In Sermon Illustrations: "Long Suffering"

My Youngest Grandson Had A Birthday Party Not Too ...

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on May 25, 2010

My youngest grandson had a birthday party not too long back. It was a pirate party so all his mates came dressed in pirate gear - eye-patches, head scarves, etc. At the door we presented every pirate with a plastic blow-up sword, which looked good but caused no damage at all. They wielded their ...read more

Tags: Spiritual Warfare, War

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Hudson Taylor And True Friendship

Contributed by Rolando Delgado on Sep 22, 2010

HUDSON TAYLOR AND TRUE FRIENDSHIP (Translation follows) Hay una breve reflexión sobre esto en la vida de Hudson Taylor. Después de haber estado largo tiempo en China, lejos de su país y de su esposa, él vino a casa y su esposa lo fue a recibir al barco. Tomaron un transporte juntos, y, desde ...read more

Tags: Friendship General

Denomination: Pentecostal

The Atheists And The Pharisees

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Oct 9, 2010

THE ATHEISTS AND THE PHARISEES He was wide eyed but unable to speak properly. The nurses told me that he did not have long to live. Brian (not his real name) was experiencing spasms of pain and shortness of breath. He was groaning, and looked weak, drawn and afraid. I offered to pray for him. I ...read more

Tags: Atheism

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Listening To The Master's Voice  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 23, 2010

LISTENING TO THE MASTER'S VOICE One of the first exposes of the beliefs of our future ministers was made by Redbook magazine in August of 1961. The publishers hired one of the top pollsters in the nation to survey a full representation of our seminaries which are supposedly preparing men for ...read more

Scripture: James 1:22-25

Tags: Bible Truth

What Are Your Goals?

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Nov 19, 2010

WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS? Not long after I got out of seminary, I decided I needed more training. So, I applied for a pastoral residency position at one of the largest churches in our denomination. It was a church in Prairie Village, Kansas, just outside of Kansas City, Missouri. As it turns out, the ...read more

Tags: Goals

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Drinks Are On Me...?

Contributed by Warner Pidgeon on Jan 15, 2011

THE DRINKS ARE ON ME...? In the summer of 2010 I was hanging on every word of Steve Chalke as he preached at the New Wine Summer Conference. He was talking about Jesus being the one who transforms people and transforms situations; and he was calling the Church to once again become fully involved ...read more

Tags: Alcohol

Denomination: Anglican

Demolition Derby And The Surrender Stick

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2011

DEMOLITION DERBY AND THE SURRENDER STICK Lydia and I went to the Demolition Derby at the 4-H Fair this past week and had a blast. I loved watching drivers take aim at each other with the attempt to demolish or disable one another. We saw some great smash ups and did a lot of laughing. I don't know ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Common Bitterness

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Mar 11, 2011

COMMON BITTERNESS When I was in college, I worked as a youth director at a little church out in the country about an hour’s drive away. There were two families in that congregation that didn’t get along. When they came to worship, they would take up their positions on opposite sides of the room ...read more

Tags: Bitterness

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

We Don't Know Half Of It  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 15, 2011

WE DON'T KNOW HALF OF IT The famous explorer Marco Polo after completing his journeys went back to his home in Venice. When he got back to his home he began to describe some of the things he had seen. But his close friends thought he had gone mad. He told then about black stones that you could ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 21:1-27

Tags: Heaven

Capitalism Without Christianity  PRO

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Sep 5, 2011

CAPITALISM WITHOUT CHRISTIANITY Pure Capitalism--that exists without a Christian influence--can become an empty shell. When Christianity is taken out of the picture of Capitalism...greed and selfishness take over. Capitalism without Christianity can result in all kinds or evils. You can end up ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:13-16

Tags: Workplace

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

America's Spiritual Bankruptcy

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 8, 2011

AMERICA'S SPIRITUAL BANKRUPTCY America is incrementally and systematically rejecting God. America’s moral bankruptcy is symptomatic of its spiritual bankruptcy. For example: • In 1962 the Supreme Court ruled against prayer in our schools. In 1963, they outlawed Bible Readings. • In Alaska public ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 14:34

Tags: America

Sex And Corn Flakes

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Feb 22, 2012

SEX AND CORN FLAKES Les Parrot states in his book Crazy Good Sex: "No human longing is more powerful, more difficult to rein in, than sex. It has enough combustive force to incinerate wedding vows, family commitments, career goals, religious devotion, and anything else in its path" (page 17). So ...read more

Tags: Sexuality

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Falling In Love With His Word

Contributed by Tim Smith on Aug 13, 2017

The reason God gave us the Bible is that he wants us to know who he is. If you want to know God, read his Book, read His words. Our words reveal who we are. Wayne Hudson tells the story of Ben who had left the East Coast 8 years earlier to head out West in hopes of making his fortune. It was 1898. ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 1:16

Tags: Bible, Scripture, The Word, Bible Reading

Denomination: Methodist

The "Root” Of The Problem

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Apr 22, 2020

We used to live in a very nice house which had some live plants near the driveway. One of those plants in particular was a “volunteer elm” and we absolutely hated it. Sure enough, we saw that thing getting bigger—but we didn’t want that to happen. It was out of place! Somehow, I obtained a can of ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 12:15

Tags: Bitterness, Roots

Denomination: Baptist

The Flag And The Cross

Contributed by Davon Huss on Aug 1, 2020

Symbols evoke feelings of adoration or hatred. In this election year, the elephant and donkey mean different things to different people. Let's talk about a symbol that all Americans should be able to adore. In 1813 General Armistead commissioned Mary Pickersgill to make a huge flag that ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:18-24, Galatians 6:14, Colossians 2:15

Tags: Patriotic, Cross, Power Of God, United States, National Anthem, Flag Of United States  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Callous, Cold And Conniving Or Restored, Revived And Redeemed?

Contributed by Davon Huss on Jan 23, 2021

(Presented on weekend of Martin Luther King Jr. Day before the invitation hymn, hymn of decision) Unlike Jesus, David was not sinless on his way to the wilderness or in the wilderness but he is described as a man after God’s own heart. Something David did that was good is that he attended a ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:19

Tags: Prophetic Zeal, Culture, Racism, Civil Rights

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Twas The Night Before Jesus Came

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Nov 30, 2023

‘Twas the night before Jesus came and all through the house Not a creature was praying, not one in the house. Their Bibles were lain on the shelf without care In hopes that Jesus would not come there. The children were dressing to crawl into bed, Not once ever kneeling or bowing a head. And Mom in ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:1-12, Philippians 2:1-11, John 1:1-12

Tags: Christmas, Birth Of Christ, Book Of Life, Return Of Christ, Preachers, Poems, Jesus, Church, Children, Advent, Second Coming, Rapture  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Epiphany

Contributed by Richard L. Brown on Jan 11, 2025

When I was in High School, I had a teacher named Miss Mary Bartram. She taught English and Literature. One day she read a poem to us by Robert Frost, entitled “The Road Not Taken”. She read it with such commitment and passion that I believe she changed a lot of lives that day, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 2:1-12

Tags: Faith, Choice

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

[068]. A Message From A Poem – Established Now And Changed

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Mar 28, 2025

[068]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – ESTABLISHED NOW AND CHANGED This poem is made up of couplets and each couplet is a contrast. What we were, to what God has made us to become. For example, in the first stanza, a member of the world system, but now, a member of the Body of Christ. The last two ...read more

Scripture: Romans 16:25

Tags: Poetry, Poem, Established, Changed, Rhyming Couplets  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

God Moved Christian Across Pond To Save Him From Drowning

Contributed by Rick Crandall on Sep 25, 2025

God Moved Christian across Pond to Save Him from Drowning One of my favorite miracle stories is from Jan Ramsey. My wife Mary used to work at Lakeshore School with Jan. She was a member of First Baptist in Swartz. Jan gave this prayer testimony about her dad, James, and I think he was 81 at the ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 139:1-24

Tags: Nathan The Prophet, Solomon's Temple, Mother's Womb, Omniscience, Omnipotence, Omnipresence, King David, Fearfully Made, Wonderfully Made, Creation, Light, Darkness, Presence  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist