In Sermon Illustrations: "Living In Darkness"

The Day You Enlisted

Contributed by Andy Grossman on Jun 7, 2011

THE DAY YOU ENLISTED I remember when I enlisted in the U.S. Army. It was at the height of the Viet Nam War. The year was 1967. I had a draft number and was probably going to be drafted – so I went down to the army recruiter and enlisted for three years. I signed on the dotted line, and before ...read more

Tags: Discipleship

Denomination: Holiness

When Muller Prayed

Contributed by Dennis Davidson on Jul 10, 2011

WHEN MULLER PRAYED During GEORGE MULLER'S life, he received more than 1,000,000 pounds from the Lord, without advertising - every penny came as an answered prayer. The following story is told by the captain of a ship on which he was traveling. "We had George Muller of Bristol, England on board," ...read more

Tags: Prayer Of Faith

Denomination: Baptist

Who Is This Guy?

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Aug 29, 2011

WHO IS THIS GUY? Chuck Colson relates this interesting story in his book How Then Should We Live?: "In William Steig's Yellow & Pink, a delightfully whimsical picture book for children, two wooden figures wake up to find themselves lying on an old newspaper in the hot sun. One figure is painted ...read more

Tags: Creation

Denomination: Methodist

The Lukewarm Sheep  PRO

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Aug 29, 2011

THE LUKEWARM SHEEP Now, for the sake of my illustration, I want to break a flock of sheep down into 3 groups. 1. The first group of sheep had DECIDED to look to Shepherd & follow Him wherever He leads. These are the "Good sheep" who follow the "Good Shepherd. Jesus said: "My sheep hear my voice, ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 3:14-22, John 10:4, John 15:1-11

Tags: Parable Lost Sheep

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

What If There Was No Christmas?

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Jan 5, 2012

WHAT IF THERE WAS NO CHRISTMAS? Lets ponder the what if - say- the antichrist powers would have defeated Christ at birth and therefore eliminated Christianity? what would have been lost? i. There would be no Christmas joy ii. There would be no kids smiles iii. There would be no Merry Christmas ...read more

Tags: Christmas Eve

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Repentance Is Not A One-Time Event

Contributed by Tim Smith on Feb 19, 2012

REPENTANCE IS NOT A ONE-TIME EVENT Doug Tegner tells the story of attending a one-day leadership retreat called to deal with his church's current crisis. Redwood Chapel was founded in 1962 and has since hosted the Bay Area Sunday School convention (BASS), had strong music programs, planted vibrant ...read more

Tags: Repentance

Denomination: Methodist

A Timely Testimony

Contributed by Tim Hinrichs on Feb 23, 2012

A TIMELY TESTIMONY Jim Cymbala tells an amazing story of one Sunday in his church: (Fresh Faith pp. 78-82) During the choir anthem, Pastor Jim was touched by the words of one of the young men who was featured as a soloist during the song. As the song concluded, Pastor Jim was strongly prompted ...read more

Tags: Testimonies About Jesus

Denomination: Lutheran

The Unending Wish

Contributed by Tim White on Mar 5, 2012

THE UNENDING WISH When I was a boy, my dad asked me if I could have one wish be granted, what would it be? We played that game as a family, and every time my brother or one of my sisters thought of a better wish than I thought about, I would change my wish. Then my dad unplugged all the fun by ...read more

Tags: Wisdom

Denomination: Baptist

Lottery's Biggest Losers

Contributed by Aaron Mishoe on Apr 3, 2012

LOTTERY'S BIGGEST LOSERS Winning the lottery isn’t a guaranteed ticket to the good life, as these previous winners can attest: --Jack Whittaker: This West Virginia businessman won $315 million in the Powerball lottery in 2002, the largest jackpot ever from a single ticket in American history at ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 13:11

Tags: Money

Denomination: Holiness

Thoughts On The Church

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Jun 20, 2012

THOUGHTS ON THE CHURCH Here are some thoughts on The Church from a few 30 on down in age, individuals from the book "The Relevant Church": Quotes: Tyler Watts, "I think I disconnect from the Gospel of Jesus Christ when I'm not involved in close relationships with other believers." Philip Evans, ...read more

Tags: Church General

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Story Of George Beverly Shea

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 17, 2012

THE STORY OF GEORGE BEVERLY SHEA George Beverly Shea was a young man in the late 1920s aspiring to become a well-known singer. He entered Houghton College in New York in 1928 to get some good music training, but family financial problems caused him to leave after only one year. He found a job as a ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 2:15-17

Tags: Commitment To Christ

Perspective On ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 24, 2012

PERSPECTIVE ON WORRY When my daughter Abigail was 2 or so she came down with what is now known as Stevens-Johnson Syndrome. Basically, a person’s entire body gets covered in cold sores. The end result is skin scars, loss of vision, and even death. She could not be touched. She was in constant ...read more

Scripture: Luke 12:13-34

Tags: Worry

Kids Have A Lot Of Questions. The ...

Contributed by Mark Thometz on Aug 27, 2012

Kids have a lot of questions. The “why” questions I've found is most popular. Back in Boise I work for the YMCA as an after school child care worker. Needless to say, when it's you and 2 other adults with 35+ kids a lot of “why” questions come up. “Why can't we do that?...well why? Why!?” This last ...read more

Tags: Curiosity

Denomination: Christian Church

The Witch Of Wall ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 13, 2012

THE WITCH OF WALL STREET Hetty Green, nicknamed "The Witch of Wall Street" (November 21, 1834 – July 3, 1916), was an American businesswoman, known for her frugality during the Gilded Age, as well as for being the first American woman to make a substantial impact on Wall Street. She was born ...read more

Scripture: James 5:1-6

Tags: Money, Greed

God, Please Save My Son

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 20, 2012

"GOD, PLEASE SAVE MY SON." Imagine what went through Moses’ mother’s heart when she turned her just weaned child over to Pharaoh’s daughter. Pharaoh’s daughter was a stranger, a foreigner, living in an anti-Semitic home, whose father was pursuing genocide, trying to wipe out the Hebrew race. ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 2:1-10

Tags: Prayer Answered

Henri Dunant, Founder Of The Red Cross  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 20, 2012

HENRI DUNANT, FOUNDER OF THE RED CROSS Henri Dunant was a wealthy 19th century Swiss banker when the Swiss government sent him to Paris to work on a business deal with Napoleon. When he got to Paris, they told him that Napoleon was off fighting a war against the Austrians in Solferino, Italy. So ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 14:13-14

Tags: Compassion

Praying The Armor Of God

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Aug 12, 2019

PRAYING THE ARMOR OF GOD This is a prayer I shared with our congregation after teaching a series on Spiritual Warfare based upon an exposition of Ephesians 6:10-18. "Good morning, Lord. It’s going to be a great day because I am preparing to win spiritual battles for Your glory and ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-18

Tags: Spiritual Warfare, Prayer

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Do You Know How To Use The Sword Of The Spirit?

Contributed by Doug Fannon on Oct 26, 2020

Many years ago when I was in Army basic training, I spent many hours on the rifle range. Not just an afternoon on the range like many of you who experience Air Force Basic Training. I spent quite literally two-thirds of my training time on the rifle range. I was issued an M-16 assault rifle for ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:17, 2 Timothy 2:15

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

Denomination: Baptist

Bee The Body Of Christ

Contributed by Dr. Bradford Reaves on Jan 14, 2022

My dad has bees. Today I went to his house and he showed me all of the honey he had gotten from the hives. He took the lid off of a 5 gallon bucket full of honey and on top of the honey there were 3 little bees, struggling. They were covered in sticky honey and drowning. I asked him if we could ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:27, Galatians 6:2

Tags: Caring, Bees, Love, Church, Family, Body Of Christ, Helping  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Brethren

The Greatest Building Disaster In History

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Apr 2, 2022

In 1174, the Italian architect Bonnano Pisano began work on what would become his most famous project: a separately standing eight-story bell tower in the city of Pisa. There was just one “little” problem: builders quickly discovered that the soil was much softer than they had anticipated, and the ...read more

Tags: Foundations, Eternity, Obedience, Rock, Sand, Word Of God, Parables  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational