In Sermon Illustrations: "Matthew 6:5-13:13"

Watch Where You're Going!

Contributed by Tim Smith on May 28, 2015

I had just flown back home from attending a class for my Doctorate in Pasadena, CA. The week was filled with long days and short nights. I had an early morning flight and then flew most of the day. By the time I got home, I was exhausted. Yet I didn’t want to miss my workout so I headed to the gym. ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:13-14

Tags: Consequences, Watchful Servants, Direction Of Life

Denomination: Methodist

Commitment

Contributed by Tim Smith on May 28, 2015

Dave Hood tells the story of training to run a 5K run. Every time his wife and he would go running on their favorite trail, they’d walk a little faster, and with a little more gusto. One day, a half mile in and a young lady came at them sprinting towards them. They jumped out of the way so she ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:13-14

Tags: Commitment, Spiritual Growth, Running The Race

Denomination: Methodist

Trials

Contributed by Tim Smith on May 28, 2015

Sam Dixon was the General Secretary of the United Methodist Committee on Relief. He died under the rubble in the Montana Hotel of Haiti, serving God while meeting with other relief agencies to work together to better help the Haitian people. When one serves God so faithfully and suddenly is killed, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:13-16

Tags: God's Sovereignty, Serving, Choices, The Price To Follow

Denomination: Methodist

Surrendering To God

Contributed by Tim Smith on May 28, 2015

Ravi Zacharias tells the amazing story of a young Christian, Hien Pham, whom he met in Vietnam who served as an interpreter with the American forces. Shortly after Vietnam fell, Hien was imprisoned on accusations of helping the Americans. His jailers tried to indoctrinate him against democratic ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:13-16

Tags: Grace, Persecution, Prayer, Surrender, Standing On Promises  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Methodist

Charles Colson Tells The Story Of Being On Th...

Contributed by Tim Smith on May 28, 2015

Charles Colson tells the story of being on the Bill Buckley television program, talking about criminal justice reform. A few days later he got a call from Jack Eckerd, the founder of the Eckerd Drug chain, the second largest drug chain in America. He saw me on television and asked me to come to ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:13-16

Tags: True Repentance, Led By God

Denomination: Methodist

Rain Man Doesn't Understand Inheritance

Contributed by David Ward on Feb 25, 2016

"Rain Man" was the top moneymaking film of 1988, and also won the Oscar for Best Picture. It tells the story of an abrasive and selfish wheeler-dealer named Charlie (Tom Cruise), who discovers that his estranged father has died and bequeathed all of his multimillion-dollar estate to his other son, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:19-34

Tags: Eternal Inheritance, Treasures In Heaven, Priorities, Wealth And Riches

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Looking For Something

Contributed by Michael Parks on Mar 30, 2016

Looking for Something? Mat 6:33 When we need answers to life’s questions where do we look? There certainly isn’t any shortage of information on the internet these days. You can find almost any answer to any question or help with whatever you are struggling with. But, is it the right answer? This ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:33

Tags: Easter Egg Hunt, Looking For Answers, Searching, Searching For Jesus

Denomination: Baptist

Easter Eggs And Bloodhounds

Contributed by Jack Kale on Apr 6, 2016

Easter Eggs and the Bloodhound in Your Soul The rain forced us inside for our annual family Easter egg hunt, but we had a blast anyway. The kids started by hiding 120 eggs in the kitchen and den while the adults played cards in the dining room. Gangee, Pap-Pap, Uncle Paul, Aunt Kathryn, my ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:7

Tags: Truth, Hunting, Hiding Place, Finding God's Grace, Easter Egg Hunt  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: *other

How Urgent Do We Approach The Harvest

Contributed by I. Grant Spong on Jun 13, 2017

In Matthew 9:38 Jesus describes driving workers into the field with the urgency of a harvest that cannot wait. Yet, so often our churches have become ho-hum about God's harvest. How can revival come to our land when our churches are so Laodicean in attitude? How can our dying western ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 9:38

Tags: Harvest, Urgency

Denomination: Baptist

Sow Indiscriminately

Contributed by I. Grant Spong on Jul 15, 2017

In the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13) Jesus spoke of the kingdom of heaven being like an indiscriminate sower. This contradicts theories surrounding church growth of targeting certain statistically measurable demographics. There is no such target audience in this parable. The seed of the kingdom ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:1-23

Tags: Sower, Church Growth

Denomination: Baptist

Fail In Order To Succeed

Contributed by I. Grant Spong on Jul 15, 2017

An old axiom says that failure is the stepping stone to success. Are we afraid of failure? The road to success is paved with failures. Before the farmer in the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13) had a successful crop he failed in three areas. We fail in these same areas. We allow the devil to snatch ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:1-23

Tags: Sower, Success, Failure, Parable Of Sower, Quitting  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Not Much Help

Contributed by Richard Tow on Jul 18, 2017

In his Peanuts strip, Charles Schulz had an amazing talent for communicating truths like this in humorous, memorable ways. In one strip Charlie Brown rests his head in his hands while leaning on the wall and looking miserable. His friend, Lucy, approaches. “Discouraged again, eh, Charlie Brown?” ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:1-5

Tags: Criticism, Critical, Judging

Denomination: Charismatic

Hearing And Making Good Choices

Contributed by Tim Baker on Jan 20, 2018

I remember so clearly my storm chase on May 13th 2009 of the Kirksville Missouri tornado. My chase started with spotting my first tornado near Novinger Missouri, where I played tag with it several times, getting some nice video clips of it, until finally it approached the city limits wrapped in ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:26-27, James 1:22-24

Tags: Choices, Hear And Obey, Obedience, Action, Disbelief, Decision Making, Ignore, Doers Of The Word  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Sold: Ten Percent Of Apple Computer For $800

Contributed by Alan Perkins on Mar 25, 2018

I’d like to begin this morning with a story. It involves these men [photo of Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs]. You probably recognize them: Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs. The two men who founded Apple Computer. Right? Well, no, actually that’s not completely accurate. Here is a photo of the original ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:19-20

Tags: Perseverance In Faith, Treasure In Heaven

Denomination: Baptist

Embracing The Interruptions (Fatherhood Thoughts)

Contributed by Matthew Redder on Jun 8, 2018

As a young Father I remember being frequently awakened in the middle of the night by my son. I would open my eyes to see him standing next to my bed, staring at me. It was startling and honestly, a little bit creepy. I would ask him what he needed and it was always something like, "I had a bad ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:10-12

Tags: Father, Listen, Fathers Day, Father And Son

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Hero Vs Hero Maker

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Jun 28, 2018

What does it mean to be a hero maker? A hero maker is a leader who shifts from being the hero to making others the hero in God's unfolding story. Real hero makers first die to any vision of personal glory. The dying involves a very real transition, one of grief and loss of ever becoming that ...read more

Scripture: John 14:12, Matthew 6:33

Tags: Leadership, Disciple Making, Leadership Training

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

God Is Your Father

Contributed by Barry O Johnson on Jul 25, 2018

As a child, before my brothers and sisters and I would sit down for breakfast, we would ask our father what we could do to please him so that he would let us eat breakfast. He’d tell us. If we wanted lunch money for school we would ask our father what would please him. He’d tell us. At supper time, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:24-33

Tags: Father, God, Kingdom, Master, Seek, Gentiles, Reap, Take No Thought, Lillies  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Mr. Schemer On The Broad Road

Contributed by David Goering on Sep 21, 2018

There was a man named Mr. Evangelist who grabbed a handful of pamphlets containing scripture verses and the good news that had transformed his very own life. off he went into the highways and byways and as he went he began to share these pamphlets with everyone that providence would put in his ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 36:2, Matthew 7:13-14

Tags: Self Righteousness, The Broad Road, Self Flattery, Self Justification

Pride

Contributed by Shine Thomas on Nov 9, 2018

Muhammad Ali, the great wrestler was never known for being a kind person. Once he was on an airplane and he often said, “I'm the greatest.” The airhostesses looked at him and saw he didn't have his seatbelt fastened. She said to him, “Mr. Ali, you'll have to fasten your seatbelt.” Ali ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 11:29, Philippians 2:3

Tags: Pride, Pride Destroys, Pride And Humility

Denomination: Assembly Of God

The Captain Is My Daddy

Contributed by Paul Steen on Dec 24, 2018

A little boy was standing on the banks of the Mississippi River waving and shouting at a steamboat that was going by. He was beckoning the steamboat to come to shore. A stranger came by and said, “That's foolish young man. The boat will never come ashore for you. The captain is too busy to ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:9, 2 Thessalonians 2:16

Tags: Answered Prayer, Father

Denomination: Calvary Chapel