In Sermon Illustrations: "Matthew 3:1-25"

Would That Get Me Into Heaven  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 27, 2004

WOULD THAT GET ME INTO HEAVEN "If I sold my house and my car, had a big garage sale and gave all my money to the church, would that get me into Heaven?" I asked the children in my Sunday School class. "NO!" the children all answered. "If I cleaned the church every day, mowed the yard, and kept ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:1-20

Tags: Heaven

An Organization In Montana Once Offered A Bounty ...  PRO

Contributed by David Elvery on Nov 14, 2004

An organization in Montana once offered a bounty of five thousand dollars for every wolf captured alive. Two hunters named Sam and Jed decided to head for the hills and make some money capturing wolves. Day and night they scoured the mountains and forests searching for their valuable prey. ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 3:13-17

Tags: God In The Hardships

Denomination: Baptist

King Herod Was A Descendant Of The Edomite, Who ...  PRO

Contributed by Joel Santos on Nov 24, 2004

King Herod was a descendant of the Edomite, who was commonly called Edomeans during Jesus’ days. Herod had ruled as governor of Galilee from 47 to 37 B.C. he was then promoted to rule as king over all Palestine from 37 to 4 B.C. he became famous for building cities, fortresses, and temples ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 2:1-18

Tags: Christmas, Herod

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Rick Warren Writes In "The Purpose Driven Life," ...  PRO

Contributed by Mike Wilkins on Nov 30, 2004

Rick Warren writes in “The Purpose Driven Life,” “I have been at the bedside of many people in their final moments, when they stand on the edge of eternity, and I have never heard anyone say, “Bring me my diplomas! I want to look at them one more time. Show me my awards, my medals, that gold watch ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 22:36-40

Tags: Friendship General

Denomination: *other

Christmas: A Season Of Stress?  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 2, 2004

Christmas: A Season of Stress? The picture the Bible gives us of the first Christmas is one of peace and serenity. You can see it with your mind’s eye: There are the shepherds, gathered around a campfire under a clear, starlit sky, quietly talking among themselves about their flocks, their ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 3:1-12

Tags: Christmas

Tom Recently Told Me A Story About A Man Who Went ...  PRO

Contributed by Gene Gregory on Dec 7, 2004

Tom recently told me a story about a man who went to a priest and confessed that the Lord had recently convicted him of gossip. He wanted to know what he could do to make it right. The priest told him to go to the top of a mountain, rip open a feather pillow, turn the feathers loose in the wind, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 12:36-37

Tags: Communication General

Denomination: Baptist

Love's Challenges  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 16, 2004

LOVE’S CHALLENGES (Based on John 13:35) What joy to love the saints above When I get home to glory. To love below, the saints I know, Well, that’s another story! To love mankind I always find To be a simple task. To have love for the man next door Is more than one should ask! Love’s full and ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 11:27-30

Tags: Christian Love

Jesus Did Not Ride Into Jerusalem On A White ...  PRO

Contributed by John Stevenson on Dec 26, 2004

Jesus did not ride into Jerusalem on a white stallion, leading His forces against the Roman Empire. And He doesn’t work that way today, either. He comes in a spirit of gentleness. And then He was arrested and dragged before the Sanhedrin and later before Pilate. He was falsely accused, mocked, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 21:5

Tags: Christian Love

Denomination: Evangelical Free

A Woman Went To Her Doctor With A Whole Catalog ...  PRO

Contributed by Bruce Howell on Jan 3, 2005

A woman went to her doctor with a whole catalog of complaints about her health. He examined her thoroughly and came to the conclusion that there was absolutely nothing wrong with her physically. He was convinced that her problem was due to her negative attitude toward life. She had become filled ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 8:7-13

Tags: Faith, Peace

Denomination: Wesleyan

A Woman Decided To Have Her Portrait Painted. She ...  PRO

Contributed by Thomas Black on Jan 28, 2005

A woman decided to have her portrait painted. She told the artist, "Paint me with diamond rings, a diamond necklace, emerald bracelets, a ruby broach, and gold Rolex." "But you are not wearing any of those things," he replied. "I know," she said. "It’s in case I should die before my husband. ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:19-21

Tags: Money

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Anyone Can Do That...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 17, 2009

"ANYONE CAN DO THAT..." There was a man named Doug Nichols who went to India to be a missionary. While he was just starting to study the language, he became infected with tuberculosis and had to be put in a sanitarium. It was not a very good place to be. It was not very clean and conditions were ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:43-48

Tags: Christian Love

On Crowns

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 17, 2009

ON CROWNS Crowns have always been the sign of authority and Kingship. Charlemagne, whom historians say should deserve to be called "great" above all others, wore an octagonal crown. Each of the eight sides was a plaque of gold, and each plaque was studded with emeralds, sapphires, and pearls. The ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 27:28-29

Tags: Jesus Christ

Salvation And Reprobation

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 17, 2009

SALVATION AND REPROBATION Someone may ask, "Of what use then is the doctrine of reprobation?" I am glad you asked! Let me suggest (from Dr. Boice) some useful aspects of the doctrine of reprobation. First, reprobation assures us that God’s purpose has not failed. God has determined the outcome ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 24:24-31

Tags: God's Judgment

God's Salvation ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 17, 2009

GOD’S SALVATION CHURCH In the 1990s, a cult from Taiwan relocated to San Dimas, California, and registered itself as God’s Salvation Church. In 1997, the Chen Tao cult, also known as the Flying Saucer cult, led by Hon-Ming Chen, headed to Garland (mistaken for "God Land"), Texas, where they expect ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 24:1-51

Tags: Rapture

What's Up With Jesus?  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 17, 2009

WHAT’S UP WITH JESUS? Renowned theologian Karl Barth was lecturing to a group of students at Princeton when a student asked him, "Sir, don’t you think that God has revealed himself in other religions and not only in Christianity?" With a modest thunder he stunned the crowd, replying, "No, God has ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 16:13-20

Tags: Jesus Christ

You Know Not ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 24, 2009

YOU KNOW NOT WHEN The people of Martinique sent representatives to that smoldering volcano, Mount Pelee, to see what the condition was. They returned and gave false reports and the city slept on, in all its vice. Nature took warning and the reptiles commenced crawling down the mountainside, birds ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 24:43-44

Tags: Second Coming

At The Time Appointed, The End Will ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 24, 2009

AT THE TIME APPOINTED, THE END WILL BE Baptist preacher William Miller, founder of the Millerites, announced that Christ would come on March 21, 1843, and when that failed, he proposed a new date of October 22, 1844. In a Philadelphia store window the following sign was displayed: "This shop is ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 24:43-44

Tags: Second Coming

Temptation And Sin: Steve's ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 8, 2009

TEMPTATION AND SIN: STEVE’S STORY A young man was in a parking lot just shortly after being saved and he found a pack of cigarettes lying unopened on the ground near his car. His first thought was to keep them and smoke them as he had always done, but he felt prompted to do something different. He ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 25:21

Tags: Temptation Resisting

Live What You Believe  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 8, 2009

LIVE WHAT YOU BELIEVE After the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989, no person in all of East Germany was more despised than the former Communist dictator Erich Honniker. He had been stripped of all his offices. Even the Communist Party rejected him. Kicked out of his villa, the new government ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:13-14

Tags: Christian Love

Stay Busy Until The Master's ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 8, 2009

STAY BUSY UNTIL THE MASTER’S RETURN "The disciple is not called to eliminate his ignorance of the timing of the end, he is called to cope with it and respond to it appropriately." "How can a doorkeeper fulfill his duties if he spends his time calculating how long the delay will be?" In the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 24:36-51

Tags: Second Coming