In Sermon Illustrations: "Lost Sheep"

The Compass That Wouldn't Cooperate  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 11, 2011

THE COMPASS THAT WOULDN'T COOPERATE An old sailor repeatedly got lost at sea, so his friends gave him a compass and urged him to use it. The next time he went out in his boat, he followed their advice and took the compass with him. But as usual he became hopelessly confused and was unable to find ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:10

Tags: God's Sovereign Will

De-Sanctified Churches

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 19, 2011

DE-SANCTIFIED CHURCHES Not too long ago, a real estate listing in Dallas had the simple headline: "Converted Church." In other words, what had once been a church facility is now somebody's house. The listing under the heading had this description: "The altar has been adapted for use as a granite ...read more

Scripture: 2 Thessalonians 1:3-4

Tags: Church Purpose Of

Memorial Day: Remember The Martyrs

Contributed by Jason Bonnicksen on Jun 4, 2011

MEMORIAL DAY: REMEMBER THE MARTYRS It’s honorable and fitting this morning we remember the sacrifice of our nation’s great veterans, who gave their lives on battlefields abroad and here at home. By some estimates, nearly 1.3 million Americans have shed their blood and died for freedom’s cause. ...read more

Tags: Holidays Civic

Denomination: Lutheran

Perseverance: Scott, Handel And Spurgeon

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 7, 2011

PERSEVERANCE: SCOTT, HANDEL AND SPURGEON In 1826 the London firm of Hurst and Robinson went bankrupt, involving Sir WALTER SCOTT in a personal liability of 118,000 pounds. With noble determination Scott responded: "My right hand and I against the debt." From that time on he wrote novel after novel ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:1-5

Tags: Endurance

Haven: The Real You

Contributed by Ken Pell on Sep 25, 2011

HAVEN: THE REAL YOU What is in you is what comes out and always reveals the REAL you. In fact, that which you say yes to is the tell-tale sign of what is inside you. It is the litmus test of whether you are walking in the Spirit or in the "flesh. What's inside comes out. My wife and I watch a ...read more

Tags: Self

Denomination: Nazarene

Setting Your Faith Aside

Contributed by K. Edward Skidmore on Oct 4, 2011

SETTING YOUR FAITH ASIDE Have you ever thought you could separate from God ... just for a little while ... and then later on turn back to God? Unfortunately we all do this ... in big ways or small ways. Any time we decide to live a life INDEPENDENT of God, we run a big risk. I remember a ...read more

Tags: Faith

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Hymn Story : "Holy God, Sinful Man"

Contributed by Lawrence Bradford on Sep 26, 2012

Hymn Story : "Holy God, Sinful Man" A story of God’s Ring of Love (eternal and everlasting)for humanity. "Holy God, Sinful Man" Chorus: Had it not been for Jesus to die on that cross. All mankind would surely be lost. Verse 1: There would be no forgiveness no ...read more

Tags: God's Love

Denomination: Baptist

Gold, Common Sense, And Fur

Contributed by Davon Huss on Dec 24, 2012

There was a couple who desperately wanted children. They prayed to the Lord and he gave them 4 children in 4 years. When the children were still 5 years old and younger, they were the stars of the Christmas pageant. Here are the mothers words to describe the production: “My daughter was playing ...read more

Tags: Christmas

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Is There Anyone Up There?

Contributed by Darrin Fish on May 15, 2013

IS THERE ANYONE UP THERE? There once was a tourist who came too close to the edge of the Grand Canyon, lost his footing and plunged over the side, clawing and scratching to save himself. After he disappeared out of sight; and, just before he fell into open space, he stumbled upon a scrubby bush ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 4:1-13

Tags: Faith

Denomination: Christian Church

Last Lap Of The Race

Contributed by Shawn Miller on Jul 4, 2014

May 29, 2011 it looked like it was destiny, the day Dale Earnhardt Jr. was rounding the last lap of the Charlotte Motor Speedway. You could just imagine the script that was being set; it was memorial day, he was being sponsored by the national guard, and He was going to finally win for the first ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 4:7

Tags: Perseverance, Endurance, Finish The Race, Gas Tank

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Is It Death Or Really Life?

Contributed by Tim Smith on Feb 11, 2015

Robin Norwood in her book, “Why Me? Why This? Why Now?” writes, “A very wise old fried of mine who has just celebrated his 100th birthday said to me about a recent news broadcast he recently heard about 73 people losing their lives in a plan crash: “Don’t they know we can’t lose our lives? We can ...read more

Scripture: Luke 23:32-43

Tags: Death, Eternal Life

Denomination: Methodist

Wife Died

Contributed by Davon Huss on Jul 3, 2015

Booth-Tucker preached in Chicago one day, and out from the throng a burdened laborer came and said to him, before all the audience, "You can talk like that about how Christ is dear to you, and helps you; but if your wife was dead, as my wife is, and you had some babies crying for their mother who ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 1:10

Tags: Grief, God's Comfort, Christ's Sufficiency, The Comforter

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Jesus The Perfect Man  PRO

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Jul 3, 2016

Harry Ironside, the Bible teacher, told of a visit to Palestine years ago by a man named Joseph Flax. He had an opportunity to address a gathering of Jews and Arabs and took for the subject of his address the first Psalm. He read it and then he asked the question: "Who is this blessed man of whom ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 1:1-6

Tags: Wisdom, Perfection

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Take Me Home

Contributed by Dr. Ronald Shultz on Sep 23, 2019

Take Me Home I've been everything that I want to be. I've seen everything that I want to see. All over this world I did roam. Now, I'm asking you, Jesus, please take me home. I can hear my spirit within me groan. I wan to be sitting at the foot of Your throne. I've had my fill ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 19:13-14, Philippians 1:23-24

Tags: Sorrow, Despair, Homesick, Success, Failure, Loneliness  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Trust Issues

Contributed by Dr. Ronald Shultz on Jul 18, 2022

John 2:23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. 24 But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, 25 and needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man. As I ...read more

Scripture: John 2:23-25

Tags: Trust, Opposition, Betrayal, Brethren, Opposers  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Simple Confession, Profound Forgiveness

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 31, 2022

In 1818 one out of six women who had children died of something called “childbirth fever.” A doctor’s daily routine back then started in the dissecting room, where he performed autopsies, and from there he made his rounds to examine expectant mothers. No one even thought to wash his hands...at ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 1:9

Tags: Grace, Forgiveness

Little Things Can Be Big Problems

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Feb 6, 2024

Richard Conniff writes in National Geographic that on January 12, 1997, two Swiss men, Bertrand Piccard and Wim Verstraeten, set out to be the first to CIRCLE THE EARTH in a balloon. Their aircraft was called the Breitling Orbiter, and it was high-tech masterpiece, complete with solar power panels ...read more

Tags: Words, Tongue, Small Things, Mouth

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[098]. A Message From A Poem – Genesis Synopsis

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on May 7, 2025

[098]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – GENESIS SYNOPSIS How can you possibly put the book of Genesis into a poem? The answer is, be brief and try not to miss the main events. I had the desire to write a Genesis poem and this is the result. The poem begins of course with Chapter 1 and works to the ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 15:13, Genesis 12:3, Genesis 15:18, Matthew 24:37-38, Genesis 1:1  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Genesis, Creation, Egypt, Isaac, Nimrod, Christian Poetry, Christian Poems, Abraham, Noah, Jacob, Adam, Joseph, Cain  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

A Father's Legacy  PRO

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

A Father's Legacy Jim Berg wrote about the state of the family: "The family, which should be the greatest refuge for the child, has become a domestic battlefield where a child is often caught in the crossfire of his parents' warfare. The time and energy that should be spent giving him the ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 103:17-18

Tags: Father's Day

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[076]. A Message From A Poem – Expectations, Testimony And Pleading

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Apr 11, 2025

[076]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – EXPECTATIONS, TESTIMONY AND PLEADING The three words in the title are what the poem is about. Firstly there is expectation of our heavenly home when we are transported from the physical life. Then there is testimony and that is about the way God looks after us, ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:8-9, Psalm 119:143, Psalm 119:77, Psalm 119:47

Tags: Great Things, Pleading, Expectations, Turn To The Lord, Scripture, Testimony, Poetry, New Home, Delight, Poem  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational