In Sermon Illustrations: "Love Of The World"

Look Up

Contributed by Johnny Wilson on Mar 2, 2009

LOOK UP I love those scenes in action films, comics, or cartoons where you have one set of bad guys pursuing the hero from one end of a tunnel or corridor and another set of bad guys is converging from the other side. You know the hero is in between them, but when the groups of pursuers meet in ...read more

Tags: Fear And Worry

Denomination: *other

Because One Gave

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 17, 2009

BECAUSE ONE GAVE Former seminary and pastor, George Gaston tells the following story that speaks to the value of attitude in giving. Years ago, I pastored a church that decided to build a worship center. The old building had suffered a major fire. Even so, our decision to build a new facility ...read more

Tags: Giving General

Giving Begets Giving  PRO

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Nov 30, 2009

GIVING BEGETS GIVING Leadership Magazine carried a story about four young men, Bible College students, who were renting a house together. One Saturday morning someone knocked on their door. And when they opened it, there stood this bedraggled-looking old man. His eyes were kind of marble-ized, and ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 8:2

Tags: Giving General

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Generosity Of Poor Man Surprises Bible College ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 30, 2009

Generosity of Poor Man Surprises Bible College Students Illustration from Leadership/Melvin Newland: Leadership Magazine carried a story about 4 young men, Bible College students, who were renting a house together. One Saturday morning someone knocked on their door. And when they opened it, there ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 9:6-15

Tags: Giving General

He Writhed On The Floor While Men And Women ...

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Mar 6, 2010

He writhed on the floor while men and women gathered around him hurling their prayers. That’s the best way I can describe it. "Come out in Jesus name!" they said, and he writhed all the more as if in pain, and certainly in turmoil. The voices rose, "Come out you unclean spirit!" I had been ...read more

Tags: Demons

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

True Unity  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 26, 2011

TRUE UNITY Unity is not simply an intellectual exercise. We can believe the same things, recite the same creeds, belong to the same denomination, but that does not mean we have unity. In his book Soul Talk, Larry Crabb writes: "Which is worse? A church program to build community that doesn’t ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-16, Ephesians 4:1-22, 1 Samuel 25:14-35

Tags: Unity

Compassion For An Old Man

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 14, 2012

COMPASSION FOR AN OLD MAN It was a bitterly cold evening in Northern Virginia many years ago. The old man's beard was glazed by winter's frost as he waited for a ride across the river. He heard a brigade of men on horses coming around the bend. He let the first one pass him without any effort to ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 22:34-40, Luke 7:11-17

Tags: Compassion

God Knows How To Get Us There...

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on May 20, 2016

SOMETIMES LIFE KNOWS WE NEED A PIT STOP --- LIFE MAY GIVE US WHAT WE NEED --- NOT WHAT WE WANT... Did you hear about the KING that loved his people so much? This KING loved his family. The King had the most beautiful palace, and to protect his family he had a huge MOTE dug around the palace. He ...read more

Scripture: John 15:11

Tags: Trust God, God Can

Denomination: Assembly Of God

This Is Going To Be A Wonderful Day

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Nov 18, 2016

Psalm 118:24 This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. I love the story of the lady that was in a terrible battle with cancer. She made a choice: THIS IS GOING TO BE A WONDERFUL DAY. She decided she was going to MAKE THE CHOICE TO BE THANKFUL and LOVE LIFE ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 118:24

Tags: Thankfulness, Positive Attitude, A Good Day

Denomination: Assembly Of God

The Living Word

Contributed by Tim Smith on Aug 13, 2017

Ravi Zacharias tells of ministering in Vietnam in 1971, and one of his interpreters was Hien Pham, an energetic young Christian. He had worked as a translator with the American forces, and was of immense help both to them and to missionaries such as myself. Hien and I traveled the length of the ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16

Tags: Scripture, Romans, Living Word, The Bible, Persevering Grace  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Methodist

Never Quit Growing

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Feb 9, 2022

GROWTH IS ESSENTIAL OR ONE WILL GET STAGNATE AND BEGIN A DECREASE. Growth is essential to long term survival. We must learn to take advantage of opportunities and take risk. GROWTH: improve, increase, develop, mature, progressive development, MATURITY, AGE, SIZE, WEIGHT, HEIGHT. 2 Peter 3:18 ...read more

Scripture: 2 Peter 3:18, Philippians 1:9

Tags: Plan, Growth

Denomination: Assembly Of God

[141]. A Message From A Poem – In Front, Behind, And To The Sides

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Jul 25, 2025

[141]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – IN FRONT, BEHIND, AND TO THE SIDES {{Romans 8:35 “WHO SHALL SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF CHRIST? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?”}} {{Romans 8:39 “nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 52:12, Romans 8:39, Romans 8:35

Tags: Nothing Separates Us, The Lord Goes Before, The Lord Is Behind, The Lord Is Close, The Lord Is At Our Side, The Lord Walks With Us  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[177]. A Message From A Poem – Lord, Open My Eyes

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Aug 26, 2025

[177]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – LORD, OPEN MY EYES Opened eyes is truly a marvellous thing. The term “eyes opened” comes to mean understanding and awareness of what is reality or of what is happening. Only once in the whole bible are the words “open my eyes” found, and it is this verse – ...read more

Scripture: John 12:21, 2 Kings 6:17, Psalm 119:18

Tags: The Word Of God, The Bible, Eyes Opened, Christian Poems, Wonderful Things, Understanding, Open My Eyes  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[256]. A Message From A Poem – The Bride’s Song

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Jan 8, 2026

[256]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – THE BRIDE’S SONG The Bride of Christ is the Church. It is also The Pearl of Greatest Price. Those who belong to Christ are members of the Church of the Bride. Not all who are in a church belong to the Church universal. Those redeemed members – truly saved – ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:20, 1 John 4:19, Revelation 19:7-8

Tags: The Church Is The Bride, The Song Of The Bride, Sing, The Bride Of Christ, Christian Poetry, Sing Praises, Christian Poems  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[285]. A Message From A Poem – The Passion Week – Easter Poem

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Feb 5, 2026

[285]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – THE PASSION WEEK – EASTER POEM This poem is more appropriate at Easter time, the week leading to the Resurrection. I have covered the highlights of that week with a stanza given to each one. The poem is like a synopsis of the week, a shorthand version if you ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:3-5

Tags: Easter Poem, The Burial, Palm Sunday Entry, The Betrayal, Gethsemane, The Cross, The Last Supper, The Resurrection, Death Of Christ, Christian Poems, Easter  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Chuck Swindoll Tells A Story About A Man Living ...  PRO

Contributed by Mary Lewis on Sep 5, 2001

Chuck Swindoll tells a story about a man living in Atlanta who was flipping through the Yellow Pages in search of a restaurant. His noticed an entry for a place called The Church of God Grill. His curiosity got the best of him and he dialed the number. A man answered with a cheery, "Hello! Church ...read more

Tags: Hardship Of Life

Denomination: Baptist

It Really Seems To Hurt  PRO

Contributed by Melvin Newland on Jan 25, 2002

IT REALLY SEEMS TO HURT Philip Yancey tells about an African safari he was on where he saw an old momma giraffe taking care of her offspring. Shortly after he was born, she went over & kicked her offspring, & it looked like she was really hurting her baby. Then she did it again. Each time, ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 22:6

Tags: Parenting

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

A Corrective Look At God—communion Meditation  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 13, 2002

A CORRECTIVE LOOK AT GOD--COMMUNION MEDITATION "George Buttrick, former chaplain at Harvard, recalls that students would come into his office, plop down on a chair and declare, 'I don’t believe in God.' Buttrick would give this disarming reply: 'Sit down and tell me what kind of God you don’t ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:53-58

Alexander Whyte Said, “ It Would Change ...  PRO

Contributed by John Hamby on Jan 23, 2001

Alexander Whyte said, “ It would change your whole heart and life this very (day) if you would take Peter and Cornelius home with you and lay them both to heart. If you would take a four cornered napkin when you get home, and a…. Pen and ink and write the names of the nations, and the churches, and ...read more

Tags: Holiness, God's Provision, Forgiveness For Others

Denomination: Baptist

Pastor Brian Mclaren Of Cedar Ridge Community ...  PRO

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Apr 19, 2005

Pastor Brian McLaren of Cedar Ridge Community Church notes: Doubt. It’s like a spiritual drought, a starless night of the soul, a low tide when faith seems to have retreated forever. Nearly all of us experience these dry, dark, difficult times when God doesn’t seem real and it’s hard to keep ...read more

Tags: Assurance Of Salvation, Basics Of Christianity

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational