In Sermon Illustrations: "Lead"

Stanley Jones In His Book Liberating Ministry ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 16, 2008

Stanley Jones in his book Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome writes: "Prayer is surrender--surrender to the will of God and cooperation with that will. If I throw out a boathook from the boat and catch hold of the shore and pull, do I pull the shore to me, or do I pull myself to the ...read more

Tags: Prayer General

A Headline In Usa Today Said, "We're Heading Into ...

Contributed by Dave Browning on Dec 22, 2008

A headline in USA Today said, "We’re Heading Into Something Big -- But What?" In the article it said "Standing at the front edge of history can be disconcerting. This year feels like just such a point in time. The stock market disaster, the wreckage in the technology industry, the ...read more

Tags: Change

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Temple We Are Building Is Not One Of Stone, ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 28, 2008

The Temple we are building is not one of stone, cedar and gold. It is a living Temple made of living stones, built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, aligned with our chief cornerstone, Jesus Christ. As with the Temple of Haggai’s day, perhaps the working group most subject to ...read more

Tags: Prophecy

Solong's Faith

Contributed by Anne Benefield on Feb 4, 2009

SOLONG'S FAITH I gave blood on Friday. A lovely woman named Solong sampled my blood to insure that I had enough iron. We struck up a conversation, and it turns out she is a Christian. She told me that in 2006 she felt God calling her to go back to school. She didn't have enough money to go, but ...read more

Tags: Examples Of Faith

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Little ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 10, 2009

LITTLE THINGS This leads us to a simple but important principle: Our faithfulness in the little things will determine how faithful we will be with bigger things. There is a story about a huge bank where one of the employees was up for a significant promotion. He lost that promotion one day in ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 25:14-30

Tags: Obedience

Obedience And ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 12, 2009

OBEDIENCE AND LEADERSHIP In the 11th Century, King Henry III of Bavaria was fed up the set up of being King. He applied to be a contemplative at the local monastery, via Prior Richard. The King told the Prior of his struggle, personal battles. The Prior said, "My King, do you understand that the ...read more

Tags: Obedience

The Road Not Taken By Robert Frost

Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Jun 26, 2010

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost Let me read it to you in closing: Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And - sorry I could not travel both And be one traveller, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could. To where it bent in the undergrowth, Then I took the other, as just as ...read more

Tags: Disciplines General

Denomination: Anglican

More And More, Law Enforcement Officials Are ...

Contributed by Patrick Nix on Jul 9, 2010

More and more, law enforcement officials are coming around to the conclusion that the only way to reduce the crime rate in America is to make everything legal. Moves in various parts of the country to decriminalize marijuana are illustrative of this approach. If adopted nationwide, proponents ...read more

Tags: Law

Denomination: Baptist

Whistler And The Doctor

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Nov 18, 2010

WHISTLER AND THE DOCTOR James Whistler, the Victorian artist, showed scant respect for the hierarchy of any profession. When his poodle fell ill with a throat infection, the artist sent immediately for the country’s leading ear, nose, and throat specialist. Sir Morell Mackenzie was not amused when ...read more

Tags: Greatness

Denomination: Brethren

The New Deal

Contributed by Jason Bonnicksen on Sep 18, 2011

THE NEW DEAL Between the years 1933 and 1936, President Franklin D. Roosevelt enacted a series of economic programs called "The New Deal." His programs served as a response to the effects of the Great Depression, and "focused on what historians call the "3 Rs": Relief, Recovery, and Reform. ...read more

Tags: Parable Vineyard

Denomination: Lutheran

Timothy Smith Writes In His Sermon On Jesus Being ...

Contributed by Derrick Tuper on Dec 27, 2011

Timothy Smith writes in his sermon on Jesus being born to die, "I was watching "48 Hours Mystery" last Tuesday night on CBS. Their show that night was called "The Mystery of Christmas." It was all about finding and looking at historical evidence for the birth of Christ. Early in the show Maureen ...read more

Tags: Christmas

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Martin Sheen's Faith

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Mar 2, 2012

MARTIN SHEEN'S FAITH Former Hollywood bad boy Martin Sheen says watching his son, Charlie Sheen, lead a similarly decadent life fills him with remorse. He worries that he learned to be a father too late. He particularly regrets his failure to share his faith. "I never lost my faith," Sheen says. ...read more

Scripture: Deuteronomy 6:7

Tags: Family

Denomination: Baptist

Riches Are A Mess  PRO

Contributed by Davon Huss on Oct 8, 2013

RICHES ARE A MESS John Alexander-- "Consider this paraphrase: You think it’s good to be rich? Well, you’re wrong. Riches are a mess. It’s you poor who are fortunate. You think it’s good to be well fed now? You’re wrong. You’d be better off hungry. You think you should pursue laughter? ...read more

Scripture: Luke 6:20-26, James 5:1-6

Tags: Hungry, Poor, Popularity, Mourner

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Bible And Good Leaders

Contributed by Davon Huss on Mar 24, 2014

Gene Getz was leading some Bible studies on the qualifications of church leaders. Two men were there who were new Christians and had little knowledge of the Bible. After a few sessions these two men said, "You know this is the first time we've heard this list of qualifications from the Bible. ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 3:4-12

Tags: Household, Godly Husbands, True Leader

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Mother Teresa

Contributed by Don Berry-Graham on Mar 1, 2016

Mother Teresa was attending a party full of dignitaries. The guest list included presidents and statesmen from around the world. They came in their crowns and jewels and silks. Mother Teresa wore her ever-present sari, held together by a safety pin. True leadership must be for the benefit of the ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:1-10

Tags: Mercy, Pastoral Leadership, Showing Mercy

Denomination: Baptist

Kill The Spider!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 15, 2020

A man continually "rededicated" his life and always prayed the same prayer, "Lord, take the cobwebs out of my life. Oh, Lord.....take the cobwebs out of my life!" His pastor had heard this prayer more times than he cared to remember and was tired of hearing it. Finally, when ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:1-12, Hebrews 12:1-2, 2 Chronicles 7:14

Tags: Confession, Repentance, Mourning Over Sin

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Only Time Jesus Did Not Use "father" In Prayer!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Mar 8, 2022

“Father” is probably the most common term we use in prayer, and rightly so, because that is how Jesus addressed His prayers, using the phrase more than 70 different times. The only prayer Jesus ever prayed without using the name, "Father", was when He was on the Cross and cried out, “My ...read more

Tags: Cross, Prayer, God The Father, Heavenly Father, Holiness Of God, Prayers Of Jesus  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Pastor, Please Don't Stop Preaching On Hell.

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Apr 18, 2022

"Preachers must not neglect preaching on the reality of Hell and the catastrophic consequence of rejecting Christ. When you abandon preaching on Hell, you ignore the accent in the Epistles on the coming judgment, you will need to skip large portions of Jesus’ teaching in the Gospels, and you ...read more

Tags: Hell, Salvation, Preaching, Judgment, Repentance, Pastors, Preachers  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Getting "me" Out Of The Way

Contributed by Jerry Cosper on Feb 13, 2023

If we were all honest, we would probably have to admit that we are all guilty of reading a text while we're driving. We see it all the time. People are swerving from their lane into our lane and almost hitting other cars. It can be a serious situation. The way we live can also impact those ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:23-33

Tags: Selfishness, Selflessness

Denomination: Baptist

Jesus Loves Me—and I Love Jesus!

Contributed by John Bright on Apr 8, 2025

Sociology professor Anthony Campolo recalls a deeply moving incident that happened in a Christian junior high camp where he served. One of the campers, a boy with spastic paralysis, was the object of heartless ridicule. When he would ask a question, the boys would deliberately answer in a halting, ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 3:15

Tags: Evangelism, Testimony

Denomination: Methodist