In Sermon Illustrations: "Living For Jesus"

Kyle Idleman On Dying To Self

Contributed by Kevin Karhoff on Mar 18, 2013

What’s it look like to die every day? Well, dying to yourself today may mean spending your lunch hour serving food to the homeless at the shelter down the street from your office. It may mean the next time you talk to your neighbor, instead of playing it safe and keeping comfortable you bring ...read more

Scripture: Luke 9:23

Tags: Surrender, Jesus Christ, Dying To Self, Commitment To Christ

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Supreme Court Case Victory  PRO

Contributed by Paddick Van Zyl on Apr 9, 2014

In the Supreme Court case between Humanity and Satan, proceedings took on a surprising turn, in the court room when Judge God read out the charge against the defendant (humanity). Sin was the main charge with a list of violations being read out, some minor & seemingly insignificant while others ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 9:11-28

Tags: Blood Of Jesus, Court, Christ Redeems, Sin Sacrifice

Denomination: Pentecostal

Trust In The Lord To Fix It

Contributed by James Ledbetter on Feb 3, 2015

A friend pastor of mine once told me a story about trusting in the Lord to fix what is broken. A certain man and his pastor traveled to preach a sermon at another church. And when finished they went to a store to look around. The man bought a doll for his daughter and took it home and gave it to ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 40:1-4, Psalm 40:1-40

Tags: All-Powerful God, Book Of Psalms, Trust Jesus

Denomination: Apostolic

Loaves, Fish, And Children's Sermons

Contributed by Roberta Karchner on Nov 18, 2017

I love doing chidren's sermons, but it doesn't always work out quite the way I expect. So it went one morning when I spoke to the children about the loaves and fish. Just to make my point, I began by showing them five rolls and two fish sticks on a plate. I asked them how to share it so that all ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6:31-44, Luke 9:12-17, John 6:1-14, Matthew 15:32-39, Mark 6:1-9  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Miracles Of Jesus, Loaves And Fish, Childrens Sermon, Miracles

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Sabbath Sympathy

Contributed by Nickolas Kooi on Jun 1, 2018

Never one to back down from a fight, Jesus takes the bait, and summons the man. He literally says, “Rise in the midst of the group.” And there are two reasons for this request. He wants everyone to see and witness this event. He wants him up and in the middle. The second is this. As a ...read more

Scripture: Mark 3:3-5

Tags: Sabbath, Pharisees, Sympathy, Sabbath Controversy, Healing By Jesus  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Lutheran

Prophecies Of The Messiah

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Dec 21, 2020

The Bible Passes The Prophecy Test! There are literally thousands of prophetic predictions made in the Bible. Some of these prophecies are quite dramatic in nature. For instance, Isaiah mentions Cyrus the Persian King, by name, 125 years before he was born. Not a single one prophecy made in the ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:14-17, 2 Timothy 4:1-3

Tags: Inspiration, Inerrancy, Bible, Messiah, Christmas, Jesus, Prophecy  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Rock Wasn't Shaking!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Apr 2, 2022

A passenger ship tragically capsized at sea. Many drowned, but one teenager was found clinging to a rock. After he was rescued, someone asked him if he was terrified. He responded by saying, “Yes, I was shaking all the time…but the rock I was holding onto wasn’t shaking!”  Psalm ...read more

Tags: Jesus Our Refuge, Foundations, Faith, Trust, Rock  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

God Means Business

Contributed by Roger Hasselquist on May 28, 2022

Little Johnny was going to a public school and he was doing very poorly in math. So his mother decided to put him into a Catholic school. When she got his report card at the end of the term, his grades in math had improved tremendously. So she asked him why. He replied, "When I saw that ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16

Tags: Cross, Hope In Jesus, Sin's Penalty, Law Upheld

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

What It Means To Die To Self

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Nov 6, 2022

Self denial becomes a life pattern. Now what does it mean as a Christian?  Here are some practical things.   When you are not forgiven, or neglected, or purposely set aside, and you sting and hurt with the insult or oversight, but your heart is happy and you’re ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 2:20

Tags: Discipleship, Self Denial, Following Jesus, Dying To Self

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Misapplied Scriptures, John 9:31: Does God Hear Sinners, Or Not?

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Oct 13, 2023

Introduction: This is another verse of Scripture which has been used and misused by many people for a long time. Some folks teach that it’s basically useless for any sinner to pray because “well, right there, it says, ‘God heareth not sinners!’” But is that what the verse really teaches? Here’s ...read more

Scripture: John 9:31, Psalm 66:18

Tags: Blind Men, Misapplied Scripture, Unusual Healings, Jesus

Denomination: Baptist

Johnny Appleseed Gospel

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Feb 22, 2024

Demond Wilson was a TV actor in 1970's He starred along with Redd Foxx on the TV show, "Sanford and Son." Later in life Wilson became a gospel preacher. He made this beautiful statement: “I’m just a nobody telling everybody about Somebody who ...read more

Scripture: Romans 1:16-17, John 14:6, 1 Timothy 1:15

Tags: Preaching, Witnessing, Jesus Christ, Evangelism, Salvation, Gospel  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The (Unwise) Wisdom Of The World

Contributed by Roger Hasselquist on Mar 24, 2025

The world in its wisdom may tell us that there is no such thing as truth. That there is no such thing as that which is right and that which wrong. But our experience, of even the simplest of human experiences, will cause us to question that. If you were to ask a gas station attendant for ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 3:18-23

Tags: Better, Follow Jesus, Unwise, Directions, Wisdom Of The World  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

[129]. A Message From A Poem – Historic Glimpses - Past, Present, Future

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Jul 12, 2025

[129]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – HISTORIC GLIMPSES - PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE The bible is so true that we can count the future as historical. The title of this poem is Historical Glimpses and is in three sections – what is past; what is present; and what is future. God knows the end from the ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:35-39

Tags: Jesus, Earth, Future, Past, Historic, Christian Poems  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[186]. A Message From A Poem – Musings On Being In Heaven

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Sep 5, 2025

[186]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – MUSINGS ON BEING IN HEAVEN This is a lovely poem FOR ME, which is why I wrote it. How much do we think of heaven? I am afraid some are so earth-bound that they give little thought to heaven. Do we know what heaven will be like? Of course we do not. We can only ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:2-4, 1 Corinthians 2:9

Tags: The Third Heaven, Jesus, Heaven, Center, Christian Poems  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Don't Look Back  PRO

Contributed by Tylor Cates on Jan 24, 2004

DON'T LOOK BACK And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. - Luke 9:62 Text: Genesis 19:26; Luke 17:32,33 Summary: Once we start to follow Jesus we must never look back. We must give up our old way of life to find new life ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 19:26, Luke 17:32-33, Luke 9:62

Tags: Call Of The Disciples, Desire

Denomination: Baptist

He Was Healed  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 4, 2002

HE WAS HEALED Tony Campolo tells a story about being in a church in Oregon where he was asked to pray for a man who had cancer. Campolo prayed boldly for the man’s healing. That next week he got a telephone call from the man’s wife. She said, "You prayed for my husband. He had cancer." Campolo ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 9:24

Tags: Healing, Miracles Of Jesus, God's Forgiveness, Gifts Healing, Cure  (view more)  (view less)

[216]. A Message From A Poem - Place The Lord Always In Your Focus

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Oct 3, 2025

[216]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM - PLACE THE LORD ALWAYS IN YOUR FOCUS Placing the Lord always in your focus means having Him as THE priority in your life. So often we ask Jesus to share our priorities but it must not be like that. We have many priorities over our lifetimes. Sometimes work must ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 2:20, Matthew 22:37, Matthew 6:33

Tags: Priority, Christian Poems, Jesus Is Number 1, Priorities, Focus, First  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Precious Blood  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 18, 2002

PRECIOUS BLOOD Several years ago in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, George and Vera Bajenksi’s lives were changed forever. February 16, 1989. A very normal Thursday morning. The phone rang at 9:15 a.m. "There’s been an accident..." It involved their son Ben. As they approached the intersection of ...read more

Scripture: John 18:28-40

Tags: Easter Good Friday, Blood, Lord's Supper, Jesus Christ

Evidence For The Resurrection Is Reliable And True

Contributed by Timothy Lueking on Apr 3, 2023

It was the middle of the 1800s and a man by the name of Simon Greenleaf was teaching a class on evidence of law at Harvard University. Greenleaf was considered by many to be the greatest expert on evidence of law the world has ever known. He had been praised for his knowledge and when it comes to ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, 1 Corinthians 15:12-20, Matthew 28:1-10, 1 Peter 1:3

Tags: Reliability Of Truth, Jesus The Risen Savior, Easter, Resurrection, Evidence  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

[066]. A Message From A Poem – Easter Thoughts 2024

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Mar 27, 2025

This poem focuses on the Easter Story and covers the crucifixion and the resurrection. Of course the story is not complete without the Lord coming again and the last stanza features that. Each stanza deals with a different feature of the Saviour’s life that passion weekend. God’s love could ...read more

Scripture: Acts 16:30-31, John 3:16-17, Acts 4:12, Romans 6:10

Tags: Easter, Crucifixion, It Is Finished, Death Of Christ, Crowned With Thorns, Resurrection, Believe, Salvation, Poetry, Golgotha, Poem  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational