In Sermon Illustrations: "Mark 8 22 26 26"

One Woman Called Her Flight Agent To Book A ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 6, 2008

One woman called her flight agent to book a flight to New York. She said, "I want to go and see the wonders of Hippopotamus, New York; please book me a flight from Dallas." The agent said, "I'm sorry Madame, but there is no such city. Perhaps you want Albany or Syracuse?" After ten minutes the ...read more

Tags: Encouragement

Who's Watching You?

Contributed by Paul Clemente on Jan 5, 2009

WHO’S WATCHING YOU? Years ago, my brother and I were fishing off a pier with four other people. It was so hot that the fish (white bass) were just floating on the surface of the water and had no interest in biting any bait. Those of us on the pier all decided just to snag the fish with treble ...read more

Tags: Evangelism How To

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Strange Inside And Out

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 17, 2009

STRANGE INSIDE AND OUT In May 2008, scientists finally completed analyzing the DNA of the platypus, a creature native to Australia that defies categorization under bird, reptile or mammal. The platypus is so odd that when the first specimens were sent to Europe in the 19th century, scientists ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 2:1-16, 1 Peter 2:11

Tags: God's Sovereign Will

What Are You Supposed To Do?  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 27, 2009

WHAT ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO DO? Frank Sosienski was a postman in Louisville, Kentucky, who didn’t want to deliver some of his mail. Perhaps he was tired of being chased by dogs. Perhaps it was the cold weather he disliked or the hot summertimes. Maybe the mail was heavy; maybe he wanted to quit his ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:28

Tags: Church Purpose Of

He Keeps Me ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 13, 2009

HE KEEPS ME SINGING A Methodist preacher by the name of Luther Bridges, was born in 1884, he married Sarah Veatch and three lovely sons were born. Pastor Bridges accepted an invitation to minister at a conference in Kentucky in the year 1910, so he left his family in the care of his father-in-law ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 46:10

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Renoir On Suffering: The Beauty Remains, The Pain ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 10, 2009

Renoir on Suffering: The Beauty Remains, The Pain Passes Our greatest battles are not won on the mountain tops of life but during the tough times while we are in the valleys. Among the famous painters of the French impressionist school, Henri Matisse and August Renoir were the closest friends. ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 12:1-3

Tags: Suffering Joy In

G. Campbell Morgan Personalizes Jesus' Word To ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 22, 2010

G. Campbell Morgan Personalizes Jesus’ Word to Jairus Dr. G. Campbell Morgan, that great preacher of 19th century spoke powerfully on this passage from his own experience. He said, “I can hardly speak of this matter without becoming personal and reminiscent, remembering a time forty years ago when ...read more

Scripture: Luke 8:40-56

Tags: Death

I Am

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Apr 12, 2010

"I AM" In the book Life of Christ, the author on page 32 states the following about "The Great I Am": We can see that John's aim is two-fold. On one-hand, he seeks to demonstrate that Jesus is "The Messiah, the Son of God." On the other, he wants people to know the true identity of Jesus, so that ...read more

Tags: Jesus Christ

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Spirit: A Life Changing Force

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Nov 8, 2010

SPIRIT: A LIFE CHANGING FORCE There are those who think the Spirit is a thing. They view Him as a lifeless blob that God sets inside of us that doesn’t physically affect us during our lives. They tend to view God’s Spirit like a coin you put in a pop machine or a candy machine. The coin goes in ...read more

Tags: Holy Spirit In Believers

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Patience And Jell-O

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 6, 2011

PATIENCE AND JELL-O Jell-O celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1997. I was fascinated to read the story of the man who invented it. In 1897, a man by the name of Pearle Wait wore several hats. He was a construction worker. He dabbled in patent medicines and went door to door selling homemade ...read more

Scripture: 1 Chronicles 12:32

Tags: Christian Values

Avoiding The Rocks

Contributed by Tim Smith on Mar 17, 2011

AVOIDING THE ROCKS Alan was my prayer partner at a previous church and he tells the story of going white water rafting on a Christian retreat. He said he always got stuck being the captain of the boat and sure enough for the 4th year in a row, he was named captain. So his job was to direct the men ...read more

Tags: Discipleship

Denomination: Methodist

We Need Christ In Good Times And Bad

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 24, 2011

WE NEED CHRIST IN GOOD TIMES AND BAD Presbyterian minister of the 19th century, J. R. Miller, once wrote that "We need Christ just as much in our bright, prosperous, exalted hours as in the days of darkness, adversity, and depression. We are quite in danger of thinking that religion is only for ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 1:18-22

Tags: Jesus Christ

Better One Safe And Sure Way  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 30, 2011

BETTER ONE SAFE AND SURE WAY There is a story about a Fox boasting to a Cat about his clever tactics for escaping its enemies. "I have a whole bag of tricks," he said, "which contains a hundred different ways of escaping from my enemies." "I have only one," said the Cat; "but I can generally ...read more

Scripture: John 14:6, John 14:6-14

Tags: Salvation, Humor

When Everything Crumbles

Contributed by David Dewitt on Sep 22, 2011

WHEN EVERYTHING CRUMBLES September 11th is one of those moments frozen in time. It is one of those moments that everyone remembers where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news. When the first plane struck the tower at 8:45am, it was a moment that would reshape the fabric of ...read more

Tags: God Brings Hope

Denomination: Church Of God

Open Table Ministry

Contributed by Tim Smith on Feb 26, 2012

OPEN TABLE MINISTRY Open Table started with a chance encounter with a homeless man named Ernie who simply asked a youth group serving him a meal if he could come worship at their church. The adult youth workers were moved to agree to come the very next day to bring Ernie to their church service. ...read more

Tags: Action

Denomination: Methodist

The Story Of Open Table

Contributed by Tim Smith on Oct 21, 2012

THE STORY OF OPEN TABLE Open Table started with a chance encounter with a homeless man named Ernie who simply asked a youth group serving him a meal if he could come worship at their church. The adult youth workers were moved to agree to come the very next day to bring Ernie to their church ...read more

Denomination: Methodist

Is There Hope For The Next Generation Of ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 7, 2013

IS THERE HOPE FOR THE NEXT GENERATION OF EVANGELICALS? Russell Moore recounts a conversation with the evangelical theologian Carl Henry. As Moore and some of his friends were lamenting the miserable shape of the church, they asked Dr. Henry if he saw any hope in the coming generation of ...read more

Scripture: Acts 9:1-15, Acts 2:47, Romans 8:31-36, Proverbs 20:21, Luke 8:22-25, Matthew 16:18  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: God Brings Hope

Safety Against The Fire

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 23, 2013

FIRE SAFETY There is a story told of a pioneer family traveling across the western plains in a covered wagon. They watched in horror as a huge prairie fire rushed toward them driven by a strong wind. They were afraid they would be killed by the fire, but the man acted quickly. He jumped down and ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:47-50

Tags: God's Judgment

The Unreligion

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 3, 2013

THE UNRELIGION When Jesus hung on the cross, He cried out, “It is finished!” Jesus did all the work. All that remains for us to do is depend on Him. You see, not only our salvation, but our success in this life is all up to Him. I like the way Dane Ortlund put it in his book, Defiant Grace. ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 11:28-30

Tags: World Religions

A Pastor In Disguise

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 9, 2013

A Pastor in Disguise A few years ago at a Methodist Church in North Wales, as worshippers arrived at the church, they were distressed to see a dirty, drunk, smelly homeless man on the front steps. They didn't realize this bum was actually their pastor, Derek Rigby, who had disguised himself as a ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 25:31-46

Tags: Compassion, Homeless