In Sermon Illustrations: "Jesus Paid Our Debt"

Bob Pierce Was The Founder Of World Vision, The ...  PRO

Contributed by W F on Feb 18, 2006

Bob Pierce was the founder of World Vision, the international Christian relief agency (40 hour famine). Pierce had leukemia, which eventually killed him. But before he died he went to visit a colleague in Indonesia. As they were walking through a village, they came upon a young girl lying on a ...read more

Tags: Discipleship, Abortion

Denomination: *other

The Son Of A Wealthy Man Expected To Receive A ...

Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Oct 13, 2006

The son of a wealthy man expected to receive a sports car for his graduation. Instead his Dad called him into his study, told him that he loved him and handed him a wrapped-up present. When he opened it, he found it to be a box containing a leather bound Bible, with his name inscribed on the ...read more

Tags: Call Of The Disciples

Denomination: Anglican

Just Over A Year Ago, Kerry Packer Died. You've ...

Contributed by James Jack on Jun 9, 2007

Just over a year ago, Kerry Packer died. You’ve probably all heard of him. Richest man in Australia, he was. When he died there were memorial services, TV specials, an outpouring of praise for this “Great Australian”. Now I’m not going to compare Packer to an Adolf Hitler, but he was like many ...read more

Denomination: Anglican

Best Lawyer Story Of The Year, Decade And ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 7, 2007

BEST LAWYER STORY OF THE YEAR, DECADE AND PROBABLY THE CENTURY. Charlotte, North Carolina. A lawyer purchased a box of very rare and expensive cigars, and then insured them against, among other things, fire. Within a month, having smoked his entire stockpile of these great cigars and without yet ...read more

Scripture: Romans 3:21-26

You Call This A Gas ...

Contributed by Eric Ferguson on Aug 13, 2008

YOU CALL THIS A GAS STATION! One day a lady pulled into a self serve gas station to fill up her car. She got out of her car, hurried over to the pump, lifted the nozzle to her gas tank, and tried to pump the gas. Nothing happened. Belatedly she realized that this was one of those gas stations ...read more

Tags: Mistakes

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Planet Of The Year

Contributed by Tim Smith on Oct 19, 2009

PLANET OF THE YEAR Time Magazine in 1989 celebrated not the Person of the Year but the Planet of Year. It was a wakeup call for me and convicted me and my faith. "Through most of his 2 million years or so of existence, man has thrived in earth's environment -- perhaps too well.... The reason is ...read more

Tags: Creation

Denomination: Methodist

I'll Give You My First Paycheck

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 4, 2011

I'LL GIVE YOU MY FIRST PAYCHECK Craig C. had been an alcoholic for more than a dozen years. He'd lost everything he had, including his wife and son, due to his selfishness and addiction. Things began to change after he gave his life to Christ, but he still fell regularly into his old habits. It ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 1:13-16

Tags: Trust

Circuit Riders

Contributed by Roy Fowler on Jun 19, 2020

In the early years, Circuit riders were most often lay preachers without formal education. They were young, poor, and, for the most part, single. Traveling thousands of miles a year. Though circuit riders eventually represented many different denominations but none were more aggressive or ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 9:35

Tags: Personal Sacrifice, Teaching And Preaching

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Once Shaved, Always Shaved!!!

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Oct 23, 2022

After twenty years of shaving himself every morning, a man in a small southern town decided he had been doing that long enough. He told his wife that from then on he’d let the local barber shave him each day.The man went to the barbershop which was owned by the pastor of the local Baptist church. ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:28-39, 1 John 5:10-13

Tags: Grace, Salvation, Humor, Eternal Security, Jokes  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Persistence Of Us President Abraham Lincoln

Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Oct 21, 2025

Story: On 12th February 1809, in a one room log cabin with a dirt floor on a farm near Hodgenville, Kentucky, a baby boy was born. When he was only 9 years-old, his mother died. He was a boy with rugged determination. And although he only had less than a year of formal education, he succeeded ...read more

Scripture: Luke 19:1-10

Tags: Abraham Lincoln, Persistence

Denomination: Anglican

When "Old Blue Eye's" Died In May 1998 At The ...  PRO

Contributed by D. Greg Ebie on Jan 27, 2004

>>When “Old Blue Eye’s” died in May 1998 at the age of 82 everyone agreed: There will never be another Sinatra. Sinatra had an amazing career; he even topped Elvis! He holds the record of 40 consecutive years with a song on the billboard charts. One of those chart topping songs was “I Did It My ...read more

Tags: Death

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Some Years Ago On A Hot Summer Day In South ...  PRO

Contributed by Davon Huss on May 30, 2005

Some years ago on a hot summer day in south Florida a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house. In a hurry to dive into the cool water, he ran out the back door, leaving behind shoes, socks, and shirt as he went. He flew into the water, not realizing that as he ...read more

Tags: Cross

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Ernest Hemingway, The Literary Genius, Said Of ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 22, 2005

Ernest Hemingway, the literary genius, said of his life: “I live in a vacuum that is as lonely as a radio tube when the batteries are dead, and there is no current to plug into.” This is a startling statement, given the fact that Hemingway’s life would be the envy of anyone who had bought the ...read more

Tags: Finding Fulfillment

Robert Schuller Tells This Story About Bernice ...

Contributed by Timothy Smith on Jul 24, 2006

Robert Schuller tells this story about Bernice Schug. He met Schug when she needed work and they hired her as a housekeeper. She was a lovely woman, showering the Schuller’s with love and poppy-seed rolls. But he says that no one knew of her hidden hurt. One day she came to Schuller and said, "Bob, ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 26:14-16

Tags: Basics Of Christianity

Denomination: Christian Church

Over The Past Several Weeks I've Had The ...

Contributed by Emilia Florio on Feb 15, 2008

Over the past several weeks I’ve had the opportunity to have conversations with a young man, in his early 20’s, who’s really struggling with the question of “Is God real?” Matt is a self-proclaimed atheist, a sweet young guy, really. But he picks up the newspapers, and he switches on the TV, and ...read more

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

An Unusual Baptism On The Mission Field  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 5, 2012

AN UNUSUAL BAPTISM ON THE MISSION FIELD Some time back, a retired missionary dropped by our church. She had served faithfully in Africa, and one day, she happened upon a small baptismal service. A fellow missionary took three new converts to the center of a shallow river, and dug a hole in the ...read more

Scripture: Romans 6:3-5, John 16:12-15

Tags: Baptism

Sacrifice

Contributed by David Simpson on Jan 15, 2013

I will never forget being at church one Sunday playing "king of the hill" with my buddies, before church started. But our play stopped when a car pulled up to the sidewalk and, with help, out came a soldier, who had returned from Vietnam a few weeks earlier. But he came on crutches and he ...read more

Scripture: John 15:13-18

Tags: Sacrifices, Wounded, Soldier Of The Cross

Denomination: Christian Church

You Can Keep Your Fork

Contributed by Paul Steen on Dec 24, 2018

A woman had been diagnosed with cancer and had been given three months to live. Her doctor told her to start making preparations to die. So she contacted her pastor and had him come to her house to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes. She told him which songs she wanted sung at the service, ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 3:20, Revelation 22:12, Colossians 1:27, Titus 1:2

Tags: Citizenship, Heaven, Future, Hope

Denomination: Calvary Chapel

[068]. A Message From A Poem – Established Now And Changed

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Mar 28, 2025

[068]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – ESTABLISHED NOW AND CHANGED This poem is made up of couplets and each couplet is a contrast. What we were, to what God has made us to become. For example, in the first stanza, a member of the world system, but now, a member of the Body of Christ. The last two ...read more

Scripture: Romans 16:25

Tags: Poetry, Poem, Established, Changed, Rhyming Couplets  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

God Moved Christian Across Pond To Save Him From Drowning

Contributed by Rick Crandall on Sep 25, 2025

God Moved Christian across Pond to Save Him from Drowning One of my favorite miracle stories is from Jan Ramsey. My wife Mary used to work at Lakeshore School with Jan. She was a member of First Baptist in Swartz. Jan gave this prayer testimony about her dad, James, and I think he was 81 at the ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 139:1-24

Tags: Nathan The Prophet, Solomon's Temple, Mother's Womb, Omniscience, Omnipotence, Omnipresence, King David, Fearfully Made, Wonderfully Made, Creation, Light, Darkness, Presence  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist