In Sermon Illustrations: "Living For God"

God's Glory And Our Happiness

Contributed by Steven Simala Grant on Nov 27, 2012

GOD'S GLORY AND OUR HAPPINESS Jonathan Edwards writes: God in seeking his glory seeks the good of his creatures, because the emanation of his glory ... implies the ... happiness of his creatures. And in communicating his fullness for them, he does it for himself, because their good, which he ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 1:20-23

Tags: Glory, Jonathan, Common Good, Jonathan Edwards

Denomination: Baptist

God's Taking My Picture  PRO

Contributed by Lalachan Abraham on Jan 23, 2013

GOD'S TAKING MY PICTURE I heard a story of a little girl who walked to and from school daily. The weather one morning was questionable and clouds were forming, yet she made her daily trek to the elementary school. As the afternoon progressed, the winds whipped up, along with thunder and ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 18:1-5

Tags: God Brings Hope

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Julie Hadden: Precious To God

Contributed by Davon Huss on Mar 12, 2013

JULIE HADDEN: PRECIOUS TO GOD Julie Hadden, Winner of Season 4 of the TV show the Biggest Loser, told her story in a 2009 issue of Guideposts: I went to the auditions and made it on the show. Our first challenge was a race across California's Mojave Desert. First two contestants to get to the ...read more

Tags: God's Love, Human Life

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

God Will Stop Making Worlds...

Contributed by Tony Abram on Mar 29, 2013

GOD WILL STOP MAKING WORLDS... I remember singing years ago in the choir of Evangelist Kathryn Kuhlman that she would say, "God will stop making worlds to ...read more

Tags: Prayer Answered

God "Subdues" Our Sins

Contributed by Charles Jones on Apr 11, 2013

GOD "SUBDUES" OUR SINS The word "subdue" is such a powerful word. In the Hebrew, it is the word "kabash" (kaw-bash) meaning to "tread down, disregard, conquer, bring into subjection". The Hebrew word for "cast" is "shalak" (shaw-lak) which means "to hurl, to throw away". What an amazing ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness General

Denomination: Pentecostal

Sin Causes God Pain

Contributed by Troy Borst on Apr 25, 2013

SIN CAUSES GOD PAIN There is a book I read a few years ago, "Theology of the Pain of God" by Kazoh Kitamori, which added to my view about how I see my relationship with God. It is a deep theological book which looks at our relationship with God from the perspective of pain... and not our pain, ...read more

Tags: Sin, God The Father

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

When God Says...what?

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 14, 2014

A young preacher in Ft. Worth, Texas was trying to make an impression on a Pastor Search Team who had come to his church to hear him preach. The young man was preaching on the time in the Old Testament when God had enough with His disobedient people and finally said to them, "Ichabod!", which ...read more

Scripture: 1 Samuel 4:21

Tags: Mistakes, Humor, Glory Of God, Sermon Bloopers

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Is Your God Too Small?

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 28, 2014

IS YOUR GOD TOO SMALL? "If God were small enough to be UNDERSTOOD........He would not be big enough to ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 19:1-5

Tags: Faith, Worship, Glory Of God, Presence Of God

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Cotton Pickin' Son Of God

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 28, 2014

We were having our weekly AWANA meeting at our church when something really funny happened. The children were sharing their Bible verse for the week -- John 3:16. One of our little boys was struggling with remembering the words. He was asked, "Can’t you remember John 3:16?" The boy struggled to ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16-18

Tags: Jesus, Salvation, Bible Study

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

William Temple On Worshiping God

Contributed by Suresh Manoharan on Feb 6, 2014

WILLIAM TEMPLE ON WORSHIPING GOD A devout Saint (William Temple) summed up worship thus: "Worshiping God is nothing but opening our hearts to the love of God, quickening our conscience to the Holiness of God, purging our imagination with the beauty of God, ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 6:29

Tags: Adoration, Aroma, Assignment

Denomination: *other

Does Your God Bleed?  PRO

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Mar 4, 2014

DOES YOUR GOD BLEED? A little boy went up to a missionary Sunday School leader in another country. The boy said, "I like what you say about the God of the Bible but I can’t see him. But if I go to the temple I can see my God." The missionary said to the little boy, "Son, may I ask you a ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:8

Tags: Salvation, Cross, Blood Of Jesus

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

God Will Go Before You!

Contributed by Bala Samson on Oct 17, 2014

I will go ahead of you! Exodus 17:6”Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink..” I simply love these words! God would go before us to prepare the place of miracle! Moses struck the rock but ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 17:6

Tags: Miracles, Trust In God, God Before You, Never Alone

Denomination: Pentecostal

God Communicates Through Dreams

Contributed by Tim Smith on May 28, 2015

God still speaks in dreams today. In the second year of serving at Gretna, I had a dream that the 2 acres next door where a pediatrician’s office was located was going to be sold and become townhouses. The owner Dr. Jerry Fortino attended the WestBank Rotary Club which met at the church every ...read more

Scripture: Acts 16:1-10

Tags: Holy Spirit, Dreams, God's Leading

Denomination: Methodist

An Important Hebrew Name Of God

Contributed by William Nickoley on Feb 4, 2017

“The days are coming,” says the LORD, “that I will raise up a righteous Branch for David, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the earth. 6 . . . And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.’” Jeremiah ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 23:5-6

Tags: God's Name, God's Righteousness, Relationship With God, God Our Righteousness, Handout  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Assembly Of God

There Is No Racial Distinction In The Kingdom Of God

Contributed by Howard Gunter on Mar 29, 2017

All human beings are equally created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26-27). God loved the world so much that He sent Jesus to lay down His life for us (John 3:16). The “world” obviously includes all ethnic groups. I like to use the following illustration which works as well with ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 1:26-27

Tags: Human Life, Jesus Died For All

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

All Sin Is Against God.

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Dec 2, 2020

“W. S. Plumer said, “We never see sin aright until we see it as against God. All sin is against God in this sense: that it is His law that is broken, His authority that is despised, His government that is set at naught Pharaoh and Balaam, Saul and Judas each said, ‘I have sinned’ which is only ...read more

Scripture: Romans 3:23

Tags: David, Sin, Repentance, Holiness, Prodigal Son  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Creation Shows The Glory Of God!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Dec 2, 2020

"The stars are God's fingerprints. The sun is a mere smidgen of His radiance. The moon is to remind us that He doesn't sleep at night. The vastness of space proclaims the infinity of His wisdom, while the sand pebble indicates His thoroughness with the puniest details. The lion hints ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 1:1-3

Tags: Creation, Glory, God, Nature, Agnosticism, Sovereignty Of God  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Give God A Blank Check!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 4, 2021

I read once about a family that put their elderly grandmother on a plane for her first flight. She wasn’t too sure about this mode of transportation, but she grudgingly went along with it. When she returned, some of the family members couldn’t help playfully asking, “Grannie, did the plane hold you ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 3:5-6

Tags: Faith, Commitment, Trust, Will Of God, Believing God  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

God's Family!

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Jun 28, 2021

It is hard to get over the disappointment that God, having made an exception in my case, didn’t seem to call nice, accomplished, courteous, alert ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:26-31, Luke 19:10, James 2:1-7

Tags: Worship, Salvation, Gospel, The Cross, Church  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

God The Father In The Old Testament

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Mar 12, 2022

God is only referred to as "Father" fourteen times in the Old Testament's thirty-nine books, and even then, rather impersonally. In those fourteen occurrences of Father, the term was always used with reference to the Nation of Israel, not to individuals. In the entire Old Testament, ...read more

Tags: Old Testament, Grace, Father, Law, Prayer, Lord's Prayer  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational