In Sermon Illustrations: "Living Stone"

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

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 Garris Hudson 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

Two Brothers Were Convicted Of Stealing Sheep...

Contributed by Davon Huss on Oct 9, 2015

Two brothers were convicted of stealing sheep many years ago in England. In accordance with the punishment of those days, they were branded in the forehead with the letters “ST” for sheep thief. One brother, unable to bear the stigma, fled to a foreign country where he died full of bitterness and ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 1:1

Tags: Holiness, Saint, Good Reputation

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

One Of The Greatest Theologians That Ever Liv...

Contributed by Lalachan Abraham on Dec 24, 2015

One of the greatest theologians that ever lived, Karl Barth, was asked to be a guest lecturer at the University of Chicago Divinity School. At the end of a captivating closing lecture, the president of the seminary announced that Dr. Barth was not well and was quite tired, and though he thought ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16-17

Tags: Christmas Love, God's Love For Us

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Before You Can Know God's Will....

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jul 7, 2016

BEFORE YOU CAN KNOW GOD’S WILL.... When we are asked about knowing the will of God, we usually hurry to Romans 12:1-2 and give info about the "perfect will of God." But we may be missing something if that is the case. The New Testament was originally written in letters, not in chapter formats. ...read more

Tags: God's Will, Surrender, The Glory Of God

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

God Gives Us What We Need

Contributed by Tim Smith on Aug 13, 2017

Dana Chau tells the story about a missionary in Africa who had poor health and depended on goat milk for his source of vitamin. One day, the tribal leader came to visit the missionary. After a few minutes, it was obvious that the tribal leader was interested in the goat. The missionary decided to ...read more

Scripture: Titus 3:4

Tags: Provision, Giving

Denomination: Methodist

Ten Years Of Fact Checking

Contributed by Jim Butcher on Apr 11, 2018

It’s an old stereotype that politicians are likely to “massage the truth” a little bit. That’s probably as generous as that can be said. With that in mind, I was intrigued recently when PolitiFact celebrated their tenth anniversary. PolitiFact is a non-partisan, independent organization that ...read more

Tags: Bible, Truth

Denomination: Baptist

Foot Of The Cross

Contributed by Steve Kinnard on Feb 15, 2019

AT THE CROSS Many years ago, I got a job at a paper mill. There was an older man working there who was a very dedicate Christian. My first few weeks there they had me working with him, He was the greatest guy I’d ever known. He asks me if I was a Christian, I replied that I was. One day I let words ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:18-25

Tags: Commitment, Shame

Denomination: Pentecostal

Chuck Colson Tells This Amazing Story: "Nbc Has ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Chuck Colson tells this amazing story: “NBC has been running a gripping series on the emergency military triage facilities in Iraq. Last Thursday, NBC showed wounded Iraqi insurgents [terrorists] being brought to Camp Speicher near Tikrit. Two of them had been caught placing an explosive device on ...read more

Tags: Faith

A Man Was Irritated By His Wife's Refusal To ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

A man was irritated by his wife’s refusal to admit her hearing problem. Speaking with his doctor one day he asked, “How can I get my wife to admit that she needs a hearing aid?” “I’ll tell you what you need to do,” his doctor replied. When you get home peek your head through the door and ask, ...read more

Tags: Marriage Struggle