In Sermon Illustrations: "Mans Choice"

Forgiveness On A Kid's First Job

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 9, 2009

FORGIVENESS ON A KID’S FIRST JOB Forgiveness was the most important lesson best-selling author Tony Hillerman learned as a kid on his first job. His story goes... "I was 14 when Mr. Ingram knocked on our farmhouse door in Sacred Heart, Oklahoma (pop. 38). The old sharecropper lived about a mile ...read more

Scripture: Luke 6:27-36

Tags: Forgiveness For Others

Words Of Discouragement From Lucy To Charley ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 19, 2009

Words of Discouragement from Lucy to Charley Brown Charley Brown says to Lucy, still dispensing sage wisdom for the pre-inflationary price of five cents, "Nobody likes me, Lucy. Everybody hates my guts. Do you see that plane up there, Lucy? It’s a plane full of people going somewhere else. That’s ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:29

Tags: Words

Give-Away Christmas  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 19, 2009

GIVE-AWAY CHRISTMAS Richard Myers tells the story of being a reservist and being called back to active duty in Fort Monmouth, NJ, canceling his Christmas plans with his family in IN. Feeling low, he turned on the radio and heard an appeal from the Post Office for volunteers to answer letters sent ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 53:1-12

Tags: Christmas

Integrity In ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 11, 2009

Integrity in Sports Joseph’s family was certainly blessed because of his Integrity. And yours will be as well! In the end, the greatest success story of Joseph is certainly not his secular achievements as second in command in Egypt. His greatest achievement is his single-mindedness to follow, to ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 20:7

Tags: Character

Nfl Quarterback's Pre-Game Generosity Impacts ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2010

NFL Quarterback’s Pre-Game Generosity Impacts Family There was a time when the bread-winner of the family worked a night shift in a low paying job and relied on food stamps to feed their large family. But that all changed after the Saint Louis Rams won the Super Bowl in 2000. And because of those ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 3:1

Tags: Generosity, Giving General

Focusing On The Light

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Mar 24, 2010

FOCUSING ON THE LIGHT "We were on shipboard," relates a captain's wife, "lying in a Southern harbor. We were obliged, first to make our way ashore. The waves were rolling heavily. I became frightened at the thought of attempting it, when one man came to me, saying, 'Do not be afraid: I will take ...read more

Tags: Jesus Christ

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Luther's Ink ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 1, 2010

LUTHER’S INK STAIN Some of you may know someone who has visited the WARTBURG CASTLE in Eisenach, German. The tour guide regularly points out to the black spot on one of the walls of the room which Luther occupied during his benevolently intended imprisonment. Let me share the legend connected with ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 43:1-7

Tags: Blood Of Christ

Game Of Chance

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Jul 9, 2010

GAME OF CHANCE A person recently said to me as they were dying that the Bible was just a series of myths and stories, and if I want to, I can choose to live my life assuming that it is. I can choose to treat heaven like a GAME OF CHANCE and the Bible as something less than a sure thing. I can ...read more

Tags: Judgment

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

I Remember Something That Happened Just After I ...

Contributed by K. Edward Skidmore on Sep 4, 2010

I remember something that happened just after I moved to Texas from New Mexico in 1974. I was driving down a street in Alvin and was pulled over by a city policeman. He asked me if I was aware that I was driving over the speed limit in a school zone. Having just moved to Texas, I didn’t know ...read more

Tags: Law

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

A Full Life  PRO

Contributed by Ovidiu Radulescu on Apr 25, 2011

A FULL LIFE A boat docked in a tiny Mexican village. An American tourist complimented the Mexican fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them. "Not very long," answered the Mexican. "Well, then, why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?" asked the ...read more

Scripture: John 21:1-19

Tags: Season, Contentment, Balance, Commandments Covet

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

The Legions Of The Unjazzed

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 8, 2011

THE LEGIONS OF THE UNJAZZED In Dr. David Jeremiah's book "Life Wide Open" he writes about a young man who turned the surfing world upside down in the 1950's. Killer Dana was the most notorious wave in California. When it was really ripping and roaring, the best surfers in the world gave it plenty ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:11

Tags: Zeal

Giving The Poor A Reason To Live

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 9, 2011

GIVING THE POOR A REASON TO LIVE So let's humble ourselves before each other and experience His grace. It's the way to true glory and dignity even if we find ourselves down and out. That's what Abbe Pierre discovered when he founded the Emmaus Communities in 1949. The Emmaus Communities today ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 1:11-17, Galatians 5:13-15

Tags: Servanthood

Titanic: Code Of Honor

Contributed by Mark Adams on Sep 10, 2011

TITANIC: CODE OF HONOR I bet a lot of you remember the movie Titanic. That song came out, and for a few days we loved Celine Dion, until we'd heard it so many times we started wishing we could put her on that boat to sink with the rest of them. Titanic was a movie that was loosely based on the ...read more

Tags: Self

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Tumbleweeds And Mesquite Trees  PRO

Contributed by Mark Stepherson on Oct 17, 2011

TUMBLEWEEDS AND MESQUITE TREES Have you seen those old movies about the wild West? Near the end, the good guy and the bad guy stand facing each other at opposite ends of the only street in town. The local folks, knowing what will happen, clear the street. They slam doors and shutter windows. The ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 1:1-4

Tags: Bible Study, Delight

Denomination: Baptist

The Golden Rule: Is It Original?

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Dec 12, 2011

THE GOLDEN RULE: IS IT ORIGINAL? There are people in this world who think Jesus’ Golden Rule was nice but not original. They try to say that Jesus merely borrowed the idea from others. I once saw a poster that tried to say that. * Confucius (some 500 years before Jesus) said: "DO NOT unto ...read more

Tags: Discipleship

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

A Study In Compassion

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Feb 10, 2012

A STUDY IN COMPASSION John Darley and Daniel Batson decided to replicate the story of the Good Samaritan with seminary students. A few variables were introduced. The seminarians were interviewed and asked why they wanted to go into ministry. There were a variety of responses, but the vast majority ...read more

Scripture: Luke 10:25-37

Tags: Compassion

Denomination: Baptist

Inescapable Judgment

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 28, 2012

INESCAPABLE JUDGMENT During the winter of 1951, a Montana café owner named Clarence Pellett pulled over to pick up a hitchhiker who appeared cold and frozen while walking during a snowstorm. Once in the car, the hitchhiker Frank Dryman pulled out a gun and ordered Pellett to get out of his ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 16:4-7

Tags: Judgment

Golfers Have A Change Of Heart

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 21, 2013

GOLFERS HAVE A CHANGE OF HEART When you willingly give Jesus all that you are and all that you have, you receive so much more in return. I heard a story once about a group of guys who were returning from playing golf in rural Georgia. As they drove down a two-lane road they came up on a ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 3:16-20, 1 Timothy 6:6-19

Tags: Compassion

Gossip: Opie's Newspaper

Contributed by Davon Huss on May 7, 2014

"Opie's Newspaper" is an episode on the Andy Griffith Show. Opie's friend, Howie, received a small printing press as a gift, and the boys decide to go into the newspaper business. They work hard and produce an initial issue of what they call the Mayberry Sun. The boys soon find that business is ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:31-32

Tags: Gossip, Slander, Sins Of Tongue, Control Tongue

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Being Committed To Christ

Contributed by Richard L. Brown on Nov 2, 2016

Being Committed to Christ Matthew 4:18-25 , 1 Corinthians 1: 10-18 Last summer Becky and I visited the Biltmore mansion in Ashville North Carolina. It is the single largest home ever built in America. Let me tell you it is something to see. It proved so large and so expensive to maintain, that ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 4:18-25

Tags: Riches, Christian Values, Being Comitted

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed