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

A Mother Once Approached Napoleon Seeking A ...  PRO

Contributed by Tony Klinedinst on Aug 14, 2002

A mother once approached Napoleon seeking a pardon for her son. The emperor replied that the young man had committed a certain offense twice and justice demanded death. "But I don’t ask for justice," the mother explained. "I plead for mercy." "But your son does not deserve mercy," Napoleon replied. ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:7, Genesis 18:19

Tags: God's Forgiveness, Descriptions Of God

Denomination: Baptist

Blessed Are The Merciful. I Learned The Truth Of ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 22, 2002

Blessed are the merciful. I learned the truth of this Beatitude from Henri Nouwen, a priest who used to teach at Harvard University. At the height of his career, Nouwen moved from Harvard to a community called Daybreak, near Tornonto, in order to take on the demanding chores required by his ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:5

John Piper Summed Up Our Problem Well With His ...  PRO

Contributed by Andrew Hamilton on Sep 29, 2002

John Piper summed up our problem well with his statement, ‘The weakness of our hunger for God is not because he is unsavoury, but because ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:6

Tags: Love For God, Fulfillment

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

What Difference Does It Make?  PRO

Contributed by David Salisbury on Oct 2, 2002

WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE? The job of the church is not to impact the church, but to impact the world. It’s like a huddle in a football game. 67,000 people don’t pay $25.00 a ticket to watch the Titans huddle. What if you went to a Titans game and for 2½ hours you watched 11 men stand in a ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:13-16, Matthew 5:13-16

Tags: Church, Church Purpose Of, Adversity, Purpose, Outreach  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Last Week, Bernie Came To The Church Door. He ...  PRO

Contributed by Bill Sullivan on Oct 9, 2002

Last week, Bernie came to the church door. He showed up about five minutes before I was getting ready to leave for an appointment, and my first response to his arrival was, oh, no, not now. Bernie had been drinking – I could smell it on his breath. He was sweating profusely and was a little bit ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:13-20

Tags: Fellowship

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

A. Dr. Karl Menninger, A World-Famous ...  PRO

Contributed by Davon Huss on Oct 15, 2002

A. Dr. Karl Menninger, a world-famous psychiatrist, was answering questions after giving a lecture on mental health when one person asked, “What would you advice someone to do if he felt a nervous breakdown coming on?” Most people expected the doctor to say, “Consult a psychiatrist.” Instead he ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 4:18-20

Tags: Christian Disciplines, Fulfillment

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

I'm Only A Mirror Fragment  PRO

Contributed by Matt Black on Oct 26, 2002

I’M ONLY A MIRROR FRAGMENT I want to share with you a story about a very interesting well-educated Greek philosopher whose name is Dr. Alexander Popaderos. And Dr. Popaderos every summer on the island of Crete taught a class on ethics for two weeks. And this particular summer just as he was ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:16

Tags: Character, Evangelism, Fulfillment, God Brings Purpose, Reflect  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Independent/Bible

A Hungry Enemy  PRO

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Oct 27, 2002

A HUNGRY ENEMY A woman wrote to "Pulpit Helps" to explain a miraculous lesson her family experienced. During one of their family Bible readings as new Christians, they ran across the verse, "If your enemy is hungry, feed him" (Romans 12:20 RSV). She writes: Ours sons, 7 and 10 at the time, ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:20, Matthew 5:43-48

Tags: Forgiveness For Others, Enemy, Forgiveness General, Christian Love, Christlikeness, Love  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

God's Love Is Like A Bridge That Makes ...  PRO

Contributed by John Williams Iii on Nov 8, 2002

God’s love is like a bridge that makes reconciliation possible. If you take away the bridge, the separation remains. George Herbert said, “He who cannot forgive others breaks the bridge over which he must pass.” (T. T. Crabtree. Ed. The Zondervan 2001 Pastor’s Annual. Howard S. Kalb. “Forgiveness.” ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:21-25

Tags: Forgiveness General, Forgiveness For Others

Denomination: United Methodist

God Cares For His Creatures  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 27, 2002

FEATURE ARTICLE, God Cares for His Creatures ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Some of the most brilliant butterflies in tropical America are the butterflies of the genus Morpho. Many species are brilliant metallic blue. A few of the females are metallic red. These ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:14-16, Philippians 2:14-16

Tags: God's Provision, Light, Testimony, Shine

The Parents Of A Young Soldier Killed In Action ...  PRO

Contributed by Kenneth Squires on Dec 28, 2002

The parents of a young soldier killed in action gave their church a gift of money as a memorial to their son. During the presentation service, the mother of another soldier whose son was overseas whispered to her husband, “Let’s give the same amount for our son.” “What’s the matter with you?” he ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:9

Tags: Holidays Civic

Denomination: Pentecostal

The Resolutions Of Jonathan Edwards  PRO

Contributed by Alan Perkins on Jan 5, 2003

The Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God’s help, I do humbly entreat him by his grace to enable me to keep these Resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to his will, for Christ’s sake. Remember to read over these Resolutions once a week. ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:5

Tags: Discipleship, New Year's Day

Denomination: Baptist

Can You Fathom This? The God Of The Universe, ...  PRO

Contributed by Clark Tanner on Jan 10, 2003

Can you fathom this? The God of the universe, who holds all things together by the word of His power, who fills all things and is bigger than the universe; bigger than time, literally lives in you. Calls you His dwelling place. What a magnificent creation you are! What high and wonderful ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Mark 6:30-44, Leviticus 16:1-22, Luke 15:22-28, Leviticus 16:1, Matthew 5:8, Colossians 1:15-28, Colossians 1:15-28  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Holy Spirit In Believers

Denomination: Orthodox

How Sick I Really Was  PRO

Contributed by Michael Luke on Apr 4, 2005

HOW SICK I REALLY WAS A wealthy businessman lay on his deathbed. His preacher came to visit and talked about God’s healing power and prayed for his parishioner. When the preacher was done, the businessman said, "Preacher, if God heals me, I’ll give the church a million dollars." Miraculously, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:33-37

Tags: Truth

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Ps. 15:4 Describes A Righteous Person As One "Who ...  PRO

Contributed by Michael Luke on Apr 4, 2005

Ps. 15:4 describes a righteous person as one “who keeps his oath even when it hurts.” The brilliant Christian scholar and writer C. S. Lewis took that truth seriously. His biography tells of the suffering he endured because he kept a promise he had made to a buddy during World War I. This ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:33-37

Tags: Voice, Hearing, God, Christian Disciplines, Endurance  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Elephants Live Longer Than People, Maybe Because ...  PRO

Contributed by Wilfred Mina on May 1, 2005

“Elephants live longer than people, maybe because they never worry ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:25-34

Tags: Guilt

Denomination: Pentecostal

Life In A Box! (09.02.05--The Temporal ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Aug 31, 2005

Life In a Box! (09.02.05--The Temporal Things!--Matthew 6:21) Did you ever stop to think, about the legacy that you will leave once this life is over? Will you be remembered for the things you did or the things that you owned? I was asked that question the other day and the asker simply asked me ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:21, Psalm 34:10

Tags: Immanuel, God With Us, Goals, Legacy, Finding Fulfillment, Testimony, Struggles  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Lutheran

Got My Life, Got My Jesus! (09.07.05--The ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Sep 6, 2005

Got My Life, Got My Jesus! (09.07.05--The Temporal Things!--Matthew 5:3) In order to have all things, you must forsake all things. Tell that to those struggling with forsakeness in flood-ravaged New Orleans or storm-crushed Gulfport this morning! My guess is that few if any would understand the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:3

Tags: Basics Of Christianity

Denomination: Lutheran

But It's More Like The Student In School Who Was ...  PRO

Contributed by Pat Cook on Oct 7, 2005

But it’s more like the student in school who was asked to write a paper called, "What I’m thankful for on Thanksgiving." This one student wrote, "I’m thankful that I’m not a turkey." He had nothing to do with it, but he was still thankful what God had done. Listen: you are who you are today, not ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:25-33

Tags: Anxiety, Thanksgiving Holiday, Thanks, Thanksgiving, Peace  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

They Kingdom Come" Means "I Am Willing To ...

Contributed by Jeff Simms on Oct 9, 2005

“They kingdom come” means “I am willing to surrender everything I possess in order to possess God. God demands our all or our nothing at ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:9

Tags: Lord's Prayer

Denomination: Baptist