In Sermon Illustrations: "Lead"

Count Your Many Blessings  PRO

Contributed by Guy Mcgraw on Feb 16, 2012

COUNT YOUR MANY BLESSINGS While on a short-term missions trip, Pastor Jack Hinton was leading worship at a leper colony on the island of Tobago. A woman who had been facing away from the pulpit turned around. "It was the most hideous face I had ever seen," Hinton said. "The woman's nose and ears ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 1:1

Tags: Encouragement

The Most Important Discovery  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 14, 2012

THE MOST IMPORTANT DISCOVERY Dr. Henry "Fritz" Schaefer earned his Ph.D in chemical physics from Stanford University. For 18 years, he served as professor of chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of more than 800 scientific publications and during the period of ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31

Tags: Jesus Christ

God Has Something Better For You

Contributed by Ken Pell on Mar 10, 2013

GOD HAS SOMETHING BETTER FOR YOU A daddy took his little girl to the park one Saturday afternoon. She was about 4 and was having such a good time in the sun and the presence of her daddy. The ice cream vendor came by and daddy bought her an ice cream cone. Then he noticed that his little girl had ...read more

Tags: God's Love

Denomination: Nazarene

Conformity

Contributed by Don Berry-Graham on Feb 29, 2016

I first noticed this in leading people to Christ. They were beautiful before they were “church broke.” Great young converts often start out as radiant Christians and end up only as carbon-copy Baptists. Great young ministers start out as adorable mavericks, but after a business meeting or two and a ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:1-2, Romans 12:2-5

Tags: Conformity, Accepting

Denomination: Baptist

Hope

Contributed by Don Berry-Graham on Mar 1, 2016

In September 1988, Hurricane Gilbert hit the Louisiana coast. At that time it was considered the “Storm of the century.” It battered the shoreline, severely disrupting the shrimping business. Many shrimp boats were lost, causing great concern for several families dependent on shrimping for their ...read more

Scripture: Daniel 1:1-16

Tags: Hope, Hope Deferred

Denomination: Baptist

From Atheism To Ben Hur

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on May 19, 2016

FROM ATHEISM TO BEN HUR "After six years given to the impartial investigation of Christianity as to its truth or falsity, I have come to the deliberate conclusion that Jesus Christ was the Messiah of the Jews, the Savior of the world and my own personal Redeemer." -- General Lew Wallace, one-time ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 18:1

Tags: Conversion, Testimony, Jesus Christ, Atheism

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

F.e.a.r

Contributed by Alexier Mayes on Aug 8, 2017

Theres a song written by Ian Brown, known most famously as the Lead Singer from Manchester Band 'The Stone Roses' The song simply entitled FEAR uses the letters of the word to describe a sentence and the most poignant one of all states:- FINAL EXECUTION AND RESURRECTION Four words which mean ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 4:18

Tags: Love, Fear, Resurrection, Trust, Perfect Love, Death  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Anglican

Get Up And Do It

Contributed by Roy Fowler on Nov 15, 2020

Mother Teresa – So many leaders have the idea that to lead greatly you have to focus on everyone. Mother Teresa took a different approach. She saw the poor. The hurt. The dying. And she knew something had to be done. When you know that there’s that many hurting people out there, you might think ...read more

Scripture: Judges 4:1-9

Tags: When God Speaks, Get Up And Do It

Denomination: Independent/Bible

10 Reasons To Study The Scriptures

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Dec 2, 2020

TEN REASONS TO STUDY THE SCRIPTURES 1. Will strengthen your personal life (1 John 2:14). 2. Will strengthen your assurance of salvation (1 John 5:13). 3. Will strengthen your confidence in your relationship with God (1 John 5:14). 4. Will undergird the effectiveness of your prayers (John 15:7). 5. ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Timothy 2:15

Tags: Scripture, Truth, Bible Study, Word Of God

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Bible Characters Who Prayed

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Nov 6, 2022

BIBLE CHARACTERS WHO PRAYED: * Abraham prayed and God gave him a son. • Moses prayed, and the Israelites were delivered from Egypt. • Joshua prayed and the sun stood still in the valley of Aijalon • Gideon prayed, and He defeated the Midites with three hundred men. • Hannah prayed, and God gave ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 33:3

Tags: Prayer, Miracles, Bible Characters, Answers To Prayer

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Workaholic's 23rd Psalm

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Feb 11, 2025

The Workaholic’s 23rd Psalm by Ed Vasicek The Lord is my foreman, I shall not rest. He makes me mow down the green pastures. He leads me to generators beside rapid waters. He wears out my soul. He shoves me to conferences for my schedule's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 4:6, Ecclesiastes 9:9, Ecclesiastes 6:2, Luke 10:38-42

Tags: Workaholic, Addicted To Adrenaline, Extremism, Overly Conscientious, Obeying In All Things, Success, Balance, Conscience, Materialism, Work Ethic, Driven  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Independent/Bible

The (Unwise) Wisdom Of The World

Contributed by Roger Hasselquist on Mar 24, 2025

The world in its wisdom may tell us that there is no such thing as truth. That there is no such thing as that which is right and that which wrong. But our experience, of even the simplest of human experiences, will cause us to question that. If you were to ask a gas station attendant for ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 3:18-23

Tags: Better, Follow Jesus, Unwise, Directions, Wisdom Of The World  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Deception Of Effective Leadership  PRO

Contributed by Dana Visneskie on Feb 9, 2004

Research from Barna concerning Leadership: The Deception of Effective Leadership Most pastors are content with the way things are going in their ministry. A national survey among pastors revealed that a majority feel they are doing an excellent or good job in leading people spiritually in ...read more

Tags: Leadership General

Denomination: Pentecostal

Back On The Ranch Where I Spent My Summers When I ...

Contributed by Warren Lamb on Jun 23, 2007

Back on the ranch where I spent my summers when I was young, my Dad and some of the other men used to break horses to ride and then would train them for various tasks according to their abilities and breeding. The first thing they always did was to gain the animal’s trust. They would then trained ...read more

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Beseeching – True Spiritual ...

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

Beseeching – True Spiritual Awakening Unlike the spiritual and political leaders of Israel, a nation that is vigilant has Christians and leaders who are not blinded by their sin. People who have a Biblical understanding about the heart of mankind find joy in what the prophet Joel wrote, “Even ...read more

Scripture: Joel 1:12-13

Tags: Patriotism

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Perspectives

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 2, 2008

PERSPECTIVES It is because of some of the unique properties of water, a substance that makes up 75% of the earth and even makes up a large portion of your body, that life is even possible. Because ice floats, the oceans and rivers and lakes can continue to keep all of the living things in the ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:1-3

Tags: Family

Truth And Perspective

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 9, 2008

Truth and Perspective I want to share with you the true story of Dr. Bernard Nathanson. Dr. Bernard Nathanson was a leading abortion doctor in the United States in the 1970’s. He had actually performed an abortion on a woman he had gotten pregnant during this time. This physician had campaigned ...read more

Tags: Abortion

Billy Graham: Growing Old Has Been A Surprise  PRO

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Feb 7, 2012

BILLY GRAHAM: GROWING OLD HAS BEEN A SURPRISE Billy Graham, in his book "Nearing Home: Life, Faith, and Finishing Well" (pp. 1-2, Thomas Nelson), he writes: Growing old has been the greatest surprise of my life. The young live for the here and now. Thinking ahead seems to be in the form of dreams ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 16:31

Tags: Aging

Denomination: Baptist

Beyond Fiction

Contributed by Jung Lee on Jan 20, 2024

In a humorous yet thought-provoking comment, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson critiqued movies like 'Armageddon' and 'Moonfall' for violating more laws of physics per minute than any other movies. This observation serves as an interesting analogy for our spiritual lives. Much like ...read more

Scripture: Romans 6:23

Tags: Fiction, Physics, Gift Of God, Neil Degrasse Tyson, Eternal Consequences, Movie Analogies, Spiritual Life, Reality, Jesus Christ, Eternal Life, Disobedience, God's Law, Forgiveness, Sin, God, Salvation, Gift, Redemption, Faith, Death, Sacrifice, Christ  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

The Prayer Of Grandma Jones

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 28, 2012

THE PRAYER OF GRANDMA JONES I'd like to tell you the story about an old lady that everybody called "Grandma Jones." She had a close relationship with Jesus. And she knew that Jesus wanted her to be a soul-winner. She wanted to lead others to Christ. However, Grandma Jones was pretty much home ...read more

Scripture: John 4:4-38

Tags: Evangelism Urgency