In Sermon Illustrations: "Knowing Jesus"

Rooted For Life  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 3, 2011

ROOTED FOR LIFE There was once a farmer who went to town to purchase seeds for his farm. As he was returning home, one of the squash seeds he had purchased fell from his pocket onto the ground. It happened that within a few feet was another seed of a different type. The place where the two seeds ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 2:1-7

Tags: Growth In Christ

God Picks The Unlovable Ones

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 15, 2011

GOD PICKS THE UNLOVABLE ONES Anne Lamott described a time when a fellow church member told about adopting her son through an organization called A.S.K. -- Adopt Special Kids. Part of the adoption process included filling out a questionnaire checking "yes" or "no" for one's willingness to adopt ...read more

Scripture: John 4:1-42

Tags: Adoption

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

Travelers Vs. Tourists

Contributed by Tim Hinrichs on Mar 29, 2012

TRAVELERS VS. TOURISTS Canadian Pastor Mark Buchanan in his book "Your Church is Too Safe" points out the radical difference between a traveler and a tourist. "A traveler literally means 'one who travails.' He labors, he suffers, endures. A traveler -- travailer - ...immerses himself in a culture, ...read more

Tags: Discipleship

Denomination: Lutheran

Erased

Contributed by Tim Hinrichs on Jul 25, 2012

ERASED When we lived in Poland, I walked through one of the cemeteries in one of the cities. And as I was looking at the stones I was surprised to see many of the smooth stones scarred with a roughness right in the middle. Later I found out that the names had been gouged out because they were ...read more

Tags: Sin Separates From God

Denomination: Lutheran

Match Made In Heaven

Contributed by Ken Henson on Oct 16, 2012

There is a story about a couple that went to heaven and in this life they loved each other, but from a distance. So when they got to heaven, they decided to get married. They said to Peter, "Pete, we want to get married." And Peter says, "You have got eternity, why don't you think of it for 50 ...read more

Tags: Heaven

Denomination: *other

Light In The Darkness

Contributed by David Simpson on Jan 15, 2013

LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS Have you ever been in on one of those guided tours of any of a number of caves around our country ... like Ruby Falls, or Carlsbad Caverns or another one. Our family went to the Carlsbad Caves in New Mexico years ago. And as they do in so many places, they’ll turn out the ...read more

Tags: Light, Outreach, Darkness

Denomination: Christian Church

Getting Too Far From The Source  PRO

Contributed by Choe Sergent on Apr 17, 2013

GETTING TOO FAR FROM THE SOURCE The county hired a new person to paint fresh yellow lines down the middle of all the county roads. The first day this man painted an astonishing 10 miles of road with new double yellow lines down the middle. This was a record! No one had ever painted ten miles of ...read more

Scripture: Ezekiel 47:1-23

Tags: Christian Disciplines

Denomination: Baptist

Going Outside The Wire  PRO

Contributed by Joseph Richard on Nov 10, 2013

"Going Outside The Wire" Scripture(s): Job. 1:8-12; 2:1-6 "Going outside the wire" is a term that has been used by military members who are deployed in a hostile and dangerous environment such as Iraq or Afghanistan. It means you leave the safety and protection of the Camp or Base and travel on ...read more

Tags: Faith

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Robes Of Righteousness

Contributed by Suresh Manoharan on Feb 28, 2015

Dr Ravi Zacharias came up with a true witty story of a New Zealand Shepherd who was happy on a Christmas morning, sad in the afternoon but once again happy in the evening. What exactly contributed to his mood swings? Here goes…in the morning two of his ewes’ “A” and “B” gave birth to two lambs “a” ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 61:10

Tags: Grace, Gratitude, God's Righteousness, Grimy

Denomination: *other

It's In Your Hands

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Apr 18, 2017

A young student in China decided to play a trick on his elderly teacher one day. He caught a small bird and cupped it in his hands behind his back. He then approached the sage with this plan in mind. He would ask the old man what he had in his hand. If he answered correctly, he would then ask ...read more

Scripture: Joshua 24:15

Tags: Eternity, Decision, Commitment, Salvation

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The First And Second Great Revival

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on May 24, 2018

The first recorded revival in Christian history happened from a prayer meeting that took place with a handful of disciples in the upper room (Acts 1:14). The result of that prayer meeting was that they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them ...read more

Scripture: Acts 2:2-4, Acts 4:23-24

Tags: Revival, Prayer

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Grace Of God

Contributed by Sunitha Justin on Dec 30, 2018

Once a man died & went to the gates of heaven. AS he was about to enter in to heaven, Peter stands by the gates and refuses to let him in. Peter says.. tell me why I should let you into heaven. You list out your reasons. I will score you. And If you score 100 points, then I will let you in. So ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:10

Tags: Grace, Heaven

Denomination: Charismatic

Room At The Cross For You

Contributed by Davon Huss on Sep 1, 2020

On the deck of a sinking ship stood an African slave- the last man on board. He was to be the last person to get on the last lifeboat. The life boat was loaded to the water line. The slave had something in his arms and the sailors refused to take him until he let that go. He pressed to his ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:12, John 3:16, John 15:13

Tags: Salvation, Cross, Eternal Life, Perish

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

What Have We Learned?

Contributed by Loyd C. Taylor on Mar 6, 2023

What Have We Learned? They shouted with praises, reaching the sky, Pushing and shoving to see Jesus pass by. Crying, “Hosanna, glory to the King!’ He comes to us today, great joy He doth bring." They threw down palm leaves, covering the way, Making a clear path for Him to travel that ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 21:1-11

Tags: Palm Sunday, Poetry, Holiday, The Passover, Ressurrection, Easter  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Spiritual Maturity

Contributed by Barry O Johnson on Feb 5, 2024

1 Timothy 3:6 - "Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil." Recently, a father sat down with his four-year-old son and asked him if he would like the $10 in his right hand or the two Oreo cookies in his left hand. His son immediately chose ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 3:6

Tags: Talent, Maturity, Novice

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Was The Church Chosen To Replace The Fallen Angels?

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Aug 24, 2024

Augustine believed that God created the order of angels to exist in a perfect harmonic balance with one another which was subsequently lost due to the fall of Satan (and those who followed Satan in his rebellion). This showed the tragedy which developed as a result of Satan’s rebellion. Not only ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 12:1-4

Tags: Spirits, Sovereignty Of God, Devils, Worship, Heaven, Satan, Angels, Demons, Rebellion, Church  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Funny Prayers

Contributed by John Bright on Feb 2, 2025

I found this collection of funny prayers on-line: • Lord, I ask that you give me the superpower to eat as much pizza as I want without gaining any weight. It would truly be a miracle and make my life complete. Amen. • Lord, I ask that you make all the calories in donuts and ice cream disappear, ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 2:5

Tags: Holy Spirit, Food, Prayer, Flesh

Denomination: Methodist

Doctrine Of Atonement

Contributed by John Bright on Mar 1, 2025

We need to have core beliefs that do not change over time – NO MATTER WHAT! The doctrine of atonement is under attack today. It is attacked by folks who look at humans and see each one as basically good who occasionally do bad things. They talk about each person’s freedom to become your ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 3:17

Tags: Scripture, Atonement, Authentic, Holy God, Fallen World  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Methodist

Silent Night (Stille Nacht)

Contributed by David Dunn on Nov 3, 2025

It’s Christmas Eve in 1818, in the little village of Oberndorf near Salzburg. St. Nicholas Church will soon be full. Father Joseph Mohr has words for a new carol—but no melody. He walks through the snow to the nearby village of Arnsdorf and asks his friend, schoolteacher Franz Gruber, “Could you ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:10-14, Isaiah 9:6, Micah 5:2

Tags: Worship, Peace, Incarnation

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist