In Sermon Illustrations: "Member"

Joseph Was Despised Because Of His ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 28, 2008

Joseph was despised because of his Behavior. (Vv. 8-11) Joseph was despised not for doing evil but for doing good. Joseph typifies the Lord in many ways. Sidlow Baxter observes that he was the beloved son, that he was the rejected servant, and also the exalted Savior. The way that he was despised ...read more

Tags: Ot Characters

Punished For Helping

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 10, 2009

PUNISHED FOR HELPING Thu Feb 26, AP/ DENVER -- A good Samaritan who helped push three people out of the path of a pickup truck before being struck and injured has gotten a strange reward for his good deed: A jaywalking ticket. Family members said 58-year-old bus driver Jim Moffett and another man ...read more

Scripture: John 15:18-27

Tags: Fail, Good, Intention, Hardship Of Life

A Brother And A ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 14, 2009

A BROTHER AND A SINNER For more than 600 years, the Hapsburgs held great political power in Europe. When Franz-Josef I, the emperor of Austria, died in 1916, his was the last of the very extravagant imperial funerals. A processional of dignitaries and elegantly dressed members of the imperial ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 49:16-17

Tags: Humility

Dare To Be Different

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 7, 2009

DARE TO BE DIFFERENT A number of years ago I was traveling in the western part of North Carolina, near the town of Bryson City. I had not had my license very long and had been given specific instructions by my family members concerning the road that I would find once I left the main highway. I was ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:12-14

Tags: Holiness

The Reason Behind An Unusual Hymn Singing ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 8, 2009

The Reason Behind an Unusual Hymn Singing Practice is Discovered Sometime in the last decade of twentieth century, a young pastor who was a fresh graduate from a renowned seminary was assigned to shepherd an old church in a remote village. The church was founded and built sometime in the late ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:3-8

Tags: Church Practices

Foul Spirit To Freedom

Contributed by Paul Wallace on Mar 25, 2010

FOUL SPIRIT TO FREEDOM Several years ago, I used to visit a nursing home near central El Paso. There was one ornery lady who would growl like a tiger. She was mean! It was clear that she was sick in her mind. Along with others, I would constantly pray for her deliverance. But she would push our ...read more

Tags: Demons

Denomination: Wesleyan

A Pastor Told Of A Woman In His Church That Had ...

Contributed by Ed Sasnett on Jul 8, 2010

A pastor told of a woman in his church that had the spiritual gift of service and mercy. Over and over she was used in situations that brought great honor to the Lord. There was a woman in the community with eight children. The terrible news came to this mother that her husband had been killed ...read more

Tags: Servanthood

Denomination: Baptist

The Witness Of Booth And Lee

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Jul 15, 2010

THE WITNESS OF BOOTH AND LEE In the early years of her life she witnessed horrific events as members of her family were beheaded in conflicts in China. Although she was only a little girl, MI LEE (not her real name) was forced to watch and still hallucinates about these terrible and barbaric ...read more

Tags: Christian Witness

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Conversion Of George Whitefield

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 29, 2011

THE CONVERSION OF GEORGE WHITEFIELD In the 1730's in England, a young man named George Whitefield desperately wanted to be right before God. As a student at Oxford, he was part of the Holy Club, along with John and Charles Wesley. The members of that club rose early every day for lengthy ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:8-9

Tags: Salvation

Beholden To Money

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 13, 2011

BEHOLDEN TO MONEY In his book How Much Is Enough? Hungering For God In An Affluent Culture author and Founder of Bread for the World: Arthur Simon writes about Bryce and Ellen, "a couple in their mid-thirties. They have two sons and a daughter, and on Sundays the family attends church more often ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:19-34

Tags: Money

Statistics On Loneliness

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 7, 2011

STATISTICS ON LONELINESS This week I read an article by Medical News Today about the health effects of loneliness. Quoting the article, it states that "there is evidence that the risk of developing and dying from heart disease can depend on the strength of one's social network of friends and ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-16

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

The Importance Of Family Meals

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Mar 2, 2012

THE IMPORTANCE OF FAMILY MEALS "Kids who dine with the folks are healthier, happier, and better students, which is why a dying tradition is coming back." That's what an in-depth study by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University concluded after nearly a decade of ...read more

Scripture: Deuteronomy 6:7

Tags: Family

Denomination: Baptist

Marriage

Contributed by Don Berry-Graham on Feb 29, 2016

A story from Warsaw, Ohio, is catching some attention today (August 13, 2014). It seems the dancers at Foxhole nightclub decided to picket a church that had been hassling them for years. Apparently the members and pastor of New Beginnings Ministries felt called by God to try to rid their community ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 7:1-39

Tags: Sex, Intimacy In Marriage

Denomination: Baptist

The Power Of Singing

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on May 14, 2020

Its been observed that Singing Together Shapes Community. ***Songs are one way that a community has its identity and one way that individuals find their identity within a community. (therefore old songs –passed on to the next generation- help create community bonds) Baseball has a song – during ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:1-2

Tags: Community, Church, Worship

Denomination: Pentecostal

Defaced From Family Will

Contributed by Ron Freeman, Evangelist on Mar 14, 2021

I was told by a wonderful woman who had married a negro man after falling in love with him during the 1940s. She met him in Pittsburg, PA, and later moved to Chicago, IL for the safety of their family. Her father was filled with bitterness and anger and defaced her from the will. He disowned her ...read more

Scripture: James 2:8-9, Matthew 22:37-40

Tags: Prince Harry, Racism, Transgression, Respect Of Persons, Royal Law Of Love, Family Will, Meghan Markle, Sin, Bigotry, Brotherly Love, Prejudice, Hatred  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

"worst Day - Best Day - Begins And Ends With Me"

Contributed by Terry Miller on Mar 24, 2022

No note was written. There was no obvious clue to why I had reached the depths of a horrible pit of desperation. How could life for a forty-something get any worse than that? My Worst Day had brought me to contemplating suicide! A feeling of reaching life’s dead-end road had overpowered any ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 56:3

Tags: Motivational, Inspirational

Willie Stargell And The Pittsburgh Pirates' Family

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Aug 2, 2023

Teammates of the late Willie Stargell called him "Pops" because of his leadership both on and off the baseball field. In 1979, when Stargell led the Pittsburgh Pirates to their second World Series title, the team was nicknamed "The Family" because of their close relationship and ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-11, Philippians 2:1-11

Tags: Prejudice, Diversity, Body Of Christ, Baseball, Family Of God, Love, Fellowship, Holy Spirit, Team, Unity  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Metamorphosis

Contributed by Richard L. Brown on Mar 1, 2025

I thought of a book I read years ago in German class. We were assigned the task of reading the Famous Novel by Franz Kafka entitled “The Metamorphosis”. It was about a young man who woke up one day and realized he had been transformed into, of all things, a large Roach. The story line of the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 17:1-9

Tags: Transfiguration, God's Presence

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Birds Of ...

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

Birds of Feather Flock Together Many in America will tell you that they are Christians because they believe in Jesus Christ. Others attempt to proclaim their faith in Him by becoming members of a local church that they may or may not regularly attend. They have convinced themselves as long as ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:10

Tags: Love Of The Disciples

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Forgiveness And Reconciliation In South ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 1, 2010

Forgiveness and Reconciliation in South Africe Phillip Yancey stated in his book “Finding God In Unexpected Places”, “The job of a journalist is, simply, to see. We are professional eyes. As a Christian journalist, I have learned to look for traces of God. I have found those traces in unexpected ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:11-21

Tags: Forgiveness For Others