In Sermon Illustrations: "Mark 7 1 8 14 15 21 23"

Losing

Contributed by Davon Huss on Mar 13, 2021

Read a book by Pat Conroy entitled My Losing Season. In that book Conroy recounts the season in 1967 when he played point guard for the Citadel college basketball team. In his book Conroy contrasts the lessons from winning from those learned from losing. “Winning,” he writes, “makes you think ...read more

Scripture: Mark 8:35, John 12:23-33, John 12:25

Tags: Character, Winning, Losing

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Who's That?

Contributed by Loyd C. Taylor on Apr 2, 2023

Who’s that ridin’ on a colt? Who’s that lowly and humbly coming- coming into Jerusalem on that glorious Palm Sunday day? Who’s that bringin’ hope with him? Who’s that gracefully offering- offering Himself as the Shepherd to all who’ve gone astray? Who’s that? Isn’t He the Messiah? Isn’t He the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-5, John 1:29

Tags: Hosanna, Prophecy About Jesus, Poems For Palm Sunday, Palm Sunday Poem, Religious Poems  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Last Words To Wife

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Feb 22, 2025

Her husband had been slipping in and out of a coma for several months yet she stayed by his bedside every single day. When he came to, he motioned for her to come nearer. As she sat by him, he said, "You know what? You have been with me all through the bad times. When I got fired, you were ...read more

Scripture: Mark 14:22-25, Matthew 26:26-29, Luke 22:14-23

Tags: Death, Communion, Last Supper, Deathbed, Lord's Table, Last Words  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Roman Short Whip

Contributed by John Bright on Mar 10, 2025

Roman short whip, also called a flagrum. It was made of two or three leather (ox-hide) thongs or ropes connected to a handle. The leather thongs were knotted with several small pieces of metal, usually zinc and iron, attached at various intervals. Scourging would quickly remove the skin. According ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 53:4-6, Mark 15:15, Matthew 27:26

Tags: Scourge, Stripes, Whipping, Flagrum, Short Whip  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Methodist

What Are The Synoptic Gospels?

Contributed by John Bright on Jan 15, 2026

We call Matthew, Mark, and Luke the Synoptic Gospels because they share a lot of the same content – “synoptic” means “common view.” They often include different ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 17:1-8, Mark 9:2-13, Luke 9:28-36

Tags: Witness, Transfiguration Of Jesus, Synoptic Gospels

Denomination: Methodist

Funny Story - Rest In Peace

Contributed by J Jeffrey Smead on Feb 25, 2026

The wife ... of a man who had recently died ... assumed ... they were well off financially, ... so she gave him a very nice funeral ... and a fancy tombstone that read, ... "Rest in Peace." However, ... when the estate was settled ... she was informed by their attorney ... that he had ...read more

Scripture: Mark 2:23-28, Colossians 2:14-17, Hebrews 4:9-10

Tags: Peace, Wife, Anger, Rest, Tombstone, Shabbat  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Anglican

The Prince Of Grenada, An Heir To The Spanish ...  PRO

Contributed by Jeremy Houck on Jan 15, 2005

The prince of Grenada, an heir to the Spanish crown, was sentenced to life in solitary confinement in Madrid’s ancient prison called "The Place of the Skull." The fearful, dirty, and dreary nature of the place earned it the name. Everyone knew that once you were in, you would never come out alive. ...read more

Tags: Doubt

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

[209]. A Message From A Poem – Our Pilgrim Journey Home

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Sep 23, 2025

[209]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – OUR PILGRIM JOURNEY HOME Here is an explanation – The title of this poem expresses the walk and life of a Christian who lives for a short time in this world and then is called home. There is a slight touch of Bunyan’s Pilgrim Progress here. The KJV is the only ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 1:20-21, Hebrews 11:13, 1 Peter 2:11

Tags: Sojourners, To Live Is Christ, Aliens, Light, Journey, Opposition, Crowd, Strangers, Pilgrims  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Hormone ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 10, 2009

HORMONE HURRICANES Josh McDowell is one of christianity’s foremost experts on teenagers. His research shows that in evangelical church circles, 65% of teens have had some kind of sexual experience before the age of 18. 43% say they have actually gone all the way. He asked them where they learned ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:13

Tags: Temptation, Temptation Sex

Cowardice Never Wins Against Temptation, Only ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 27, 2010

Cowardice Never Wins Against Temptation, Only Courage On May 21, 1946 in Los Alamos, NM, a young and daring scientist, Louis Slotin, was carrying out a necessary experiment in preparation for the atomic test to be conducted in the waters of the South Pacific. He had successfully performed the ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 16:13

Tags: Heroism, Self-Sacrifice

My Friend Will Find Me

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 16, 2012

MY FRIEND WILL FIND ME Sam was a great bird dog. If he pointed to a clump of bushes, there surely was a bird in there. He was much more than just a bird dog. Often we’d share together lazy lunches in an abandoned apple orchard, and the snooze that followed. Late one afternoon, Sam and I became ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 4:7-9

Tags: Trust

More Than Half Of U.s. Couples Who Married In The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 15, 2008

More than half of U.S. couples who married in the late '70s never saw their 25th anniversary, say the Census Bureau. It's the first time since World War II that married people had a less than even chance of still being married 25 years later, claims The New York Times. 70% of men who married ...read more

Tags: Catechism

20 Signs That You're Getting Old  PRO

Contributed by Steven Simala Grant on Jul 30, 2002

20 SIGNS THAT YOU'RE GETTING OLD 1. You’re asleep, but others worry that you’re dead. 2. Your back goes out more often than you do. 3. You quit trying to hold your stomach in, no matter who walks into the room. 4. You buy a compass for the dash of your car/truck. 5. You’re proud of your ...read more

Tags: Finding Fulfillment, Family, Giving Yourself

Denomination: Baptist

Some Of You Are Familiar With The Musical Man Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 26, 2007

Some of you are familiar with the musical Man of Lamancha. 1. It is the story of Don Quixote, the weird character who jousts with windmills and envisions himself as a knight slaying dragons. 2. The most poignant part of the musical is his relationship with Aldonza. 3. She was a woman of ...read more

When A Moralistic Mission Misfires!!!

Contributed by Suresh Manoharan on May 22, 2017

Heard of anecdotes when something done with an apparently good intention but in a wrong way went haywire? Here’s one for starters... Who can forget a school time story told often to emphasize the importance of proper usage of punctuation marks? It is said that on account of a last-minute ...read more

Scripture: 1 Chronicles 13:1-14

Tags: Mistakes, Miscalculation

Denomination: *other

Recent Research Funded By Zondervan Reveals The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 6, 2006

Recent research funded by Zondervan reveals the most influential factor when choosing a Bible translation is accuracy (75.8%). 15.1% go for readability. This was a key motivator for Tyndale House to invest in the ...read more

Tags: Bible Influence

[228]. A Message From A Poem - Raptured To The Lord

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Oct 15, 2025

[228]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM - RAPTURED TO THE LORD The Rapture is the hope of the Church. The bible calls it this – {{Titus 2:13 “looking for THE BLESSED HOPE and THE APPEARING OF THE GLORY OF OUR GREAT GOD and Saviour, Christ Jesus.”}} That verse looks at the two future comings, the Rapture ...read more

Scripture: Malachi 4:2, 2 Peter 1:19, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, Titus 2:13, Revelation 4:1  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Trumpet Sound, Rapture, The Morning Star, Christian Poems, The Sun Of Righteousness  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

State Of U.s. Church: In Proportion To The U.s. ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 3, 2006

State of U.S. Church: In proportion to the U.S. population, there are less than half as many churches today as in 1900. About 4,000 churches are started each year¾while 7,000 die and close. In ’91, 21% of all adults were unchurched. In ’02, 34% fit that description. Today the U.S. is the 4th ...read more

Tags: What Is Evangelism?

A Typical Non Believing Professor Told The Class ...  PRO

Contributed by Al Schifano on Mar 25, 2004

A typical non believing professor told the class that he was going to prove to them that there was no God. None of the students moved. He said, "Ok! Let’s get started. God, if you are real, then I want you to knock me off this platform. I’ll give you 15 minutes!" He perched on the edge of his ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:12

Tags: Call Of The Disciples, Discipleship

Denomination: Catholic

Are You Tied To This World?

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 1, 2012

ARE YOU TIED TO THIS WORLD? Moody said that some people are trying to live by faith as though they are paddling hard in a row boat, while all along their tie-down is still fastened securely to the dock. He declared, "They are tied to this world. Cut the cord! Set yourself free from the clogging ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 2:15-17

Tags: Worldliness