In Sermon Illustrations: "John 1:1-11:1"

Once Upon A Time...  PRO

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

Once Upon A Time... ...in 1725 to be exact, a little boy was born and was named John. His sailor father was gone to sea for long periods of time leaving John’s mother to raise him. She was a kind, God-fearing woman who loved him dearly and endeavored to raise him in the love of the Lord, ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16

Tags: Grace

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Just As You Are  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 2, 2008

JUST AS YOU ARE Jesus affirms that many would come to Him in faith and partake of Him as the Bread of Life, because of the Father. Man’s blindness does not keep God’s grace from working. When they come, they find that God does not turn them away nor cast them away later. CHARLOTTE ELLIOTT learned ...read more

Scripture: John 6:25-40

Tags: Grace, Bread

The Pitcairn Bible

Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Oct 25, 2008

The Pitcairn Bible The story of the Mutiny on the Bounty has been told many times and has been made glamourised by the 1962 film starring Trevor Howard and Marlon Brando in the lead roles. But the one part of the story that is not so well known is the transformation on Pitcairn Island of the ...read more

Scripture: John 3:14, Matthew 8:5-13

Tags: Born Again

Denomination: Anglican

Looking Through Clean Windows  PRO

Contributed by Charles Steiner on Nov 6, 2008

LOOKING THROUGH CLEAN WINDOWS A young couple moves into a new neighborhood. The next morning while they are eating breakfast, the young woman sees her neighbor hanging the wash outside. 'That laundry is not very clean', she said. 'She doesn't know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 19:16-24, Luke 19:28-40, Matthew 7:5, 1 Kings 4:20-34, John 4:1-15, Matthew 7:1-6  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Happiness, Hosanna, Judgment, Rejoice, Homage, Bethany  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Light Of The World

Contributed by Christian Cheong on Nov 25, 2008

A boatman and a scholar were once travelling on a boat. During the journey, the scholar asked the boatman, "Do you know philosophy?" "No," he replied. "Do you know psychology?". "No." "What about geology?" "Nope!" "I suppose you don’t know accountancy, huh?" "No, not at all." "Hm... ...read more

Scripture: John 8:12

Tags: Light, Salvation, Pride

Denomination: Independent/Bible

The Joy Of John 3:16  PRO

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Dec 19, 2008

The Joy of John 3:16 Max Lucado's thoughts: A twenty-six word parade of hope: beginning with God, ending with life, and urging us to do the same. Brief enough to write on a napkin or memorize in a moment, yet solid enough to weather two thousand years of storms and questions. If you know nothing ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16

Tags: Joy

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Someone To Love Me

Contributed by Christian Cheong on Dec 22, 2008

It’s like this child in an orphanage. A man and his wife visited an orphanage where they hoped to adopt a child. In an interview with the boy they wanted, they told him in glowing terms about the many things they could give him – good food, good toys, and nice clothing. To their amazement, the ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16

Tags: Love, Identity, Love For God, Value Of Man

Denomination: Independent/Bible

The Light Of Hope  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 28, 2008

THE LIGHT OF HOPE As Craig T. Kocher in his commentary on our text states, "Christian hope is fundamentally different from optimism. Christian hope locks its steely eyes on the devastation of the world around it, and readily acknowledges that things may not get better. Christian hope does not bury ...read more

Scripture: John 1:9

Tags: John The Baptist

Without One Plea  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 28, 2008

WITHOUT ONE PLEA Charlotte Elliott was a sickly English woman who had developed a long history of refusing to do things she was asked to do because of her illness. Her brother, who was a pastor, had been particularly persistent in trying to get her out of herself, trying to get her involved in ...read more

Scripture: John 8:3-11, John 4:1-26

Tags: Healing, Brokenness, Trials And Difficulties, Used

If I Could Be One Of Them...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 5, 2009

If I Could Be One of Them... A man stayed home as his family went off to church one Christmas Eve. He just could not swallow the Jesus story about God coming to earth as man. Shortly after the family drove away in the car, snow began to fall. He went to the window to watch the flurries getting ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 1:23, John 1:14, Colossians 2:9

Tags: Emmanuel, Christmas, Incarnation

A Light Of Hope  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 5, 2009

A Light of Hope There is a story about how the caverns north of Yellowstone National Park were discovered. As the story goes, one of the original explorers was walking along the top of that mountain and fell through a hole, and he dropped down several hundred feet into this cavern and was stuck in ...read more

Scripture: John 8:12, Isaiah 9:1-2, Matthew 4:14-16

Tags: Evangelism The Lost

Joy To The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 5, 2009

JOY TO THE WORLD Sadly, our period in history is not, by any means, the first to argue, fight or shoot at one another over our opinions about what does and does not make a worthy song of worship. Nor is ours the first in which there were scores of people in the congregations who sang the words of ...read more

Scripture: John 4:22-24

Tags: Worship General

In His Book Ghost Soldiers, Hampton Sides Tel...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 13, 2009

In his book Ghost Soldiers, Hampton Sides tells the story of a dramatic mission during World War II. On January 28th, 1945, 121 hand-selected Army Rangers slipped behind enemy lines in the Philippines in an attempt to rescue 513 American and British POW’s who had spent three years in a hellish ...read more

Scripture: John 8:36

Tags: Christian Liberty

Prison Doors Open From ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 13, 2009

PRISON DOORS OPEN FROM OUTSIDE Dietrich Bonhoeffer, imprisoned by Hitler during World War II, writes to his fiancé about one of the many lessons he learned from life in prison: “A prison cell, in which one waits, hopes, does various unessential things, and is completely dependent on the fact ...read more

Scripture: John 8:36

Tags: Christian Liberty

The Church Is About ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 13, 2009

THE CHURCH IS ABOUT FREEDOM The silkworm makes an amazing journey to becoming a moth. At one point in the journey, the worm spins about itself a remarkable cocoon. The little sack is composed of 400 to 800 yards of silk fiber which seals it from the inside as it waits for metamorphosis. When that ...read more

Scripture: John 8:36

Tags: Christian Liberty

Never Said Thanks  PRO

Contributed by Et Tapper on Feb 9, 2009

NEVER SAID THANKS Edward Spencer was a ministerial student in Evanston, Illinois, and also a member of a life-saving squad during his school years. In 1860, a ship went aground on the shore of Lake Michigan near Evanston, and Spencer waded again and again into the frigid waters to rescue seventeen ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16-18

Tags: Gratitude

Denomination: Pentecostal

The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 10, 2009

THE SHEEP-CHASER A guide on a tour bus that traveled through Israel’s countryside had the crowd engaged as he explained the history, the scenery and the lifestyle. In his description, he included a heart-warming portrayal of the ancient shepherd/sheep relationship. He told of how the shepherd ...read more

Scripture: John 10:1-15

Tags: Leadership General

Christ Was Love  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 16, 2009

CHRIST WAS LOVE I read a story that I thought was a perfect illustration as to what the perfect gift looks like at Christmas. It centered on a school Christmas pageant. Of course there was nothing there to make it religious. Only snowmen, reindeer and the like. And so the kindergarten class was ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16

Tags: Christmas

Light In The Darkness

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 11, 2009

LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS I remember a story told to me by a friend who flew combat choppers in Viet Nam. He was radioed to a secret mission one night which required him to fly in total darkness, totally by instruments. Hovering above a jungle under heavy cloud cover, he told me that it seemed you ...read more

Scripture: John 8:12

Tags: Christian Witness

The Story Of Isaac ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 13, 2009

THE STORY OF ISAAC WATTS A young boy complained to his father that most of the church hymns were boring and old-fashioned, with tiresome words that meant little to his generation. His father challenged him with these words: "If you think you can write better hymns, why don’t you?" The boy ...read more

Scripture: John 4:23-24

Tags: Worship General