In Sermon Illustrations: "Matthew 4:1-7:1"

J. Oswald Sanders On Loneliness  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 9, 2011

J. OSWALD SANDERS ON LONELINESS J. Oswald Sanders once pointed out: "The round of pleasure or the amassing of wealth are [often] but vain attempts to escape from the persistent ache. The millionaire is usually a lonely man and the comedian is often more unhappy than his audience." In his book, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:19-34

Tags: Goals, Suffering Loneliness

Ravi Zacharias: Changed Lives Show The Truth Of ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 9, 2011

RAVI ZACHARIAS: CHANGED LIVES SHOW THE TRUTH OF CHRIST In his book Has Christianity Failed You? Ravi Zacharias points to one of the greatest proofs for the truth of Christ and the reality of his resurrection: the changed lives of Christians. He writes: "During the course of nearly 40 years, I ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:13-16

Tags: Christian Witness

Walking On Water In Los Angeles  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 9, 2011

WALKING ON WATER IN LOS ANGELES [James Bryan Smith, The Good and Beautiful Life (InterVarsity Press, 2010), pp. 131-132 | posted 7/05/2010] In the early 1990s, gang violence erupted in Boyle Heights, a section of East Los Angeles. Eight gangs were in conflict in the parish around the Dolores ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:9

Tags: Christian Witness

Working For Food

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 10, 2011

WORKING FOR FOOD I like the story of the rich executive who announced to his church one morning that he was going to give up all he owned so that he had to depend on his faith in God for everything he needed. He sold everything, gave it to the poor, and moved into a rented home down on the bad ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:19-34

Tags: Prayer Of Faith

Only In The Lone Star State

Contributed by John Crowe on Aug 11, 2011

ONLY IN THE LONE STAR STATE My daughter’s family moved to Del Rio, Texas. One night my 4-year-old granddaughter recited the Lord’s Pryaer with a slight variation; "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:9-13

Tags: Children

Denomination: Baptist

Deliver Us From Evil

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 12, 2011

DELIVER US FROM EVIL Dr. Thomas Dooley gave a chilling example related to this prayer. It came from his experience in Southeast Asia between 1954 and 1960. Dr. Dooley authored three books about conditions there, the most well-known being 'Deliver Us from Evil', published in 1956. The subject was ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:9-13

Tags: Lord's Prayer

The Prayer Police

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 16, 2011

THE PRAYER POLICE A little over 3 years ago, a group of students at an Alabama high school recited the Lord’s Prayer together in the lunchroom, which prompted a suit by the parents of another student. In response, Judge Ira Dement, on October 29, 1997, termed the action "religiously based ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:11-16

Tags: Persecution

Americans: Flabby Faith  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 16, 2011

AMERICANS: FLABBY FAITH A dozen or so years ago, a Romanian pastor came to visit the church I belonged to. He had gotten to know my pastor, John Vawter, who had been involved in a Bible-smuggling ministry when the Iron Curtain was still up. John asked him what he thought of our country, and of the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:11-16, Romans 12:1-6

Tags: Discipleship

The Anger Of King Henry Ii

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 18, 2011

THE ANGER OF KING HENRY II King Henry II of England, back in around 1200, had a lot of power. He put an end to a long and bloody civil war, and ruled both England and a large chunk of France for many years. He was so famous that a movie was made about him, about 25 yrs ago, starring Richard Burton ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:21-26

Tags: Anger

Too Much Like Hell

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 22, 2011

TOO MUCH LIKE HELL A young American lawyer boasted that he was going West to find some place where there were no churches, no Sunday schools, no Bibles. Before the year was over, he wrote to a classmate, a young minister, begging him to come out where he was and start a Sunday school and preach, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:13-16

Tags: Christian Witness

A Peacemaking Church  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 25, 2011

A PEACEMAKING CHURCH I can tell this story because one neighbor has died and the other neighbor no longer lives across the street from our church. Our neighbors endured the disruption of their lives as we built on to our church. I'm sure that contributed to their lack of patience with us. We put ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:9, Exodus 32:1-14, Isaiah 32:15-20

Tags: Jesus Teachings

Bread And Butter  PRO

Contributed by David Tack on Aug 25, 2011

BREAD AND BUTTER A small-town baker bought his butter from a local farmer. After weighing his butter, he concluded the farmer had been reducing the amount in the packages but charging the same. Therefore, the baker accused the farmer of fraud. In court the judge asked the farmer, "Do you have ...read more

Scripture: Deuteronomy 25:15, Proverbs 20:23, Matthew 7:1-2, Romans 2:1, Luke 6:37-38  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Judgment, Hypocrisy, Prejudice, Fairness, Judgmental  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Jesus Is Coming To Dinner

Contributed by Charles Jones on Sep 3, 2011

JESUS IS COMING TO DINNER One of the greatest compliments an individual can pay to another is to invite him/her home to dinner. The Church reminds the world today that Jesus is coming again and the world should get its house in order, for the master of the universe is coming to dine in the hearts ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:21-37

Tags: Second Coming

Denomination: Pentecostal

Capitalism Without Christianity  PRO

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Sep 5, 2011

CAPITALISM WITHOUT CHRISTIANITY Pure Capitalism--that exists without a Christian influence--can become an empty shell. When Christianity is taken out of the picture of Capitalism...greed and selfishness take over. Capitalism without Christianity can result in all kinds or evils. You can end up ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:13-16

Tags: Workplace

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Fire In The Hole

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 7, 2011

FIRE IN THE HOLE Centralia was a small mining town in the eastern part of Pennsylvania with about 1000 residents making their income off of the coal dug just underneath the crust. The town had existed the same way for over a century when pre-Civil War settlers moved out to dig up the anthracite ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:21-30

Tags: Hell

Fasting Before The Great Awakening

Contributed by Mark Stepherson on Oct 22, 2011

FASTING BEFORE THE GREAT AWAKENING Jonathan Edwards was a man used by God in the First Great Awakening. I have read that he preached in a weak, squeaking, monotone voice and held his tiny manuscript so close to his face that people could not see his expressions. When he preached, "Sinners in the ...read more

Scripture: Acts 13:2-3, Matthew 9:14-15, Mark 2:18-20, Luke 5:33-35, Acts 14:23, Luke 2:37, Matthew 6:16-18  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Prayer, Fast

Denomination: Baptist

First Things First  PRO

Contributed by Mark Stepherson on Nov 3, 2011

FIRST THINGS FIRST When Coach Bobby Bowden played baseball in college, he never hit a home run. His senior year at Howard College, he was the only player not to hit a home run. One day, he hit a line drive against Auburn. As he approached third, the coach was waving him on. As he made his turn, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 22:37-39, Matthew 6:6

Tags: Prayer, Prayer Closet, Secret Prayer, Private Prayer, Prayer General  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Blessed Are The Poor In Spirit

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Feb 9, 2012

BLESSED ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT "Those poor in spirit are called "blessed" by Jesus, not because they are in a meritorious condition, but because, precisely in spite of and in the midst of their ever so deplorable condition, the rule of the heavens has moved redemptively upon and through them by ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:3

Tags: Blessing

Denomination: Baptist

The 40 Martyrs  PRO

Contributed by David Tack on Feb 25, 2012

THE 40 MARTYRS "History knows them as the forty martyrs of Sebaste. They were soldiers in the famed Twelfth Legion of Rome’s imperial army, around A.D. 320. One day the captain informed his troops that Emperor Licinius had sent down an edict commanding all soldiers to offer a sacrifice to his ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:10, Luke 12:4

Tags: Persecution

Denomination: Baptist

A.w. Tozer: The Position Of Christ In The Church  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 1, 2012

A.W. TOZER: THE POSITION OF CHRIST IN THE CHURCH The present position of Christ in the gospel churches may be likened to that of a king in a limited constitutional monarchy. The king is in such a country no more than a traditional rallying point, a pleasant symbol of unity and loyalty much like a ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 1:15-20, Matthew 6:10

Tags: Church Body Of Christ