In Sermon Illustrations: "Mercy Of God"

In The Wounded Healer, Henri Nouwen Retells A ...  PRO

Contributed by Steven Dow on May 28, 2004

In The Wounded Healer, Henri Nouwen retells a tale from ancient India: Four royal brothers decided each to master a special ability. Time went by, and the brothers met to reveal what they had learned. “I have mastered a science,” said the first, “by which I can take but a bone of some creature and ...read more

Tags: Worship Purpose

Flying A Plane Down  PRO

Contributed by Christian Cheong on Jul 6, 2004

FLYING A PLANE DOWN Robert and his pilot friend Wesley went for a flying trip from Indianapolis to Muncie, Indiana, in June 1998. During the flight, his pilot had a heart attack and slumped over the controls. He was dead. The Cessna 172 single-engine plane began to nosedive and Robert grabbed ...read more

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Then One Day When I Came Home There Was A Rental ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 24, 2004

Then one day when I came home there was a rental van pulled up to his house. Doug was standing beside the small porch holding their child as he watched her and her boyfriend put her things in the van. It was such a horrific and terrible thing to watch. It seemed to be so intense for him. I ...read more

Singing Him

Contributed by Brad Bailey on Aug 6, 2004

SINGING HIM There was an elderly woman who was a true saint of God in her long life of devotion. She knew much of the Bible by heart and would repeat long passages from memory. But as the years went by, the strength went and with it the memory gradually went too. Finally, there came the time ...read more

Tags: Worship Purpose

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

As I Read Erwin Mcmanus' Book On The Church ...  PRO

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Sep 6, 2004

As I read Erwin McManus’ book on the church entitled An Unstoppable Force, I have to say I was hit hard by a statement near the beginning, where he said: “The indictment that we must receive is that the Christian faith as we express it is no longer seen as a viable spiritual option. Masses gave ...read more

Tags: Church Purpose Of

Denomination: Methodist

Howard Hendricks Tells Of A Mentor Who Changed ...  PRO

Contributed by Paul Wallace on Sep 14, 2004

Howard Hendricks tells of a mentor who changed his life in his book Iron sharpens Iron. Howard was from a broken family, and said, "I could have lived, died and gone to hell without anyone bothering to care." However, a man named Walt from a tiny church in his neighborhood cared about reaching nine ...read more

Tags: Sharing My Testimony, Evangelism How To

Denomination: Wesleyan

Bill Bright, Founder And President, Campus ...  PRO

Contributed by Richard Mcnair on Oct 27, 2004

-- Bill Bright, founder and president, Campus Crusade for Christ. Men of Integrity I know two law partners who used to hate each other. When one became a Christian, he asked me, "Now that I’m a Christian, what should I do?" I said, "Why not ask him to forgive you and tell him you love him?" ...read more

Tags: Compassion, Forgiveness For Others, Jesus Teachings

Denomination: Baptist

The Birth Foretold  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 6, 2004

THE BIRTH FORETOLD About 500 before Jesus was born - a man named Buddha came along. He established a religion we know of as Buddhism, and many people gathered around him and tried to live by his teachings. But before he was born, nobody ever said: “Hey somebody is going to come along and he will ...read more

Scripture: John 6:24-35

Tags: Birth Of Jesus, Foundation, Disciples, Messianic Prophecies

Each Football Season The Texas Longhorns Play The ...

Contributed by Jeremy Houck on Jan 15, 2005

Each football season the Texas Longhorns play the Oklahoma Sooners in the Red River Shoot Out. It is played in the neutral city of Dallas. Thousands of fans from each team invade the city to witness the clash between these archrivals. Sometimes the clash extends beyond the playing field. One year a ...read more

Tags: Faith General

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Oh My Friends, What If Those Who Recently ...  PRO

Contributed by Gene Gregory on Jan 16, 2005

Oh my friends, what if those who recently perished in that giant wave knew that those in church often spend more time praying for each other’s sicknesses than they do for lost people’s salvation? Years ago, a farmer in Asia stood outside his hut and down the hill toward the sea. There in the ...read more

Tags: Evangelism Urgency

Denomination: Baptist

You Don't Know What You're Talking About!  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 23, 2005

YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT! Rejection comes in all forms. Steven was a young man that felt the call of God on his life. He came from a really close family. He finished his college and then went off to seminary. After finishing seminary he came back before going to his first church. ...read more

Scripture: Mark 6:1-6

Tags: Send, Rejection, Jesus Teachings, Jesus' Ministry

Remember False Guilt Attacks The Person And The ...  PRO

Contributed by Steve Greene on Apr 12, 2007

Remember false guilt attacks the person and the Holy Spirit attacks the problem. A young boy was going to spend the evening at a friend¡¦s house. His father asked that he call home once he arrived so that the father could be assured that his son had arrived safely. As the evening wore on, this ...read more

Denomination: Nazarene

Joshua Bell, Plays The Noted "Gibson Ex ...

Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Apr 22, 2007

Joshua Bell, plays the noted “Gibson ex Huberman” Stradivarius violin worth $3.5 million. He commands $1,000 a minute performances all over the world. But the Washington Post wondered what might happen if Bell were asked to dress down and play as a street musician near one of the busy subway ...read more

Tags: Hope, Hope For Women

Denomination: Other

I Remember When I First Began In The Ministry. I ...

Contributed by Chris Surber on Apr 28, 2007

I remember when I first began in the ministry. I was a young Marine Sergeant living in Yuma, Arizona. I had gotten involved with a retired Pastor. He and I would lead a chapel service every Sunday at various retirement communities, assisted living facilities, and at rescue shelters. I was ...read more

Denomination: Christian Church

A Young Boy Was Leaving For Iraq And On His Last ...

Contributed by Bob Marcaurelle on Jun 16, 2007

A young boy was leaving for Iraq and on his last night at home he went out with his friends. Arriving home about 11:30 he made his regular stop at the refrigerator. The mother and father were in bed upstairs, and as always did not feel right until they heard him come in. The mother said to the ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

They Are Known As The Forty Martyrs Of Sebaste. ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

They are known as the forty martyrs of Sebaste. In the famed Twelfth Legion of Rome’s imperial army there were forty soldiers who professed their faith in Jesus Christ. One day their captain informed them that Emperor Licinius had sent out an edict commanding all soldiers to offer sacrifice to ...read more

Tags: Cross Agony

First Of All, What Is A Shepherd And What Does ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

First of all, what is a shepherd and what does he do? I think that Dr. Andrew Bonar, a close friend and biographer of Robert Murray M’Cheyne, says it best when he had this to say to a friend of his about sheep and shepherds. Dr. Andrew Bonar told me how, in the Highlands of Scotland, a sheep would ...read more

Tags: People In Acts

Houston Pastor John Bisagno ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

ILLUSTRATION Houston pastor John Bisagno describes a time when his daughter Melody, age five, came to him and asked for a doll house. John promptly nodded and promised to build her one, then he went back to reading his book. Soon he glanced out the study window and saw her arms filled with ...read more

Tags: Faith

Two Men Had An Argument. To Settle The Matter, ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Two men had an argument. To settle the matter, they went to a judge to let him decide. The plaintiff made his case. He was very eloquent and persuasive in his reasoning. When he finished, the judge nodded in approval and said, "That’s right, that’s right." On hearing this, the defendant jumped up ...read more

Tags: World Religions

We Use That Word Believe For Everything And ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

We use that word believe for everything and anything. But in the Bible believe means two things. It means to accept something as being true and it means to trust. For example, of all the people who have ever crossed Niagara Falls on a tightrope the most spectacular has to be that person who was ...read more

Tags: Faith