In Sermon Illustrations: "Mean People"

God Did Not Walk Away

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 28, 2008

GOD DID NOT WALK AWAY Simon Wiesenthal wrote The Sunflower in 1969. It speaks of the pain he experienced at the hands of the Nazis during WWII. He describes being taken from a Nazi death-camp to a makeshift hospital. He was ushered by a nurse to the side of a Nazi soldier, who asked to have a ...read more

Tags: Christmas

The Prince Of Peace And The Pauper

Contributed by Clark Tanner on Feb 2, 2009

THE PRINCE OF PEACE AND THE PAUPER It may be a poor example, but I draw from Mark Twain's classic "The Prince and The Pauper." Ten-year-old Prince Edward, spoiled and bored, finds a pauper boy, Tom Conti, who is his precise double in appearance. The two trade places on a lark, but the Prince ...read more

Tags: Jesus Life

Denomination: Orthodox

Transparency And Real ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 17, 2009

TRANSPARENCY AND REAL LIFE I can right off the top of my head think of at least three falsehoods that many people still call the truth today: 1. "Every day in every way our world is getting better, better, better." I sure would like to meet the person who first wrote those words, wouldn’t you? ...read more

Tags: Truth

Don Sutton's Motivation  PRO

Contributed by Davon Huss on Jun 1, 2009

DON SUTTON'S MOTIVATION Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Don Sutton hadn’t won a game in 8 weeks. The press was suggesting that he be dropped from the starting lineup. The future looked bleak, and Sutton felt terrible. Then, before a game, Dodgers manager Walter Alston tapped him on the shoulder. "I’d ...read more

Tags: Encouragement

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

What Do You Listen For?

Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Oct 17, 2009

WHAT DO YOU LISTEN FOR? A Native American was walking in downtown New York City alongside a friend who was a resident of the city. Right in the centre of Manhattan, the Native American seized his friend's arm and whispered, "Wait! I can hear a cricket." His friend replied "Come on! A cricket? ...read more

Tags: Call Of The Disciples

Denomination: Anglican

J.c. Penney Born Again

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 19, 2009

J.C. PENNEY BORN AGAIN The late great business man and entrepreneur, James Cash Penney (1875 - 1971), founder of the J.C. Penney stores, in his autobiography entitled "Fifty Years with the Golden Rule," tells of his being in the Battle Creek Sanitarium one night when he thought he was dying. He ...read more

Scripture: Hosea 10:12, Hosea 10:12-13

Tags: Born Again

Alexander And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 10, 2009

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst Judith Viorst wrote a popular children’s book called Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. It’s about a little boy whose day starts out bad and goes downhill from there. He gets gum in his hair and ...read more

Scripture: Jonah 4:1-11

Tags: Jonah

Little Boy Sees The Parade But Misses The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 16, 2009

Little Boy Sees the Parade but Misses the Circus Lowell Ogden tells the story of a little boy who lived out in the country around the turn of the century. He had never seen a traveling circus, and one was coming to his town on Saturday. The lad asked his father for permission to go and his dad said ...read more

Scripture: Luke 1:46-55

Tags: Worship Definition

Christmas Celebrations Around The World  PRO

Contributed by Bruce Rzengota on Dec 28, 2009

CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS AROUND THE WORLD As Americans, we pride ourselves in "doing Christmas up right." Tons of gifts, big holiday feasts, huge trees, Lights on the houses. USA! Here are some of the other ways people prepare for the celebration of Christmas. * In Italy they have no Christmas ...read more

Tags: Christmas

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Absolute Truth Vs. Relative ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 26, 2010

Absolute Truth vs. Relative Truth First of all, “What is Truth?” Pilate asked that question of Jesus. Today, our postmodern age is questioning that there even is such a thing as truth. They say truth lies in our experience. And if my experience is different than your experience, then my truth is ...read more

Scripture: John 1:14-18

Tags: Truth Absolute, Moral Absolutes

History Of The Ship Mv ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 27, 2010

History of the ship MV Doulos When built for the White Star Line in 1912 the Titanic was the marvel of her age. At nearly 883 feet in length, Titanic was longer than the tallest structures on Earth at the time. Over 1800 people left England on the “unsinkable ship”, but only 675 arrived. After ...read more

Scripture: John 6:1-13

Tags: God Brings Purpose

I Worry About...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 13, 2010

I WORRY ABOUT... Percentage of people who at least occasionally worry about: Having their car stolen or broken into: 42 Home burglarization when they are not at home: 45 Being the victim of terrorism: 38 Having a school-aged child physically harmed at school: 29 Your home being burglarized when ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:6-7

Tags: Anxiety

Get Up Stronger

Contributed by Bret Toman on Jan 3, 2011

GET UP STRONGER By the beginning of the nineteenth century, about three million African slaves had been transported to the Americas on British ships. People being stolen from their homes, ripped from their families, robbed of their dignity, transported on ships 3 decks deep, squalid conditions, ...read more

Tags: Endurance

Denomination: Baptist

Radical Faith  PRO

Contributed by Ken Pell on Jan 24, 2011

RADICAL FAITH I want to read to you the opening story from David Platt's book "The Radical Question" (Multnomah Press). Imagine a scene that took place in Asia not so long ago: A room in an ordinary house, dimly lit, all the blinds on the windows closed. Twenty leaders from churches in the ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 12:10-17

Tags: Persecution, Better Together

Denomination: Nazarene

The Train Whistle

Contributed by Davon Huss on Mar 7, 2011

THE TRAIN WHISTLE "I lived in Germany during the Nazi holocaust. I considered myself a Christian.  I attended Church since I was a small boy.  We had heard the stories of what was happening to the Jews, but like most people we tried to distance ourselves from the reality of what was really ...read more

Tags: Compassion

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Works-Driven Rituals

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 4, 2011

WORKS-DRIVEN RITUALS Every year a great throng of people make pilgrimage to the Shrine of Guadalupe in Mexico, a site where supposedly the Virgin Mary once stood...however unlikely that is. They go there hoping to get her attention, and to get her to intervene for them with her son Jesus. They ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 1:7-10

Tags: Action

It Is Not Good...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 6, 2011

IT IS NOT GOOD... God made a woman to keep him company and to be his companion. The fact is we men don't do too well without such a companion. Researchers from the Universities of Utah and South Carolina recently collected data from 148 different studies, conducted over three decades, involving ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 2:18

Tags: Marriage General

A True Church Family

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 28, 2012

A TRUE CHURCH FAMILY Fred Sigle, preaching minister at Garfield Christian Church in Indianapolis tells about Mark Knutson. On August 28, 1993, he was diagnosed with an extremely aggressive form of cancer. When diagnosed, he was already in the late stages and was only given a short time to ...read more

Scripture: Acts 2:42-47

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

A Worry Satire  PRO

Contributed by Troy Borst on May 31, 2012

A WORRY SATIRE Luke 12:22-34 (New Revised Updated Modernization Version for the E-Pad with notes) (NRUMVEPwN) Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, about evil people hurting you your family, or random biological terrorist attacks, or how the stock ...read more

Tags: Worry

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Loving Neighbour

Contributed by Don Berry-Graham on Feb 29, 2016

A Little Pointer on Keeping a Balance Here’s a little bonus tip that I’ve found helpful to keep my wits about me as I live next to these wild Vikings we call sinners, pagans, and wacko unbelievers while keeping my vertical relationship with God strong. It’s called “whimsical holiness,” which is ...read more

Scripture: Luke 7:34

Tags: Witnessing Tools, Loving Neighbor

Denomination: Baptist