In Sermon Illustrations: "King Herod"

I Read About An Instant Cake Mix That Was A Big ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 21, 2001

"I read about an instant cake mix that was a big flop. The instructions said all you had to do was add water and bake. The company couldn’t understand why it didn’t sell-until their research discovered that the buying public felt uneasy about a mix that required only water. Apparently people ...read more

Scripture: 2 Kings 5:1-15

Following The News Of Ex-Beatle George ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Hensley on Dec 9, 2001

Following the news of ex-Beatle George Harrison’s death, "Today" show anchor Anne Curry interviewed Anthony DeCurtis, a writer for Rolling Stone magazine. DeCurtis talked at length about Harrison’s search for a meaningful spiritual life. Curry said, "Apparently Harrison was the most spiritual of ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 10:1-9

Tags: Fulfillment

Denomination: Baptist

Don't Quit  PRO

Contributed by Dru Ashwell on Dec 19, 2001

DON'T QUIT When things go wrong, as they sometimes will, When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill, When the funds are low, and the debts are high, and you want to smile, but you have to sigh. When care is pressing you down a bit, Rest if you must, but don’t you quit. Life is queer ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 19:1-4

Tags: Peace, Endurance

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Mr. Horatio G. Spafford Was A Successful Lawyer ...  PRO

Contributed by Ted Sutherland on Mar 8, 2002

Mr. Horatio G. Spafford was a successful lawyer in Chicago and a member of the Fullerton Avenue Presbyterian Church in that city. In the financial crisis of 1873, he lost most of his property. In the stress and strain of the times, he prevailed on his wife and four daughters to take a trip to ...read more

Scripture: 2 Kings 4:23-26

Tags: God's Provision

Denomination: Baptist

We Often Here About Hostages Being Taken And ...

Contributed by Aubrey Vaughan on Dec 20, 2007

We often here about hostages being taken and held in captivity recently we have heard of those British workers held in captivity in Iraq for over 6 months not yet knowing their fate, it must be a fearful time for them and their families. They are held in bondage, they are in need of ...read more

Scripture: 2 Kings 17:5-20

Tags: Confidence, Eli And Sons

Denomination: Baptist

Gift From The Father  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 31, 2008

GIFT FROM THE FATHER Corrie Ten Boom tells of a time in the German death camp Ravensbruk during WWII. She had smuggled her Bible and a small bottle of liquid vitamins into her barracks. Her sister Betsy was sick and growing sicker, but she demanded that Corrie first give a dose of vitamins to all ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 17:7-24

Tags: God's Provision

A ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 10, 2009

AMAZING In 1997, Reeve Lindbergh, daughter of aviator Charles Lindbergh, was invited to give the annual Lindbergh Address at the Smithsonian Institution’s Air and Space Museum to commemorate the 70th anniversary of her father’s historic solo flight across the Atlantic. On the day of the speech, ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 12:1-24

Tags: Worship, Worship General

Intercession: Pyramid Prayer?

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 14, 2009

INTERCESSION: PYRAMID PRAYER? Philip Yancey in his book on prayer tells of a young American soldier in Iraq who learns that his wife back home has advanced cervical cancer. Doctors gave a bleak prognosis. In desperation, he sent an urgent email to his church with the request that everyone in turn ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 13:6

Tags: Intercession

God's Grace Is Like Lightning And Transforms ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 19, 2009

God’s Grace Is Like Lightning and Transforms Whoever it Strikes Martin Luther found that out. Walking through the forest one day, praying and working through spiritual torment, literally, the lightning did strike close by. And he felt that as the summons of God. Luther came closer, and when God ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 18:20-39

Tags: Grace, God's Grace

Company Changes Cake Mix Recipe That Was Too Easy ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 29, 2009

Company Changes Cake Mix Recipe That Was too Easy in order to Increase Sales Years ago a cake mix company put together a cake mix that was a big flop. The instructions said all you had to do was add water and bake. The company couldn’t understand why it didn’t sell, until their research discovered ...read more

Scripture: 2 Kings 5:1-15

Tags: Business, Business And Marketplace

How To Get Attention  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 6, 2010

HOW TO GET ATTENTION This is the story of George Phillips of Mississippi, who was going to bed when his wife told him that he'd left the light on in the shed. George opened the door to go turn off the light but saw there were people in the shed in the process of stealing things. He immediately ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 18:27-29

Tags: Communication General

History Of Spam  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 30, 2010

HISTORY OF SPAM In the 1930s, Jay Hormel noticed that there was some perfectly good, though not necessarily desirable, pork-shoulder meat going to waste in his meat-packing plant. So he, being the entrepreneur that he was, came up with the idea of processing that meat with a little ham and ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 17:1-24

Tags: God's Provision

Trusting The Scent

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 7, 2011

TRUSTING THE SCENT Years ago I read the story of a man by the name of Wally who owned a farm in Connecticut. He had a remarkable talent he had with birds, chickadees specifically. It seems that every morning these little birds would flutter down and land on his hands. And it wasn’t just for food; ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 17:2-5

Tags: Trust

The Accident Already Occurred

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 3, 2012

THE ACCIDENT ALREADY OCCURRED There’s a phrase in military aviation which goes like this: "The accident already occurred, we're just waiting for the plane to arrive at the crash site." What does that mean? It means the accident occurred miles before the actual accident occurred, when the pilot or ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 11:1-43

Tags: Cause, Idolatry, Effect

Looking At The Light

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 6, 2012

LOOKING AT THE LIGHT A pastor told a story of a man in his congregation who had lost literally hundreds of thousands of dollars. He owed everybody. One day the pastor asked him, "How in the world are you even surviving? How can you smile? How can you be enthusiastic about Jesus and about life when ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 19:1-21

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Covetousness And The Emperor's New Grove

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 3, 2013

COVETOUSNESS AND THE EMPEROR'S NEW GROVE In Disney's thirty-ninth animated film, "The Emperor's New Groove," self-proclaimed "King of the World" Kuzco (COOS-coh), who had an evil female advisor named Yzma (EEZ-muh), made plans to demolish an entire village to build a new water park. At the highest ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 21:1-29

Tags: Greed

William Temple On Worshiping God

Contributed by Suresh Manoharan on Feb 6, 2014

WILLIAM TEMPLE ON WORSHIPING GOD A devout Saint (William Temple) summed up worship thus: "Worshiping God is nothing but opening our hearts to the love of God, quickening our conscience to the Holiness of God, purging our imagination with the beauty of God, ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 6:29

Tags: Adoration, Aroma, Assignment

Denomination: *other

Spiritual Formation And Exhaustion

Contributed by Tim Smith on May 11, 2014

James Bryan Smith writes, "The number one enemy of spiritual formation today is exhaustion. We are living beyond our means ... physically. And as a result, one of the primary activities of human life is being neglected: sleep." In the 1850's, the average American slept 9.5 hours. By 1950, that ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 19:1-12

Tags: Sleep, Rest

Denomination: Methodist

Unsung Heroines-Naaman’s Maid

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Apr 30, 2022

Introduction: Sometimes children know more than we think they do. This “little maid” knew about Elisha the prophet, and how God performed miracles through him. We know nothing more about her than what’s mentioned in these verses but through her one recorded sentence, she brought hope to a hopeless ...read more

Scripture: 2 Kings 5:1-4

Tags: Maids, Leprosy, Naaman, Unsung Heroines

Denomination: Baptist

Unsung Heroines-The Widow Of Zarephath

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on May 4, 2022

Introduction: this widow woman probably wasn’t even an Israelite but she believed the words of Elijah, the prophet of the LORD, God of Israel. She received much more than she gave Elijah! Text: 1 Kings 17:8-16, KJV: 8 And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, 9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath, ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 17:8-16

Tags: Widow Of Zarephath, Elijah, Unsung Heroines

Denomination: Baptist