In Sermon Illustrations: "Loving Acts"

History Of Father's Day - Sonora Smart Dodd

Contributed by J Jeffrey Smead on Nov 25, 2025

Indeed ... It is Father's Day, ... and the very first national celebration ... of this day .... was on June 19, 1924, ... via a proclamation ... of President Calvin Coolidge. But it all came about ... due to the efforts of a woman named ... "Sonora" Smart Dodd. Sonora was sitting ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 4:19, Romans 8:38-39, Joshua 1:9, Hebrews 12:10-11, Ephesians 6:1-3, Colossians 3:21  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Father's Day, Celebrate, Fathers, Remembrence, Love  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Anglican

A Kiss That Changed A Prodigal Into A Preacher!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Mar 15, 2022

The late Joe Bayly was a gentle, godly Christian leader. I once heard him tell how one of his sons rebelled back in the days of the hippie movement. He grew his hair long and moved into a communal flophouse. Late one night, Bayly received a call informing him that his son was being held at one of ...read more

Tags: Prodigal Son, Fathers, Fathers And Sons, Luke 15, Parables, Lost, Father's Love, Unconditional Love  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[253]. A Message From A Poem – The Artist And The Gypsy Girl

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Jan 7, 2026

[253]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – THE ARTIST AND THE GYPSY GIRL Created faithfully from a tract of the same name. It was around 1998 that I came to have a gospel tract called “The Artist and the Gypsy Girl” and I was quite impressed by it. I wanted to convert the tract to a poem but maintaining ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 4:19, Acts 4:12

Tags: Pepita, A Gospel Tract, Witnessing, The Gospel Message, Christian Poetry, Christian Poems, Stenburg, Crucifixion Painting, Salvation  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Measuring Up  PRO

Contributed by Jeff Strite on May 25, 2002

MEASURING UP In Washington D.C. there is a building called the "National Institute of Standards & Technology." This facility is responsible for storing perfect samples of weights and measurements. They have what are called “prototypes” of pound weights and kilograms. Measuring rods for ...read more

Scripture: Acts 3:1-4, John 5:1-10

Tags: Faith, Holiness, Leadership General

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

This Is Good!  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 29, 2002

THIS IS GOOD! The story is told of a king in Africa who had a close friend with whom he grew up. The friend had a habit of looking at every situation that ever occurred in his life (positive or negative) and remarking, "This is good!" One day the king and his friend were out on a hunting ...read more

Scripture: Acts 8:1-3, Romans 8:28

Tags: God In The Hardships, Goodness, All Things Work For Good, Hope, Positive, Struggles, Trial  (view more)  (view less)

How Did I Spend My 75 Years?  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 22, 2004

HOW DID I SPEND MY 75 YEARS? Statisticians tells us that the average life span is now around 75 years. If you’re under 30 then you think that is a long time. If you’re around my age, you’re beginning to realize that’s not really very long at all. A few years ago, someone went to the trouble to ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 3:12-14, Acts 20:7-12

Tags: Finding Fulfillment, New Year's Day, Giving Yourself

I Remember Well When The Holy Spirit Helped Me ...  PRO

Contributed by Bruce Willis on Nov 29, 2006

I remember well when the Holy Spirit helped me come to a conviction that I was a sinner and needed a Savior. I was a young adult of 20, married, and the father of one child at the time. I had been running with the boys and come to the place of desiring a divorce from my wife. Also, I was doing ...read more

Scripture: Acts 9:1-19, John 3:1-16

Denomination: Baptist

I Used To Be Petrified Of Making ‘phone Calls; So ...  PRO

Contributed by Warner Pidgeon on Jul 28, 2007

I used to be petrified of making ‘phone calls; so it seems funny that I should later spend 5 years doing ‘phone based mortgage arrears collecting (91 to 96)! I can remember being 16 or 17, picking up the phone, knowing that I needed to dial, not knowing what I would say when the phone got answered ...read more

Scripture: Luke 21:15, Acts 4:5-13

Tags: Ordinary

Denomination: Anglican

Bad Storms Of Life - Great Reasons To Pray

Contributed by Rick Crandall on Jul 16, 2008

Bad Storms of Life - Great Reasons to Pray *The scariest airplane flight I have ever been on was in 1982. I worked for the Air Force back then and was going to Korea for a contract negation with Korean Airlines. *When we were way out over the Pacific Ocean, we hit some bad weather. And I mean it ...read more

Scripture: Acts 27:21-44, Ephesians 6:18-24

Tags: Prayer, Hardship Of Life, Storms In Life

Denomination: Baptist

Open Our Eyes...?  PRO

Contributed by Paul Green 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

Coming To Grips With The Sovereign Will Of God  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 9, 2011

COMING TO GRIPS WITH THE SOVEREIGN WILL OF GOD I want to tell you a story about my friend, Jim Pence. Jim is an author who has written several books. But his first novel was titled "Blind Sight" and was published by Tyndale a number of years ago. Jim wrote this book, but he really didn't think it ...read more

Scripture: Acts 4:18-31, Job 1:21

Tags: God's Sovereign Will

Treat Each Other Like The Answer To A Prayer  PRO

Contributed by Dave Clark on Dec 11, 2012

TREAT EACH OTHER LIKE THE ANSWER TO A PRAYER I can still see one of the great provokers in my life. I met her on a work trip to Kentucky. Our youth group was working on a woman’s house, but it wasn’t very much fun. We hated where we were. Porches and front yards littered with old cars, sofas ...read more

Scripture: Luke 8:43-48, Acts 10:30-33

Tags: Prayer Of Faith

Denomination: Disciples Of Christ

Raise The Cross In The Marketplace

Contributed by Davon Huss on Oct 1, 2013

RAISE THE CROSS IN THE MARKETPLACE George MacLeod wrote: "I simply argue that the cross be raised again at the center of the market place as well as on the steeple of the church. I am recovering the claim that Jesus was not crucified in cathedral between two candles, but on a cross between two ...read more

Scripture: Acts 18:1-6, Luke 23:38

Tags: Ordinary People, Business And Marketplace

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Jewish Roots Of "tongues"

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Nov 12, 2019

• Talmud taught about power for all people in the Ten Commandments: R. Johanan said: What is meant by the verse, The Lord giveth the word: They that publish the tidings are a great host? — Every single word that went forth from the Omnipotent was split up into seventy languages. The School of R. ...read more

Scripture: Romans 1:8-17, Acts 2:1-20

Tags: Pentecost, Tongues, Languages

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Why Its Called An Idiot Light

Contributed by Larry Hinkle on Jun 12, 2020

Six months after I bought my first car, the "service engine" light came on. I called my dad from college, "What does that service engine light mean? Can I still drive it, or do I need to fix something?" He chuckled and said, it was an idiot light, "It is set to trigger ...read more

Scripture: John 16:8, Acts 2:38

Tags: Maintenance, Discipleship, Warning, Conscience, Conviction  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Methodist

¿como Llegaste A Tu Desierto?

Contributed by Ruthie Velazquez-Paredes on Sep 22, 2020

Una de las cosas que motivó a escribir “¿Cómo Llegaste a tu Desierto?” es para exaltar lo que Dios ha hecho en mi vida y en la vida de otros al enfrentar momentos difíciles. ¿Cómo llegaste a tu desierto? En cierta ocasión quise sembrar un jardín de rosas al ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 5:1, Acts 8:26

Tags: Procesos, Victoria En Las Pruebas, Temporadas, Motivacion, Desierto, Libro  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Church Of God

How Jesus Trained The Disciples

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Dec 2, 2020

Robert E. Coleman wrote the book, The Master's Plan of Evangelism, and gave us the principles that Jesus used to spread the Gospel around the world until He returns. Here is the list: 1. SELECTION:   “He chose from the twelve.” (Luke 6:13)  2. ASSOCIATION: The principle of ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 1:8

Tags: Evangelism, Outreach, Discipleship, Missions, Witnessing  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Singing In A Storm

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Jul 3, 2021

LET US STUDY THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SINGING SONG BIRD: THE THRUSH SPARROW. The THRUSH SPARROW SINGS MANY BEAUTIFUL SONGS. There is one song the Thrush sings that is amazing. THE ONLY TIME THE THRUSH SPARROW IS KNOWN TO SING HER MOST BEAUTIFUL SONG IS WHEN IT IS IN A TERRIBLE, DANGEROUS STORM OR WHEN IT ...read more

Scripture: Acts 27:10-31, Hebrews 12:12-15

Tags: Singing, Storms

Denomination: Assembly Of God

World Evangelism Statistics

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Mar 5, 2022

If you say that Jesus is waiting on the Church to get the Gospel out before His return, let me give you a few statistics on the challenge the Church faces. We have almost 8 billion people on our planet right now. There are almost 2.4 Christians in the world today. If 500,000 people were ...read more

Scripture: Acts 1:8, Matthew 28:19-20

Tags: Salvation, Gospel, Missions, Witnessing, Lost, Great Commission, Evangelism  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Drowned In Front Of One Hundred Lifeguards!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Apr 4, 2022

The Times-Reporter of New Philadelphia, Ohio, reported in September, 1985 a shocking discovery at a New Orleans municipal pool. The party around the pool was held to celebrate the first summer in memory without a drowning at the New Orleans city pool. In honor of the occasion, 200 people ...read more

Scripture: Acts 1:8, Matthew 28:19-20

Tags: Gospel, Tragedy, Witnessing, Lost, Unsaved, Great Commission, Evangelism  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational