In Sermon Illustrations: "Long Sermon"

I Know A Family That Is Very Wealthy And Well On ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 8, 2004

I know a family that is very wealthy and well on its way toward embracing the principles that have just been laid out. This is a Roman Catholic family that has inherited a vast fortune. These people live just outside a Midwestern city and, as you might expect, make their home on a large estate ...read more

Perhaps One Of The Most Poignant Stories Of A ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 8, 2004

Perhaps one of the most poignant stories of a rich person’s sacrificial giving gone awry is found in the account of the life of the great Russian novelist, Leo Tolstoy. In his attempt to live out the lifestyle he believed that Jesus prescribed, this extremely wealthy man sold his vast farmlands ...read more

And He Was Changed  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 11, 2004

AND HE WAS CHANGED In 1918, a notorious criminal named Tokichi Ichii was sentenced to hang. While in prison in Tokyo, he was sent a New Testament by two missionaries, Miss West and Miss McDonald. After a visit from Miss West, he began to read the story of Jesus’ and crucifixion. When he reached ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:1-23

Tags: Parable Sower And Seed

What Kind Of Soil Will The Word Find?  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 11, 2004

WHAT KIND OF SOIL WILL THE WORD FIND? The following story speaks about the kind of soil the Word of God might find. Which woman would you be? Two women were hired by a man to make custom-tailored dresses for his clothing store. They were told that not only would they be paid a flat hourly wage ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:1-23

Tags: Parable Sower And Seed

The Strangle-Hold Of Wealth  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 11, 2004

THE STRANGLE-HOLD OF WEALTH There was an article in the Wednesday, June 26, 2002 issue of the Colorado Springs Gazette by Michelle Singletary titled “How Much is Enough in the Pursuit of Money?” She began by writing about Karen Hughes, counselor to President Bush, who decided to leave the White ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:1-23

Tags: Parable Sower And Seed

A Little More  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 11, 2004

A LITTLE MORE An interesting article appeared in the Wall Street Journal. It was an interview of six top executives, all of them making six-figure salaries. That means that they made somewhere between $100,000 and $1 million a year. Now you are probably thinking , “If I made even $100,000 a ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:1-23

Tags: Parable Sower And Seed

Just A Little Silver  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 11, 2004

JUST A LITTLE SILVER There’s an old fable about a miserable rich man who went to visit a rabbi. The rabbi took the rich man by the hand and led him to a window. "Look out there," he said. The rich man looked into the street. "What do you see?" asked the rabbi. "I see men, women, and children," ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:1-23

Tags: Parable Sower And Seed

Planting A Donut  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 11, 2004

PLANTING A DONUT When Watching the Krispy Kreme Donut machine, or as I like to call it the “Dream Machine,” I noticed something that made me very upset. At the end of the conveyer they were throwing away a bunch of the donuts. Let me describe the machine. First there is the dough plopper that ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:1-23, Matthew 13:1-23

Tags: Parable Sower And Seed

A Cow Gets Lost  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 11, 2004

A COW GETS LOST Mike Yaconelli writes in The Wittenburg Door: I live in a small, rural community. There are lots of cattle ranches around here, and every once in a while a cow wanders off and gets lost.... Ask a rancher how a cow gets lost, and chances are he will reply, “Well, the cow starts ...read more

Scripture: Luke 8:4-15

Tags: Parable Lost Sheep

In Order Of Importance  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 11, 2004

IN ORDER OF IMPORTANCE After months of working overtime as a financial analyst for a large corporation, I returned home one night at 12:30. As I crawled into bed, my wife awoke. "You’ve got to alphabetize," she commented. "What do you mean?" I ...read more

Scripture: Luke 8:4-15

Tags: Parable Sower And Seed, Idiot, Dumb, Come

Too Afraid To Plant  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 11, 2004

TOO AFRAID TO PLANT A Georgia farmer, ragged and barefooted, was standing on the steps of his tumbledown shack. A stranger stopped for a drink of water and just to pass the time of day he asked: "How is your cotton coming along?" he asked. "Ain’t got none," replied the farmer. "Did you plant ...read more

Scripture: Luke 8:4-15

Tags: Parable Sower And Seed

The Four Soils: A Physical Illustration  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 11, 2004

THE FOUR SOILS: A PHYSICAL ILLUSTRATION (The following physical illustration is taken from “Heno Head’s Simple Science Object Talks.” If you decide use it, take note that you need to carefully measure out how much baking soda you use, and how much vinegar you place in each jar. Since we have ...read more

Scripture: Luke 8:4-15

Tags: Parable Sower And Seed

Just A Mite Confused  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 11, 2004

JUST A MITE CONFUSED Daniel Boone explored the great wilderness of Tennessee and Kentucky. It was Boone who marked the wilderness road that brought settlers into the new land. He often wandered over vast areas of forest, living off the land and dodging arrows. Once he was asked if he had ever bee ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:1-32

Tags: Parable Lost Sheep, Evangelism The Lost

That's When The Angels Rejoice  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 11, 2004

THAT’S WHEN THE ANGELS REJOICE There’s a gospel song entitled, “That’s When The Angels Rejoice” written by Larry Bryant: When the Model T first hit the street, It didn’t bring all heaven to its feet. And when the first computer was born, They didn’t blow Old Gabriel’s horn. There’s only one thing ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:1-32, Luke 15:1-31

Tags: Evangelism The Lost, Parable Prodigal Son, Promises Of God

Looking For The Lost  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 11, 2004

LOOKING FOR THE LOST The boss of a big company needed to call one of his employees about an urgent problem with one of the main computers. He dialed the employee’s home telephone number and was greeted with a child’s whispered, "Hello?" Feeling put out at the inconvenience of having to talk to a ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:1-31, Luke 15:1-31, Luke 15:1-31

Tags: Parable Lost Sheep, Evangelism The Lost

Lost In America  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 11, 2004

LOST IN AMERICA According to the North American Mission Board Research Division, there are 192 million lost people in America today and that number is growing by almost 2 million ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:1-31, Luke 15:1-15

Tags: Evangelism Urgency, Parable Lost Sheep

Finding Detroit  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 11, 2004

FINDING DETROIT Mary Brumbaugh’s husband, an airline pilot, often has difficulty locating items around the house. One day he asked Mary where the salt was. Annoyed, she responded, "How on earth can you find Detroit at night in a blizzard, but you can’t find the salt in your own kitchen?" "Well, ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:1-31

Tags: Parable Lost Coin, Evangelism The Lost

God Is Seeking Me Out  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 11, 2004

GOD IS SEEKING ME OUT Nikki was a Jewess. Born of Jewish parents and raised in the Temple, she had never wanted anything to do with the church. But just because her friend Dana had invited her, she agreed to attend go - just this once. The next week she came back. And the next week, and the next. ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:1-31

Tags: Evangelism The Lost, Parable Prodigal Son, Promises Of God

The Youth Leader Had Taken Their Combined Group ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 16, 2004

The Youth Leader had taken their combined group camping. It had been fun making preparation and deciding on where to go. But now the first day of camping was over and it was time to sat around the almost dead campfire with only the glow of the last dying branches they had burned. The chaperons ...read more

Six Weeks Before He Died, A Reporter Asked Elvis ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 24, 2004

Six weeks before he died, a reporter asked Elvis Presley, "Elvis, when you first started playing music, you said you wanted to be rich, famous and ...read more