In Sermon Illustrations: "Living In Darkness"

Gollum And Sin

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Jul 19, 2011

GOLLUM AND SIN Tolkien’s character - Gollum. What a great name. Just from the sound of it, you can tell that it is attached to a ne'er-do-well. Gollum is the slimiest character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy. If you are a true-blue fan of the books, you know that originally this ...read more

Tags: Sin General

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

You Can Make Him Drink

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 12, 2011

YOU CAN MAKE HIM DRINK Howard Hendricks, one of my professors at Dallas Theological Seminary, sometimes talked about his days when he was a student at the same seminary. In one of those stories, he tells about the time he was invited to preach in west Texas. "You've all heard of Nowhere? Well," ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 4:1-5

Tags: Evangelism How To

Not If Jesus Is Like Dad  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 21, 2011

NOT IF JESUS IS LIKE DAD Some months ago I heard a touching story about a humble, consecrated pastor whose young son had become very ill. After the boy had undergone an exhaustive series of tests, the father was told the shocking news that his son had a terminal illness. The youngster had accepted ...read more

Scripture: John 14:1-3

Tags: Father's Day

The Signet Ring

Contributed by Antonio Silveira on Sep 4, 2011

THE SIGNET RING "...I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you,' declares the LORD Almighty" (Haggai 2:23). We don't often hear about signet rings anymore; but in Bible times, they were very significant. f In other words, you knew something was from the king because it was marked ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 40:31

Tags: Attitude General

Denomination: Baptist

Sometimes We Must Start Over

Contributed by Brad Henry on Oct 18, 2011

SOMETIMES WE MUST START OVER When Jonah was in the belly of the fish he didn't know he was going to Nineveh. He thought his life was over. So he tried to make things right with God. Jonah 2:8 "Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs." So what does this mean? ...read more

Tags: Obedience

Childhood Reminders

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Nov 7, 2011

CHILDHOOD REMINDERS When I first came to Wichita Falls, Joe and Eloise were living over on Hursh, and I remember going to call on them one day. The front door cradled a lovely stained-glass window. When I asked about it, Joe said, "It’s from the old church in Vernon." Every time he entered and ...read more

Tags: Growth In Christ

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Travelers Vs. Tourists

Contributed by Tim Hinrichs on Mar 29, 2012

TRAVELERS VS. TOURISTS Canadian Pastor Mark Buchanan in his book "Your Church is Too Safe" points out the radical difference between a traveler and a tourist. "A traveler literally means 'one who travails.' He labors, he suffers, endures. A traveler -- travailer - ...immerses himself in a culture, ...read more

Tags: Discipleship

Denomination: Lutheran

Running With A Stopwatch

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 15, 2012

RUNNING WITH A STOPWATCH Long-distance runner Paavo Nurmi of Finland was an Olympic champion, winning twelve medals (nine of them gold) in the 1920, 1924, and 1928 Games. Nurmi was famous not only for his achievements, but also for running with a stopwatch in his hand to check his performance. ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 12:1-13

Tags: Disciplines General

God, You're In My Way.  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 28, 2012

"GOD, YOU'RE IN MY WAY." A California pastor, Kyle Idleman, talks about his last move in his book, Not a Fan. In that move, he saved the heaviest piece of furniture for last -- the desk from his office. And as he was pushing and pulling the desk with all his might, his four-year-old son came over ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:6-8, Philippians 4:4-7

Tags: Anxiety

Over-Running The Temple

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 11, 2012

OVER-RUNNING THE TEMPLE Ta Prohm is the modern name of a temple at Angkor, Siem Reap Province, Cambodia, built in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Ta Prohm has been left in much the same condition in which it was found: the photogenic and atmospheric ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 3:1-14

Tags: Sin Wages Of

Declaration Of Dependence  PRO

Contributed by Larry Turner on Jul 15, 2012

DECLARATION OF DEPENDENCE Today I make this day my Dependence Day by making this declaration; Declaration of Dependence "When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for an individual to dissolve the sinful bond which has connected them to a sinful ruler; they should declare the ...read more

Tags: Christian Liberty

Denomination: Foursquare

Erased

Contributed by Tim Hinrichs on Jul 25, 2012

ERASED When we lived in Poland, I walked through one of the cemeteries in one of the cities. And as I was looking at the stones I was surprised to see many of the smooth stones scarred with a roughness right in the middle. Later I found out that the names had been gouged out because they were ...read more

Tags: Sin Separates From God

Denomination: Lutheran

Won't Someone Tell Me About Jesus?

Contributed by Gene Gregory on Aug 14, 2012

WON'T SOMEONE TELL ME ABOUT JESUS? Bob Harrington tells of a man who came to his pastor one day and asked if he remembered hearing about the man who had died down at the plant that week? He said the man had had steel spilt on him and was dying there on the plant floor. The man was calling out, ...read more

Tags: Evangelism Urgency

Denomination: Baptist

A Surprise Ending For A Couple Who Met ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 16, 2012

A SURPRISE ENDING FOR A COUPLE WHO MET ON-LINE A couple from Zenica, Central Bosnia, are divorcing after accusing each other of being unfaithful following an online affair. “They met online, where he called himself “Prince of Joy,” and she called herself “Sweetie.” Their real names were Sana and ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:22-33

Tags: Marriage Faithfulness

We Should Be Striving On A Daily Basis To Worship ...

Contributed by Mark Thometz on Aug 27, 2012

We should be striving on a daily basis to worship God in new, loving and exciting ways. It's very easy to become comfortable in our worship. We have that thing on Sunday and sometimes Wednesday and we may even dust off our Bible every now and then to read it. What about feeding the hungry as ...read more

Tags: Evangelism How To

Denomination: Christian Church

Be Thankful

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Nov 11, 2012

BE THANKFUL Back in 1988, a Polish railway worker named Jan Grzebski was hit by a train. He lived ... but only barely. For the next 19 years (until the year 2007), Grzebski was in a coma. He awoke in 2007 to a whole new world. Nineteen years earlier, Poland was a communist state. Grzebski noted ...read more

Tags: Thanksgiving Holiday

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

A Story To Tell

Contributed by Bobby Jenkins on Feb 2, 2013

A STORY TO TELL (A poem to honor our military veterans ) By Pastor Bobby W. Jenkins Jr. A story to tell, one we can’t fully understand One of sacrifice and bravery of so many men A story to tell of a perilous fight That cost so many their lives and gathered such might A story to tell of the ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 33:12

Tags: Military, America, Soldier, Veterans, Holidays Civic  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Daddy, What Does It Feel Like To Die?  PRO

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 19, 2014

Years ago I heard the compelling story of a young pastor whose son was very sick and not expected to live long. Night after night the pastor and his wife would put their boy to bed and say a prayer hoping for a miracle. One evening, the boy looked at his father and said, "Daddy, what does it feel ...read more

Scripture: John 14:1-6, 2 Timothy 3:1-9

Tags: Death, Children, Heaven, Grief

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Pray With Me: An Intercession Story

Contributed by Davon Huss on May 31, 2014

In his book Stories for the Journey, William White tells of a European seminary professor and his wife, Hans and Enid. During WW2 they escaped to America, where Hans began teaching in a seminary. Students loved this Bible teacher, and they enjoyed observing the tender love that Hans and Enid ...read more

Scripture: John 16:20-22

Tags: Grief, Prayer Partner, Intercessory Prayer

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Chronic Frustrations

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Nov 18, 2014

CHRONIC FRUSTRATION Have you heard the story of a majestic eagle that lived in the safety of the high cliffs, and often flew to great lofty heights. He could dive at great speeds. HE OFTEN FELT HE WAS INVINCIBLE, NOTHING COULD TAKE HIM DOWN. A hunter studied the eagle day after day, and prepared ...read more

Scripture: Ezra 4:5

Tags: Hurting Self, No Weapon

Denomination: Assembly Of God