In Sermon Illustrations: "Knew The Shepherd"

A Friend Of Mine Pastors In The Bloor West ...  PRO

Contributed by Rev. Matthew Parker on Nov 2, 2008

A friend of mine pastors in the Bloor West village in Toronto and runs a "God at the Pub" where he holds open discussions on the Christian faith in a bar setting. He told me the other day that he has all sorts of people there who are not people of faith, but who have told him they want to model ...read more

Tags: Jesus Christ

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Distracted

Contributed by Christian Cheong on Dec 22, 2008

DISTRACTED One morning a farmer told his wife that he was going out to pluck the ripen fruits from his field. He got off to an early start so he could warm up the truck. He needed more petrol, so he went to the store to get it. On the way to the store he noticed the pigs weren’t fed. So he ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 3:2

Tags: Focus, Worldliness, Distraction

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Charles Simeon Devoted The Hours From Four Till ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 28, 2008

Charles Simeon devoted the hours from four till eight in the morning to God. John Wesley spent two hours daily in prayer. He began at four in the morning. Of him, one who knew him well wrote: "He thought prayer to be more his business than anything else." Martin Luther said: "If I fail to spend ...read more

Tags: Worship General

Finishing Well

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 17, 2009

FINISHING WELL Dr. J. Robert Clinton, professor at Fuller Seminary, did a study of male leadership in the Bible and determined that only 30% of them finished well. Wow! The odds are against us! Consider also this next example. The World Cup is over. Italy beat France in a shootout, 5-3, in the ...read more

Tags: Christian Witness

A Child ...

Contributed by Dwight L. Moody on Jun 11, 2009

A CHILD LEGEND A classic illustration by D. L. Moody There is a beautiful legend told about a little girl who was the first-born of a family in Egypt, when the destroying angel swept through that land, and consequently who would have been a victim on that night if the protecting blood were not ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 12:1-30

Tags: Salvation

Denomination: *other

Soap Opera ...

Contributed by K. Edward Skidmore on Sep 2, 2009

"Soap opera prayers" Too many times we pray as a LAST resort! Years ago (before she knew better) my wife used to watch a soap opera called GENERAL HOSPITAL. How many of you ever saw that … now be honest. Of course, I had NO interest in it whatsoever --- I mean who cares what Luke and Laura ...read more

Tags: Prayer, Prayer Persistence

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Christian Maturity: It's In The Details

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 16, 2009

CHRISTIAN MATURITY: IT'S IN THE DETAILS Ted Williams, who died in 2002 was arguably the best hitter baseball has ever known. He was the last baseball player to hit better than .400 in a season. Upon his death, George Will said in his column "There is no joy in Red Sox Nation, a.k.a. New England, ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 5:14

Tags: Growth In Christ

General Ulysses S. Grant's Loyal Friend, John A. ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 1, 2009

General Ulysses S. Grant’s Loyal Friend, John A. Rawlins General Ulysses S. Grant, who commanded the Union soldiers for Lincoln, was such a disciplined hard man on his soldiers that few knew of his weakness for liquor. One of those who was keenly aware of Grant’s shortcoming was his faithful ...read more

Scripture: 1 Samuel 18:1-5

Tags: Friendship General

Customer ...

Contributed by Jerry Blaxton on May 2, 2010

(ILL: Customer Service) Have you ever had to call a company about a product, and had to deal with customer service? It can be a nightmare, can’t it? I have had to call the IRS a few times in the past. You see, ministers are given some benefits in regard to their taxes, but you have to record the ...read more

Tags: Taxes

Denomination: Baptist

Weeds

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Sep 19, 2010

Yesterday, with the encouragement of my wife, I got rid of some THORNY WEEDS growing like trees in the back garden. The thorns were now like razor sharp nails and so it was difficult to get to the roots without punctures, scratches and a bad attitude. I knew that if I didn't get to the roots, they ...read more

Tags: Restoration

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Jack Was An Impressionable 15 Year-Old. He ...

Contributed by Gaither Bailey on Oct 16, 2010

Jack was an impressionable 15 year-old. He attended the local Presbyterian Church with his family since he was a baby. He studied for confirmation and was confirmed taking his place in the congregation. He attended youth group meetings and sat in church every Sunday. His 16th birthday was fast ...read more

Tags: Prayer Persistence

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Stay And Wait And Watch

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 7, 2011

STAY AND WAIT AND WATCH A little boy was told by his father to wait on a corner by a department store, while the father had a tire changed on his car. It turned out that the car required more attention than the man had anticipated, and it took over an hour. The father anxiously hurried back to ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:1-3

Tags: Trust

Why Did God Make Mothers?

Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on May 10, 2011

WHY DID GOD MAKE MOTHERS? Consider these answers given by elementary-age children to the following questions. "Why did God make mothers?" "Mostly to clean the house." "To help us out of there, when we were getting born." "How did God make mothers?" "God made my Mom just the same like he made ...read more

Tags: Mothers

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Gollum And Sin

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Jul 19, 2011

GOLLUM AND SIN Tolkien’s character - Gollum. What a great name. Just from the sound of it, you can tell that it is attached to a ne'er-do-well. Gollum is the slimiest character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy. If you are a true-blue fan of the books, you know that originally this ...read more

Tags: Sin General

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Prayed Into The Kingdom

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 14, 2011

PRAYED INTO THE KINGDOM Chuck Sackett did not grow up in a Christian home. But he joined the Boy Scouts and wanted to complete the "God and Country" merit badge. So he walked a few blocks to a small church for several weeks. He filled out his papers and did what he had to do get that badge. ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:18-20

Tags: Prayer Persistence

Not If Jesus Is Like Dad  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 21, 2011

NOT IF JESUS IS LIKE DAD Some months ago I heard a touching story about a humble, consecrated pastor whose young son had become very ill. After the boy had undergone an exhaustive series of tests, the father was told the shocking news that his son had a terminal illness. The youngster had accepted ...read more

Scripture: John 14:1-3

Tags: Father's Day

The Signet Ring

Contributed by Antonio Silveira on Sep 4, 2011

THE SIGNET RING "...I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you,' declares the LORD Almighty" (Haggai 2:23). We don't often hear about signet rings anymore; but in Bible times, they were very significant. f In other words, you knew something was from the king because it was marked ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 40:31

Tags: Attitude General

Denomination: Baptist

Forgive And Forget

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Feb 15, 2012

FORGIVE AND FORGET There's a wonderful story about the cardinal of the Philippines, named, oddly enough, Cardinal Sin. When Cardinal Sin was a bishop, a young woman in his parish claimed that she had visions of Jesus. Bishop Sin was given the task of determining if these visions were authentic. He ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 1:9

Tags: Forgiveness General

Denomination: Baptist

Making The Wrong Right

Contributed by Bret Toman on Oct 31, 2012

MAKING THE WRONG RIGHT Many years ago, Christian professor Stuart Blackie of the University of Edinburgh was listening to his students as they presented oral readings. When one young man rose to begin his recitation, he held his book in the wrong hand. The professor thundered, "Take your book in ...read more

Tags: Humility

Denomination: Baptist

Timanthes And The Do-Over

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Jan 5, 2013

TIMANTHES AND THE DO-OVER Over 2,000 years ago a young Greek artist named Timanthes (Tim-an-thes) painted this picture - The Sacrifice of Iphigenia. Before he painted this masterpiece when the artist Timanthes (Tim-an-thes) was a young man, he studied under a well-known and highly respected tutor. ...read more

Tags: Learning

Denomination: Brethren