In Sermon Illustrations: "Luke 19:28-24:50"

The Power Of Forgiveness  PRO

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 20, 2014

THE POWER OF FORGIVENESS An African woman gave her heart to Christ. Her husband was the chief of a Zulu tribe. When she told him what she had done, the chief beat her brutally. As she was lying in the floor bleeding, the man mocked her and said, “Now, what can your Jesus do for ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:31-32, Luke 23:34

Tags: Forgiveness, Enemy, New Birth, Forgiving Others

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

Death Without Blinking An Eye

Contributed by Tim Smith on Feb 11, 2015

During the civil wars in feudal Japan, an invading army would sweep into town and take control. In one particular village, everyone fled just before the army arrived, except the Zen Master. Curious about this old fellow, the general went to the temple to see for himself what kind of man this master ...read more

Scripture: Luke 23:32-43

Tags: Death, Hope In Death

Denomination: Methodist

Forgiveness For Everyone?

Contributed by Tim Smith on Feb 11, 2015

Lloyd Prator writes, “Take Adolph Hitler or better Joseph Stalin because he killed more people. What if, at the last minute, as Stalin lay dying, he turned his heart to Jesus and confessed his sins? Suppose he repented at the last minute, repented of the 14 million Russians Stalin killed… Would he ...read more

Scripture: Luke 23:32-43

Tags: Forgiveness, Repentance

Denomination: Methodist

Paradise And Heaven

Contributed by Tim Smith on Feb 11, 2015

Paradise originates from the Persian language which means a beautiful garden but the ideal paradise is the King’s garden. Kings had beautiful gardens with exotic animals you wouldn’t see in that part of the world. It had flowing water and trees and was a place of serenity or peace. And when someone ...read more

Scripture: Luke 23:32-43

Tags: Heaven, Paradise

Denomination: Methodist

No One Is A Lost Cause

Contributed by Tim Smith on Feb 11, 2015

Ron Smith was in law enforcement for 20 years. After he retired, he was asked to join a prison ministry of his church. He scoffed at the idea, knowing he had put a lot of those guys in prison and he, above all, knew what types of peoplethey were. But eventually he broke down and joined and God ...read more

Scripture: Luke 23:32-43

Tags: Forgiveness, Compassion, Hope, Reconciliation

Denomination: Methodist

Crucufixion

Contributed by Tim Smith on Feb 11, 2015

David Smith writes about crucifixion. They would take the upright beam and place it in a hole in the ground and fix it steadfast. And then they would take the victim and lay his hands on the cross beam, driving spikes into his quivering flesh and with a rope would hook it onto the cross beam and ...read more

Scripture: Luke 23:33-38

Tags: Crucifixion, Death On A Cross

Denomination: Methodist

Father, Forgive Them

Contributed by Tim Smith on Feb 11, 2015

The word ‘forgive’ in this passage is in the imperfect tense. We tend to think it is in the present tense and that Jesus prayed this prayer once and then moved on. The imperfect tense in Greek means that the prayer is not said once but continuously, through the scourging and the crucifixion as he ...read more

Scripture: Luke 23:33-38

Tags: Forgive, Forgiveness For Others

Denomination: Methodist

Broken Heart

Contributed by Tim Smith on Feb 11, 2015

In Fox’s Book of Martyrs, there is the story of a 26 year old mother named Perpetua. The early church was growing dramatically and she came to faith in Jesus. The Roman government was trying to get her to renounce her faith but she refused. They threw her in prison. Her father came and begged her ...read more

Scripture: Luke 23:33-38

Tags: Grief

Denomination: Methodist

Evangelism Through Fellowship

Contributed by Tim Smith on Feb 11, 2015

Charles Moore writes, “Alan and I met 20 years ago. We were both students at Cal Poly. I was a freshman and he was a junior. As a physics major, Alan was both intelligent and articulate. How Alan got on with his studies, however, is still a mystery to me. Alan was vritually blind. He could not see ...read more

Scripture: Luke 23:33-38

Tags: Evangelism, Fellowship, Community

Denomination: Methodist

Being A Bystander

Contributed by Kelly Benton on Mar 23, 2015

Some years ago we had some friends in our apartment complex that needed some help moving. Now, no one enjoys moving and everyone usually tries to avoid this type of labor if possible. But, these people needed some help so I volunteered myself and our oldest son Zane to help them move. We began ...read more

Scripture: Luke 23:33-35

Tags: Responsibility, Laziness, Bystander

Denomination: Other

Pastor And Leadership Speaker John Maxwell Te...

Contributed by Tim Smith on May 28, 2015

Pastor and Leadership speaker John Maxwell tells the story of his brother who was called to active duty during the Pueblo crisis in Korea. He says he could remember standing in his father’s office when my father found out the news and went to his brother, hugged him and said, “Larry, I’m going to ...read more

Scripture: Luke 22:33-38

Tags: Perseverance, Conversion

Denomination: Methodist

Sifted Like Wheat

Contributed by Sam Mccormick on Dec 15, 2016

A rooster’s crow announced the dawn. This dawn was not the sunrise, still hours away, but the dawn of Peter’s realization of what he had done. Like the first rays of the sun slicing through the night’s darkness, Peter awakened to his sin and its gravity. It cut him to the core of his being, and ...read more

Scripture: Luke 22:31-32

Tags: Peter, Betrayal Of Christ, Sifted, Rehabilitation

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Gethsemane

Contributed by Sam Mccormick on Aug 12, 2017

Several years ago, I began to reflect on the happenings at Gethsemane. It started when I saw some movie in which an actor did an okay job of portraying Jesus, except that he failed abysmally in his attempt to show what I think Jesus' agony at Gethsemane must have been really like. I realized that ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 26:36-46, Mark 14:32-42, Luke 22:39-46, 2 Corinthians 5:21

Tags: Agony, Sweat, Pass, Thy Will Be Done, Your Will Be Done, Garden, Gethsemane, Cup  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Compassion For The Lost

Contributed by Shine Thomas on Nov 9, 2018

D.L. Moody told the story of his conversion this way: “When I was in Boston I used to attend a Sunday school class, and one day I recollect my teacher came around behind the counter of the shop I was at work in, and put his hand upon my shoulder, and talked to me about Christ and my soul. I had not ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 49:13, Luke 19:41-44

Tags: Compassion Of God, Compassion For Lost, Compassion Of Jesus, Compassion For Souls

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Politics And Religion

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Nov 19, 2019

Politics always competes with religion (joining it, tolerating it when it must, and absorbing it when it can) in order to promise, if not a life beyond, then a new deal on this earth, and a leader smiling charismatically from the ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 21:1-4, Matthew 2:1-23, Luke 23:1-25

Tags: Hope, Politics, Culture

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Casket Stolen

Contributed by Roberta Karchner on Feb 28, 2020

Funerals usually go calmly. But sometimes things happen that change everything. Perhaps the greatest example is that of Easter morning, as the women arrive to prepare the body, only to find that the stone was rolled away and the body of Jesus was missing. There was much running around and great ...read more

Scripture: John 20:1-8, Matthew 28:1-10, Luke 24:1-10, Mark 16:1-8

Tags: Easter, Tomb, He Is Risen, Stone Rolled Away, Ressurection, Missing Body, Mary At Tomb  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Zordak - The Resurrection

Contributed by Samuel Young on Apr 7, 2021

I am Zordak, Jesus’ guardian angel. I want to tell you the story of Jesus. Jesus had died and laid in the grave. I was very sad. There were one hundred Roman soldiers and whole army of evil angels guarding the grave. But Sunday morning is coming… It was still dark. The dew was still on the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 27:62-66, Matthew 28:2, Luke 24:1-44

Tags: Easter, Resurrection

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

Rest If You Must, Don't Quit

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Jul 28, 2021

TO ACCOMPLISH GOD’S WILL WE MUST HAVE MORE THAN NEARSIGHTEDNESS. Working with people takes time and much patience. Galatians 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. In 1981 I accepted the pastorate of a small mission work in eastern ...read more

Scripture: Luke 21:19, Psalm 37:7

Tags: Patience, Remember Me

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Living Or Dead

Contributed by Max Furman on Dec 24, 2021

On Easter Sunday, religious leaders and the disciples had all witnessed the same event. However, both saw something differently. A few years ago, I was getting ready to leave the house for a run and as my wife and I talked, I learned that she was soon going to run an errand. Jokingly, I told her ...read more

Scripture: Luke 24:8-11

Tags: Easter, Resurrection