In Sermon Illustrations: "Light To The Nations"

Pull For The Shore, Sailor

Contributed by Dwight L. Moody on Jun 11, 2009

PULL FOR THE SHORE, SAILOR A vessel was wrecked off the shore. Eager eyes were watching and strong arms manned the life-boat. For hours they tried to reach that vessel through the great breakers that raged and foamed on the sand-bank, but it seemed impossible. The boat appeared to be leaving the ...read more

Tags: Heaven

Denomination: *other

Pastor Li De Xian (Shee-An) Was Arrested 13 Times ...

Contributed by Rick George on Oct 29, 2009

Pastor Li De Xian (Shee-an) was arrested 13 times in six months for "illegal preaching" to his congregation of 100. During his first arrest he was drug outside, brutally beaten, repeatedly kicked in the stomach and groin before his congregation. Upon arrival at the police station, he was beaten ...read more

Tags: Persecution

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Italian Composer Antonio Rossini Didn't Know Why ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 20, 2009

Italian Composer Antonio Rossini Didn’t Know Why His Watch Was So Valuable You cannot go forward when you have plenty when you are empty on the inside. Harry Emerson Fosdick said that, “No horse gets anywhere until he is harnessed. No stream or gas drives anything until it is confined. No Niagara ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 2:16

Tags: Salvation, Cup Of Salvation

Ephesians 4:14-17. Have You Ever Had A Child That ...

Contributed by Tim Adams on Dec 1, 2009

Ephesians 4:14-17. Have you ever had a child that every instruction you gave them they said back to you “what for?” When I was growing up you might have had the luxury of asking one time if you were brave, never twice “what for.” We just didn’t question the wisdom and authority of our parents. ...read more

Tags: Fool

Denomination: Baptist

The First And Last "All"

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 6, 2010

THE FIRST AND LAST "ALL" After a mission service, the preacher of the evening was hurrying away to a late train. He had just three minutes to catch it when he saw a man running after him. "Oh, sir," he said breathlessly as he came up, "Can you help me? I am very anxious about my salvation." ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 53:6

Tags: Evangelism How To

Radical Faith  PRO

Contributed by Ken Pell on Jan 24, 2011

RADICAL FAITH I want to read to you the opening story from David Platt's book "The Radical Question" (Multnomah Press). Imagine a scene that took place in Asia not so long ago: A room in an ordinary house, dimly lit, all the blinds on the windows closed. Twenty leaders from churches in the ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 12:10-17

Tags: Persecution, Better Together

Denomination: Nazarene

Works-Driven Rituals

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 4, 2011

WORKS-DRIVEN RITUALS Every year a great throng of people make pilgrimage to the Shrine of Guadalupe in Mexico, a site where supposedly the Virgin Mary once stood...however unlikely that is. They go there hoping to get her attention, and to get her to intervene for them with her son Jesus. They ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 1:7-10

Tags: Action

Give God The Big Stuff, Too

Contributed by Sean Harder on Aug 5, 2011

GIVE GOD THE BIG STUFF, TOO I am mechanically inept and every once in a while I try to do some mechanical thing. Sometimes it's as simple as trying to put up a light fixture. Inevitably it fights back and doesn't go easily. I start getting frustrated and forcing the issue, usually making it worse. ...read more

Tags: Trust

I Was Waiting For You  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 18, 2011

I WAS WAITING FOR YOU A family was out vacationing at the lake one summer. Dad had been puttering out by the boat house. Two of his sons, a 12 year old and a 3 year old were down playing along the dock. The 12 year old was suppose to be watching his little brother, but he got distracted. The 3 ...read more

Scripture: Mark 10:45

Tags: Evangelism Urgency

They Did Not Fear Death  PRO

Contributed by Bill Sullivan on May 9, 2012

THEY DID NOT FEAR DEATH Many of you have read Foxe's Book of Martyrs. It’s certainly not light bedtime reading, but is nevertheless inspiring and relevant as we look at this passage of scripture this morning. It’s important to remember that each of the apostles suffered persecution, and most ...read more

Tags: Persecution

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

John D. Rockefeller's Transformation

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 14, 2012

JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER’S TRANSFORMATION John D. Rockefeller, Sr., was strong and husky when he was a youth. He early determined to earn money and drove himself to the limit. At age 33, he earned his first million dollars. At age 43, he controlled the biggest company in the world. At age 53, he was ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 9:1-15

Tags: Giving General

The Names Of Satan

Contributed by Leighton (Lee) Vary on Nov 7, 2016

1. In Isaiah 14:12, he is named Lucifer and called the son of the morning 2. In 2 Corinthians 11:14 & 15, it is said that he transforms himself into the likeness of an angel of light 3. The god of this world who blinds men’s minds (2 Corinthians 4:4) 4. The prince of this world (John 12:31) 5. The ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 12:6-17

Tags: Satan, Lucifer, Abaddon, Beelzebub

Denomination: Baptist

Basic Training

Contributed by John Telgren on Feb 11, 2017

I hated shining shoes in Basic Training. There were other things I would rather be doing instead of sitting on the floor with a brush and mounds of cotton balls stained with black Kiwi shoe polish! If our boots and dress shoes were not perfect we paid for it dearly! During one of our trips to the ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 2:15, 2 Timothy 2:15

Tags: Diligence, Diligently, Diligent

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

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

Give Thanks

Contributed by Jonathan Meade on Nov 18, 2023

At 16, a mission to Honduras with my father was an eye-opening experience that left an incredible mark on my soul. I found myself in a foreign land, surrounded by poverty and heart wrenching realities that I had never encountered before. One particular night, our bus pulled into a dimly lit gas ...read more

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Tags: Thanksgiving, Missions, Gratitude

Denomination: Independent/Bible

I Want To Close With A Real Life Story. It Is ...  PRO

Contributed by Tom Mccrossan on Oct 17, 2004

I want to close with a real life story. It is about missionary John Hyde who went to India a little over a hundred years ago. John felt a strong calling to the nation of India and began to spend hours in an attempt to learn the local language. Then the day came. It was in 1892 that he boarded a ...read more

Tags: Holy Spirit Attributes, Holy Spirit In Believers

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Broken Hearts Not Broken Glass!" Proverbs 19:1 ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Apr 18, 2005

“Broken Hearts Not Broken Glass!” Proverbs 19:1 Key verse(s) 1:“Better a poor man whose walk is blameless than a fool whose lips are perverse.” It’s time to rise up and take a christian stand! Christians are being persecuted worldwide. There is no doubt of this even in the minds of the ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 19:1

Tags: Christian Disciplines, Peace

Denomination: Lutheran

Out Of The Sun, Packed In A Diamond Formation And ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 26, 2007

Out of the sun, packed in a diamond formation and flying as one that day, the Minute Men dove at nearly the speed of sound toward a tiny emerald patch on Ohio’s unwrinkled crazy quilt below. It was a little after nine on the morning of June 7, 1958, and the destination of the Air National Guard’s ...read more

I Was Introduced To "Different" The Summer I Took ...

Contributed by Todd Stiles on Mar 27, 2007

I was introduced to “different” the summer I took about 30+ Jr. Highers to Mexico. What an experience! Yes, our own Mike Hain was with me (and what a trip he had). The things I saw on that trip changed my life -- forever! I can’t begin to tell you the broadening I experienced during that two week ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Don't Let The Good Christian Life Of The Past ...

Contributed by Brian Matherlee on Jul 14, 2008

Don't let the good Christian life of the past interfere with the new work God wants to do in your life. Missionary John Hyde went to India a little over a hundred years ago. John felt a strong calling to the nation of India and began to spend hours in an attempt to learn the local language. Then ...read more

Tags: Holy Spirit In Believers

Denomination: Wesleyan