In Sermon Illustrations: "In Heavenly Places"

Ali Kissed 'em!

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 16, 2012

"ALI KISSED 'EM!" Former boxing writer Harold Conrad visited a women's prison with heavyweight fighter Muhammad Ali. "All the inmates lined up," wrote Conrad. "They were ooh-ing and aah-ing as he went along. There were some good-looking ones. But he kissed only the ugly ones." After they left the ...read more

Scripture: Romans 15:7

Tags: Kindness

The Bible: Like No Other Book

Contributed by Hal Seed on Nov 9, 2012

THE BIBLE: LIKE NO OTHER BOOK The Bible has been burned and banished by more people and cultures than any other book. For centuries the only translation of the Bible available to the peoples of Europe was a fourth-century Latin translation called the Vulgate. Only priests and scholars knew Latin, ...read more

Scripture: John 16:33

Tags: Bible Influence

Denomination: Baptist

Storage Wars. ...

Contributed by Tim Spear on Dec 6, 2012

I enjoy watching a TV show called Storage Wars. In this reality show people bid on storage units that have been abandoned after having five minutes to look at them from the doorway. I enjoy watching because many times they find some great treasures worth a lot of money buried in all the other ...read more

Tags: Church Purpose Of

Denomination: Baptist

Forgiveness For Everyone?

Contributed by Tim Smith on Feb 11, 2015

Lloyd Prator writes, “Take Adolph Hitler or better Joseph Stalin because he killed more people. What if, at the last minute, as Stalin lay dying, he turned his heart to Jesus and confessed his sins? Suppose he repented at the last minute, repented of the 14 million Russians Stalin killed… Would he ...read more

Scripture: Luke 23:32-43

Tags: Forgiveness, Repentance

Denomination: Methodist

Clean Conscience

Contributed by Shine Thomas on Jul 24, 2017

Xaviera Hollander wrote a book with a title: The Happy Hooker. Hollander, a prostitute, sought to silence the people who believe that no prostitute could find joy in what she was doing. In her book, Hollander celebrates the joy that she experienced in her profession, saying that she never felt ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 32:1-6

Tags: Guilt, Conscience, Pure Heart

Denomination: Assembly Of God

The Smelly Man

Contributed by Daniel King, D. Min. on Jul 25, 2018

Main Idea: The only thing that can wash away sin is the blood of Jesus. Verse: “But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6 NKJV). Illustration: A smelly man came to visit me. He needed a bath so bad. He wanted to hug me and talk to me. I ...read more

Tags: Blood Of Jesus, Wash Away Sin, Sin

Denomination: Charismatic

N.t. Wright Quote On Christian Artists

Contributed by Matthew Redder on Sep 21, 2018

I love this quote as I believe it is hard for the Christian artist to always understand their place in the church. Truth be told, artists have an incredible gift and responsibility in the community to illuminate the realities of the Word and of this life we live. Wright puts it well: "The ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 3:23, Exodus 35:35, Proverbs 22:29, Romans 12:2, Romans 12:6, 1 Timothy 4:14, Ephesians 2:10  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Christian Artist, Musician, Painter, Poet, Dancer, Music, Creator, Dance, Art, Creative, Artist  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

A Wrist Watch And A Big Bang

Contributed by Ron Freeman, Evangelist on Mar 24, 2019

Shake it together! If we placed the parts of a wrist watch in a bag and began to shake it; how long do you think it would be, before it came together, and function properly? Both the world and the watch had a creator, designer, and maker. The world did not begin as a result of a big bang. God ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 1:1, Hebrews 1:10, John 1:1-3, Psalm 14:1, Psalm 53:1  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Evolution Theory, Wrist Watch Created, Creation, God Created, Big Bang, Darwins Theory  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

A Lesson On Purity From Ermine

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Feb 9, 2020

In the forests of Northern Europe lives the ermine, a small animal best known for his snow-white fur, which is his protection and security. Instinctively, he protects his glossy coat with great care lest it become soiled. Hunters often capitalize on this trait. Instead of setting a mechanical trap ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:1-12

Tags: Purity, Righteousness, Beatitudes

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

God Hears Everything We Say

Contributed by Rev. Duraimony Dickson on Nov 20, 2020

There was a man who had a habit of grumbling at the food his wife placed before him at family meals. Then he would pray a blessing to the Lord. One day after his usual combination of complaint and prayer, his little girl asked, “Daddy, does God hear us when we pray?” “Why, of course,” he replied. ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 2:6-7

Tags: Prayer, Complaint, God Hears

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Missing The Point

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Aug 2, 2021

A minister decided that a visual demonstration would add emphasis to his Sunday sermon. Four worms were placed into four separate jars: The first worm was put into a container of alcohol. The second worm was put into a container of cigarette smoke. The third worm was put into a container of ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, 1 Corinthians 10:1-5

Tags: Error, Perspective, Failure, Interpretation, Conclusion, Misunderstanding  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Church Attendance In The Usa At An All-Time Low

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Mar 5, 2022

During the First Great Awakening, 20 percent of the colonial population came to Christ and joined churches. Today, less than 20 percent regularly attend church. Discussed at length in his book The American Church in Crisis, David Olson conducted research showing that only 17.5 percent of the ...read more

Scripture: 2 Chronicles 7:14

Tags: Evangelism, Church, Worship, America, Revival, Church Attendance  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

In A Biography Of Dwight L. Moody An Incident Is ...

Contributed by Guy Mcgraw on May 7, 2009

In a biography of Dwight L. Moody an incident is recorded from the life of President Woodrow Wilson in which he describes his one and only contact with that famous preacher. "I was in a barbershop," Wilson said, "when I became conscious that someone unusual had entered the room. A man had come in ...read more

Tags: Humility

A Few Words

Contributed by Mark Armstrong on Jun 2, 2009

A FEW WORDS Imagine going into a bank, innocently filling out a withdrawal slip, and within minutes being arrested by the police. When Ron Schatz filled out a withdrawal slip in an American bank, he had no idea that handcuffs would soon be placed upon him. It took a while to straighten out the ...read more

Tags: Great Commission

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Cain's Envy

Contributed by Sean Harder on Jun 25, 2009

CAIN'S ENVY Cain is displaying an attitude that many non-Christians have about Christians. There is often indignation from those who don’t believe they deserve to be in God’s favor, derogatory statements like, "Christians are a bunch of do-gooders, hypocrites etc." Often this reflects their deep ...read more

Tags: Envy

The Concept Of

Contributed by David Hodgin on Jun 30, 2009

The concept of “The Six Degrees of Separation” is worth bringing up here. In this concept, people who study such things say that everyone in the world is at most six acquaintances apart from every other person in the world. It is referred to as “The Human Web” and works like this, I know someone, ...read more

Tags: Unity

In My Former Pastorate There Was A Wonderful ...

Contributed by Bobby Scobey on Jul 8, 2009

In my former pastorate there was a wonderful elderly man named Mr. Billy Stewart. He had built four grandfather clocks from kits supplied by the Emperor Clock Co. I had long wanted such a clock so, with his being available to be my backstop, I ordered a kit. The directions said to spread all the ...read more

Tags: Wisdom

Denomination: Pentecostal

Annie The Bishop

Contributed by Russell Brownworth on Aug 27, 2009

ANNIE THE BISHOP The resident "bishop" in our house is Annie the wonder-dog. At one point she was a 65-pound running machine. At age 92 (in dog years) her spine has so much arthritis she needs twice the normal human dose of prednisone just to walk. She is not healthy; she cannot do what she was ...read more

Tags: Doing God's Will

Denomination: United Methodist

Always In The Light

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 2, 2009

ALWAYS IN THE LIGHT In his book The Best Is Yet To Be, Henry Durbanville told the story of a little girl in London who won a prize at a flower show. Her entry was grown in an old cracked teapot and had been placed in the attic window of a rundown tenement house. When someone asked how she managed ...read more

Scripture: John 15:9

Tags: Christian Disciplines

Charles Spurgeon Deals With Man Who Believed In ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 14, 2009

Charles Spurgeon Deals With Man Who Believed in Sinless Perfection I love the story of Charles Spurgeon when he was a speaker at a conference along with another man, who publicly proclaimed that Christians could reach a place of sinless perfection where they no longer struggled with sin because ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 7:1

Tags: Holiness