In Sermon Illustrations: "Living For Jesus"

A Full Life  PRO

Contributed by Ovidiu Radulescu on Apr 25, 2011

A FULL LIFE A boat docked in a tiny Mexican village. An American tourist complimented the Mexican fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them. "Not very long," answered the Mexican. "Well, then, why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?" asked the ...read more

Scripture: John 21:1-19

Tags: Season, Contentment, Balance, Commandments Covet

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

Albert's Kids

Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on Jun 3, 2011

ALBERT'S KIDS Albert Lexie isn’t a doctor or nurse or specialist. But yet he gets on the bus very early three days a week, every week, all year round, and rides for almost two hours to get to Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. In his own way, he does a ton of healing while he’s there. It all ...read more

Tags: Servanthood

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

We Don't Know Half Of It  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 15, 2011

WE DON'T KNOW HALF OF IT The famous explorer Marco Polo after completing his journeys went back to his home in Venice. When he got back to his home he began to describe some of the things he had seen. But his close friends thought he had gone mad. He told then about black stones that you could ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 21:1-27

Tags: Heaven

It Won't Happen To Us

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 21, 2011

IT WON'T HAPPEN TO US We began the week with the story of the Chicago nightclub fire in which 21 people were killed as they rushed to the exit. The club had already been cited for overcrowding and other safety violations--like not enough doors and windows. What happened was that a bouncer used ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 90:1-12

Tags: Death, Life, Priorities, Choice, Death Nearness  (view more)  (view less)

The Meaning Of The Cross

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 25, 2011

THE MEANING OF THE CROSS In the 19th century, Armenian Christians, under a Turkish Muslim government, experienced a tremendous amount of persecution. The government lifted the ban on Muslims converting to Christianity in 1856. Then just eight years later, they began arresting these Muslim converts ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 4:12-19

Tags: Persecution

Tumbleweeds And Mesquite Trees  PRO

Contributed by Mark Stepherson on Oct 17, 2011

TUMBLEWEEDS AND MESQUITE TREES Have you seen those old movies about the wild West? Near the end, the good guy and the bad guy stand facing each other at opposite ends of the only street in town. The local folks, knowing what will happen, clear the street. They slam doors and shutter windows. The ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 1:1-4

Tags: Bible Study, Delight

Denomination: Baptist

Made In His Image  PRO

Contributed by Bret Toman on Jan 31, 2012

MADE IN HIS IMAGE In 1940 the Battle of Britain took place in the skies over England. Day after day hundreds of German bombers delivered to the targets below a cargo of death and destruction. The only thing stopping the certain defeat of the allies in western Europe was the Royal Air Force, whose ...read more

Tags: Sanctification

Denomination: Baptist

Moody And The Filling Of The Spirit  PRO

Contributed by Ken Pell on May 27, 2012

MOODY AND THE FILLING OF THE SPIRIT One of the great preachers in U.S. history is D. L. Moody. He pastored in Chicago and there is still a wonderful Bible College there that bears his name and values. Mr. Moody was a successful minister, but by his own admission, he lacked the power in his ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 33:1-22

Tags: Pentecost, Blessing, Esau, Isaac, Curse, Spoken Word  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Nazarene

The Basis Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 3, 2012

THE BASIS OF ACCEPTANCE Oprah Winfrey said, “I discovered I didn’t feel worthy of love unless I was accomplishing something. I suddenly realized I have never felt I could be loved for just being.” Madonna said, “My drive in life is from this horrible fear of being mediocre. That’s always been ...read more

Scripture: Romans 15:7

Tags: Fear And Worry

Treat Each Other Like The Answer To A Prayer  PRO

Contributed by Dave Clark on Dec 11, 2012

TREAT EACH OTHER LIKE THE ANSWER TO A PRAYER I can still see one of the great provokers in my life. I met her on a work trip to Kentucky. Our youth group was working on a woman’s house, but it wasn’t very much fun. We hated where we were. Porches and front yards littered with old cars, sofas ...read more

Scripture: Luke 8:43-48, Acts 10:30-33

Tags: Prayer Of Faith

Denomination: Disciples Of Christ

Can You Hear The Cries Of Loneliness?

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Apr 3, 2013

CAN YOU HEAR THE CRIES OF LONELINESS? A Story from Max Lucado: In the summer of 1980 a story about an attractive girl who was young and successful stirred the US. The story broke the evening news with the headline; Judith Bucknell was dead -- it was number one hundred and six that year in the ...read more

Tags: Suffering Loneliness

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Satan Want's To Fill You With Sin

Contributed by Steve Kinnard on Feb 15, 2019

Deep Implanted Sin (Eph.:10-13) Illus. The enemy leader is in his command center discussing his battle strategy with those under his command. The enemy is very upset about the latest move by the rebellion forces. They have been attacking in vital areas. Never in this struggle has the rebellion ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 1:10-13

Tags: Sin, Deception

Denomination: Pentecostal

Unforgettable Bombs - All We Can Do Is Pray?

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Sep 30, 2019

Elmer Bendiner, a crewmember in a World War II B-17 bomber, the Tondalayo, was barraged by flak from Nazi antiaircraft guns. That was not unusual, but on this particular occasion, the gas tanks were hit. Later Elmer reflected on the miracle of a 20 mm shell piercing the fuel tank without touching ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:7-11, James 5:15, Psalm 34:15

Tags: Prayer, Power In Prayer, Intersession, Watchman Prayer

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Symbols Of The Bible In Scripture

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jan 4, 2021

The Bible identifies itself through several clear metaphors and similes. These symbols serve the purpose of helping us understand what the Bible is and what it can do in our lives. Let’s examine of a few of those symbols today. 1. A Mirror - James 1:23-25 - As a mirror the Word of God perfectly ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Timothy 4:1-3, 2 Peter 1:21

Tags: Bible, Scripture, Word Of God, Sword Of The Spirit, Symbols  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Death Makes People Angry

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 7, 2009

DEATH MAKES PEOPLE ANGRY Back in September of 2004, Casey Neistat of New York City discovered that the battery in his first-generation 5 GB iPod could no longer hold a charge for more than an hour. So he called Apple. Unfortunately for him, Apple basically advised him to buy a new iPod (their ...read more

Tags: Death

Forgiveness On A Kid's First Job

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 9, 2009

FORGIVENESS ON A KID’S FIRST JOB Forgiveness was the most important lesson best-selling author Tony Hillerman learned as a kid on his first job. His story goes... "I was 14 when Mr. Ingram knocked on our farmhouse door in Sacred Heart, Oklahoma (pop. 38). The old sharecropper lived about a mile ...read more

Scripture: Luke 6:27-36

Tags: Forgiveness For Others

I Didn't Get An Allowance When I Was In High ...

Contributed by Johnny Wilson on May 21, 2009

I didn’t get an allowance when I was in high school and any kind of paying work was few and far between. My parents expected me to come to them when I needed money for lunch money, class rings, yearbooks, books, gas money, dates, or anything. Instead of being thankful that they wanted to give me ...read more

Tags: Prayer Supplication, God Answers Prayer

Denomination: *other

A Forever Family

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 10, 2009

A FOREVER FAMILY Author Keith Miller tells of an outgoing 40-year-old woman who was part of a sharing group he led. Here is her story: "When I was a tiny little girl, my parents died and I was put in an orphanage. I was not pretty at all and no one seemed to want me. But I longed to be adopted ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 1:3-14

Tags: Adoption

Missionary Encounters ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 19, 2009

Missionary Encounters Ants Steven Cook tells of reading an account of a missionary from India: "The Lord must have desired to teach me something through the "ants" because He allowed me to come in contact with enough of them! The encyclopedia says there are more ants than any other insect. It seems ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 6:1-11

Tags: Missions

Give-Away Christmas  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 19, 2009

GIVE-AWAY CHRISTMAS Richard Myers tells the story of being a reservist and being called back to active duty in Fort Monmouth, NJ, canceling his Christmas plans with his family in IN. Feeling low, he turned on the radio and heard an appeal from the Post Office for volunteers to answer letters sent ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 53:1-12

Tags: Christmas