In Sermon Illustrations: "Living With Sin"

The Gossipping Preacher

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Dec 22, 2022

Three preachers from the same small town in Arkansas were out fishing together. One of the pastors said, "You know, brothers, I feel safe here with you guys. I think it might be a good time and a good place for each one of us to confess our sins to each other privately and confidentially, ...read more

Tags: Tongue, Gossip, Division, Preachers

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Did Jesus Really Die On The Cross?

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Mar 25, 2024

One lady sent in a letter to a religious question and answer forum. "Dear Sirs, Our preacher said on Easter, that Jesus just swooned on the cross and that the disciples nursed Him back to health because he just fainted on Good Friday. He didn't really die and he wasn't really raised ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:8, 1 John 2:1-2

Tags: Resurrection, Son Of Man, Cross, Son Of God, Empty Grave, Easter, Crucifixion  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[003] Message From A Poem – A Simple Farmer’s Ditty

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on May 13, 2024

[003] MESSAGE FROM A POEM – A SIMPLE FARMER’S DITTY You will note that each line of the poem ends with the “ay” rhyme. The following poem is simple in structure but an attempt to relate to the simplicity of the land. I used to spend my holidays as an early teenager on the land with a farming ...read more

Scripture: Leviticus 26:23-25, Ezekiel 14:13

Tags: God Keeps Us, Agrarian Society, Nature, Poem, Farming, Farmers, A Ditty  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Jesus Our (Lawyer) Advocate

Contributed by Roger Hasselquist on Jun 10, 2024

I would like for you to picture a scene. There is a court room. The judge is seated behind the bench. The jury is in place. There are people watching the proceedings. There is someone on trial sitting before the judge. And that person is you! The charge against you is that you are a ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 2:1-2

Tags: Forgiveness, Advocate, Judgment Seat, Lawyer, Court Room  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Dostoevsky And The Firing Squad  PRO

Contributed by David Simmons on Feb 22, 2002

DOSTOEVSKY AND THE FIRING SQUAD The famous Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky told the story of the time he was arrested by the czar and sentenced to die. The czar, though, liked to play cruel psychological tricks on the people who rebelled against him by blindfolding them and standing them in ...read more

Scripture: Romans 6:23

Tags: Fulfillment, Death Nearness

Denomination: Baptist

A Perfect Salvation—communion Meditation  PRO

Contributed by Robert Tatum on Sep 4, 2002

A PERFECT SALVATION-COMMUNION MEDITATION Near Mobile, Alabama there was a railroad bridge that spanned a big bayou. The date was September 22, 1993. It was a foggy morning just before daybreak when a tugboat accidentally pushed a barge into the bayou. The drifting barge slammed into the bridge. ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 1:1-10

Tags: Forgiveness In Jesus, Christian Disciplines, Unconditional Love

Denomination: Baptist

Moral Choices: New Barna Research Finds Many ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

Moral Choices: New Barna research finds many adults attitudes conflict with the moral positions of their faith. On abortion, 41% of all adults stated that it should be legal in all or almost all circumstances and 55% said it should not be legal under any circumstances or only in a few special ...read more

Tags: Christian Values

Object Lesson: Holy Spirit  PRO

Contributed by Johnny Wilson on May 25, 2009

OBJECT LESSON: HOLY SPIRIT I have a children's sermon to try to explain the Holy Spirit. It isn't original to me or to the first person I heard use it, but I think it's powerful. I take an empty glove and tell the kids that it's a magic glove. I tell them it is amazing because it can pick things ...read more

Tags: Holy Spirit In Believers

Denomination: *other

De Dónde Viene El Carácter? — Where Character Comes From

Contributed by Major Gerardo Balmori on Mar 22, 2010

(English translation follows) ¿De dónde viene el carácter? ¿Cómo llega a nosotros? Recuerde la ilustración del hombre que comprando pollo rostizado, se dio cuenta que en vez del bote de pollo le dieron el bote de las ganancias del día. Su novia se quedó sorprendida cuando el decidió regresar el ...read more

Tags: Character

Denomination: Salvation Army

My Sister And Her Husband Pete Are On A Holiday ...

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Jun 4, 2010

My sister and her husband Pete are on a holiday working their way through OUTBACK PLACES in Australia. Unfortunately they can't travel on the dirt roads at the moment because of an unexpected rainy season. They have to stick to the highways because if they get off the track they will sink in the ...read more

Tags: John The Baptist

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

I Began To Understand God's Omnipotent Power," ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

"I began to understand God’s omnipotent power," Struecker said. "He was orchestrating every single bullet that was fired that night. ... The peace that I had was not only for my own life, but for the lives of my soldiers. If any of them were to get shot, then that was part of God’s sovereign plan." ...read more

Tags: Death

Walking In The Confidence Of God  PRO

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

Walking in the Confidence of God Christians walk in confidence because they serve a "Providential God:" Christians serve a Lord whose plans and purposes come about. Psalms 33:4-11 says, "For the word of the LORD is right and true; He is faithful in all He does. The LORD loves righteousness ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 33:4-11

Tags: Confidence

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Kent Hughes, Who Pastored In Chicago, Tells ...

Contributed by Glenn Durham on Aug 13, 2008

Kent Hughes, who pastored in Chicago, tells something which happened to a dear friend. This lady was a missionary on furlough after a particularly difficult season of service. Now, for the first time since they had been missionaries, they had bought a place of their own to rest and recover. The ...read more

Tags: Mercy

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Evolution Is The Problem - And The Solution?

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Jul 19, 2023

Gov Pritzker (Illinois) gave the 2023 Commencement Address at North Eastern University "… Whenever we see someone who doesn't look like us, or sound like us, or act like us or love like us, or live like us - the first thought that crosses almost everyone's brain is rooted in either ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:1-3, Romans 3:23, Galatians 5:22-23, Psalm 139:14, Romans 7:21-25, Genesis 1:27, Genesis 3:17-19  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Evolution, Compassion, Salvation, Kindness, Education, Humanity, Fruit Of The Spirit  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Last Supper By Leonardo Da Vinci

Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Oct 21, 2025

Story: Leonardo da Vinci took seven years to paint his famous picture the "Last Supper". He used living people to depict the figures representing the Twelve Apostles and Christ. He started the fresco with Jesus Christ himself. It is reputed that he viewed hundreds and hundreds of ...read more

Scripture: Luke 18:9-14

Tags: Last Supper, Leonardo Da Vinci

Denomination: Anglican

The Resurrected Body Is Free From The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

The Resurrected Body is Free From the Restriction on Lifespan 42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; I read with interest Internet accounts on how long living creatures live. Let’s start with creepy crawlies. The ...read more

Tags: Easter Resurrection

The Purpose Of Life Is Not To Be Happy. It Is ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some ...read more

Tags: Christian Values, Ralph Waldo Emerson

There Is A Generation That Is Not Afraid To Lose ...

Contributed by Charles Wallis on Nov 25, 2008

“There is a generation that is not afraid to lose their lives for the lost.” Jason Upton, (“Nothing’s ...read more

Tags: Evangelism Urgency

Denomination: Pentecostal

The Gospel Of Grace?  PRO

Contributed by Andrew Chan on Aug 26, 2003

THE GOSPEL OF GRACE? Put bluntly: the American church today accepts grace in theory but denies it practice. We say we believe that the fundamental structure of reality is grace, not works – but our lives refute our faith. By and large, the gospel of grace is neither proclaimed, understood, nor ...read more

Tags: Grace, Church General

Denomination: Evangelical Free

Poem By Charles Wesley

Contributed by Bruce Rzengota on Dec 4, 2010

O that I might the power receive The simple life of faith to live, A stranger by the world unknown, To live, shut up with Christ alone! Jesus, my real Life Thou art, Inspire Thyself into my heart, And fill'd with purity divine I live, thro' ...read more

Tags: Holy Spirit In Believers

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance