In Sermon Illustrations: "Matthew 1-18"

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

You're Beautiful To God  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 12, 2011

YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL TO GOD R.C. Buckner, a big, bold and brash man, lived about 100 years ago in Texas. This imposing figure had a very tender heart for children, starting Buckner's Children's Homes all across the state. The children affectionately called him "Papa Buckner" and would run up to him ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 9:9-13

Tags: Compassion

They Refused To Be Rescued  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 15, 2011

THEY REFUSED TO BE RESCUED On August 30, 2005 Coast Guard Lieutenant Iain McConnell was ordered to fly his H46 helicopter to New Orleans and to keep that machine flying around the clock for what would turn out to be a heroic rescue effort. None of his crew were prepared for what they were about to ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 1:3-4, 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12, Matthew 8:28-34, 2 Peter 3:7-10

Tags: Rejection, Heroism

Persistent Sowers

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 15, 2011

PERSISTENT SOWERS During a particular drought several years ago, much of the seed that had been planted did not come up. The seed that did produced runty plants that promised a scanty yield, if any at all. Grass burned up in the intense heat, and the cattle nearly starved. Many farmers were forced ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:1-23

Tags: Parable Sower And Seed

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

Daughter Of A Jew-Catcher

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 21, 2011

DAUGHTER OF A JEW-CATCHER I recently read an article by a minister who had been invited to preach to a church Congregation in Holland. His visit coincided with the Dutch Day of Remembrance, held each year on the anniversary of Holland’s liberation from the Nazis. His talk was preceded by several ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 10:28-33

Tags: Father's Day

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

Margin Or Messiah?

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 24, 2011

MARGIN OR MESSIAH? Richard Swenson wrote a book in the 1990's titled, "Margin" in which he describes modern society as so overcommitted and over scheduled that we have no space left for rest. A reviewer writes: Overload is not having time to finish the book you're reading on stress. Margin is ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 11:28-30

Tags: Stress

Buried Treasure

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 25, 2011

BURIED TREASURE In 1992 volunteers from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, excavating in Caesarea dug up 99 gold coins that had been stashed in a makeshift safe beneath the floor of what was once a private dwelling. Caesarea is considered one of Israel’s richest archaeological sites in that ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:44-46

Tags: Parable Treasure

The Value Of The Rock

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 25, 2011

THE VALUE OF THE ROCK There is an old story told of an occasion in 1799 when a twelve year old boy named Conrad Reed skipped church and went fishing in Little Meadow Creek on the family farm near Fayetteville, North Carolina. In an attempt to spear a fish young Conrad Reed missed but his spear ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:44-46

Tags: Parable Treasure

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