In Sermon Illustrations: "Mean People"

Children's Perspective On Mom

Contributed by Bobby Scobey on May 4, 2009

CHILDREN’S PERSPECTIVE ON MOM. The following are different answers given by school-age children to the stated questions: "Why were mothers created?" 1. She’s the only one who knows where the Scotch tape is. 2. Think about it; it was the best way to get more people. 3. Mostly to clean the ...read more

Tags: Children

Denomination: Pentecostal

The Fact That Our Good Deeds Are Not Good Enough ...  PRO

Contributed by David Yarbrough on Apr 14, 2003

The fact that our good deeds are not good enough to get us into heaven is no more cruel than it’s cruel for you to tell the fish in the water (I hope your not talking to the fish in the water) “I just can’t breath in your environment.” To say that, is not a cruel statement it is just a statement ...read more

Scripture: Romans 6:1-18, Romans 6:23, Romans 6:2-7, Romans 6:6

Tags: Apologetics General, Apologetics Jesus

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Discernment—or Judgment?

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 10, 2009

DISCERNMENT--OR JUDGMENT? So how does a critical attitude come back to haunt you? Here’s one way. A man wanted to impress his friends with his eye for art as they went to an art gallery together. He forgot his glasses, was nearsighted, and couldn’t hardly see his hand in front of his face. But he ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:1-6

Tags: Gifts Discernment

Zacharias: Changed Lives Show The Truth Of ...

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on May 11, 2011

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 have ...read more

Tags: Easter Resurrection

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

What I Learned At The Recycling Center

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Jan 21, 2020

Recycling centers have always been something that fascinated me. Usually these companies are in buildings that were themselves built for another purpose, but were, well, “recycled” as places where we can take aluminum cans, newspapers, and so forth. Besides, we managed to save enough aluminum cans ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 36:20-25

Tags: Scripture, Bibles Destroyed

Denomination: Baptist

[293]. A Message From A Poem – The Story Of William Shuttleworth

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Feb 19, 2026

[293]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – THE STORY OF WILLIAM SHUTTLEWORTH Alternate title if you like - WITNESS ON THE PATH OF LIFE Just to begin – you may wonder why I use =========== to separate stanzas. It is because the simple formatting in Sermon Central puts all the lines together and does ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:9-10, John 3:3, 2 Corinthians 5:17

Tags: Story Time, Christian Poetry, Christian Poems, Born Again, Saved, Crime, Coming To Christ, Converted, A Christian Story, Christ, Salvation, Testimony  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

I Am With You, No Matter What: The Story Of Salty

Contributed by Rick Crandall on Oct 20, 2013

I Am With You, No Matter What: The Story of Salty Those people believed the truth about Jesus, and they received Him as their Lord and Savior. But we see more here in Acts 17:4. We see a commitment of their lives. Verse 4 tells us that these new Christians "joined Paul and Silas." The KJV says ...read more

Scripture: Acts 17:1-6, Matthew 28:18-20, Hebrews 13:5-6

Tags: Commitment, Faithfulness, Faithfulness Of God

Denomination: Baptist

The Predestination Talks

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 12, 2009

THE PREDESTINATION TALKS Ligon Duncan, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, MS, tells the following story: I well remember as a fifteen year-old boy at my grandparents’ house, reading through Ephesians 1 with grandmother and granddad and my aunt and the family for our morning ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 1:3-14

Tags: God's Sovereign Will

A Young Girl Who Was Writing A Paper For School ...  PRO

Contributed by Wayne Major on Aug 9, 2003

A young girl who was writing a paper for school came to her father and asked, "Dad, what is the difference between anger and exasperation?" The father replied, "It is mostly a matter of degree. Let me show you what I mean." With that the father went to the telephone and dialed a number at random. ...read more

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Denomination: Methodist

Gordon Mcdonald Tells This Story: "A Nigerian ...  PRO

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Dec 12, 2004

Gordon McDonald tells this story: “A Nigerian woman who is a physician at a great teaching hospital in the United States came out of the crowd today to say something kind about the lecture I had just given. She introduced herself using an American name. ‘What’s your African name?’ I asked. She ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 9:6

Tags: Christmas Advent

Denomination: Methodist

Augustine The Fiery Defender Of The Faith ...  PRO

Contributed by Victor Yap on Jan 23, 2001

Augustine the fiery defender of the faith accepted Christ in the most unusual way. After resisting God for a long time Augustine heard a child playing nearby, saying, TOLLE LEGE, TOLLE LEGE, which means, Take, Read. He promptly read a random verse from the Bible, Romans 13:13- 14, and gave his life ...read more

Tags: Descriptions Of God, Bible Influence

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Top 10 Things You'll Never Hear Dad Say  PRO

Contributed by Brian Mavis on Jun 11, 2001

TOP 10 THINGS YOU’LL NEVER HEAR DAD SAY 10. Well, how ’bout that? I’m lost! Looks like we’ll have to stop and ask for directions. 9. You know Pumpkin, now that you’re thirteen, you’ll be ready for unchaperoned car dates. Won’t that be fun? 8. I noticed that all your friends have a certain ...read more

Tags: Parenting

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Don't Wait

Contributed by Brian Matherlee on Jul 23, 2008

DON'T WAIT Allison was an upbeat, enthusiastic teen. She was positive, eager, and energetic. She was one of the teens in my group and was always a joy. It was terrible the day I got the call about her dad. Allison’s dad died suddenly of a massive heart attack sitting in his office at work one ...read more

Tags: Action

Denomination: Wesleyan

Allison Was An Upbeat, Enthusiastic Teen. She ...

Contributed by Brian Matherlee on Sep 4, 2008

Allison was an upbeat, enthusiastic teen. She was positive, eager, and energetic. She was one of the teens in my group and was always a joy. It was terrible the day I got the call about her dad. Allison’s dad died suddenly of a massive heart attack sitting in his office at work one day. I got ...read more

Tags: Love For God

Denomination: Wesleyan

The Little Word That Changes Everything

Contributed by David Dunn on Dec 26, 2025

Opening (attention hook) (Hold up a big card with the word IF written on it) “Does anyone know this word?” (Let them shout: IF!) “This is a tiny word… but it can change what happens next.” >> The Story There was a little girl named Lily, and Lily loved to ask questions. One morning her ...read more

Scripture: John 14:15, James 1:22

Tags: Obedience, Choice

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

When We Buried My Father Ten Years Ago (2000), My ...

Contributed by C. Philip Green on Apr 1, 2010

When we buried my father ten years ago (2000), my mother had him buried in his bathrobe and pajamas. She wanted to communicate the truth that the Christian’s body is only asleep at death, that one day his body will awake, and there will be a resurrection! The bathrobe and pajamas were a beautiful ...read more

Tags: Sanctification, Dead To Sin

Denomination: Evangelical Free

Personal Property In The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 13, 2009

PERSONAL PROPERTY IN THE BIBLE Larry Burkett, the founder of Christian Financial Concepts, points out that the bible--with more than 700 references to money--says more about economics than many other subjects. He writes: "Money is such an important subject that nearly two-thirds of the parables ...read more

Tags: Materialism

Salvation Belongs To The Lord

Contributed by Michael Walther on Jun 6, 2011

SALVATION BELONGS TO THE LORD To say that we cooperate with God in any way in our salvation undermines the doctrine of salvation, robs our confidence in God, and tempts us to pride. It is like the man who collapses from a massive heart attack and is rushed to the hospital. The doctor doesn’t ...read more

Tags: Salvation

Denomination: Lutheran

Anger Vs. Annoyance  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 3, 2012

ANGER VS. ANNOYANCE A young girl who was writing a paper for school came to her father and asked, "Dad, what is the difference between anger and annoyance?" The father replied, "It is mostly a matter of degree. Let me show you what I mean." With that the father went to the telephone and dialed a ...read more

Scripture: James 1:19-20, Ephesians 4:26

Tags: Anger

Horse Sense

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on May 7, 2012

HORSE SENSE I like horses okay, but I am not a horse-person. But for much of history, horses were crucial. As a result, we have developed a lot of idioms involving horses. "Many terms and phrases in the English language harken back to a time not so long ago when horses were of extreme ...read more

Tags: Wisdom

Denomination: Independent/Bible