In Sermon Illustrations: "Masterful Preacher"

In One Of The Churches I Served After Seminary, ...

Contributed by Russell Brownworth on May 12, 2008

In one of the churches I served after seminary, Granny Parker summed up what I sense is God’s way of helping us along in the church. Granny is home with Jesus now. In this world she wasn’t very impressive; she only completed about 5th grade in school. But she had a heart for God and a PhD when ...read more

Tags: Pastors

Denomination: United Methodist

There Is A Story About A Former Prizefighter That ...

Contributed by Brian Harvison on Sep 12, 2008

There is a story about a former prizefighter that had been converted and thought God had called him to preach The only problem was, while he thought he had the gift of preaching, nobody else had the gift of listening So he couldn’t get a church He got a little pulpit, found a street corner and ...read more

Tags: Sin General

Denomination: Baptist

Your Spirit Does Matter

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 17, 2009

YOUR SPIRIT DOES MATTER A preacher wrote: "Today we have people who claim to be Christians shouting ’God hates fags’ at the funerals of soldiers who have died in Iraq, because these ’Christians’ believe God is punishing America for its tolerance of homosexuals. A recent editorial in the paper ...read more

Tags: Anger

Traders Vs. ...

Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Jun 8, 2009

Traders vs. Investors We all have seen the effect of those who have given up on the economy. In his newspaper column called “Market Report,” Bill Barnhart once explained the difference between investors and traders in the stock market. “A trader in a stock,” writes Barnhart, “is making ...read more

Tags: Kingdom Of God

Denomination: Other

Evans On The Virgin Birth

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 28, 2009

EVANS ON THE VIRGIN BIRTH Dr. William Evans, who pastored College Church from 1906-1909, was an unusually accomplished man. He had the entire King James Version of the Bible memorized as well as the New Testament of the American Standard Version. Dr. Evans also authored over fifty books. His son, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 1:18-25

Tags: Birth Of Jesus

In The World Today...we Are Trying To Marry ...

Contributed by Hugh Laing on Feb 17, 2010

In the world today...we are trying to marry Christianity to all the wrong things...we are trying to marry it to prosperity...popularity...personalities...politics...and beloved...it ain't working 'cause it's broken! And yet many ministers preach a PROSPERITY DOCTRINE today because it feeds our ...read more

Tags: Revival

Denomination: Baptist

Unbelievers At The Second Coming

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 26, 2011

UNBELIEVERS AT THE SECOND COMING Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the great Victorian preacher, said in a sermon entitled ‘Secret sins’ preached in 1857: "When Christ comes a second time, there will be a marvellous change in the way men talk. Me thinks I see him; there he sits upon his throne. Now, ...read more

Scripture: 2 Peter 3:1-18

Tags: Second Coming

Out-Of-Whack Priorities

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 26, 2011

OUT-OF-WHACK PRIORITIES USA Today ran an article on October 25th, 1995 that is a great illustration about priorities. It reads... "Ronald Warwick, captain of the luxury cruise ship Queen Elizabeth II, questioned a passenger who paid full fare for his dog to join them on an around-the-world ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 2:15-17

Tags: Worldliness

I Don't Want To Be A Fireman

Contributed by Chuck Sligh on Apr 20, 2011

I DON'T WANT TO BE A FIREMAN I recall a conversation I once had with a precocious little boy we once had in the church I pastored for 10 years in Wiesbaden. I asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up. "Well," he replied, "I don't want to be a fireman." I'd never had a kid tell me what ...read more

Tags: Discipleship

Denomination: Baptist

Who Will Do The Need-Meeting?

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 11, 2011

WHO WILL DO THE NEED-MEETING? One preacher told of shopping at the supermarket when a lady came down the aisle heading straight for him. She screeched to a halt within a few feet of him, wagged her finger, and said, "I left your church. I left your church". So I said, "Well, if it’s my church, I ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 2:1-5

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Spurgeon On Truth And The Spirit

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 20, 2011

SPURGEON ON TRUTH AND THE SPIRIT The great 19th century British preacher, Charles Spurgeon, made a wonderful analogy about the Holy Spirit’s role in leading us into God’s truth: "Truth may be compared to a cave or grotto, with wondrous stalactites reaching from the roof, and others reaching from ...read more

Scripture: John 16:5-15

Tags: Holy Spirit In Believers

Invalids' Prayers Bring Revival  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 4, 2011

INVALIDS' PRAYERS BRING REVIVAL Max Lucado told of a church in Scotland back in the 1940s that was struggling to keep the doors open. A couple of its members were two older ladies who were invalids and couldn’t get out for worship any longer. But these ladies refused to allow their infirmities to ...read more

Scripture: James 5:13-20

Tags: Prayer Persistence, Serving

Call Sin Something Else, Please?

Contributed by Eugene Morell on Jul 1, 2012

CALL SIN SOMETHING ELSE, PLEASE? There is a story about a Methodist preacher who often spoke on the subject of sin. He defined sin as that abominable thing that God hates. One day some of the leading laymen came to urge their pastor to stop using the word sin. The laymen told their pastor that ...read more

Tags: Sin General

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Death And Resurrection

Contributed by David Simpson on Jan 15, 2013

Our son, John learned a valuable lesson about death when he was a child. One day he took aim with his new BB gun at a little bird sitting on a limb near our back deck. He aimed and fired and hit his target and the bird collapsed to the ground. Dead. At first there was the excitement of being a ...read more

Scripture: John 14:19

Tags: Death, Resurrection

Denomination: Christian Church

Jesus Loves The Little Children

Contributed by Davon Huss on Oct 24, 2014

I had a preacher friend, Carl Etchinson, who had several children. These children grew up and then began having children so Carl had many grandchildren. One of his sons was having another baby. The baby was born late at night and Carl’s son did not call Carl. They forgot the next morning to ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 3:1

Tags: God The Father, Heavenly Father

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

I Surrender All – Judson W. Van Deventer, 1896

Contributed by Richard Goble on Mar 19, 2008

I Surrender All – Judson W. Van DeVenter, 1896 Van DeVenter beautifully describes the process of absolute surrender in his timeless hymn I Surrender All. If I may impose my perception of this hymn, I would suggest that He reveals the struggle involved in surrendering all that he is to the Lord. ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Our Man Of Hope  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 13, 2002

OUR MAN OF HOPE In the 1930’s Winston Churchill was the only voice sounding the alarm against Hitler. His fellow Conservatives shunned him, and he was not offered a position in the government. But Churchill was a man of action. Not content to sit on the sidelines as a spectator, he became ...read more

Tags: Faith, Endurance, God Brings Hope

Pastor Kevin Higgins Tells An Old Story That ...  PRO

Contributed by Jim Kane on May 25, 2004

Pastor Kevin Higgins tells an old story that recounts the return of Jesus to glory after His time on earth. Even in heaven, goes the story; He bore the marks of His earthly pilgrimage with its cruel cross and shameful death. The angel Gabriel approached Him and said, "Master, you must have ...read more

Tags: Evangelism How To

Denomination: Church Of God

On Nov. 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln Stood ...

Contributed by Fred Sigle on May 22, 2007

On Nov. 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln stood on the battlefield at Gettysburg to dedicate a portion of that land as a national cemetery. The featured speaker of the day was Edward Everett, acclaimed as possibly the greatest classical orator of his time. A former United States senator, Governor ...read more

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Maximilian Kolbe Was A Catholic Priest, Who Was ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Maximilian Kolbe was a Catholic priest, who was put in a Nazi concentration camp for his faith. On May 28, 1941, he was transferred to the concentration camp at Auschwitz. One day a man in Kolbe’s block escaped. All of the men from that block were brought out into the hot sun and made to stand ...read more

Tags: Disciples