In Sermon Illustrations: "Marks"

Isolation, Loneliness More Difficult Than ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 28, 2009

ISOLATION, LONELINESS MORE DIFFICULT THAN PAIN William H. Willimon, in his commentary on our text, shared the following story from his childhood. "A little girl in my second grade class got the dreaded disease of polio. Our teacher described to us the possible complications of her disease. She ...read more

Scripture: Mark 1:40-45

Tags: Loneliness, Suffering Loneliness

Soon, Very Soon  PRO

Contributed by Russell Brownworth on May 28, 2009

SOON, VERY SOON A lady was cleaning her house and singing Gospel songs as she worked. She began singing, "Soon and very soon, we are going to see the king..." Her little son was in the next room and began singing along with Mom. Something was a little off, however, so Mom stopped to listen. ...read more

Scripture: Mark 10:13-16

Tags: Children

Denomination: United Methodist

What Do You Hold ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 14, 2009

WHAT DO YOU HOLD SACRED? One of the most profound things I learned in graduate school was taught to me by one of my professors. He is now my Counselor Intern Supervisor, my mentor, and my good friend, Tom Moore. It was really more of a question than a profound fact to puzzle over. On an essay ...read more

Scripture: Mark 10:17-31

Tags: Christian Values

Stayed To ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 12, 2009

STAYED TO SERVE Last fall, Baptist deacon Joe Lusi was suspected of spying. Lusi is a physician in Rwanda, right near the border where the refugees cross into Zaire. Joe Lusi is a Zairian, but the Baptist hospital is in Rwanda. Moreover, the government-run hospital across town had always been ...read more

Scripture: Mark 9:35

Tags: Servanthood

Self-Gratification, Nfl ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 21, 2009

Self-Gratification, NFL Style Dexter Manly, has two Super Bowl rings, and amassed over 100 sacks during his career-heard voices. They were voices calling him into personal and instant gratification as a star. Clothes, meals, cars and drugs took over his life. In 91 he was banned from the NFL. His ...read more

Scripture: Mark 8:34-38

Tags: Self

Brain ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 23, 2009

Brain Translplant There’s a story about a wealthy man who was terminally ill. The doctor said, "There’s only “one thing” that will save you. “A brain transplant.” - It’s an experimental operation. And it’s very expensive." The wealthy guy said, - "Money is no object. Can you get me a brain?" The ...read more

Scripture: Mark 16:1-6

Tags: Power, Christ's Power

How An Elevator Operator Shares The Gospel  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 23, 2009

How an Elevator Operator Shares the Gospel An elevator operator at a hospital in Nashville once said, "I’m just a nobody telling everybody about somebody who can save ...read more

Scripture: Mark 16:1-6

Tags: Evangelism How To

Working Late In The Cemetery  PRO

Contributed by Dean Courtier on Oct 29, 2009

WORKING LATE IN THE CEMETERY Late one dark night, two men were walking home after a party. They were tired and desperate to get home, so they decided to take a shortcut through a cemetery. They got to about the middle of the graveyard, and they were startled and stopped moving. There was a ...read more

Scripture: Mark 5:1-20

Tags: Halloween

Denomination: Pentecostal

Popular Ideas Of Jesus  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 5, 2009

POPULAR IDEAS OF JESUS As we consider the risk of following Jesus, we must acknowledge the same thing; we must acknowledge that Jesus is THE Christ, not some popularized version we hear about today. In a posting just this last June, Kevin DeYoung, in his Restless and Reformed blog, describes ...read more

Scripture: Mark 8:27-29

Tags: Faith, Christ, Jesus, Culture, Jesus Christ  (view more)  (view less)

A $100 Bill, A $20 Bill And A $1 Bill Meet Up At ...

Contributed by Timothy Craver on Nov 9, 2009

A $100 bill, a $20 bill and a $1 bill meet up at the shredder at the end of their lives. The 100 says, “I’ve seen the whole world during my lifetime. Why, I’ve been on cruises in the Caribbean, safaris in Africa and vacations in Europe.” The 20 says, “Well, I haven’t done quite as well, but I have ...read more

Scripture: Mark 12:41-44

Tags: Money, Giving

Denomination: Brethren

General Douglas Macarthur Unique Signature At The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 22, 2009

General Douglas MacArthur Unique Signature at the Japanese Surrender Ending World War II We need to understand not just the pain, but the power to come. We need to appreciate not just the hard times, but the victory ahead. We need to grasp not just the cross, but the crown to follow. On ...read more

Scripture: Mark 9:2-10

Tags: War

Repentance Of Chuck ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 24, 2009

Repentance of Chuck Norris I was reading about a martial arts fighter. He came forward at a Billy Graham crusade and accepted Christ as his Savior when he was 12 years old. But he never really committed his life to serving Christ. He went on to become the karate middleweight champion of the world ...read more

Scripture: Mark 1:15

Tags: Repentance, Cup Of Salvation

Charlie Brown Learns The Hard Way That Lucy ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 24, 2009

Charlie Brown Learns The Hard Way that Lucy Didn’t Repent Repenting means changing our minds about who God is. Secondly: repenting means changing our minds about the way we live our lives. If God is all powerful and all caring and all loving, then it’s in my best interests to live a life that’s ...read more

Scripture: Mark 1:15

Tags: Repentance

A Little Girl's Security In A ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2010

A Little Girl’s Security in a Storm There was a devout Christian mother who was always teaching her daughter lessons of faith and trust, especially telling her that she need never be afraid at any time because God was always near. One summer evening she tucked her little girl in bed after her ...read more

Scripture: Mark 9:15-29

Tags: Fear And Worry

Corrie Ten Boom On ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 4, 2010

Corrie Ten Boom on Prayer It was Corrie Ten Boom who asked, “Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tyre?” I am afraid for too many of us it is the spare tyre, the source we look to only when our journey has ground to a halt, but really, it ought to be our steering wheel, and Jesus teaches us ...read more

Scripture: Mark 1:35

Tags: Prayer General

Francis Chan: Radical Christian Living

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 1, 2010

FRANCIS CHAN: RADICAL CHRISTIAN LIVING Pastor Francis Chan, the senior pastor of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, California wrote in his latest book entitled, "Crazy Love". He has already sold one million copies worldwide; a figure he says demonstrates the extent to which he is not alone in ...read more

Scripture: Mark 8:34-38

Tags: Discipleship

The Magnitude Of The Request

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 26, 2011

THE MAGNITUDE OF THE REQUEST Napoleon and his soldiers overcame an island in the Mediterranean Sea. They had fought for many days to take the island and finally succeeded. After the capture of the island at the price of many lives, Napoleon and his generals gathered for a celebration. As they were ...read more

Scripture: Mark 11:24

Tags: Prayer How To

Following Garibaldi And Following Jesus

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 6, 2011

FOLLOWING GARIBALDI AND FOLLOWING JESUS Garibaldi, the great Italian military hero from the 19th century, raised an incredibly committed volunteer army. His appeal for recruits was rather unique as he offered only these terms: "I offer neither pay, nor quarters, nor provisions; I offer hunger, ...read more

Scripture: Mark 8:34-38

Tags: Discipleship

What Comes Out Of Your Mouth  PRO

Contributed by Alan Perkins on Apr 10, 2011

WHAT COMES OUT OF YOUR MOUTH How carefully do you monitor what goes into your mouth, compared to what comes out of it? For example, do you follow a low-fat diet? Do you obsessively track the grams of fat going into your body? Do you watch the number of calories that you consume? Do you avoid ...read more

Scripture: Mark 7:14-23

Tags: Relationships, Tongue

Denomination: Baptist

The Miracle Of Sight  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 15, 2011

THE MIRACLE OF SIGHT For 51 years Bob Edens was blind. He couldn’t see a thing. His world was a black hall of sounds and smells. He felt his way through five decades of darkness. And then, he could see. A skilled surgeon performed a complicated operation and, for the first time, Bob Edens had ...read more

Scripture: Mark 10:46-52

Tags: Beauty