In Sermon Illustrations: "Looking Ahead"

Jesus Stands ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 12, 2009

JESUS STANDS READY During the years of 1980s, I traveled quite a bit from Washington D.C. to New Jersey to go between my father and mother’s house. As a 10-year-old I traveled alone on planes, so news stories about planes and travels were on my radar, so to speak. So, in 1982 when January 13th ...read more

Tags: Sin General

Richest Man In Town

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 16, 2009

RICHEST MAN IN TOWN In 1972, a young Egyptian businessman named Farahat lost an $11,000 watch. He was stunned when a garbage man dressed in filthy rags found it and returned it to him. Farahat asked him why he didn’t just keep the watch. The garbage man said, "My Christ told me to be honest until ...read more

Tags: Christian Witness

Little Ones To Him Belong

Contributed by Bruce Howell on Feb 21, 2009

LITTLE ONES TO HIM BELONG Author Keith Miller tells of an outgoing 40-year-old woman who was part of a sharing group he led. Here is her story: "When I was a tiny little girl, my parents died, and I was put in an orphanage. I was not pretty at all, and no one seemed to want me. But I longed to ...read more

Tags: Adoption

Denomination: Wesleyan

De-Evangelizing The Neighborhood

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 3, 2022

A few years ago I heard a story of a church that looked as though they were really thriving. They had about 500 people attending, had many outreach ministries reaching their community, and many people were coming to Christ and to church through their ministry. The problem was that the church was ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 10:24-25

Tags: Fellowship, Community, Small Groups

Five Thousand Fishes And Two Thousand Loves?

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Nov 6, 2022

• A young preacher graduated from Bible College and was invited back to his home congregation to preach a sermon. He wanted to make a good impression. He did his best to prepare to preach to his home church. He wrote his sermon word for word and memorized it. He had a very dramatic beginning to the ...read more

Scripture: John 6:1-14

Tags: Jesus, Miracles, Sermons, Preacher Jokes

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Misusing The Image Of God

Contributed by Paul Clemente on Nov 27, 2022

Genesis 11:1-9… v1: as Noah and his family continues life from the ark (likely they had other children) A couple of things in context helps us: Genesis 10 talks about the nations of people and their own languages Gen 10:24 on – we only read about Joktan’s sons, not Peleg’s Gen 11:10 – only 2 ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 11:1-9

Tags: Man, Sin, Babel, God's Image, Nations, Languages  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Independent/Bible

How To Get Rid Of Your Pastor!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Aug 9, 2023

What a blessing it is to have a pastor who loves the Lord, who teaches the Word, and who leads his "flock" aright. I thank God we have a man like that in the church which I attend. In these days of apostasy, when there is such a tragic departure from an emphasis on the Word, how we ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-11

Tags: Division, Preachers, Ministry, Pastors, Apostasy, Man Of God, Churches  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Dying For Treasure

Contributed by Dr. Bradford Reaves on Aug 11, 2023

Have you ever heard about a man named Forrest Fenn? Forrest Fenn was a pilot in the US Air Force, earning the rank of Major and awarded the Silver Star for his sermon in Vietnam, which flew 328 combat missions within a year. After his service to his country, he ran an art gallery where he made his ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:19-24

Tags: Money, Treasure

Denomination: Brethren

Taking Out A Loan To Pay God

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Nov 13, 2023

There was an older man in my church in Texas who came to me with tears in his eyes after a sermon I preached on tithing. He said, "Pastor, thank you for telling our people the truth about how God can bless you when you are obedient to His Word." He wiped a tear and said, "Pastor, I ...read more

Scripture: Malachi 3:10-11, 1 Corinthians 16:1-2, Proverbs 3:9-10, 1 Timothy 6:10

Tags: Stewardship, Repentance, Tithing, Brokenness, Forgivness, Loans, Giving  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

You Can't Believe A Single Word He Says!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Dec 4, 2023

A guy sees a sign in front of a house: "Talking Dog for Sale." He rings the bell and the owner tells him the dog is in the backyard. The guy goes into the backyard and sees an old black mutt just sitting there. "You talk?" he asks. "Yep," the mutt replies. "So, ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:15

Tags: False Teachers, Lies, Liars, Discernment, Truth, Preaching, Last Days  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Celebrate The Victory

Contributed by Roger Hasselquist on Jun 29, 2024

Opal Stout, of Cottageville, West Virginia wrote, "When the fireworks display began on the Fourth of July, my six-year-old nephew became so frightened I had to take him home. As we drove away, he said, "I bet God is mad at those people shooting at him!" (Christian Reader, "Kids ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:57, Psalm 98:1, 1 John 5:4

Tags: Fourth Of July, Celebrate, Victory In Jesus, Voltaire

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

How The Philippian Jailer Got Saved - Crisis

Contributed by Rick Crandall on Oct 2, 2025

How the Philippian jailer got saved - Crisis This Philippian jailer was saved! He was saved by God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ. And if you have never trusted in the Lord, He wants to save you the same way. But let's take a closer look at how the Lord touched the jailer's ...read more

Scripture: Acts 16:16-34

Tags: Crisis, Christian Service, Philippian Jailer, Demon Possession, Spiritual Transformation, Evangelism, Paul, Salvation, Missions, Silas  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

At First I Saw God As My Observer, My Judge, ...  PRO

Contributed by Keith Broyles on Jun 9, 2001

At first I saw God as my observer, my judge, keeping track of the things I did wrong, so as to know whether I merited heaven or hell when I die. He was out there sort of like a president. I recognized his picture when I saw it, but I really didn’t know Him. But later on, when I met Christ, It ...read more

Tags: Doing God's Will, Commitment To Christ, Call Of The Disciples

Denomination: Methodist

The Men's Thesaurus  PRO

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Jul 10, 2001

THE MEN’S THESAURUS (men don’t always say what they mean) – excerpts: When a man says: "IT’S A GUY THING" He means: "There is no rational thought pattern connected with this, and you have no chance at all of making it logical" When a man says "CAN I HELP WITH DINNER" He means: "Why isn’t it ...read more

Tags: Marriage General, Dealing With Conflicts, Father's Day

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

A While Back I Was Reading About An Expert On ...  PRO

Contributed by David Yarbrough on Jul 23, 2001

A while back I was reading about an expert on the subject of time management. One day this expert was speaking to a group of business students and, to drive home a point, used an illustration I’m sure those students will never forget. After I share it with you, you’ll never forget it either. As ...read more

Tags: Leadership General, Workplace

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

: "Scarred Hands” (James S. ...  PRO

Contributed by Bruce Howell on Aug 21, 2001

Illus.: “Scarred Hands” (James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited, pp. 119-120) A small orphaned boy lived with his grandmother. One night their house caught fire. The grandmother, trying to rescue the little boy asleep upstairs, perished in the smoke and flames. A crowd gathered around the ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:6-8

Tags: Forgiveness In Jesus, Christian Disciplines, Lordship Of Christ

Denomination: Wesleyan

Robert Fulghum In It Was On Fire When I Lay Down ...  PRO

Contributed by Scott Sharpes on Dec 18, 2001

Robert Fulghum in It Was On Fire When I Lay Down On It, tells a story involving his daughter, Molly. One day, as Fulghum was ready to leave for work, Molly handed him two brown paper sacks. In one was his lunch. What was in the other was a mystery. When Fulghum asked Molly what was in the mystery ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 3:1-7

Tags: Birth Of Jesus

Denomination: Nazarene

Imagine A Group Of People Coming To Your Home And ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2002

Imagine a group of people coming to your home and interrupting your Twinkie-eating, TV-watching routine with an urgent message: “Good News! We’re from the United States Olympic Committee. We have been looking for someone to run the marathon in the next Olympics. We have statistics on every person ...read more

Scripture: Acts 20:24, 1 Corinthians 9:24, 2 Timothy 4:7, Hebrews 12:1, James 1:1-4  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Race, Discipleship, Disciplines

I Recently Heard About A Doctor Who Seemed To ...  PRO

Contributed by Cameron Horsburgh on Feb 1, 2002

I recently heard about a doctor who seemed to have had a huge amount of success as a GP. Whilst he only had a small number of patients on his books, they all stayed in remarkable health. A journalist heard about this doctor, and decided to pay him a visit. Now this journalist, a man by the name of ...read more

Scripture: Luke 5:29-32, 2 Chronicles 7:14

Tags: God Brings Hope

Denomination: Holiness

Sowing Seeds Of Peace  PRO

Contributed by David Yarbrough on Feb 11, 2002

SOWING SEEDS OF PEACE In Europe, 1934, Hitler’s plague of anti-Semitism was infecting a continent. Some would escape it. Some would die from it. But eleven-year-old Heinz would learn from it. He would learn the power of sowing seeds of peace. Heinz was a Jew. The Bavarian village of Fourth, ...read more

Scripture: Luke 8:11-15

Tags: God Brings Hope, Peace

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational