In Sermon Illustrations: "Jacobs Well"

Lost And Found

Contributed by Jason Bonnicksen on Mar 15, 2011

LOST AND FOUND Our tummies rumbled --it was time for lunch. "What do ya say we head-in," I asked, as the girls strapped in. We careened down the mountain and caught the chairlift. My baby and I rode on one chair, behind her two, older sisters in another. The view ahead would make a great shot, ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:8-10

Tags: Parable Lost Coin

Denomination: Lutheran

Reality Therapy

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 21, 2011

REALITY THERAPY Aaron was an eleven-year-old boy whose behavior was described by Dr. William Glasser, his psychiatrist, as horrible. In his book, Reality Therapy, Glasser says Aaron was the most obnoxious child he had ever met. The boy would kick, scream, run away and hide, become withdrawn, ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 22:6

Tags: Parenting

Hidden Prayer Results In Revival

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 22, 2011

HIDDEN PRAYER RESULTS IN REVIVAL I heard Brother John Harrell of Bridge City, Texas tell of a church up in the piney woods of east Texas that began to have a tremendous breakthrough revival. An evangelist came in and they started their series of meetings and from the beginning of the meeting, all ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:18

Tags: Prayer Persistence

The Man Who Loved To Work

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Mar 25, 2011

THE MAN WHO LOVED TO WORK John Ortberg states: "Once there was a man who loved to work. He loved creating value. He loved the way his work made him grow. He didn’t always like the problem he ran into, but he felt joy when he came up with a solution that...well, worked. He loved being a part of a ...read more

Tags: Workplace

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Self-Centered Christianity  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 6, 2011

SELF-CENTERED CHRISTIANITY John Koessler pastored for years before becoming a professor in the pastoral studies department at Moody Bible Institute. In 2007 he wrote, A Stranger In The House of God, chronicling his experience in various churches. "Most of the Christians I know are disappointed ...read more

Scripture: Titus 1:1-9

Tags: Church Practices

The Storms Of Matthew 8

Contributed by Chuck Sligh on Apr 15, 2011

THE STORMS OF MATTHEW 8 When I was a teen living in Okinawa, I remember some of my friends and I taking a boat from the main island of Okinawa to visit one of the smaller islands. It was during the typhoon season and though we were not in a typhoon, it was a really, really scary storm. We were in ...read more

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Denomination: Baptist

Complicated Directions

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 15, 2011

COMPLICATED DIRECTIONS Matt Woodly, a father of four, talks about buying his children a swing set, about 15 years ago, as an early Christmas present. It was an extra long metal set with two swings, a two-seater swinging bench, a slide, monkey bars, and a series of hanging rings. He thought the ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 9:9-10

Tags: Learning

I Don't Want To Be A Fireman

Contributed by Chuck Sligh on Apr 20, 2011

I DON'T WANT TO BE A FIREMAN I recall a conversation I once had with a precocious little boy we once had in the church I pastored for 10 years in Wiesbaden. I asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up. "Well," he replied, "I don't want to be a fireman." I'd never had a kid tell me what ...read more

Tags: Discipleship

Denomination: Baptist

A Dying Church  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 5, 2011

A DYING CHURCH An artist was once asked to put on canvas what he considered to be the picture best symbolizing a decaying and dying church. After several months, he returned and reported that he had finished the task. The hour finally arrived when the painting was to be unveiled. Several people ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 3:1-6

Tags: Church Growth

A Little Girl's Trust

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 9, 2011

A LITTLE GIRL'S TRUST It's a lesson we need to learn, as well. Our true security comes from God and God alone, so we must learn to trust Him. Don't trust in a lie. Don't trust in an idol. Trust in the Lord. Then and only then will you be truly secure. Five-year-old Jessica became a bit ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 30:1-24

Tags: Trust

Who Will Do The Need-Meeting?

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 11, 2011

WHO WILL DO THE NEED-MEETING? One preacher told of shopping at the supermarket when a lady came down the aisle heading straight for him. She screeched to a halt within a few feet of him, wagged her finger, and said, "I left your church. I left your church". So I said, "Well, if it’s my church, I ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 2:1-5

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Non-Christians Can Be Happy  PRO

Contributed by Jeff Strite on May 23, 2011

NON-CHRISTIANS CAN BE HAPPY I didn't say that non-Christians can't be happy or that they can't be content. Sure they can be happy...as long as life goes the way they want it to go. As long as our health is good, we enjoy our job, people love us and the sky is blue, anybody can be fairly content ...read more

Tags: Happiness

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Salvation Belongs To The Lord

Contributed by Michael Walther on Jun 6, 2011

SALVATION BELONGS TO THE LORD To say that we cooperate with God in any way in our salvation undermines the doctrine of salvation, robs our confidence in God, and tempts us to pride. It is like the man who collapses from a massive heart attack and is rushed to the hospital. The doctor doesn’t ...read more

Tags: Salvation

Denomination: Lutheran

The Law And The Gospel

Contributed by Alison Bucklin on Jun 10, 2011

THE LAW AND THE GOSPEL John Wesley: "There is no [conflict] at all between the law and the gospel; that there is no need for the law to pass away, in order to the establishing of the gospel. Indeed neither of them supersedes the other, but they agree perfectly well together. Yea, the very same ...read more

Tags: Law

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

God's Preparing You For Great Things  PRO

Contributed by Paul Barreca on Jun 11, 2011

GOD'S PREPARING YOU FOR GREAT THINGS SOME believe that they have been unfairly treated by circumstances in life. Consider my high school friend. At the age of 19, he found himself as the leader of a camping trip with a group of young teens. One of those teens drowned in a lake about an hour’s ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 3:10-12

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Singing For The Girls

Contributed by Guy Mcgraw on Jun 22, 2011

SINGING FOR THE GIRLS Last Sunday night I preached in a town called San Miguel. It was known for witch doctors and demonic things going on. We had a constant string of problems happening one after another. The church was crowded with every seat taken and faces looking through the back doors and ...read more

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Invalids' Prayers Bring Revival  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 4, 2011

INVALIDS' PRAYERS BRING REVIVAL Max Lucado told of a church in Scotland back in the 1940s that was struggling to keep the doors open. A couple of its members were two older ladies who were invalids and couldn’t get out for worship any longer. But these ladies refused to allow their infirmities to ...read more

Scripture: James 5:13-20

Tags: Prayer Persistence, Serving

Prayer For Thieves  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 4, 2011

PRAYER FOR THIEVES About 12 years ago, three men broke into our church building here. They didn't steal much, and they didn't really damage all that much (they broke a couple of doors, and stole a few small items) but we called the police and reported the incident. After the police left, our youth ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 4:2-6

Tags: Prayer Answered

A Texas-Sized Sword

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 24, 2011

A TEXAS-SIZED SWORD In 2000, we drove across the country from Maryland to California and back. On our return, we blew past this Great Big Cross along the highway in Texas. By the time we saw the exit, we had passed it and continued our journey home. The image of that great big cross stuck in my ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:18-25

Tags: Cross

Set Free

Contributed by Davon Huss on Sep 5, 2011

SET FREE It all began on Sunday, December 11, 2005, when a fisherman spotted a 50-ton humpback whale tangled up in crab trap lines off the coast in northern California. His call for help was answered by a group of Coast Guard divers and whale experts. The rescue operation was both difficult and ...read more

Tags: Sin Bondage To

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ