In Sermon Illustrations: "Life Is Rough"

But Proffering Our Physical Lives As Living ...

Contributed by Johnny Wilson on Aug 11, 2009

But proffering our physical lives as living sacrifices, we get the benefit of living life to its fullest because we are in agreement with God as to priorities and purpose. We aren’t really giving up our lives. We are learning to stand beside ourselves and see ourselves as God sees us. We see our ...read more

Tags: Faith, Sacrifices

Denomination: *other

Years Ago I Was Invited Out To A Farm In West ...

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Dec 25, 2009

Years ago I was invited out to a farm in West Wyalong, in NSW. It was night when we arrived and after eating, the farmer invited us out to the barn. He had a large torch and shone it around the floor. At first I didn’t realize what I was looking at. The floor seemed to be moving in waves. The waves ...read more

Tags: Judgment

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Following God Ordained Passions, Like Wilson ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 6, 2010

Following God Ordained Passions, like Wilson Bentley the Snowflake Photographer I want to die the same way Wilson Bentley died. Wilson grew up on a farm in Jericho, Vermont, and as a young boy he developed a fascination with snowflakes. Obsession might be a better word for it. Most people go ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 3:12-14

Tags: Zeal

How Clara Mcbride Hale Founded Hale House In ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 4, 2010

How Clara McBride Hale Founded Hale House in Harlem Do you know the story of Clara McBride Hale, also known as “Mother Hale”? She founded the Hale House in Harlem; it was a home for unwanted children and children who were born addicted to drugs. She originally opened her house as a day-care to ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 25:31-46

Tags: Compassion

Money ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 6, 2010

Money Talks -Most of us have probably heard the saying, “Money talks.” Words are one thing, but when someone slaps down their money or writes the check, their words take on new meaning. Sometimes money produces results that seemed slow in coming with any other approach. This might be due to greed, ...read more

Scripture: James 5:1-6

Tags: Money

Girl Born ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 5, 2010

Girl Born Blind There was a blind girl who hated herself because she was blind. She hated everyone, except her loving boyfriend. He was always there for her. She told her boyfriend, ’If I could only see the world, I will marry you.’ One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her. When the ...read more

Scripture: John 9:1-41

Tags: Compassion

Holiness Is Developed In Community

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 23, 2010

HOLINESS IS DEVELOPED IN COMMUNITY In the 3rd and 4th Centuries, and even to some extent today, the popular image of holiness was solitude, silence and severity. The really (quote) "holy people" back then were those who lived like hermits, wandering in the desert alone -- fasting, praying and ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 2:1-10

Tags: Holiness

Vacant Homes, Vacant Lives  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 9, 2011

VACANT HOMES, VACANT LIVES TIFTON, GA — The most interesting thing about Tifton is an abandoned Victorian house filled with thousands of bats. Tift County declared the once-elegant house in the town’s historic district off limits after a bat specialist said that maybe 20,000 bats had moved in, ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 119:11, Psalm 119:11-16, Luke 11:1-13, Galatians 5:22-23, Psalm 84:1-12, John 2:13-23, Luke 7:36-50, John 1:46-56, James 2:14-26, Luke 11:24-26, Matthew 12:43-45, Matthew 12:44-45  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Bible Influence

Relationships Matter Most In Happiness

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 10, 2011

RELATIONSHIPS MATTER MOST IN HAPPINESS In 1937, a researcher at Harvard University began a study (originally named The Harvard Study of Adult Development) on what factors contribute to human well-being and happiness. The research team selected 268 male Harvard students who seemed healthy and well ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 2:24-26

Tags: Happiness

Dying For Someone Like That

Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on Aug 12, 2011

DYING FOR SOMEONE LIKE THAT During the war in Vietnam, a young West Point graduate was sent over to lead a group of new recruits into battle. He did his job well, trying his best to keep his recruits from ambush and death. But one night, when they had been under attack, he was unable to get one of ...read more

Tags: God's Love

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Roots And Fruits

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Oct 10, 2011

ROOTS AND FRUITS How many of you have been to a funeral? As you approach the casket you'll see numerous floral arrangements, and these floral displays use two different kinds of flowers. First there are the bouquets of cut flowers, and there are planters. There's generally more bouquets than ...read more

Tags: Salvation

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

William Borden: No Reserves, Retreats, Regrets

Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on Jan 23, 2012

WILLIAM BORDEN: NO RESERVES, RETREATS, REGRETS In 1903, a young, bright man named William Borden graduated from high school – a millionaire. He was the heir to the Borden Dairy fortune. Following graduation, William traveled around the world. Everywhere he went he was touched by the needs of ...read more

Tags: Commitment To Christ

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Billy Graham's Arena Dreams

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Feb 7, 2012

BILLY GRAHAM'S ARENA DREAMS Billy Graham, in his book "Nearing Home: Life, Faith, and Finishing Well" (pp. 2-3, Thomas Nelson) writes: I have remained a baseball fan, not necessarily of one team over another but of the game itself--the teamwork, the strategy, and the challenge of defeating the ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:28

Tags: Dreams

Denomination: Baptist

Carrying What I Don't Need  PRO

Contributed by Kelly Benton on Jan 29, 2013

CARRYING WHAT I DON'T NEED I think back to my Army days. All those foot marches and all the pain associated with them. As a young private I packed pretty much everything I could before we went out. I wanted to make sure I had all the comforts to help make life easier. I made sure to have extra ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness General

Denomination: Other

The Hobbit: Denying Yourself  PRO

Contributed by Ken Pell on Jun 15, 2013

The Hobbit: Denying Yourself In the movie “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” there is a scene where the Bilbo Baggins, the Hobbit who is accompanying 13 dwarves on a mission, unexpectedly disappears and seems to have abandoned the dwarves during a crucial battle. They were losing. Bilbo does ...read more

Scripture: Luke 9:23-25

Tags: Dying To Self, Deny Self

Denomination: Nazarene

Loss

Contributed by Steve Kinnard on Aug 9, 2019

Have you ever had a time in your life when you suffered drastic income loss? In 1995 I had a dream job, I had an office that was 30 foot by 40 foot with my own private bath, no boss on 2nd and 3rd shift and the pay was great, not bad for a blue-collar worker. We based our lifestyle on my wages, and ...read more

Scripture: Joel 2:25-27

Tags: Loss, Recovert

Denomination: Pentecostal

Saint Or Sinner?

Contributed by Dr. Ronald Shultz on Sep 23, 2019

Saint or Sinner? Lord, I'm not sure what I am or what I ain't. Am I a saint playing sinner or a sinner playing saint? I love your truth, but I am not good at obeying, as you know. I can run with the sinners, but feel guilty when I go. Some of the things I crave are sin, and ...read more

Scripture: Romans 7:7-25

Tags: Nature, Sinner, Saint, Two Natures

Denomination: Baptist

It's Never Too Late To Start Over

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Oct 28, 2019

At age 5 his father died. At age 16 he quit school. At age 17 he had already lost four jobs. At age 18 he got married. Between ages 18 and 22, he was a railroad conductor and failed. He joined the army and washed out there. He applied for law school, he was rejected. He became an insurance sales ...read more

Scripture: John 3:1-7

Tags: New Birth, Don't Quit, Never Too Late, Success

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Pardoned Fugitive

Contributed by Roger Byrd on Jul 17, 2021

He was an unlikely criminal. In the difficult days after World War I, many veterans like Robert Elliot Burns had taken to “riding the rails” in search of work. A native of New Jersey, Burns had found the times very trying so when a friend told him of a job, he immediately agreed. The problem was ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 11:28

Tags: Pardon, Historical

Denomination: Baptist

Pray The Book Of Psalms

Contributed by Davon Huss on Sep 4, 2024

Wesley and Stacey Campbell describe in their book Praying the Bible: The Pathway to Spirituality: A few years ago, we were ministering in the mountains of Puebla, which is about a 4 hour drive from Mexico City. The situation was most desperate. The Indians of the area lived in villages built ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 119:164

Tags: Bible, Psalms, Prayer

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ