In Sermon Illustrations: "Means Of Grace"

Are You A Chief Student?

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Dec 27, 2010

ARE YOU A CHIEF STUDENT? David Friedman, in They Loved the Torah p. 61 comments about Peter (Shim'on): I see Shim'on as Yeshua's Torah-observant....talmid hakham...a Hebrew technical term meaning the leading student (of a rabbi). Every famous rabbi who daily taught the same students had a talmid ...read more

Tags: Discipleship

Denomination: Independent/Bible

The Burning Of The Brands

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Mar 7, 2011

THE BURNING OF THE BRANDS British style writer Neil Boorman has decided to burn every branded thing in his possession. "I am addicted to brands," he confessed in a magazine article: "From an early age, I have been taught that to be accepted, to be lovable, to be cool, one must have the right ...read more

Tags: Materialism

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Giving It Back One More Time

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 9, 2011

GIVING IT BACK ONE MORE TIME Years ago the Crown Prince of India gave to Queen Victoria the most precious thing he had. He was a child prince and he gave to the Queen of England, the "coroner diamond". The coroner diamond is perhaps the most famous diamond of all history. Do you know how big it ...read more

Scripture: John 4:23

Tags: Worship General

The Storms Of Matthew 8

Contributed by Chuck Sligh on Apr 15, 2011

THE STORMS OF MATTHEW 8 When I was a teen living in Okinawa, I remember some of my friends and I taking a boat from the main island of Okinawa to visit one of the smaller islands. It was during the typhoon season and though we were not in a typhoon, it was a really, really scary storm. We were in ...read more

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Denomination: Baptist

A Little Girl's Trust

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 9, 2011

A LITTLE GIRL'S TRUST It's a lesson we need to learn, as well. Our true security comes from God and God alone, so we must learn to trust Him. Don't trust in a lie. Don't trust in an idol. Trust in the Lord. Then and only then will you be truly secure. Five-year-old Jessica became a bit ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 30:1-24

Tags: Trust

The Born-Again Vase

Contributed by Michael Walther on May 18, 2011

THE BORN-AGAIN VASE A number of years ago I had the opportunity to tour the Villeroy and Boch porcelain factory in Torgau, Germany. Porcelain is one of the most beautiful and enduring things that human beings can make. Even today much of what we know about ancient cultures comes from what they ...read more

Tags: Bible Truth

Denomination: Lutheran

Greek Words For God's Love

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Aug 8, 2011

GREEK WORDS FOR GOD'S LOVE The Hebrew words for love are more meaningful than the Greek ones, especially two of them. aheb, "...The intensity of the meaning ranges from God's infinite affection for his people to the carnal appetites of a lazy glutton..." (Theological Wordbook of the Old ...read more

Tags: God's Love

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Roger Williams: Worship As A "Religious Fix"

Contributed by Tim Smith on Jul 1, 2012

ROGER WILLIAMS: WORSHIP AS A "RELIGIOUS FIX" Roger Williams was thumbing through a magazine on a short flight from Sacramento to San Diego. He had taken his seat when two well-dressed, attractive 20-something-year-old women sat down next to him. Their conversation competed with his attention to ...read more

Tags: Worship General

Denomination: Methodist

Statistics On Prayer

Contributed by Troy Borst on Sep 8, 2012

STATISTICS ON PRAYER Barna research says slightly more than four out of five adults in the U.S. (84%) claim they had prayed in the past week. That has been the case since Barna began tracking the frequency of prayer in 1993. A Newsweek poll titled "Is God Listening?" indicated that, of those who ...read more

Tags: Prayer Persistence

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Position Versus Discipleship

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 7, 2013

POSITION VERSUS DISCIPLESHIP C. Gene Wilkes, in his book Jesus on Leadership, says, "Confusion arises when you equate higher 'positions' with leadership . . . As long as 'position' is honored above discipleship -- being a follower -- church leaders will honor the ambitious over the obedient." We ...read more

Scripture: James 2:14-26

Tags: Faith Vs. Works

Authority Vs. Power  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 12, 2014

AUTHORITY VS. POWER There's a difference between power and authority. If you have authority, but no power, your authority is useless. A government man was taking geological readings for the Department of the Interior. He approached one farmer and said, "I've been authorized by the government to ...read more

Scripture: Acts 1:1-8

Tags: Great Commission, Authority

Is Your Light Shining

Contributed by Steve Kinnard on Feb 15, 2019

IS YOUR LIGHT SHINING? Many years a missionary employed a Chinese scholar to translate the New Testament into the Chinese language. The scholar was a Confucian and had never heard of Christianity until the missionary had hired him. The scholar was a painstaking person and wanted to produce a ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:13-16

Tags: Reputation, Complacent

Denomination: Pentecostal

Wake Up, Leroy!

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Nov 20, 2019

Two brothers were being interviewed for a truck-driving team. They were engaged in a hypothetical situation. The interviewer said, "Now, Charlie, imagine you're driving the truck and Leroy, your brother, is up on top asleep. Charlie, your truck is loaded down with hundreds of pounds of ...read more

Tags: Wake Up, Jokes, Sleeping, Revival, Humor  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Never Surrender

Contributed by Dr. Ronald Shultz on Aug 28, 2020

Acts 5:29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. When the 101st Airborne was surrounded in WWII the Germans asked them to surrender. General Anthony McAuliffe replied, "Nuts!" The Germans tried to figure what that meant and while they ...read more

Scripture: Acts 5:29

Tags: Ministry, Victory, Surrender, Defeat, Calling  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Conscience Or The Holy Spirit?

Contributed by Roy Fowler on Sep 13, 2020

pilot vertigo: My Division Officer in the Navy was also a Naval aviator. On his way home from a mission over Afghanistan he got vertigo (a dizzy confused state of mind caused by the inner ear). His senses were confused. The biggest was his sense of flight. Which can be deadly when landing on an ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 8:1-13

Tags: Feelings, Facts, What Is Conscience, What Is Holy Spirit

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Preserved And Protected By The Holy Spirit

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 26, 2022

When my mother used to make jam, I would watch her pour wax over the top of the preserves until it was at the brim of the jar. She would then carefully wipe some wax around the rim itself and place the rubber-lined lid on tight. The wax and the vacuum caused by the cooling preserves would seal that ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 1:13

Tags: Holy Spirit, Preserve, Protection

A Grief Observed

Contributed by Davon Huss on May 20, 2022

C.S. Lewis married when he was older to a woman named Joy. Joy got cancer and died just some years after they were married. Lewis, being a writer, wrote down his thoughts after she died in a journal. He turned that journal in a book called, “A Grief Observed.” The first few pages are somewhat ...read more

Scripture: John 11:35, Psalm 88:9

Tags: Peace, Grief, Loss, Where Is God, Answers  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Protect The Purity Of Your Marriage

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Aug 21, 2023

I admire Queen Vashti. In the midst of an unsavory "scene she was brave enough to say no to that which was blatantly wrong, and in resisting this insulting act of indignity, she took a stand against the greatest power in her universe. Good for her! Submission does not mean that a wife is a ...read more

Tags: Submission, Character, Purity, Husbands, Wives, Vashti, Beauty, Esther, Marriage  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Two Men And A Truck

Contributed by Loyd C. Taylor on Sep 3, 2023

I reworked this old joke and used two of my men. Always ask the permission of those you intend to us, since we know some are thin-skinned. I hope it will put a smile on your lips. HUMOR: Two Men and a Truck Ottis and Carolyn just got settled in his new house this past year. Ottis wanted to do a ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 3:23

Tags: Humor, Labor Day, Laughter, Projects

Denomination: Baptist

Why Be So Negative?

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Dec 12, 2025

NEGATIVE: One young boy stood holding on to the poles behind me. He was a smart young man. During the trip the young boy talked how stupid his teachers were. The conversation turned about how bad the principal and the office staff was. Then he told me how our best Sunday School teacher was ignorant ...read more

Scripture: Jude 1:22

Tags: Negative, Attitude

Denomination: Assembly Of God