In Sermon Illustrations: "John Ortberg"

In The 1968 Olympics In Mexico City, Tanzanian ...

Contributed by Daniel Austin on Nov 12, 2007

In the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, Tanzanian runner John Stephen Ahkwari was the last runner in the marathon. He came in about an hour and a half after the winner, practically carrying his leg, as it was so bloodied and bandaged. When asked, “Why did you keep going?” He said, “You don’t ...read more

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

What Holiness Is Not

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 17, 2009

WHAT HOLINESS IS NOT John Charles Ryle, Anglican bishop of Liverpool in the 19th century speaks of holiness. He says, "It is not knowledge...nor great profession...nor doing many things...nor zeal for certain matters in religion..." He continues that holiness is not "morality and outward ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 12:14

Tags: Holiness

Heaven's Enough For A Martyr

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 10, 2009

HEAVEN'S ENOUGH FOR A MARTYR John Bradford (1510-1555), wrote the following words less than five months before he was burned at the stake for preaching the gospel: "I am assured that though I want here, I have riches there; though I hunger here, I shall have fullness there; though I faint here, I ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 12:1-3

Tags: Heaven

He Gave The ...

Contributed by Donnie Martin on May 24, 2010

He GAVE the Blood! Ed Freeman, quoting Herb Cain, told in the San Francisco Chronicle about a poster for a blood bank. The poster read, “Be a volunteer Blood Donor.” Someone had wisely printed on the poster these words: “That’s the best kind.” If someone is taking your blood, and you are not a ...read more

Tags: Blood Of Christ, Christ's Sacrifice

Denomination: Baptist

Monstrous Preaching

Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Sep 11, 2010

"MONSTROUS" PREACHING In the 18th Century, Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntington invited the Duchess of Buckingham to come and hear George Whitfield preach. After listening to Whitfield, the Duchess wrote to the Countess of Huntington about the Gospel that Whitefield and his fellow "Methodists" ...read more

Tags: Pride, Arrogance

Denomination: Anglican

Indeed, The More Sanctified The Person Is, The ...

Contributed by Don Jones on Feb 22, 2008

Indeed, the more sanctified the person is, the more conformed he is to the image of his Savior, the more he must recoil against every lack of conformity to the holiness of God. The deeper his apprehension of the majesty of God, the greater the intensity of his love to God, the more persistent his ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Left To Ourselves, We Seek Our Own. Movie Stars ...

Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Mar 8, 2008

“Left to ourselves, we seek our own. Movie stars marry movie stars. Doctors seek out doctors. Middle-classers seek out middle-classers. Bikers seek bikers. But when Christ comes, that changes. In the church of Jesus Christ, we discover that the people we love and with whom we fellowship are ...read more

Denomination: Other

God Is Not Just Love

Contributed by Brian Harvison on Apr 7, 2008

It is true God is Love. But God is also jealous I found 18 different occurrences where God is called Jealous, or the scripture refers to His Jealousy. Exodus 34:14 even says His name is Jealous; For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God: God is ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Nelson Publishers Has 5 Titles On The 10/21 New ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 14, 2008

Nelson Publishers has 5 titles on the 10/21 New York Times’ best-sellers lists, a first in the company’s history. Included are David Jeremiah’s Signs of Life, #10 and Deborah Norville’s Thank You Power, #13 on the Hardcover Advice list. Robin McGraw’s Inside My Heart is #12, and John and Stasi ...read more

Tags: Books And Literature

The World Cannot Understand The Spiritual Realm ...

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on May 25, 2008

The world cannot understand the spiritual realm without the willingness to open their hearts to the Spirit’s leadings and promptings. i. No Spirit - no wisdom (1 Cor. 2:10) ii. No Spirit - no insight (John 14:26) iii. No Spirit - no freedom (2 Cor. 3:17) iv. No Spirit - no church v. No Spirit - ...read more

Tags: Holy Spirit General

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

So Far We Have Seen That God Is A Real Being Who ...

Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Jun 9, 2008

"So far we have seen that God is a real being who is perfect, necessary and unlimited, but nothing has been said about the fundamental nature of that being. Invoking the language of substances, we note that things that exist independent of mind are made of one of two types of substance (or of ...read more

Tags: God's Omnipotence

Denomination: Other

The Breaking Of The Bread

Contributed by Daniel Haas on Aug 22, 2008

Matthew 14:13-21 Mark 6:30-44 Luke 9:10-17 John 6:1-15 "By the breaking of the bread, he makes it into a seedbed of food--for if the bread had been left intact and not pulled apart and broken into pieces, they would have been unable to feed the great crowds of men, women, and children...Mysteries ...read more

Tags: God's Provision

Denomination: Congregational

Disciples In Clay

Contributed by Perry Greene on Apr 9, 2013

DISCIPLES IN CLAY Peter Marshall, in a sermon entitled, "Disciples in Clay," pictured the apostles before an examining board which was appointed to choose Jesus' close associates. Peter stood there smelling of fish -- uncouth, uncultured, impetuous, uncultured, and impulsive. Andrew, James, and ...read more

Tags: Disciples

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Silence And Solitude: Jesus Example

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Dec 16, 2016

Jesus made a habit of withdrawing to "the Hills" or "a lonely place" or "the wilderness" or "a high mountain" or the Garden of Gethsemane. He went to these places before he chose his disciples, after he heard of his cousin John's beheading, after feeding the 5000, after healing a leper, for the ...read more

Scripture: Luke 6:12, Luke 9:28

Tags: Solitude, Silence

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Financial Wow Miracle

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Jun 10, 2009

FINANCIAL WOW MIRACLE Lake City Church - Madison -- God does a financial wow miracle. They were four days away from having to make their quarterly payment of $140,000 for their mortgage. Pastor John Ruck meets with all the finance wizards - bankers, Cpa's, business men. They asked him "How are you ...read more

Tags: God's Provision

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Our "In Jesus" Voice

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Nov 28, 2011

OUR "IN JESUS" VOICE I'm always intrigued by the phrase some parents and care-givers use with children: "Now children, we need to use our 'indoor' voices." What Ephesians 4 is saying is that when in the church (not the building) we need to use our "in Jesus" voices. Those voices need to lift up, ...read more

Tags: Encouragement

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

First Class Upgrade

Contributed by Peter Loughman on Jan 8, 2008

FIRST CLASS UPGRADE Why is it, by the way, that First Class passengers board the plane first? Sure it is great to get off the plane first, but is it so great to board the plane first? Shouldn’t First Class Passengers be the last ones on the plane and the first ones off the plane? For me the idea ...read more

Tags: First Class

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Spiritual Pica's Disease

Contributed by Mike Cleveland on Aug 25, 2008

SPIRITUAL PICA'S DISEASE We're all born with spiritual Pica’s Disease. Pica is the craving to eat what is not edible. When my wife was a nurse, she had a patient who had Pica. It is diagnosed when a person craves to eat things that are not considered food; they crave things such as wood ...read more

Tags: Addiction

Denomination: Independent/Bible

At The University Of Southern California The List ...

Contributed by Ricki Lee Brooks on Feb 18, 2012

At the University of Southern California the list of great running backs for the Trojan football team is legendary: John Arnett, Frank Gifford, Mike Garret, OJ Simpson, Anthony Davis, Ricky Bell, Charles White, Marcus Allen, Sam Cunningham, LenDale White, Reggie Bush. No other college comes close ...read more

Tags: Attitude General

World Trade Center Hero

Contributed by Tim Smith on Sep 25, 2016

Matt Chandler tells the story of Dave Karnes. When the World Trade Center tumbled to the ground on that dreadfully dark day, more than 3000 people lost their lives. But a few who were buried beneath the rubble miraculously survived. Two of these were Will Jimeno and John McLoughlin, a pair of Port ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:1-10

Tags: Evangelism, 911, Incarnation Of Jesus, Saving Others

Denomination: Methodist