In Sermon Illustrations: "Keep Going"

How To Gather A Crowd To Preach ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 10, 2010

How to gather a crowd to preach to A cattle rancher got saved and surrendered to preach. He went to a Bible conference which was all about how to build a crowd. Asked about it later, he said, "It was strange. In all my years as a cattle rancher, I never had to go to a conference to learn how to get ...read more

Scripture: John 21:15-19

Tags: Preaching

The Fearless Lion Tamer

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 4, 2010

THE FEARLESS LION TAMER A 1st grader stood in front of his classroom to make a speech about "What I want to be when I grow up." He said, "I'm going to be a lion tamer and have lots of fierce lions. I'll walk into the cage and they will roar." He paused for a moment, thinking through what he had ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 23:4-6

Tags: Fear And Worry

Home Is Just Beyond

Contributed by Rodelio Mallari on Nov 20, 2010

HOME IS JUST BEYOND The story is told of a little girl who lived near a cemetery. Even though she had to pass through it after the sun was set she never seemed to be apprehensive. Someone finally said to her: "Aren't you afraid to go through the cemetery?" "Ah, no," she replied, "I am not afraid, ...read more

Tags: Heaven

Denomination: *other

I Am One Of Those Fingers

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Nov 27, 2010

I AM ONE OF THOSE FINGERS There once was a Sunday School teacher and a little girl. They had just finished a lesson on our security in Christ. The teacher asked the little girl; "What if you slipped away?" The little girl replied "I can't slip away for he has me in my hand." The teacher teasing ...read more

Tags: Assurance Of Salvation

Denomination: Brethren

Grant's Focus

Contributed by Mark Schaeufele on Apr 8, 2011

GRANT'S FOCUS One of the great personalities to come out of the American Civil War was Ulysses S. Grant. One of his strong qualities was his ability to focus. One story is told about him doing some paper work in his tent, and a document he needed was on the other side of tent. So he waddled across ...read more

Tags: Discipleship

Denomination: Methodist

David Trueblood On Discipline

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 4, 2011

DAVID TRUEBLOOD ON DISCIPLINE David Trueblood: "The one who wants to be an accomplished athlete must discipline his body by regular exercise and a strict diet. Otherwise, he or she will not be free to excel on the playing field or the tracks. The athlete who fails to train rigorously denies ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 1:13-16

Tags: Disciplines General

Moody's Dying Words  PRO

Contributed by Donnie Martin on Sep 21, 2011

MOODY'S DYING WORDS "Earth recedes. Heaven opens before me. If this is death, it is sweet! There is no valley here. God is calling me, and I must go." "No, no, Father," said Moody's son, "You are dreaming." "I am not dreaming," replied Moody. "I have been within the gates. I have seen the ...read more

Tags: Death

Denomination: Baptist

Donald Grey Barnhouse: "Abraham Came To The ...

Contributed by Johnny A. Palmer Jr. on Feb 11, 2012

Donald Grey Barnhouse: "Abraham came to the ultimate conclusion that he was going to see a miracle because God cannot lie. He had said that this son would be the one through whom He would fulfill all of His promises. Therefore the son must live or God would be found false. And yet God commands that ...read more

Tags: Miracles General

Denomination: Baptist

Visiting Beethoven

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Apr 9, 2012

VISITING BEETHOVEN Beethoven died in 1827 and is buried in Vienna. A tourist went to visit his grave and found it a deeply moving experience. As they stood looking at the gravestone they could hear music. It was Beethoven’s music only it wasn’t quite right, there was something wrong. Then the ...read more

Tags: Easter Resurrection

Denomination: Brethren

George Mueller On Prayer

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 5, 2012

GEORGE MUELLER ON PRAYER George Mueller: "I live in the spirit of prayer. I pray as I walk about, when I lie down and when I rise up. And the answers are always coming. Thousands and tens of thousands of times have my prayers been answered. When once I am persuaded that a thing is right and for ...read more

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Tags: Comfort, Believe, Security, Saved, Prayer How To  (view more)  (view less)

Billy Graham Describes An Experience He Had ...

Contributed by Ken Henson on Oct 5, 2012

Billy Graham describes an experience he had walking down a street, and a drunk man recognized him, and accosted him, stinking of liquor, claiming “I became a disciple at one of your meetings”. Billy Graham said “he must have been one of my disciples. He certainly wasn’t a disciple of Jesus”. (I ...read more

Tags: Disciples

Denomination: *other

Perspective And Self-Indexing

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Mar 16, 2020

A man given to day-dreaming was driving down the freeway a cell phone call came in through his blue tooth audio system. He heard his wife's voice urgently warning him, "Herman, I just heard on the news that there's a car going the wrong way on Highway 401. Please be careful!" ...read more

Scripture: Numbers 15:27-31

Tags: Perspective, Self Indexing

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Is Jonah In Heaven Or Not?

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jan 25, 2021

Atheist to girl: “You don’t believe there is a real Jonah who was swallowed by a whale do you? No one believes that stuff any more!” Girl – “I sure do, and when I get to Heaven, I’m going to find Jonah and talk to him about it!" Then the atheist laughed and said mockingly, “And what if ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Timothy 4:1-3

Tags: Bible, Faith, Jonah, Preaching, Humor, Miracles, Atheists  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Being A Professional 24 7

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Jun 22, 2021

Athletes strive for excellence and continual improvement. Disciples of Christ must take the same attitude. Hockey star Matthew Barzal of the New York Islanders comments on doing and being your best: Whether that's having short hair and clean facial hair throughout the regular season or ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:1-2, 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, Hebrews 12:1-3, 1 Corinthians 3:12

Tags: Worship, Commitment, Discipleship, Excellence, Fruit Of The Spirit  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Funny Tithing Joke!

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Dec 4, 2022

When two successful businessman went sailing, a freak storm wrecked their boat and left them marooned on a deserted island. By the third day, one of the men was pacing constantly. The other man reclined peacefully on the sand. "Aren't you afraid we are going to die?" cried the ...read more

Tags: Church, Giving, Stewardship, Finances, Pastors, Tithing  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Scratch Resistant

Contributed by Glynda Lomax on Dec 6, 2022

I was emailing with a friend about the intense testing we all seemed to be experiencing when she emailed back to me: I think a very good analogy for the unending intense spiritual attacks is to liken it to how a diamond is formed… Diamonds are formed under extreme pressure and intense heat, ...read more

Scripture: Zechariah 13:9

Tags: Endurance, Fiery Trials, Spiritual Strength, Refining, Tests, Spiritual Attacks  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Charismatic

Getting Along

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Feb 7, 2023

I read this account from Readers Digest: To save money, I suggested to one of my grown sons that we all live together in one house. I could tell he didn’t think it would be cost-effective when he asked, Who’s going to pay the therapist? That is something to think about. We love our families, but ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:15

Tags: Conflict, Gossip, Harmony, Arguments, Bickering  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Less Important Than We Think

Contributed by John Bright on Jun 22, 2023

In his book, “Being with God,” Pastor AJ Sherrill addresses how the practices of contemplative prayer help the Believer see what’s going on inside: we are so caught up in our inner dramas that we lack the clarity to know what to pray for. Surrendering to the indwelling Holy Spirit (Romans 8:26-27) ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:26-27, Luke 14:7-14

Tags: Love, Humility, Prayer

Denomination: Methodist

Disappointment

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Feb 11, 2025

One blogger wrote: “Today, I was at work, nonchalantly spinning my keys around my finger when they flew off and hit a glass cabinet. Broken glass showered passing customers. I don't think I'll have a job to go to tomorrow.” Or how about this one: “Today, I went to my parents' place to ...read more

Scripture: Mark 10:17-31

Tags: Happenings, Life, Mistakes, Disappointment, Surprises  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Independent/Bible

The Worth Of Someone You Love

Contributed by Glynda Lomax on Mar 3, 2025

My niece was going through a bit of a hard time, so I decided to send her a tiny bit of money to help. I included it in a nice card thanking her for solving a big problem for me recently. The money wasn’t as much as I would like to have sent I thought, as I was writing a note to include. I ...read more

Scripture: Romans 13:8, John 13:34, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Tags: Love, Debt, Helping Others, Needy

Denomination: Charismatic