Can't Come In...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 8, 2011

"YOU CAN'T COME IN..." There was once a town drunk who gave his heart to Jesus Christ. He immediately stopped drinking and began to look for a church and had purposed in his heart that he would attend the first church he found. Determined to turn his life around he found a church and went in. He ...read more

Scripture: James 2:1-13

Tags: Hypocrisy

Wesley: A Heart Strangely Warmed  PRO

Contributed by Fr Mund Cargill Thompson on Nov 28, 2011

WESLEY: A HEART STRANGELY WARMED At the first half of the 18th century, England was also in a mess. Gin and gambling were destroying the lives of poor and rich alike. This was the age of Dick Turpin - crime figures were so high, there was so much danger from highway men and footpads that Horace ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 14:34

Tags: Revival

Denomination: Anglican

Is He Real Or Pretend?

Contributed by Mark Stepherson on Dec 15, 2011

IS HE REAL OR PRETEND? I think George Reeves was the first actor to be Superman on TV. Back in the 50's, TV actors were not quite as "elite" as some seem to be now. They would throw out the first pitch at a Los Angeles little league game. They would fire the starting pistol for a soap box derby ...read more

Scripture: 1 Samuel 16:7, Isaiah 29:13

Tags: Hypocrisy, Sincerity

Denomination: Baptist

Amish Grace And Forgiveness

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Mar 9, 2012

AMISH GRACE AND FORGIVENESS Following the tragic Amish school shooting of 10 young schoolgirls in a one-room Amish school in October 2006, reporters from throughout the world invaded Lancaster County, PA to cover the story. However, in the hours and days following the shooting a different, an ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness In Jesus

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

That Little Khaki-Covered Book  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 6, 2012

THAT LITTLE KHAKI-COVERED BOOK We Thought We Heard The Angels Sing, written by Lieutenant James Whittaker who was one of seven men whose plane crashed into the Pacific Ocean on October 21, 1942. Their leader was the famous Captain Eddie Rickenbacker, and these seven men found themselves stranded ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 32:6-7

Tags: Bible Influence