In Sermon Illustrations: "Jesus Is Watching"

Does He Have Other Plans?

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 28, 2008

DOES HE HAVE OTHER PLANS? The wise farmer can usually depend on expected timetables of seedtime and harvest. Not so in the spiritual life. One of the greatest frustrations in the Christian ministry, and principal cause for "weariness in well-doing" is the inability to calculate the spiritual ...read more

Tags: Servanthood

Kneeling With Runkie

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 31, 2008

KNEELING WITH RUNKIE Have you heard the story of the incident that took place in a Church youth group in Akron, Ohio, at Christmas time? What took place started a tradition in that church, a pattern for us to follow. The high school boy's name was Howard, but he was best known as "Runkie". He had ...read more

Tags: Christmas

John Newton: Infidel Restored  PRO

Contributed by Owen Bourgaize on Jan 18, 2009

John Newton: Infidel Restored John Newton continued his ministry into his old age, turning a deaf ear to friends who urged him to accept retirement, as by the time he reached 80 he was almost blind and partially deaf. "I cannot stop" he replied. "What! Shall the old African blasphemer stop while ...read more

Tags: Christian Witness

Denomination: Baptist

That's Just Denny.

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 11, 2009

"THAT'S JUST DENNY." John Ortberg tells of a man in a church he once pastored whom he called Denny. Denny was not a happy man. He had attended church his whole life, but he had never been happy. Even the expression on his face was perpetually negative - so much so that one day a deacon asked him, ...read more

Tags: Character

Children On Silence  PRO

Contributed by Carl Greene on Feb 16, 2009

CHILDREN ON SILENCE Author Kathleen Norris used to play a game with elementary-school children in which she would make a deal with them. "First you get to make noise," she would bargain, "and then you’ll make silence." The time of noise was always predictably chaotic -- shouting, pounding and ...read more

Tags: Disciplines Silence

Denomination: Methodist

Having Your "Rights"

Contributed by Todd Leupold on Mar 2, 2009

HAVING YOUR "RIGHTS" Dr. Ironside tells a story from his childhood we should all remember: "Many years ago as a little fellow I attended a meeting in Toronto where some difficulty had come up between brethren and they did as the apostle suggests. My dear mother took me along . . . and I well ...read more

Tags: Dealing With Conflicts

Denomination: Baptist

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

Diversity In The Church  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 8, 2009

DIVERSITY IN THE CHURCH Philip Yancey put it this way in an article in Christianity Today just this last November. He writes, "As I read accounts of the New Testament church, no characteristic stands out more sharply than [diversity]. Beginning with Pentecost, the Christian church dismantled the ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 3:28

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Springing Into Action  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 8, 2009

SPRINGING INTO ACTION On the day President Obama was inaugurated, Eliot Swainson happened to be in Washington, D.C. The city authorities had expected record numbers of people to attend the inauguration, so they asked for assistance from other cities to help with crowd control. Metro Officer ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:28-39

Tags: God In The Hardships

A Couple Of Weeks Of Ago I Was Playing With A ...

Contributed by Chris Surber on May 29, 2009

A couple of weeks of ago I was playing with a friend’s dog who loves to chase a tennis ball; well Jake will chase most any ball if you throw it for him in fact! After I had thrown the ball for him a couple of times I took the ball, gave it a good wind up, and threw it hard, though I never let go ...read more

Tags: Salvation, Religion

Denomination: Christian Church

D.l. Moody: God Loves Sinners  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 25, 2009

D.L. MOODY: GOD LOVES SINNERS D.L. Moody was a renowned American preacher back in the mid 1800’s. He went to England where he was introduced to a young preacher named Henry Moorehouse. During their short conversation, Moorehouse said he wanted to go to America. Moody, trying to be polite, said ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:8

Tags: Atonement, Salvation, Cross, Revival, God's Love  (view more)  (view less)

Higher Standard Of God

Contributed by Mark Eberly on Jul 6, 2009

HIGHER STANDARD OF GOD Paul very much emphasized that we are responsible to others. Not responsible for them but to them. We are held to a high standard (at least we should be) by our own conscience, by others, and by God. Too often we make excuses such as not knowing that something was ...read more

Tags: Ignorance

Denomination: Church Of God

I Couldn't 'not' Forgive Him  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 10, 2009

I COULDN’T ’NOT’ FORGIVE HIM Chris Carrier has one of the best testimonies of Christian forgiveness I have ever seen. Chris grew up in Coral Gables, Florida. He was abducted when he was just 10 years old. Chris’ kidnapper was angry with the boy’s family. He burned him with cigarettes, stabbed him ...read more

Scripture: Luke 6:27-49

Tags: Forgiveness For Others

Marked As A Possession  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 10, 2009

MARKED AS A POSSESSION Phillip Keller writes, "The day I bought my first 30 sheep, my neighbor and I sat on the dusty corral rails that enclosed the sheep pen and admired the choice, strong, well bred sheep that had just become mine. Turning to me, he handed me a large, sharp killing knife and ...read more

Scripture: Deuteronomy 15:12-18

Tags: Shepherd, Ownership, Adoption, Possession

Right And Wrong And Ruby ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 14, 2009

RIGHT AND WRONG AND RUBY BRIDGES A federal judge had ordered New Orleans to open its public schools to African-American children. White parents in the community decided to keep their children at home if this verdict was enforced. They made it known that any African-American children who came to ...read more

Scripture: James 1:22-24

Tags: Christian Values

Several Years Ago, The Leadership Of A Fairly ...

Contributed by Mark Eberly on Sep 10, 2009

Several years ago, the leadership of a fairly large English church became tired of the ‘worship wars.’ They were tired of different people getting mad and getting upset when the worship leader didn’t embrace their particular way or mode of worship. Some wanted hymns. Some wanted both. Some wanted ...read more

Tags: Worship Purpose

Denomination: Church Of God

Revenge Vs. Forgiveness  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 18, 2009

REVENGE VS. FORGIVENESS There was once a man who was bitten by a dog, which was later discovered to be rabid. The man was rushed to the hospital where tests revealed that he had, in fact, contracted rabies. At the time, medical science had no cure for this disease and so his doctor faced the ...read more

Scripture: Luke 7:41-50

Tags: Forgiveness For Others

Boy Survives In Wilderness By Obeying Father's ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 2, 2009

Boy Survives in Wilderness by Obeying Father’s Instructions More than ninety people conducted an ALL-NIGHT SEARCH for an eight-year-old boy named Dominic. While on a skiing trip with his father, this little boy apparently had ridden a new lift and skied off the run without realizing it. They hoped ...read more

Scripture: John 15:7-11

Tags: Obedience

Nine Year-Old Girl Transformed By Liver ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 17, 2009

Nine year-old Girl Transformed by Liver Transplant and Change of Blood Type Demi-Lee Brennan had a liver transplant at age 9. She faced a life on anti-rejection drugs like every other transplant patient. Nine months later, however, her red blood cells were being attacked by her own white blood ...read more

Scripture: John 15:1-17

Tags: Born Again, Transformed Life

Premature Infant Connects Voice Of Grandfather To ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 23, 2009

Premature Infant Connects Voice of Grandfather to His Touch A man by the name of Max DePree related the following heart-touching story: Esther, my wife, and I have a granddaughter named Zoe, the Greek word for life. She was born prematurely and weighed one pound, seven ounces, so small that my ...read more

Scripture: John 14:7-15

Tags: Touch, Humanity Of Christ