In Sermon Illustrations: "Living Sacrifice"

God Is Absolute

Contributed by Tim White on Apr 4, 2013

GOD IS ABSOLUTE If we bought a new piano or a new organ and moved it into the sanctuary, we would need to tune it, or everything else, typically. The impression is that there are differences in how the instruments are tuned. If the new piano is tuned a little higher than the old equipment, then ...read more

Tags: Truth

Denomination: Baptist

He Told Me So

Contributed by C. Scott Ghan on Jun 3, 2013

"HE TOLD ME SO" If you have ever clung to a child near death you know the dramatic fork in the road. You either give in almost totally to despair, fear, hopelessness, knowing death is eminent, realizing no miracle cure is coming, you are fighting a losing battle. --Or...you believe there is a ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 55:11

Tags: Prayer Answered

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Atitudes

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Jan 6, 2016

YOU CHOOSE? YOUR CHOICES WILL CONTROL THE OUT GOING AND IN COMING 120 years ago there was a family moving from Georgetown to Johnstown. A new opportunity farming was before them. So they loaded up their covered wagon, hitched up the horses, said farewell and away they went. The journey from ...read more

Scripture: Job 2:9-10

Tags: Attitude, Choices

Denomination: Assembly Of God

God's Protection

Contributed by Don Berry-Graham on Mar 18, 2016

Nadin Khoury was thirteen years old, five foot two, and weighed, soaking wet, probably a hundred pounds. His attackers were teenagers, larger than Nadin, and outnumbered him seven to one. For thirty minutes they hit, kicked, and beat him. He never stood a chance. Khoury’s mom had recently moved the ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 17:1-15

Tags: Protection, Divine Protection, Daily Protection

Denomination: Baptist

Forgiveness - Emanuel Ame Church And Renee Napier Stories

Contributed by Kerry Haynes on Aug 19, 2018

Christians of all people should lead the way in forgiveness. And some do. On June 17, 2015, Dylann Roof entered a Bible study group at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Even though he was white, he received a warm welcome from the all-black congregation. When the group closed ...read more

Tags: Moving Forward, Anger, Second Chance, Releasing To God, Forgiveness  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

A Drop Or Two Of Bluing?

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Dec 25, 2019

How many of you remember bluing solution? Way back in the early to mid ‘60’s, Mom and Grandma would never finish a load of wash (laundry, if you prefer!) without adding some bluing when they did the whites. Now, I never understood why they did this but one of the two explained it kind of like this: ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 1:18, Isaiah 64:6, Psalm 51:7, 1 John 1:7

Tags: Forgiveness, Cleansing From Sin

Denomination: Baptist

We Are Not A Political Kingdom

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jan 15, 2020

Various groups of people expected the Messiah to come, but they did not anticipate His coming humbly and meekly. Yet those were the very attitudes that Jesus, the one whom John the Baptist had announced as the Messiah, was both teaching and practicing. The idea of a meek Messiah leading meek people ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:1-12

Tags: Humility, Prayer, Politics, Meekness, Righteousness, Beatitudes, Government, Brokenness, Sovereignty Of God  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Hold That Thought!

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Jan 23, 2020

One church where I served as pastor has a ping-pong table in the fellowship hall, and sometimes a younger member or two asked me to join them in a game. Now, I was old enough to be their grandfather but that doesn’t stop them from asking! I did appreciate the fact that these youngsters, aged around ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:8

Tags: Children, Thoughts, Fun And Games

Denomination: Baptist

A Lesson From A Pair Of Mildewed Shoes

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Mar 22, 2020

A number of years ago I received a three-year assignment to Okinawa, Japan, as part of my Air Force experience. Hardly anybody I knew had much knowledge of that part of the world, so we really had no idea what to expect. We were in for a number of surprises! We lived in a motel, basically, for a ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:33-34

Tags: Shoes, Life's Problems

Denomination: Baptist

At What Age Should A Pastor Retire?

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jun 3, 2020

AT WHAT AGE SHOULD A PASTOR RETIRE? TEN DIAGNOSTIC QUESTIONS There are a lot of Baby Boomer pastors and Christian leaders around. And it’s cliché, but they aren’t getting any younger. It’s a quiet question that many are asking, but they are asking it nonetheless: What age should I ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 4:7-8, Hebrews 12:1-3

Tags: Retirement, Aging, Pastors, Missionaries, Paul And Timothy, Baby Boomers  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

A Tribute To Fathers In The Bible

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Jun 9, 2020

Introduction: with the exception of Adam, who was created; and Jesus Himself, Who was born of the Virgin Mary, every man in the Bible had a father. That some were good and others were evil is clear, and it would be nearly impossible to list every father and son in the Bible. The Books of Chronicles ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:4, Romans 1:18-32

Tags: Father's Day, Fathers, Raising Children

Denomination: Baptist

What Will Follow You When You're Gone?

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Aug 17, 2020

You make a choice of which will one you leave behind to others - Blessings or Curses. Jonathan Edwards, was a Puritan Preacher in the 1700s. He was one of the most respected preachers in his day. He attended Yale at the age of thirteen and later went on to become the president of Princeton ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 23:1-6

Tags: Blessings, Curses, Generational Sins

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

What Does It Mean To Be Real?

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Aug 18, 2020

Excerpt from the Story of the Skin Horse “The Skin Horse had lived longer in the nursery than any of the others. He was so old that his brown coat was bald in patches and showed the seams underneath, and most of the hairs in his tail had been pulled out to string bead necklaces. He was wise, for ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:8, John 3:16

Tags: Love, Children, Marriage, Family, Relationships, Real, Unconditional Love  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Growing Through Pain

Contributed by Ed Sasnett on Oct 2, 2020

Paul Tournier, the famous Swiss physician and counselor, reported his surprise in his book Creative Suffering upon reading an article entitled “Orphans Lead the World.” The article appeared in a respected medical journal and surveyed the lives of 300 leaders who had an impact on world history. ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:14-27

Tags: Holy Spirit, Suffering

Denomination: Baptist

Unsung Heroes: He Helped David With The Sheep

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Nov 14, 2020

Text, 1 Samuel 17:20-21, KJV: 20And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the trench, as the host was going forth to the fight, and shouted for the battle. 21For Israel and the Philistines had put the ...read more

Scripture: 1 Samuel 17:20-21

Tags: David, Sheep, Shepherding

Denomination: Baptist

Psalm 119 - The Testimonies Of The Lord

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jan 4, 2021

Psalm 119 repeatedly refers to the testimonies of the Lord (Meditate on these uses [Ps 119:99] - Especially ask how does the psalmist respond to God's testimonies?) 2 How blessed are those who observe His testimonies, Who seek Him with all their heart. 14 I have rejoiced in the way of Your ...read more

Tags: Testimony, Lovingkindness, Faithfulness Of God, Sovereignty Of God

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Unsung Heroines-Naaman’s Maid

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Apr 30, 2022

Introduction: Sometimes children know more than we think they do. This “little maid” knew about Elisha the prophet, and how God performed miracles through him. We know nothing more about her than what’s mentioned in these verses but through her one recorded sentence, she brought hope to a hopeless ...read more

Scripture: 2 Kings 5:1-4

Tags: Naaman, Unsung Heroines, Maids, Leprosy

Denomination: Baptist

Unsung Heroines-Belshazzar's Grandmother; Daniel 5

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Jun 28, 2022

Introduction: My late uncle preached a sermon on Daniel 5 many years ago. He began by saying, “When the little shot gets about half shot, he really thinks he’s a big shot!” That was certainly true for Belshazzar, who had the honor (??) of being Babylon’s last king. In the context, Belshazzar had ...read more

Scripture: Daniel 5:10-12

Tags: Daniel, Belshazzar, Unsung Heroines, Queens

Denomination: Baptist

Unsung Heroines-The "sinful Woman" At Simon's House

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Aug 4, 2022

Introduction: We don’t know her name, or much of anything else about her, except for one incident where she’s featured. What she did, and to whom, qualifies her to be an unsung heroine! Text: Luke 7:36-39, KJV: 36 And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into ...read more

Scripture: Luke 7:36-50

Tags: Forgiveness, Parables, Unsung Heroines

Denomination: Baptist

An Epiphany On Generosity

Contributed by Todd Catteau on Jun 23, 2023

I recently drove my adult son to the airport for a trip he was taking with some friends. He lives in Arkansas but was flying out of DFW, so he drove to our home in Denison to spend a little time with us. While he was gone I drove his car a few times just to make sure it was running well. I guess ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 9:7, James 1:17

Tags: Generous, Steward, Giving, Stewardship, Give, Generosity, Selflessness  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ