In Sermon Illustrations: "Lift Him Up"

Tempered For Christ

Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on Apr 4, 2012

TEMPERED FOR CHRIST A blacksmith, about 8 years after his conversion to Christ, was asked by an unbeliever, "Why is it you have so much trouble? I have been watching you since you trusted Christ as your Savior and began to 'walk square' and seem to love everybody, and you seem to have twice as ...read more

Tags: Holiness

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

From Atheist And Skeptic To Believer--The Case Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 8, 2012

FROM ATHEIST AND SKEPTIC TO BELIEVER--THE CASE OF LEE STROBEL Lee Strobel was a Yale Law School graduate and a journalist for the Chicago Tribune. When he was a skeptic and an atheist, he undertook an investigation into the claims of so called "prophets." He set out to debunk the prophecies of ...read more

Scripture: 2 Peter 1:16-21

Tags: Apologetics The Bible

Michael Jordan: Persevere

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 17, 2012

MICHAEL JORDAN: PERSEVERE In the fall of 1978, fifteen-year-old Michael Jordan tried out for the varsity basketball team at Emsley A. Laney High School in Wilmington, North Carolina. The sophomore was 5 feet 11 inches and with his skills, the coach told him that he was not good enough, and Michael ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 12:1-12

Tags: Endurance

A Lesson From A Light Bulb  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 5, 2012

A LESSON FROM A LIGHT BULB A missionary in Africa lived in his central mission which had a small generator to supply current for his church and a small rectory. Some natives from an outlying mission came to visit the pastor. They noticed the electric light hanging from the ceiling of his living ...read more

Scripture: John 15:1-8

Tags: Power

Bitter Rivalry Between Artists

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 21, 2012

BITTER RIVALRY BETWEEN ARTISTS In 1503, Julius II became Pope of the Roman Catholic Church. He immediately began a building program to beautify the Vatican. In 1509, he commissioned Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo reluctantly agreed to paint the fresco, though ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 4:4

Tags: Envy

Humorous Hospital Charts

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 23, 2013

HUMOROUS HOSPITAL CHARTS I came across some notes supposedly found on hospital charts, and I thought you might enjoy them as I did: • The patient refused autopsy. • Note: Patient recovering from forehead cut. Patient became very angry when given an enema by mistake. • Patient has chest pain if she ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 18:1-27

Tags: Leadership General

Where The Pharisees Went Wrong

Contributed by Davon Huss on Jul 9, 2013

WHERE THE PHARISEES WENT WRONG Robert Coleman talks about where the Pharisees went wrong: "The Pharisees had so much respect for the original set of scriptures and wanted to protect them so desperately that they started adding to them. Then, after a while, it not only seemed helpful to make ...read more

Scripture: Mark 7:1-23

Tags: Tradition, Man Made Rules, Pharisees, Fast

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Ivan The Terrible

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 11, 2014

THE BURIAL CLOTHES OF IVAN THE TERRIBLE In 1547 Ivan the IV became Grand Duke of Russia, and he proclaimed himself "Czar" which is a form of the word "Caesar." He actually claimed to be god on the earth. He later became known as Ivan the Terrible, because he was a cruel, vicious leader. He not ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 22:1-14

Tags: Righteousness, Jesus Parables, Wedding Banquet

Love  PRO

Contributed by Roger Whipp on Dec 31, 2014

Love is one of the most powerful emotions we have. The actress Joan Crawford once said “Love is a fire but whether it warms your heart or burns your house down, you can never tell!” Love can motivate, give pleasure, hurt even destroy. It can make us do bold, even stupid things. During the 17th ...read more

Scripture: John 14:15-31, Romans 5:8

Tags: Love, Holy Spirit, Love And Obedience

Denomination: *other

Novelist Herman Wouk Has Written Of A Meeting...

Contributed by Davon Huss on May 17, 2016

Novelist Herman Wouk has written of a meeting he had with David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first president. Ben Gurion urged him to move to the newly established nation. This was 1955, and terrorists were still bringing regular bloodshed to the citizens. Ben Gurion had left office and had begun his ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:1

Tags: Freedom, Free To Serve, Stop Playing It Safe, Freedom From Fear

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

No Tents In Heaven!

Contributed by Dr. David Hallum on Jun 24, 2016

I am not a camper. I spent one miserable weekend as a kid in an old, smelly canvas tent. It was designed to sleep 10, but 2 adults and 2 kids kicked, punched and threw sand all over one another all night. And that was while we were asleep. As I said, it was a miserable weekend. When I became ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 9:1-7

Tags: Camp, Tabernacle

Denomination: Baptist

The Ugly Woman

Contributed by Daniel King, D. Min. on Jul 25, 2018

Main Idea: God was willing to pay a high price to redeem you because He thinks you are valuable. Verse: “You are of more value than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:31 NKJV). Illustration: In Africa, a groom must pay a bride price to a woman’s father in order to marry a woman. Usually, this dowry ...read more

Tags: Valuable, Value To God, You Are Valuable

Denomination: Charismatic

President Leslie Lynch King????

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Aug 12, 2019

Leslie Lynch King, Jr. was born on Monday, July 14, 1913 in Omaha, Nebraska. His parents separated sixteen days after his birth and were divorced the following December. His father was abusive and had a drinking problem. His mother took her baby and moved back to her parents’ home in Grand Rapids, ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:17-21

Tags: Salvation, New Life, Adoption Into God's Family

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Where Will You Be?

Contributed by Dr. Ronald Shultz on Sep 23, 2019

Where Will You Be? When the clouds burst open where will you be? Will there be joy in your heart when Jesus you see? Will you be running to hide from His face Or standing there with your head hanging in disgrace/ It surely is coming and the time is near at hand When Jesus comes to take his ...read more

Scripture: Romans 14:10, 2 Corinthians 5:10, Revelation 20:12

Tags: Death, Rapture, Great White Throne, Bema

Denomination: Baptist

Put Some Fire In That Sermon

Contributed by Ron Freeman, Evangelist on Sep 23, 2019

Brother Jim H. Warren, my mentor and father in the faith; had witnessed my preaching on several occasions while I was in training under him, in Biloxi, MS, in 1967. He was a dynamic preacher; full of faith and powerful in his delivery of the word of God. After hearing my second sermon, he felt the ...read more

Scripture: Acts 18:24-28, John 6:63

Tags: Full Of Wisdom And Love, Fire In That Sermon, Sermon In The Fire, Excited About Preaching, Dynamic In Presentation, Apollos Preaching, Father In The Faith, Mentoring, Coaching, Fervent In Spirit, Jim H Warren, Son In The Gospel  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Justification, Propitiation, And The Very Early Church

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Sep 30, 2019

The early church understood propitiation, the atoning work of Jesus, and justification by faith, not works: from The Epistle of Mathetes to Diognetus, Chapter IX, about 200 A.D. But when our wickedness had reached its height, and it had been clearly shown that its reward, punishment and death, ...read more

Scripture: Romans 3:21-31, Romans 5:8, 1 Corinthians 15:1-5

Tags: Reformers, Penal Atonement, Cross, Justification, Propitiation, Reformation, Grace Alone, Faith Alone, Atonement  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Independent/Bible

How Hard Do You Prepare For Sermons?

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jan 4, 2021

Howard Hendricks shares this insight about the value of preparing and study for sermons... " When I was a college student—I worked in the college dining hall, and on my way to work at 5:30 am. every morning I walked past the home of one of my professors. Through a window I could see the ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Timothy 4:1-3, 2 Timothy 2:15

Tags: Sermons, Shepherding, Feeding The Flock, Sermon Preparation, Studying The Word  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Be Ready, Have A Plan.

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Apr 17, 2021

PEOPLE NEVER PLAN TO FAIL, THEY FAIL TO PLAN AND BECOME TRAPPED TO BE DOOMED. WHAT IS FAILURE? WHAT IS SUCCESS? LIFE OFTEN HAS MANY TEMPORARY SET BACKS? We must be ready! ALBERT EINSTEIN did not beginning talking until he was 4 years. Many of Einstein’s family and friends thought he was mentally ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 19:7, Matthew 25:10

Tags: Plan, Ready

Denomination: Assembly Of God

How Are You Doing?

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Jul 2, 2021

There's a story about a little girl who came home from school one day, and her mother met her at the door: Hi! How was school today? How are you doing? With the honesty of little people, the girl replied, Oh, not so well, mommy. My tummy hurts! Mothers know everything, and this mommy had ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 16:5-6

Tags: Joke, Child Misunderstanding

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Bring A Bigger Basket!

Contributed by Joshua Blackmon on Mar 12, 2022

"A missionary in Africa had a farm some miles from the mission station. The season had been very favorable, and he had a large crop of corn on the mission farm. When the crop was ready to harvest, he made a public appeal to the Africans, asking them to help him carry his corn from the farm to ...read more

Scripture: Luke 6:38

Tags: Harvest, Giving, Basket, Receiving

Denomination: Pentecostal