In Sermon Illustrations: "Mark Chapter 4 Verses 35 Through 31"

Roe V. Wade Support Waning Harris Poll Has Been ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 20, 2007

Roe v. Wade Support Waning Harris poll has been measuring Roe v. Wade support for 33 years and reports just 49% of U.S. adults support the decision today vs. 57% in ’98. 40% favor laws to make it more difficult for a woman to get an abortion, while another 40% ...read more

Tags: Abortion

The Devil Says, "Whatever You Don't Have, ...

Contributed by Gene Gregory on Jul 24, 2007

The devil says, “Whatever you don’t have, whatever irritates, whoever disappoints, whatever is uncomfortable, whatever is missing, think on these things.” God says, > Philippians 4:8 … whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

All Men Commanded To Appear 3 Times A Year There, ...

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Mar 3, 2008

All men commanded to appear 3 times a year there, but the Rabbis found a way to reinterpret this; at the time of Jesus, a man was considered especially devout if he went once a year, and some went once in a lifetime or every 4 or 5 years! (see "Pilgrimage at the Time of Jesus" by Shmuel Safrai, ...read more

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Christian Book Publishers Receive A Combined ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 10, 2008

Christian Book Publishers receive a combined total of almost 250,000 manuscripts during a typical year with some of the 300 publishers receiving more than 10,000. On average about 5% of those submissions get published or approximately 12,000 titles a year. The average first printing of a book for a ...read more

Tags: Books And Literature

Luxury Consumers' Feeling Of Confidence Tanked ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 10, 2008

Luxury consumers’ feeling of confidence tanked in Q3, as measured by Unity Marketing’s Luxury Consumption Index. The index plummeted to 87.3 points, its lowest level since '04, following a 4-point drop in Q2. The index is based upon a survey of luxury consumers (average income $150,000 and ...read more

Tags: Materialism

He Is Our Desperate Need: 2 Peter ...

Contributed by Michael West on Oct 2, 2008

He is our desperate need: 2 Peter 1:3-4 Without Him, we are lost. Without Him, we are like a toy that needs batteries… We were born into this world blind to the truth of God— I Corinthians 2:14. Without Him, we would have remained full of corruption. With Him, we now ...read more

Tags: Sanctification

Denomination: Independent/Bible

P ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 13, 2009

PRISONERS The U.S. has less than 5% of the world’s population, yet nearly 25% of its prisoners. It has 751 people in prison or jail for every 100,000 people. The only other major industrialized nation that even comes close is Russia, with 627 prisoners for every ...read more

Tags: Sin General

First-Born

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Mar 8, 2010

FIRST-BORN The ancient Rabbis called Yahweh Himself "Firstborn of the World" (Rabbi Bechai cited in Lightfoot’s commentary on Colossians). Rabbis also used firstborn as a Messianic title. "God said, ’As I made Jacob a first-born (Exodus 4:22), so also will I make king Messiah a first-born’ (Psalm ...read more

Tags: Jesus Christ

Denomination: Independent/Bible

C.s. Lewis On A Right Understanding Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 31, 2010

C.S. Lewis on a Right Understanding of Self C. S. Lewis put it this way: When a man is getting better, he understands more and more clearly the evil that is still left in him. When a man is getting worse, he understands his own badness less and less. (Leadership, Vol. ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:3

Tags: Humility

Richard Foster: To Pray Is To Change

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 19, 2011

RICHARD FOSTER: TO PRAY IS TO CHANGE Richard Foster, in his book Celebration of Discipline, says, "To pray is to change. Prayer is the central avenue God uses to transform us. If we are unwilling to change, we will abandon prayer as a noticeable characteristic of our lives. The closer we come to ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 1:9-14

Tags: Growth In Christ

Risk Your Life To Save It

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 20, 2011

RISK YOUR LIFE TO SAVE IT Tyrtaeus, an old Greek poet who lived before the time of Christ, wrote, "The man who risks his life in battle has the best chance in saving it; the one who flees to save it is most likely to lose it." (Walter Bauer, A Greek-English ...read more

Scripture: John 12:23-26

Tags: Easter Palm Sunday

Misunderstanding

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Aug 23, 2021

A woman was trying hard to get the ketchup out of the jar. During her struggle the phone rang so she asked her 4-year-old daughter Amanda to answer the phone. And kids view the world differently sometimes. Literally. She answered the phone obediently, "Hello, this is Amanda. Mommy can't ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 29:12-17

Tags: Children, Interpretation, Hermeneutics, Misunderstanding, Amusing, Wording  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Metaphors (Comical)

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on May 2, 2022

. Most writers know not to use mixed metaphors. Here are some examples: 1. She was a couch potato in the gravy boat of life, flopping dejectedly on the sofa. 2. All at once he was alone in this noisy hive with no place to roost. 3. The little boat gently drifted across the pond the way a bowling ...read more

Scripture: John 6:35-51

Tags: Bread, I Am, Metaphor, I Am Statements

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Isn't It Strange?, Unknown Author, Submitted By ...  PRO

Contributed by A. Todd Coget on Mar 8, 2002

[Isn’t it Strange?, unknown author, submitted by Jerry Pearcy] Isn’t it strange how a 20 dollar bill seems like such a large amount when you donate it to church, but such a small amount when you go shopping? Isn’t it strange how endless an hour seems when we are serving God, but how short it is ...read more

Tags: Church Practices, Commitment To Christ

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Most Of Us Love Happy Endings! My Girls When They ...  PRO

Contributed by Peter Bines on Sep 22, 2005

Most of us love happy endings! My girls when they were little loved Disney’s, ‘Beauty and the Beast.’ In the closing scenes the beast lies dying from a wound inflicted during combat with Gaston his enemy. Belle the beauty finally confesses her love for the beast and just in time gives him the kiss ...read more

Tags: Jonah

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Some Time Ago Thomas A. Harris Wrote A Book Of ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Some time ago Thomas A. Harris wrote a book of pop psychology called I’m O. K.—You’re O. K. About that time the Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology was holding its annual meeting on the depravity of man. One of the speakers was theologian Dr. John Gerstner, at that time a professor at ...read more

Tags: Salvation

Make It Your Aim Not To Sin

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Mar 24, 2012

MAKE IT YOUR AIM NOT TO SIN The whole purpose of John's letter, he says, is that we not sin. One day as I was studying this chapter I realized that my personal life's objective regarding holiness was less than that of John's. He was saying, in effect, "Make it your aim not to sin." As I thought ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 2:1

Tags: Holiness

Denomination: Baptist

Guidelines For Praying Succesfully

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Dec 31, 2021

GUIDELINES FOR PRAYING SUCCESSFULLY Devotional by Larry Petton Text: John chapter 15 Our devotional time with the Lord must be a balanced blend of the Word and prayer, truth and Spirit touching the head and heart. If you only focus on Bible study, you will dry up. If you only focus on prayer ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:7

Tags: Prayer, Will Of God, Seeking God, Answers To Prayer

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Longsuffering  PRO

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

Longsuffering Galatians 5:22 tells us that longsuffering is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. The Greek word for longsuffering means, "patience, forbearing, perseverance, being constant, steadfast, and enduring." The practical application of this fruit is that God's Holy Spirit gives obedient ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:22

Tags: Longsuffering, Fruit Of The Spirit

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

A Poem By Pastor Clinton Meininger From His Book ...  PRO

Contributed by Tim Zingale on Dec 11, 2000

A poem by Pastor Clinton Meininger from his book "Springs of Living Waters"tells us of the mysteries of life. He says: "All around me, Lord of life, My world is tumbling in. There’s nothing sure and nothing safe From gossip, greed and sin: And yet, I know ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:13-16

Tags: God In The Hardships, God's Provision

Denomination: Lutheran