In Sermon Illustrations: "Look Back"

Whirpool Galaxy

Contributed by Mark Eberly on Jan 12, 2009

WHIRPOOL GALAXY God breathed out our sun. His word put the earth in its orbit around the sun. But this is really nothing. Our sun is one of between 200 and 400 billion other suns in our galaxy. What is our galaxy called? Milky way. Now I want to show you a picture. [This picture can be found ...read more

Tags: Creation

Denomination: Church Of God

Why Fruit?  PRO

Contributed by John Tung on Feb 12, 2009

WHY FRUIT? Why are these character traits called fruit of the spirit? Why not other food groups: like meat of the spirit or bread of the spirit or dairy of the spirit? There are four reasons why it’s called fruit of the spirit: because fruit is healthy, sweet, living and whole. Fruit is healthy ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:22-23

Tags: Spirit, Fruit, Fruit Of The Spirit

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Christ Was Love  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 16, 2009

CHRIST WAS LOVE I read a story that I thought was a perfect illustration as to what the perfect gift looks like at Christmas. It centered on a school Christmas pageant. Of course there was nothing there to make it religious. Only snowmen, reindeer and the like. And so the kindergarten class was ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16

Tags: Christmas

Loyalty To God Or Ourselves?

Contributed by Mark Eberly on Feb 19, 2009

LOYALTY TO GOD OR OURSELVES? When I was in seminary, I had some conversations with some fellow students, with a good mentor and friend Ron Mabry, with a Dr. Stafford and the credentialing team in Indiana. Through these interactions God was speaking to me and asking me where my loyalties to lie? Is ...read more

Tags: Commitment To Christ

Denomination: Church Of God

A Good ...

Contributed by Dwight L. Moody on Jun 11, 2009

A GOOD MOTHER (a classic illustration by D. L. Moody) A young man went home from one of our meetings some time ago. He had been converted. He had previously been a dissipated young man. His mother had made it a rule, she told me, that she "would not retire till he came home." That was her rule, ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:11-32

Tags: Parable Prodigal Son

Denomination: *other

Living Poor To Give More: Excelling In Giving

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 14, 2009

LIVING POOR TO GIVE MORE: EXCELLING IN GIVING The richest people in the world give a huge amount of money, yet their generosity is really a very small proportion of their wealth. And apparently the vast majority of Christ’s followers are not exactly excelling their giving either. So what does ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 8:7

Tags: Giving General

Lincoln: Keep Trying

Contributed by Warner Pidgeon on Sep 12, 2009

LINCOLN: KEEP TRYING Let me tell you about a man who made a disastrous first attempt in the world of business. He switched to politics but within only one year that did not work out either. He tried his hand for a second time at business, but failed again. That meant 3 failures in 3 years, (time ...read more

Tags: Endurance

Denomination: Anglican

Kind Deed Of Pows Saves ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 16, 2009

Kind Deed of POWs Saves Lives There is a World War II story that shows how the smallest deed can make all the difference. During the last months of the War, the British conducted daily bombing raids over Berlin. One night the bombers were attacked by a large group of German fighter planes. During ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:27-28, 1 Corinthians 1:27-29

Tags: Kindness

Family Stages

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Oct 22, 2009

FAMILY STAGES Now you know why I say, "The family takes a lot of work!" A healthy family will go through several stages that require perseverance and a good work ethic. Stage One -- The family begins at the, "I do"s and a couple is birthed. Now comes the dying to self. Stage Two -- The couple's ...read more

Tags: Family

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Loneliness And Suicide, Products Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 26, 2009

Loneliness and Suicide, Products of Materialism Can you guess who said this? "I sit in my house in Buffalo and sometimes I get so lonely it’s unbelievable. Life has been so good to me. I’ve got a great wife, good kids, money, my own health--and I’m lonely and bored.... I often wondered why so many ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 18:1-8

Tags: Materialism

New Partner In Law Firm Encouraged With Words, ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 5, 2009

New Partner In Law Firm Encouraged with Words, "You’re One of Us" [YOU’RE ONE OF US] A new partner in the law firm was discouraged. The senior partners had set extremely high standards and had coached him carefully. He did well in some minor trials, but he lost his first big case. The partners ...read more

Tags: Encouragement

John F. Kennedy Questioned By Coal Miner About ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 14, 2009

John F. Kennedy Questioned by Coal Miner About His History of Work In 1960, John Kennedy was running for the presidency, and was campaigning near a coal mine in West Virginia. One of the miners put a series of questions to Kennedy: "Is it true that your father is one of the wealthiest men in the ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 5:18-20

Tags: Workplace, Work Ethic

The Spite ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 23, 2009

The Spite House Once there was a millionaire who owned a lot in an exclusive residential area of a large city. This lot presented an unusual problem. It was only 2 yards wide but nearly 100 feet long. There was nothing that he could do but sell it to one of the neighbors on either side. He went to ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:12-15

Tags: Bitterness

Dare To Be Different

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 7, 2009

DARE TO BE DIFFERENT A number of years ago I was traveling in the western part of North Carolina, near the town of Bryson City. I had not had my license very long and had been given specific instructions by my family members concerning the road that I would find once I left the main highway. I was ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:12-14

Tags: Holiness

Compassion For The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 7, 2009

Compassion for the Down-and-Out “I heard (this story) from a friend who works with the down-and-out in Chicago: A prostitute came to me in wretched straits, homeless, sick, unable to buy food for her two-year-old daughter. Through sobs and tears, she told me she had been renting out her daughter – ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 9:10-13

Tags: Compassion

A Lot Of Christians Have A Tendency To Think That ...

Contributed by K. Edward Skidmore on Dec 9, 2009

A lot of Christians have a tendency to think that --- even though it was God’s Grace and Mercy that saved us --- now that we are saved, it’s all up to us to get on with the business of struggling to “live the Christian life” on our own power. We rev up our own dedication, will power, grit, and ...read more

Tags: Growth In Christ

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Gullible Eve  PRO

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Dec 14, 2009

GULLIBLE EVE My sister was a great story teller. She still is. She would tell a story so convincingly that I would believe it. A number of times her stories would trick me into giving her my pocket money, and at other times she would bring me to the edge of tears with a story that was just pure ...read more

Tags: Sin Fall Of Man

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Do You Really Want To Turn It Off?

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Jan 5, 2010

DO YOU REALLY WANT TO TURN IT OFF? Too often when Julie and I watch a movie, I am forced to turn it off or over because of the coarse nature of the movie, particularly relating to the sex scenes. It is taken for granted that sex is a necessary part of most movies. I disagree! I don’t need to watch ...read more

Tags: Adultery

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Open Our Eyes...?  PRO

Contributed by Paul Anthony on Feb 5, 2010

Open Our Eyes...? I have a book called 'Tall Tales of a Big God' written by a man called Maurice Smith. Maurice is (or at least was) an international Christian Speaker travelling all over the UK, and Europe and particularly the USA. And his book is a compilation of some of the most embarrassing ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 23:1, Acts 4:1-21

Tags: Grace, Service, Humility, Pride, Embarrassment  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Wilma Rudolph, Stricken As A Child With Polio, ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 6, 2010

Wilma Rudolph, Stricken as a Child with Polio, Achieves Olympic Gold Wilma didn’t get much of a head start in life. A bout with polio left her left leg crooked and her foot twisted inward so she had to wear leg braces. After seven years of painful therapy, she could walk without her braces. At age ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 12:1-2

Tags: Endurance