In Sermon Illustrations: "Mark 4:13-13:20"

I Want To Summarize A Statement That An ...  PRO

Contributed by Tim Richards on May 18, 2005

I want to summarize a statement that an Episcopalian minister by the name of Robert Capon made about the greatest threat to Christianity today. I don’t think I could agree with him more. Listen to what he said, "The most critical issue facing Christians is not abortion, pornography, the ...read more

Scripture: Mark 10:13-16

Tags: Evangelism Urgency, Evangelism How To

Denomination: Baptist

Billy Graham Noted, "Faith Is The Avenue Of ...  PRO

Contributed by Richard Burkey on Jun 23, 2005

Billy Graham noted, “Faith is the avenue of salvation. Not intellectual understanding. Not money. Not your works. Just simple faith. How much faith? The faith of a mustard seed, so small you can hardly see it. But if you will put that little faith in the person of Jesus, your ...read more

Scripture: Mark 4:30-34, Matthew 13:31-33

Tags: Faith General, Faith Vs. Works

Denomination: Lutheran

Dragging My Sin  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 6, 2005

DRAGGING MY SIN In this award winning film called “The Mission,” Robert DeNiro plays a mercenary who has taken asylum in the local church after killing his brother in a fit of jealous rage. He eventually leaves the church and heads to a mission post located above the waterfalls in a South American ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 32:1-11, Psalm 32:1-11, Mark 5:1-19, Mark 5:1-19

Tags: Forgiveness General, Forgiveness For Others, Character

Just Something I Believed! (10.17.05--That ...

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Oct 13, 2005

Just Something I Believed! (10.17.05--That Person!--Mark 6:2-3) Sometimes we want to believe something so hard that even when we know the truth, we cling to the error. I grew up believing that all cats were sneaky and couldn’t be trusted. All dogs were rather dumb and couldn’t be devious if ...read more

Scripture: Mark 6:2-3

Tags: Racism

Denomination: Lutheran

Church Tech: 9 Out Of 10 Protestant Pastors Have ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2006

Church Tech: 9 out of 10 Protestant pastors have Internet access, and about half of all Protestant churches maintain a church Web site, according to a recent Ellison Research study. While 90% of ministers are online, only a third of those use a content filter on their church office computer. 88% ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 3:12-14, Philippians 4:13, Nehemiah 8:13-18, 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12, John 10:1-30, Mark 10:45-52, James 3:1-20, James 3:1-18, Ephesians 4:1, 1 John 1:1-10, Luke 6:19-31, Joshua 1:1-30, 2 Timothy 3:10-17  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Church General

There Was Once A Great And Noble King Whose Land ...  PRO

Contributed by Tim Zingale on Feb 21, 2006

There was once a great and noble King whose land was terrorized by a crafty dragon. Like a massive bird of prey, the scaly beast delighted in ravaging villages with his fiery breath. Hapless victims ran from their burning homes, only to be snatched into the dragon’s jaws or talons. Those devoured ...read more

Scripture: Mark 9:2-9

Tags: Transfiguration, Transformation, Sin Deceptive

Denomination: Lutheran

I Wanted To Buy A Dust Mop Head For Our New ...  PRO

Contributed by Vinnie Cappetta on Mar 12, 2006

I wanted to buy a dust mop head for our new church facility, but I didn’t have a measuring tool to figure out what size I needed. So, I used my shoes and hand to measure. The dust mop head was two of my shoes and four fingers. When I went to the world wide web to order, I couldn’t find a dust ...read more

Scripture: Mark 12:30

Tags: Love For God

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Or Would You Be More Like The Woman Who Was ...  PRO

Contributed by Russell Brownworth on Dec 11, 2000

Or would you be more like the woman who was bitten by a rabid dog, and it looked like she was going to die from rabies. The doctor told her to put her final affairs in order. So the woman took pen and paper, and began writing furiously. In fact she wrote and wrote and wrote. Finally the doctor ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 19:1-19, Mark 12:28-34

Tags: Love, Anger, Christian Love, Forgiveness For Others

Denomination: United Methodist

This Is An Alleged New Year’s Letter ...  PRO

Contributed by Tony Fox on Dec 12, 2000

ILL: This is an alleged New Year’s letter written from a church member to the pastor. Dear Pastor: You often stress attendance at worship as being very important for a Christian, but I think a person has a right to miss now and then. I think every person ought to be excused for the following ...read more

Scripture: Mark 7:24-30, Mark 7:1-8

Tags: Growth In Christ, New Year's Day, Sandra, Faith

Denomination: Baptist

How To Catch A Monkey  PRO

Contributed by Doug Sanders on Jan 2, 2001

HOW TO CATCH A MONKEY Native hunters in the jungles of Africa have a clever way of trapping monkeys. They slice a coconut in two, hollow it out, and in one half of the shell cut a hole just big enough for a monkey’s hand to pass through. Then they place an orange in the other coconut half before ...read more

Scripture: Mark 6:38, Matthew 8:5-13

Tags: Human Value, John Wesley, Lost, Grace, Sacrifices, Salvation, Riches, Track, Support, Sovereign, Need, Church, Course, Business And Marketplace, Encouragement, Wisdom  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

In The Fall Of The Year, Linda, A Young Woman, ...  PRO

Contributed by Jamie Moore on Oct 31, 2000

In the fall of the year, Linda, a young woman, was traveling alone up the rutted and rugged highway from Alberta to the Yukon. Linda didn’t know you don’t travel to Whitehorse alone in a rundown Honda Civic, so she set off where only four-wheel drives normally venture. The first evening she found a ...read more

Scripture: Mark 9:1-6, Mark 9:36-37

Tags: Church Small Groups, Compassion

Denomination: Baptist

Charles Swindoll In His Book "Three Steps ...  PRO

Contributed by Richard Jones on Nov 1, 2000

Charles Swindoll in his book “Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Back” tells the story of a farmer who wanted to impress his hunting buddies. To impress them, he bought the smartest, most expensive hunting dog he could find. He trained this dog to do things no other dog on earth could do---impossible ...read more

Scripture: Mark 6:1-13

Tags: Faith General, Emotions

Denomination: Baptist

An Old American Indian Tale Recounts The Story Of ...  PRO

Contributed by Richard Jones on Nov 3, 2000

An old American Indian tale recounts the story of a chief who was telling a gathering of young braves about the struggle within. "It is like two dogs fighting inside of us," the chief told them. "There is one good dog who wants to do the right and the other dog always wants to do the wrong. ...read more

Scripture: Mark 9:38-50, Psalm 139:13-16, Proverbs 4:1-27, Isaiah 6:1-5, Psalm 139:1-14  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Commitment, Discipleship, Encounter, Experience, Seek, Service, Steadfast, Stumbling Block, Turn, Pray, Obedience, Humble, Growth In Christ, Holiness, Hero, Worship, Willingness  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

The Late Dr. Boice Had Some Interesting Thoughts ...  PRO

Contributed by Nathan Robertson, Jr. on Nov 3, 2000

The late Dr. Boice had some interesting thoughts as to why God’s justice is offensive. In human affairs we rightly value justice and the "wrath" of the judicial system, for they protect us. If by chance we ourselves run afoul of the law, there is always the chance that we can cop a plea, escape on ...read more

Scripture: Mark 12:1-12

Tags: Forgiveness General, God's Forgiveness, God's Judgment

Denomination: Baptist

In His Book Enjoying Intimacy With God, J. Oswald ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 31, 2001

In his book Enjoying Intimacy with God, J. Oswald Sanders makes a piercing observation: "We are at this moment as close to God as we really choose to be. True, there are times when we would like to know a deeper intimacy, but ...read more

Scripture: Mark 12:29-30

Tags: Discipleship, Disciplines General

Frequently In The Wedding Service We Have The ...  PRO

Contributed by Gene Barron on Feb 2, 2001

Frequently in the wedding service we have the ceremony of lighting the unity candle by the bride and groom. The couple each takes a small burning candle, representing their solitary life thus far, and together they light the large, center, wedding candle. When they put their small candles back ...read more

Scripture: Mark 10:6-9

Tags: Marriage Commitment, Marriage, Marriage Obligations, Unity, Wedding  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Left On A Sinking Ship Were The Captain And Three ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 17, 2006

Left on a sinking ship were the captain and three sailors. The captain spoke first. "Men, this business about a captain going down with his ship is nonsense. There’s a three-man life raft on board and I’m going to be on it. To see who will come with me, I will ask you each one question. The one who ...read more

Scripture: Mark 4:35-41

Tags: Sin General

Our Deepest Fear Is Not That We Are Inadequate. ...

Contributed by Richard Francis on May 19, 2006

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, “Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?” Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. ...read more

Scripture: Mark 10:43-45

Tags: Character

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

My Wife And I Recently Saw A Television Show On ...  PRO

Contributed by Bruce Ferris on Aug 26, 2006

My wife and I recently saw a television show on The History Channel titled, “The Man Who Predicted 911.” We were both moved by this hour presentation and its focus on one man by the name of Rick Rescorla. Long before September 11th, Rick Rescorla, the 62-year-old head of security at the Morgan ...read more

Scripture: James 5:19-20, Mark 13:1-2

Tags: Lost, What Is Evangelism?

Denomination: Baptist

Jesus Took The Deaf Mute Man Aside, Away From The ...

Contributed by Glen O'brien on Sep 21, 2006

Jesus took the deaf mute man aside, away from the crowd, stuck his fingers in the mans’ ears and spat on his tongue. What Jesus was doing here of course was touching the affected areas. He put his fingers in the man’s ears because this was the location of his disability. He spat and touched his ...read more

Scripture: Mark 7:33

Denomination: Methodist