In Sermon Illustrations: "Knowing Jesus"

Planting The Wrong Seeds

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Jun 4, 2011

PLANTING THE WRONG SEEDS Some time ago the Reader’s Digest magazine told a story about a company who mailed out some special advertising business post cards. Glued to the postcard was a mustard seed. The card also contained the following words: "If you have faith as small as this mustard seed in ...read more

Tags: Evangelism How To

Denomination: Brethren

God As My Guard  PRO

Contributed by Dr. Nicholas M. Muteti on Jun 24, 2011

GOD AS MY GUARD I remember one time driving on a completely unknown route. It was dark, early in the morning, just after midnight. I didn’t know the way and I thought I can drive ahead and somehow will find the town I was looking for. It was the time when all the routes in Kenya were very poor ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 121:1-8

Tags: God's Omnipotence

Denomination: Baptist

What A Waste...??  PRO

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Jul 8, 2011

WHAT A WASTE...?? There was a young man who grew up just down the block from my wife Jan. I never met him; I can’t even remember his name. But I know about him. I think about him every time I’m in the neighborhood. This boy didn’t attract much notice as he was growing up. He studied mostly. He ...read more

Tags: Servanthood

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Harry Potter: Temptation

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Jul 30, 2011

HARRY POTTER: TEMPTATION Every great story has great characters. And in truly great stories, the characters go through significant change. This change is called a character arc. For example, if you’re familiar with the Harry Potter series, you know that Harry starts off in the story as an ...read more

Tags: Temptation General

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Feeling A Tug  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 3, 2011

FEELING A TUG A small boy was flying a kite one April afternoon when a low drifting cloud encircled the kite and hid it from view. A man passing by asked the little boy what he was doing with that string in his hand. "I’m flying my kite," the child responded. The man, looking up and seeing ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 11:1

Tags: Faith, Real Faith, Better Faith, Feeling Faith

If You Want It Bad Enough

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 10, 2011

IF YOU WANT IT BAD ENOUGH When a person first comes to faith in Christ and gets a taste of His grace, they can’t get enough of the Bible. Pat Summerall, the well-known sports announcer, trusted Christ with his life and overcame alcohol in the late 60’s. As he describes his life with Christ, he ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 2:2-3

Tags: Growth In Christ

Tough Ladies And Human Nature

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Aug 29, 2011

TOUGH LADIES AND HUMAN NATURE I used to enjoy the old "Where's the Beef?" commercial. Everyone, it seems, knows a "where's the beef" type of lady. Germany has them, too: BERLIN (Reuters) - A feisty 90-year-old German woman chased away three would-be burglars from her rural farmhouse with her ...read more

Tags: Human Life

Denomination: Independent/Bible

The Rusted Out Car  PRO

Contributed by John Sears on Jan 18, 2012

THE RUSTED OUT CAR A few weeks ago, I was driving home on the interstate and saw a pickup truck pulling a trailer with the rusted out shell of an old car on it. All I know was that the car on that trailer was an antique. And it was covered in rust from bumper to bumper. I could tell from the ...read more

Tags: Stewardship

Denomination: Christian Church

Billy Graham: Can Money Buy Happiness?  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 23, 2012

BILLY GRAHAM: CAN MONEY BUY HAPPINESS? Rev. Billy Graham: "The Bible warns that money cannot buy happiness. Money cannot buy true pleasure. Money cannot buy peace of heart. And money cannot buy entrance into the Kingdom of God. If God has given you more than your neighbors around about you, ...read more

Scripture: Luke 12:13-34

Tags: Money

Get Acquainted With Heaven

Contributed by Francis Balla on Sep 24, 2012

GET ACQUAINTED WITH HEAVEN "The man who is about to sail for Australia or New Zealand as a settler, is naturally anxious to know something about his future home, its climate, its employments, its inhabitants, its ways, its customs. All these are subjects of deep interest to him. You are leaving ...read more

Tags: Heaven

Denomination: Baptist

God Is Not An Editor

Contributed by David Tack on Oct 17, 2012

GOD IS NOT AN EDITOR "God is looking for common ordinary people like you and me who are willing to let Him use as He sees fit. He wants to write our story, He doesn’t want to be our editor. But, we want to write the story and then we call God in as our editor. When the story gets messy then we ...read more

Scripture: Luke 9:23

Tags: Discipleship

Denomination: Baptist

What Time Is It?  PRO

Contributed by Rod Elmore on Feb 18, 2013

WHAT TIME IS IT? An old man was standing on a crowded bus. A young man standing next to him asked, "What time is it?" The old man said nothing. As the young man walked away, the old man's friend asked, "Why were you so rude to the young man?" The old man answered, "If I had given him the time ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Tags: Heart

Denomination: Christian Church

The Meaning Of Life. The Wasted Years Of Life. ...  PRO

Contributed by Kevin Karhoff on Mar 23, 2013

The meaning of life. The wasted years of life. The poor choices of life. God answers the mess of life with one word: grace. We talk as though we understand the term. The bank gives us a grace period. The seedy politician falls from grace. Musicians speak of a grace note. We describe an ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 27:32

Tags: Grace

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Not Much Help

Contributed by Richard Tow on Jul 18, 2017

In his Peanuts strip, Charles Schulz had an amazing talent for communicating truths like this in humorous, memorable ways. In one strip Charlie Brown rests his head in his hands while leaning on the wall and looking miserable. His friend, Lucy, approaches. “Discouraged again, eh, Charlie Brown?” ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:1-5

Tags: Criticism, Critical, Judging

Denomination: Charismatic

We Saw Your Smoke Signal!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Oct 15, 2019

I read a story about a shipwreck. When the sole survivor reached a small, uninhabited island, he prayed for God to rescue him, but help didn't come. Eventually he built a hut out of driftwood for protection from the elements. One day he returned from scavenging for food and found his hut in ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:28

Tags: Will Of God, God's Purpose

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Saint Or Sinner

Contributed by John Bright on Feb 19, 2021

In the “Freedom in Christ” course, Neil Anderson and Steve Goss, share an illustration that I just love – “You know the fairy tale of the princess who decided to kiss a frog? When she kissed the frog, he changes into a handsome prince. Now imagine they go out to a fancy restaurant to celebrate ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:2

Tags: Princess, Prince, Sinners, Saints, Frog  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Methodist

Marriage Insight

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Nov 15, 2021

Destructive to marriage is the self fulfillment ethic that assumes marriage and the family are primarily institutions of personal fulfillment, necessary for us to become whole or happy. The assumption is that there is someone just right for us to marry and that if we look closely enough we will ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:22-33

Tags: Relationships, Love, Marriage

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

God Can't Take His Eyes Off Of Me!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 13, 2022

There were 2 boys playing one day when they got bored. Little Johnny turned to his buddy, Billy, and said, "You know something, I'm bored. Let's go to the store and steal some candy!" Billy says: "Oh no! I can't do that! God is watching me!“ Little Johnny replies: ...read more

Tags: God's Love, Dishonesty, Heavenly Father, God's Providence, Children  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Funny Sermon Intro For Easter!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Apr 15, 2022

The pastor’s family was invited to Easter dinner at the Wilson home. Mrs. Wilson was widely known for her amazing contributions to church potlucks. Everyone was seated around the table as the food was being served. As usual, it was a feast for the eyes, the nose, and the palate.   When ...read more

Tags: Easter, Prayer, Humor, Pastors, Saying Grace, Sermon Intro, Funny Story, Preacher's Kids  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Getting The Gospel Right!

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Jul 18, 2022

Martin Niemoeller was a German Pastor during the Nazi era and was imprisoned multiple times for his opposition to Hitler. Niemoeller understood that Hitler was distorting the gospel to serve his political agenda. In April 1945 American forces liberated northern Italy where Niemoeller had been ...read more

Scripture: Joshua 1:9, Romans 1:16, 1 Corinthians 15:1-8, Ephesians 2:8-9

Tags: Faith, Salvation, Gospel

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational