In Sermon Illustrations: "Living God"

[062b]. A Message From A Poem – Does Suffering Cancel Out A God Of Love?

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Mar 14, 2025

[062B]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – DOES SUFFERING CANCEL OUT A GOD OF LOVE? THE POEM AS IT IS WILL NOT FIT IN THE ILLUSTRATION SPACE AVAILABLE. I HAVE SPLIT IT INTO THREE PARTS. THIS IS THE SECOND PART THE INTRODUCTION FOR THE POEM IS IN PART 1. PART 2 SECTION B - PART 1 (THE CHRISTIAN ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 45:6-7, John 3:16, Exodus 34:6-7

Tags: Hurt, Pain, Love, Compassion, Comfort, Suffering, Tragedy, God Of Comfort, God Of Love  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[062c]. A Message From A Poem – Does Suffering Cancel Out A God Of Love?

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Mar 14, 2025

[062C]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – DOES SUFFERING CANCEL OUT A GOD OF LOVE? THE POEM AS IT IS WILL NOT FIT IN THE ILLUSTRATION SPACE AVAILABLE. I HAVE HAD TO SPLIT IT INTO THREE PARTS. THIS IS THE THIRD PART. THE INTRODUCTION FOR THE POEM IS IN PART 1. PART 3 SECTION C - PART 1 (GOD ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 45:6-7, John 3:16, Exodus 34:6-7

Tags: Tragedy, God Of Comfort, God Of Love, Pain, Love, Christ, Compassion, Comfort, Suffering, Hurt  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Great Background On Psalm 37 - Having God's Peace In Horrible Times

Contributed by Rick Crandall on Sep 27, 2025

Background on Psalm 37 - How to Have God's Peace in Horrible Times Anyone who has read a good portion of God's Word knows that there are a lot of prayers provided for us in the Bible. The Dake Annotated Reference Bible lists 222 different prayers in the Bible: 176 prayers in the Old ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 37:1-11

Tags: Receive God's Righteousness, Cast Your Cares On The Lord, God's Righteousness, God's Rest, Hardships, Cares, God's Shelter, Horrible Times, Pain, Evil, Suffering, Trusting God, God's Peace, Rejoice In The Lord  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

A Little Boy Was Eagerly Looking Forward To The ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Hensley on Oct 18, 2000

A little boy was eagerly looking forward to the birthday party of a friend who lived only a few blocks away. When the day finally arrived, a blizzard made the sidewalks and roads nearly impassable. The lad’s father, sensing the danger, hesitated to let his son go. The youngster reacted tearfully. ...read more

Scripture: Luke 24:13-35

Tags: God's Provision, Philippians

Denomination: Baptist

Middle C

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Nov 22, 2010

MIDDLE C When Lloyd C. Douglas, author of The Robe and other novels, was a university student, he lived in a boarding house. Downstairs on the first floor was an elderly, retired music teacher who was infirm and unable to leave the apartment. Douglas said that every morning they had a ritual they ...read more

Tags: God Brings Hope

Denomination: Brethren

An Article In The Associated Press This Past ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

An article in the associated press this past week illustrates the concept of rejecting mediocrity. Coach Tubby Smith left Kentucky and is moving to become the coach of Minnesota. The article in the associated press read… “In Tubby Smith’s 10 seasons at Kentucky, the Wildcats never missed the NCAA ...read more

Tags: God Brings Purpose

Worldly Distraction  PRO

Contributed by Bobby Scobey on Nov 13, 2008

WORLDLY DISTRACTION A man bought a new hunting dog. Eager to see how he would perform, he took him out to track a bear. No sooner had they gotten into the woods than the dog picked up the trail. Suddenly he stopped, sniffed the ground, and headed in a new direction. He had caught the scent of a ...read more

Tags: God Brings Purpose

Denomination: Pentecostal

Sending A Teacher To A Dying Boy

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 23, 2008

SENDING A TEACHER TO A DYING BOY There was a school system in a large city that had a program that helped children in the hospital keep up with their homework. One day a teacher who was assigned to that program received a routine call asking her to visit a particular. She took the child’s name and ...read more

Tags: God Brings Hope

Never Have More Children Than You Have Car ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 10, 2006

1. Never have more children than you have car windows. 2. Never loan your car to someone to whom you have given birth. 3. Pick your friends carefully. A "friend" never goes on a diet when you are fat or tells you how lucky you are to have a husband who remembers Mother’s Day--when his gift is a ...read more

Tags: God Brings Purpose

I Recently Heard About A Doctor Who Seemed To ...  PRO

Contributed by Cameron Horsburgh on Feb 1, 2002

I recently heard about a doctor who seemed to have had a huge amount of success as a GP. Whilst he only had a small number of patients on his books, they all stayed in remarkable health. A journalist heard about this doctor, and decided to pay him a visit. Now this journalist, a man by the name of ...read more

Scripture: Luke 5:29-32, 2 Chronicles 7:14

Tags: God Brings Hope

Denomination: Holiness

A Stranger Came By The Other Day With An Offer ...  PRO

Contributed by Larry Brincefield on Aug 21, 2003

A stranger came by the other day with an offer that set me to thinking. He wanted to buy the old barn that sits out by the highway. I told him right off that he was crazy. He was a city type. You could tell by his clothes, his car, his hands, and the way he talked. He said he was driving by and saw ...read more

Tags: Fulfillment, God In The Hardships

Denomination: Nazarene

Pablo Picasso. Picasso Was The Spanish Cubist ...

Contributed by Philip Harrelson on Jan 13, 2005

Pablo Picasso. Picasso was the Spanish cubist artist who sketched, sculpted, and painted his way into prominence in the early twentieth century. On the rare occasion, he painted live portraits. One such instance was his painting of Gertrude Stein, one of America’s foremost authors of a bygone ...read more

Tags: Family, God's Omniscience

Denomination: Pentecostal

I Will Pay For My Own Sins  PRO

Contributed by Gene Gregory on Mar 8, 2004

I WILL PAY FOR MY OWN SINS For some time now, we have been hearing about Mel Gibson’s new movie, The Passion of the Christ, the biblical account of the last hours of Christ’s earthly life. Some claim it is too violent and graphic. Some claim it is anti-Semitic, though the producer filmed his ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 6:14, Ephesians 2:8-9

Tags: God's Forgiveness, Cross

Denomination: Baptist

How Deer Become Thirsty

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jan 30, 2020

There are 2 times when a deer develops tremendous thirst - one is when he is running from danger, the other is when he is facing an opponent in combat. When he is hunted, he will take to the river and stay submerged as long as he can hold his breath. He will then swim downstream in the middle so ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:1-12, Psalm 42:2

Tags: Psalms, Worship, Deer, Hungry For God, Longing For God, Thirsting For God  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

He Gives More Grace

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jan 4, 2021

"He gives more grace when the burdens grow greater. He sends more strength when the labors increase, To added affliction He addeth His mercy, To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace. When we have exhausted our store of endurance, When our strength has failed 'ere the day is half ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:5-6, Proverbs 3:5-6

Tags: Pain, Grace, Prayer, Suffering, Will Of God, God's Goodness, Love Of God  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

I Am Your Shield  PRO

Contributed by K. Edward Skidmore on Apr 3, 2007

"I am your shield" Genesis 15:8-16 This was exactly what Abram needed to hear. He KNEW what a Shield was. Remember that Abram had just returned from battle. He probably owed his own life to the strength of his Shield. The shield is what absorbs the shock of the spear and sword. It repels ...read more

Tags: Armour, Armour Of God

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

When Dr. Stephen Olford Was Pastor Of The ...

Contributed by Tony Klinedinst on Mar 16, 2009

ILLUS: When Dr. Stephen Olford was pastor of the Calvary Baptist Church in New York City he had the opportunity of leading his brother who had been an agnostic most of his life to the Lord, as he lay in the hospital desperately ill. One day Dr. Olford was called to come to the hospital quickly and ...read more

Tags: Sin Hurtful To God

Denomination: Baptist

Mother Hen Sacrifices Her Life To Protect Chicks ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 17, 2009

Mother Hen Sacrifices Her Life To Protect Chicks During Fire in Yellowstone National Park, National Geographic Article There was an article in National Geographic several years ago provided a penetrating picture of God’s wings. After a forest fire in Yellowstone National Park in the US, forest ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 91:1-16

Tags: Animals, God's Protection

A. He's Closer Than You Think. Gen. 1:1 "In ...

Contributed by Jeffrey Dillinger on May 26, 2007

A. He’s Closer Than You Think. Gen. 1:1 “In the beginning GOD!” That is a wow statement. God began us, created us. In the days of creation he waited until the last thing to create was mankind. God created Adam and Eve and it was like these two chairs right next to each other. But then Eve ...read more

Tags: God Brings Hope

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Marguerite Higgins Won A Pulitzer Prize For ...  PRO

Contributed by Melvin Newland on Nov 14, 2001

ILL. Marguerite Higgins won a Pulitzer prize for reporting what she heard from an old army sergeant in Korea during the Korean conflict. 15,000 of our soldiers had been dug in for several weeks, facing more than 100,000 communist soldiers on the other side of the valley. They had been ...read more

Tags: God In The Hardships, Endurance

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ