In Sermon Illustrations: "King David"

Moses' Fan

Contributed by David Dunn on Nov 14, 2025

The man goes to heaven and sees thousands of clocks. Curious, he asks Peter what they represent. Peter smiles: “Each person on earth has a clock. Every time someone sins, the hand moves forward.” The man asks, “Where’s ...read more

Scripture: James 1:14-15, Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

Tags: Grace, Sin

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

Stuck In A Rut

Contributed by David Dunn on Nov 14, 2025

The U.S. standard railroad gauge—the width between the rails—is 4 feet, 8 ½ inches. Strange number, isn’t it? You’d think something so crucial would be more logical. So why that width? Because American railroads were built by British expatriates, and that’s how they did it in England. Why ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:2, 1 Peter 1:18-19

Tags: Tradition, Transformation

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

The Watchman And His Lamp

Contributed by David Dunn on Nov 16, 2025

A watchman was stationed at a railroad level crossing. His duty was simple yet critical: to wave a lantern armed with a light, warning approaching motorists or engineers about an oncoming train. One tragic night, a fatal accident occurred despite his presence. In court, he was asked ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:14, Colossians 1:27

Tags: Responsibility, Duty, Authentic

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

Newton's Story

Contributed by David Dunn on Nov 21, 2025

The story of John Newton and the hymn Amazing Grace. Newton’s hymn has grown so familiar to us that we sometimes forget the depth of the testimony behind it. Those lines were not crafted by a saint who lived an unblemished life. They were written by a man who walked through the same spiritual ...read more

Scripture: 2 Chronicles 33:12, Ephesians 2:8

Tags: Grace, Redemption

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

Blue Jeans Gospel

Contributed by David Dunn on Nov 21, 2025

It was just after noon on a gray Thursday. Rick, a young grocery worker, had finished his shift and was heading home when a customer named Ian asked for a favor. Could Rick drive to Toronto to pick up an auto part? He’d lend him his new car and pay him a hundred dollars. Rick said yes. He ...read more

Scripture: Luke 10:33, Micah 6:8

Tags: Love, Compassion

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

Ten Dollars Is Ten Dollars

Contributed by David Dunn on Nov 28, 2025

A man named Stumpy illustrates how money affects people. Stumpy and his wife Martha went to the state fair every year and every year when Stumpy saw the antique bi-plane he would say, “Martha, I’d like to ride in that airplane.” Martha always replied, “I know Stumpy, but that airplane ride costs ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:24-28

Tags: Money, Stewardship

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

Rose?

Contributed by David Dunn on Dec 10, 2025

John had always been famously forgetful. Everyone knew it—birthdays, appointments, even his own anniversary once. So when he ran into his friend Bill at the grocery store, he could hardly wait to share the news. “Bill!” he said, grinning. “You’re not going to believe this. My memory problem? I ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 103:14, Isaiah 49:15-16

Tags: Identity, Memory

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

Still Standing

Contributed by David Dunn on Dec 16, 2025

When I was in ninth grade, I was chosen to recite the Declaration of Independence in a high school patriotic play. I had the whole thing memorized. Every word. Every pause. I had practiced it until it lived in my bones. What I didn’t know — and wouldn’t discover until later — was that my zipper ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:9, 1 Corinthians 1:27

Tags: Grace, Weakness

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

The Little Word That Changes Everything

Contributed by David Dunn on Dec 26, 2025

Opening (attention hook) (Hold up a big card with the word IF written on it) “Does anyone know this word?” (Let them shout: IF!) “This is a tiny word… but it can change what happens next.” >> The Story There was a little girl named Lily, and Lily loved to ask questions. One morning her ...read more

Scripture: John 14:15, James 1:22

Tags: Obedience, Choice

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

Monkey Business

Contributed by David Dunn on Jan 15, 2026

I want to tell you a story about monkeys. This story takes place in a country called India. When I was about your age, I lived with my parents and my brothers and sisters in India. In that country they have monkeys. The monkeys don’t live in zoos like they do here. They live in the trees—right ...read more

Scripture: James 1:5, Proverbs 15:1

Tags: Mercy, Wisdom

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

If The Ant Believes

Contributed by David Dunn on Jan 20, 2026

(Say it rhythmically, not singing yet) “Do you know this story?” The ant and the rubber tree, The ant and the rubber tree, The ant and the rubber tree, And the ant… went marching on… (Pause) “Do you remember what happens next?” (Let them say it together: ‘And the ant… went marching ...read more

Scripture: John 14:15

Tags: Obedience, Choice

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

Grass On Your Path

Contributed by David Dunn on Jan 21, 2026

Prayer sharpens perception. It tunes the heart so you sense danger before it speaks. John Bunyan once wrote, “Prayer will make a man cease from sin, or sin will entice a man to cease from prayer.” Both can’t thrive in the same heart. Early African believers understood this. Each had a path ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 26:41

Tags: Prayer, Vigilance

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

Singer Or Dancer

Contributed by David Dunn on Jan 22, 2026

A lonely man longed for companionship without responsibility. He wanted something warm to welcome him home after work—no drama, no noise, no emotional complexity. “I have just the thing,” the pet shop owner said. “A canary. Sings all evening.” The man brought it home, thrilled. The music was ...read more

Scripture: 1 Samuel 16:7

Tags: Discernment, Calling

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

I Quit

Contributed by David Dunn on Jan 22, 2026

It was the six-year-old boy’s first day of school. His one life ambition? Have as much fun as humanly possible. He marched through the gate with the bold confidence that only a child possesses, ready to squeeze joy out of every moment. But at noon there was a knock at the front door. There ...read more

Scripture: John 16:33

Tags: Perseverance, Reality

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

Jesus Satisfies

Contributed by David Dunn on Jan 22, 2026

More than a century ago, a young woman named Clara Tear Williams lived in a shack far from luxury. A dirt floor. A thin roof. A day’s supply of food. No prospects. No wealth. No comfort. By Solomon’s standards, she had nothing. But she possessed something Solomon spent years searching for—the ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 107:9

Tags: Contentment, Sufficiency

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

Push Or Pull

Contributed by David Dunn on Jan 26, 2026

Two people were trying to move a heavy piece of office furniture—a large cabinet—from one room into another. It was solid, awkward, and just wide enough to be a problem. They managed to get it to the doorway, and then everything stopped. They strained. They pushed harder. They adjusted their ...read more

Scripture: Romans 15:1-2

Tags: Fellowship, Unity

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

Jesus Did Not Say Discuss Me; He Said Follow ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 22, 2004

“Jesus did not say discuss me; he said follow me.” We do not make terms with Christ; we surrender to Christ. We do not compromise with Christ; we submit to Christ. Christianity does not mean being interested in Jesus Christ; it means taking the same oath as princes take to a king or queen in a ...read more

Source: Gonzalez, Justo, The Story Of ...

Contributed by Chris Tiller on Nov 15, 2005

(Source: Gonzalez, Justo, The Story of Christianity, Volume 1, HarperSanFrancisco, 1984.) In the year 155 A.D., Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna was arrested. The proconsul tried to persuade him to recant and save himself. Surely given his advanced age it would be better for him to avoid torture ...read more

Tags: Discipleship

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

In A "Peanuts" Cartoon Strip, Good Old Charlie ...  PRO

Contributed by Danny Rogers on Oct 9, 2006

In a "Peanuts" cartoon strip, good old Charlie Brown says to Linus, "Life is just too much for me. I’ve been confused from the day I was born. I think the whole trouble is that we’re thrown into life too fast. We’re not really prepared." Linus asks, "What did you want . . . a chance to warm up ...read more

Tags: Christmas Advent

Denomination: Baptist

Better Than A Light

Contributed by Dave Kinney on Mar 15, 2009

BETTER THAN A LIGHT It was Christmas Eve 1946, King George the Sixth, reined over Great Britain. They had been bombed; they were broke and barren of any hope of the future. That Christmas Eve night he got on the radio to make an address to his nation. These were that last known words he spoke to ...read more

Tags: Future

Denomination: Baptist