In Sermon Illustrations: "Joy"

Go To Sleep

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 28, 2008

GO TO SLEEP A mother and her little four-year-old daughter were preparing to retire for the night. The child was afraid of the dark, and the mother, on this occasion alone with the child, felt fearful also. When the light was out, the child caught a glimpse of the moon outside the window. ...read more

Tags: Fear And Worry

Point Of View Is Everything

Contributed by Dale Pilgrim on Sep 5, 2011

POINT OF VIEW IS EVERYTHING ABC's "The View" - the winner of the 2003 Daytime Emmy® Award for "Outstanding Talk Show" as quoted by its own website! ABC News correspondent Barbara Walters, the renowned Whoopi Goldberg, comedian Joy Behar, actress/comedian Sherri Shepherd, and The Australian Outback ...read more

Tags: God's Sovereign Will

Denomination: Salvation Army

Get The Bugs Out

Contributed by Perry Greene on Mar 20, 2012

GET THE BUGS OUT A huge clock was built and placed in the tower of the Pottsdam Garrison Church by the Emperor Frederick the Great of Prussia. This magnificent timepiece would chime out the hymn, "Praise Ye the Lord" every half hour. One day the melody ceased. Repairmen opened the gearbox of the ...read more

Tags: Worship Benefits

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Everything Worth Having Has Pain

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on May 2, 2009

EVERYTHING WORTH HAVING HAS PAIN "In everything worth having, even in every pleasure, there is a point of pain or tedium that must be survived, so that the pleasure may revive and endure: the joy of reading Virgil comes after the bore of learning him; the glow of the sea-bather comes after the icy ...read more

Tags: Disciplines General

Denomination: Catholic

9 Characteristics Of Revivals In The Bible

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jan 31, 2022

In his book Revival Fire, Geoff Waugh lists nine similarities among Biblical revivals: They occurred in times of moral darkness & national depression. Each began in the heart of a consecrated servant of God who became the energizing power behind it. Each revival rested on the Word ...read more

Scripture: 2 Chronicles 7:14

Tags: Holy Spirit, Revival, Last Days, Old Testament, New Testament, Church  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Mansion Builder

Contributed by David Dunn on Oct 7, 2025

A story is told of a believer who arrived in heaven and was greeted by an angel who offered to show him his new home. They walked down golden streets lined with breathtaking mansions. Each home seemed larger and brighter than the one before—until they reached a small, simple cottage at the end of ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:19-21, Revelation 22:12, 1 Timothy 6:18-19, Luke 12:33-34

Tags: Eternity, Stewardship, Faithfulness, Generosity

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

May 5, 2004 "You Can Walk Boy!" John 16: 19-24 ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 4, 2004

May 5, 2004 “You Can Walk Boy!” John 16: 19-24 Key verse(s): 21 “‘A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.’” Why do Christians have to suffer? If I had ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:1-11

Tags: Hardship Of Life

[304]. A Message From A Poem - They Have Gone To Be With Jesus

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Mar 4, 2026

[304]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM - THEY HAVE GONE TO BE WITH JESUS Right at the outset I want to say I LOVE THIS POEM. IT MEANS SO MUCH TO ME. I love it because the Lord gave it freely to me and the truth of it now for 27 years has been part of the way I address the loss of a Christian loved one. ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 9:27, 2 Corinthians 5:6-8

Tags: Present With The Lord, Absent From The Body, Christian Poems, Christian, Jesus, Heaven, Home, Gone, In Christ, Death  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Leading A Neighbor To Christ During A Time Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 14, 2009

Leading a Neighbor to Christ During a Time of Grief Someone in Elgin once had a neighbor named Jack. Jack was a tough man. He worked hard, he drank hard, he fought hard, and he was harsh and gruff in his manner. Most people were afraid of Jack. But this one neighbor got brave and said hello to him ...read more

Scripture: Acts 17:1-15

Tags: Christian Witness

[106]. A Poem Message – Golgotha – With Jesus In The Midst (Easter Poem)

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Jun 8, 2025

[106]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – GOLGOTHA – WITH JESUS IN THE MIDST Easter Poem This poem is an Easter poem constructed around the events played out at Golgotha. I called it Golgotha (the place of the skull) and not Calvary in the title because of this reason – The word Calvary occurs in the ...read more

Scripture: John 19:17-18, Matthew 27:33-34

Tags: Calvary, Christian Poems, Easter Poem, Golgotha, Lamb Of God, Three Crosses, Jesus Crucified, Place Of The Skull, Christian Poetry  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[291]. A Message From A Poem – The Stamp On Our Lives As Christians

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Feb 18, 2026

[291]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – THE STAMP ON OUR LIVES AS CHRISTIANS This poem is set out with three sets of three making 9 stanzas. The final line in the stanza marks what set it is in. The title means the ownership of our lives by God, similar to the wax seal that used to be applied in days ...read more

Scripture: Romans 14:7-9, 2 Corinthians 1:21-22

Tags: Belong, Holy Spirit, Sealed, Own, Stamp, Christian Poems, Lord  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

I Would Like To Bring In Here The Story Of The ...  PRO

Contributed by Paul Kallan on Nov 18, 2002

I would like to bring in here the story of the film “Chocolate” directed by Lasse Hallström [Heinrich Jacob, Der Prediger und Katechet, 6/2002. pages. 849-851]. A small, sleepy, and quiet french city. The inhabitants are lower-middle class, strictly moralistic, tied to tradtion, scrupulous and ...read more

Tags: Basics Of Christianity, Church Body Of Christ, God Brings Hope

Denomination: Catholic

Introduction... The Clock That Had A Nervous ...  PRO

Contributed by Troy Borst on Aug 5, 2004

INTRODUCTION... The Clock that had a Nervous Breakdown, C. Swindoll This new clock was ticking away on the shelf two ticks to the second as any good, self-respecting clock should tick when it began to think about how many times it was going to have to tick. “Two ticks to the second means 120 ticks ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:38-39

Tags: Faith General

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Walker Percy, In His Book Lost In The Cosmos, ...

Contributed by Austin Mansfield on Sep 18, 2007

Walker Percy, in his book Lost in the Cosmos, describes a scenario that can help us be a little more introspective. Imagine you’re bringing your garbage can out one evening. You roll it down your driveway, out to the street and you see your neighbor, John. You say hi, and he says hi. Then he ...read more

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

This Great Nation Will Endure As It Has Endured, ...  PRO

Contributed by Gary Harrison on Oct 27, 2008

This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself——nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark ...read more

Tags: Anxiety

Denomination: Methodist

Lewis Smedes, Professor Of Theology And Ethics At ...  PRO

Contributed by Aaron Jones on Mar 5, 2001

Lewis Smedes, professor of theology and ethics at Fuller Theological Seminary was asked this very question about suicide in the July 2000 issue of Christianity Today. He summarized his thoughts by writing, "I believe that, as Christians, we should worry less about whether Christians who have ...read more

Tags: Funerals Non-Christian, Friendship General, Disappointment

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

With Tongue In Cheek, Mark Twain Spoke Of The ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 16, 2001

With tongue in cheek, Mark Twain spoke of the two-faced life we all live: I am constructed like everybody else and enjoy a compliment as well as any other fool, but I do like to have the other side presented. And there is another side. I have a wicked side. Estimable friends who know all about it ...read more

Tags: Leadership General, Sin Deceptive, Holiness

Bruce Marchiano, In The Footsteps Of Jesus:  PRO

Contributed by Rev Dr Randall M Deal Sr on Oct 31, 2002

Bruce Marchiano, In the Footsteps of Jesus: Yes, Jesus smiled; yes, Jesus laughed. Jesus smiled wider and laughed heartier than any human being who has ever walked the planet. He was young. He radiated good cheer. Jesus was a man of such merriment, such gladness of heart, such freedom and ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 1:1

Tags: Humanity Of Christ

Denomination: Baptist

Love Makes  PRO

Contributed by Mike Leiter on Sep 2, 2003

Love makes obedience a thing of joy! To do the will of one we like to please Is never hardship, though it tax our strength; Each privilege of service love will seize! Love makes us loyal, glad to do or go, And eager to defend a name or cause; Love takes the drudgery from common work, And asks ...read more

Tags: Compassion, Love For God

Denomination: Vineyard

It Is As If The Resurrection Provides The ...  PRO

Contributed by Lynn Malone on Jun 13, 2005

It is as if the resurrection provides the “missing link” to our faith. We are all familiar with the “missing link” in the theory of evolution. The missing link is that one thing that is missing from the theory that connects the generation of humanity from the ape-like creature the theorists ...read more

Tags: Easter Resurrection

Denomination: Methodist