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

A Gift Of Kindness - You Never Know

Contributed by Roberta Karchner on Oct 20, 2018

A number of years ago, my husband and I went to Applebees on our Anniversary for a quiet dinner together. It was, indeed, very quiet, because my husband had just been ordered to undergo an MRI, and we knew that the results might change our future forever. Still, we did what old married couples ...read more

Scripture: Mark 12:31, Hebrews 13:2, Matthew 25:39-40

Tags: Do Unto Others, Love Your Neighbor, Loving Acts, Kind Acts

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

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

Denomination: Anglican

I ...

Contributed by Paul Carlson on Jan 25, 2010

ILLUSTRATION The example of EVIL in the 20th century. 1. 6,000,000 Jews murdered in gas chambers. 2. 7,000,000 gypsies/others 3. Russia slaughtered 20,000,000 Ukrainians 4. 1.5 million Armenians killed 5. tens of thousands ...read more

Tags: Sin General

Denomination: Baptist

Three Ways Out

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 1, 2013

THREE WAYS OUT Sir Harry Lauder was a British entertainer who proved highly popular throughout the English speaking world both before, during and after World War One. During World War One Lauder worked tirelessly to organize and recruit performers for shows given to troops serving abroad. When ...read more

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Tags: Death, Despair, Struggles, Hardship Of Life, Trials And Difficulties  (view more)  (view less)

Dwarfish Christianity

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 24, 2011

DWARFISH CHRISTIANITY Charles Spurgeon, the famed pastor of the Metropolitan Baptist Tabernacle in London made this observation in the late 1800’s when he came in contact with a community of small framed men. "There was once in London a club of small men, whose qualification for membership lay in ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 3:10-20, 1 Timothy 3:10-12

Tags: Growth In Christ

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

The Most Expensive Doorstop In The World!

Contributed by David Simpson on Apr 23, 2018

1 Peter 2:7-8 “Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone, and, ‘A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.’ They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 2:7-8

Tags: Precious Cornerstone, Treasure, Foundation, Stumbling Stone

Denomination: Christian Church

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?

I'd Like To Be A Track Star. How Cool Would It Be ...

Contributed by Danny Nance on Mar 21, 2008

I’d like to be a track star. How cool would it be to stand before a roaring crowd that has stood to its feet because I set a new record in high jump! And I could do it, you know—if the record for high jump stood at two feet. Unfortunately for me, the record is almost 2.5 meters—well over seven ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

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

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

Despite Its Christian Heritage, The United States ...  PRO

Contributed by Jim Luthy on Aug 14, 2001

Despite its Christian heritage, the United States leads every other nation in the industrialized world in the percentage of single-parent families (23%), abortion rate (22.9 per 1,000 women aged 15-44), sexually transmitted diseases (syphillis rate is 6.3 per 100,000 and gonorrhea rate is 149.5 per ...read more

Tags: Sin General, Sexuality, Abortion

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

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