In Sermon Illustrations: "Luke 15:14-16:16"

Please Come Back  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 6, 2011

"PLEASE COME BACK" Max Lucado tells us about a girl named Christina. She lives in a small dusty village in Brazil. She’s bored. She feels like her strict parents have cheated her out of the joys of life. She longs for the excitement of the big city of Rio. One morning her mother Maria finds ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:11-32, Mark 4:1-9

Tags: Parable Prodigal Son, Parable Sower And Seed

Hannah And Michael: Finding What Was Lost  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 1, 2011

HANNAH AND MICHAEL: FINDING WHAT WAS LOST Let me tell you what happened to Ted Forbes back in 1984. While walking down a street in Chicago...Ted found a wallet. Being an honest Christian man he wanted to return it to its owner. So he opened it to look for identification. The wallet contained just ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:8-10, Luke 15:11-32, 1 Corinthians 13:8, John 17:1-26

Tags: Love, Parable Lost Coin

Jack Nicklaus And Repentance  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 14, 2011

JACK NICKLAUS AND REPENTANCE Jack Nicklaus is considered by most as the greatest golfer who has ever played the game. Once, when he was at the top of his game, he quit playing for 30 days to correct something with his game. He couldn’t correct it. He tried but to no success. Then he went back to ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:11-32

Tags: Repentance

The Ring Of Salvation  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 1, 2011

THE RING OF SALVATION It began at West Point in 1835. It is a practice that has endured almost 200 years. You may have chosen to obtain one, and undoubtedly you waited anxiously for it to arrive. Others of you weren’t really that into it and decided to pass. Some of you in the room may still wear ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:22-24

Tags: Easter Good Friday

Tony Dungy On Character

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 16, 2011

TONY DUNGY ON CHARACTER Tony Dungy, "Character begins with the little things in life. We must show that we can be trusted with even the trivial ...read more

Scripture: Luke 16:10-15

Tags: Character

I Could Have Done More  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 18, 2011

I COULD HAVE DONE MORE The film Schindler's List chronicled the heroic efforts of a German industrialist named Oskar Schindler. Through his unselfish activities, over a thousand Jews on the trains to Auschwitz were saved. After Schindler found out what was happening at Auschwitz, he began a ...read more

Scripture: John 15:9-17, Luke 16:9

Tags: Stewardship, Illustration

E.s.p.  PRO

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Feb 8, 2012

E.S.P. I heard about a man who asked his wife to balance the checkbook. He came home that night to find she had four neatly typed pages, detailing all the expenses of the past months--the milkman, the cleaners, the grocery store, and many others. One entry read, "E.S.P. $24.21." "What does that ...read more

Scripture: Luke 16:10

Tags: Money

Denomination: Baptist

A Friend In Montana Told Me About A Sheepherder ...  PRO

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Feb 13, 2012

A friend in Montana told me about a sheepherder who discovered oil on his land and became enormously rich. One of the first things he bought was a Rolls Royce limousine, the kind usually driven by a chauffeur who sits in front of a glass partition. When the sheepherder brought this splendid car in ...read more

Scripture: Luke 16:13

Tags: Money, Materialism

Denomination: Baptist

A Man Once Came To Peter Marshall, Former ...  PRO

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Feb 13, 2012

A man once came to Peter Marshall, former chaplain of the Unites States Senate, with a concern about tithing. “I have a problem,” he said. “I have been tithing for some time. It wasn’t too bad when I was making $20,000 a year; I could afford to give up $2,000. But now that I am making $500,000, ...read more

Scripture: Luke 16:13

Tags: Money, Tithes, Materialism

Denomination: Baptist

The Story Is Told Of A Prosperous, Young ...  PRO

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Feb 13, 2012

The story is told of a prosperous, young investment banker who was driving a new BMW sedan on a mountain road during a snowstorm. As he veered around one sharp turn, he lost control and began sliding off the road toward a deep precipice. At the last moment he unbuckled his seat belt, flung open his ...read more

Scripture: Luke 16:13-15

Tags: Money, Materialism

Denomination: Baptist

Someone Has Said That When We Work, We Work, But ...

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Feb 14, 2012

Someone has said that when we work, we work, but when we pray, God works. --Bill Hybels. Too Busy ...read more

Scripture: Luke 16:1-8

Tags: Prayer General

Denomination: Baptist

A Christmas Letter To God  PRO

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Feb 14, 2012

A CHRISTMAS LETTER TO GOD A small boy was writing a letter to God about the Christmas presents he wanted. "I've been good for six months now," he wrote. After a moment's reflection, he crossed out "six months" and wrote "three." After a pause he changed that to "two weeks." There was another pause ...read more

Scripture: Luke 16:1-8

Tags: Prayer General

Denomination: Baptist

Christ Transforms A Prisoner

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 18, 2012

CHRIST TRANSFORMS A PRISONER Chuck Colson tells story after story of men in prison who had committed crimes, but who came to Christ and were thoroughly converted. No one would have guessed that some of these men would be devout followers of Christ one day. One such story was the account of a man ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:1-32

Tags: Parable Prodigal Son

Culture's Collaborators  PRO

Contributed by Davon Huss on Dec 3, 2013

Tim Woodroof: We live in a world that has shaped our priorities, skewed our perspectives, and taught us what to value. Rather than permitting God to challenge those values--to confront and replace them--a great deal of energy is expended in the attempt to win God’s approval and support of the ...read more

Scripture: Luke 16:14-15

Tags: Core Values, Detestable, Godly Values, Christian Values

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Hugging

Contributed by Don Berry-Graham on Mar 1, 2016

Once at a young girl’s funeral, I had to make just such a decision. The girl’s father was a member of our church and an air force serviceman. He was an aide on Air Force One and had flown with the president many times. A few generals and lots of upper-crust brass attended the funeral. When it came ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:20

Tags: Touch, Healing Touch, Hugging

Denomination: Baptist

Anger Where There Should Be Joy

Contributed by Christopher Sweeney on Feb 19, 2017

When I was five years old, my sister was born. My brother’s birthday was March 7 and mine was October 6th. The logic of a five-year-old was that the older person’s birthday came earlier in the year. So when my little sister was born on August 9th before my birthday, I was naturally upset. Instead ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:11-32

Tags: Joy, Anger, Selfish, Jealousy, Jealously  (view more)  (view less)

Who Is Really Lost?

Contributed by Pastor Norman Bailey, Overseer on Aug 12, 2018

Sometimes in life we are so quick to judge others when they have short comings. It may be true that we may know folk that have short comings in life. They may make wrong choices in life and end up trouble. It is our responsibility to always pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Everybody is ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:11-32

Tags: Attitude Of Christ, Love And Compassion

Denomination: Pentecostal

Anxiety And Relationships

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Dec 27, 2020

Anxiety can be the ruin or the salvation of our relationships. It is an alarm mechanism. It alerts us to potential danger. But sometimes it goes off too often or quickly. Sometimes we do not seem able to regulate it. Shocked, we lash out, hold our ground, or retreat. However, anxiety can be our ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:11-32

Tags: Anxiety, Relationships

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Losing Someone Or Something Is Very Heartbreaking

Contributed by Jm Raja Lawrence on Oct 17, 2023

In the midst of an unforgiving tempest, a cataclysmic convergence of nature's wrath struck with an unforgiving fury. Banda Aceh, Indonesia, and the remote Andaman and Nicobar Islands found themselves entangled in the merciless grip of a relentless tsunami. At that fateful moment, I stood as the ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 91:1-4, Isaiah 41:10, Galatians 6:2, Matthew 25:35-36, Luke 15:11-32, Psalm 107:28-30, Philippians 4:6-7  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Love, Tsunami Survival Tale, Banda Aceh, Andaman, Nicobar, Heartbreaking, Church, Earthquake, Care, Indonesia, Panicking, Islands  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The True Story Of Denise And Diane

Contributed by Loyd C. Taylor on Dec 31, 2023

The Story of Denise and Diane One Sunday morning many years ago, as I pastored in Massachusetts, a lady attended our church for the first time. At the end of the service, at the time of the invitation, she came to the altar. I noticed that one of our ladies prayed with her. After the service, as I ...read more

Scripture: 2 Kings 18:1-2, 2 Kings 20:1-6, Luke 16:1-2, James 4:14, Proverbs 27:1  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Ready To God, Mysterious Ways Of God, Life, Preparation, The Gospel, Cancer, New Years, Preparing For Death, Holy Spirit, Heaven, Obedience  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist