In Sermon Illustrations: "Miss The Point"

Facing The Truth: Beverly Sills

Contributed by Dale Pilgrim on Apr 26, 2010

fACING THE TRUTH: BEVERLY SILLS Confession is admission of something; it is an act of disclosure. Here's a story in the Ladies’ Home Journal as once quoted in The Reader’s Digest: Being general director of the New York opera took a toll on Beverly Sills; she ballooned into obesity. "It made me ...read more

Tags: Confession Of Sin

Denomination: Salvation Army

William Doherty On How Marriages End Up Down ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 29, 2010

William Doherty on How Marriages End Up Down River William Doherty begins his book Take Back Your Marriage with a powerfully true illustration. His office is located in St. Paul, Minnesota, not far from the farthest point north on the Mississippi River. He describes the river’s powerful but silent ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:10-17

Tags: Marriage Struggle

Hard Places Cannot Be Mended

Contributed by Sean Harder on Sep 30, 2010

HARD PLACES CANNOT BE MENDED How many of you have read the Pilgrim’s Progress? This is a classic allegory of the Christian journey. The main character, Christian, is on a journey from the city of Destruction to the Celestial City, and along the way him and all the other pilgrims come across ...read more

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Middle C

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Nov 22, 2010

MIDDLE C When Lloyd C. Douglas, author of The Robe and other novels, was a university student, he lived in a boarding house. Downstairs on the first floor was an elderly, retired music teacher who was infirm and unable to leave the apartment. Douglas said that every morning they had a ritual they ...read more

Tags: God Brings Hope

Denomination: Brethren

Gen. Macarthur: Understanding Einstein

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Nov 29, 2010

GEN. MACARTHUR: UNDERSTANDING EINSTEIN When General Douglas MacArthur was at Army training college, he tells this story: "The first section was studying the time-space relationship later formulated by Einstein as his Theory of Relativity. The text was complex and, being unable to comprehend it, I ...read more

Tags: Obedience

Denomination: Brethren

Math Tests Through The Decades

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 29, 2011

MATH TESTS THROUGH THE DECADES * 1960s test: "A logger cuts and sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is four-fifths of that amount. What is his profit?" * 1970s new-math test: "A logger exchanges a set (L) of lumber for a set (M) of money. The cardinality of Set M is 100. ...read more

Scripture: Daniel 1:3-4

Tags: Wisdom, Walk, Fire

Time Marches On  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 10, 2011

TIME MARCHES ON There was once a middle aged man who was considering going back to school to get that degree he had always wanted. But he was balking at the idea because he was now over 50 and what good would it do him now. He went to his dad for advice and his dad asked him how long it would ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:15-16

Tags: Wisdom, Wait, Response, Call God's Name, Time  (view more)  (view less)

D. L. Moody And The Chicago Campaign

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 10, 2011

D. L. MOODY AND THE CHICAGO CAMPAIGN In 1893, the World Exposition was held in Chicago, and more than 21 million people visited the exhibits. Among the features was a "World Parliament of Religions," with representatives of the world's religions, meeting to share their "best points" and perhaps ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 1:15-20

Tags: World Religions

The Gentleman Cat

Contributed by Guy Mcgraw on Jun 22, 2011

THE GENTLEMAN CAT Two men sought to prove to their king whether a man had to be "born a gentleman" or could become one by "discipline and training." The one told the other that he would prove his point regarding "training" by showing the king his cat, which he had trained to stand on its back ...read more

Tags: Allegory

Doing The Best You Can

Contributed by Scott Spencer on Sep 17, 2011

DOING THE BEST YOU CAN There is an old story from the Middle East about a little sparrow: "A man was traveling on his donkey when he came upon a small fuzzy object lying in the road. He dismounted to look more closely and found a sparrow lying on its back with its scrawny legs thrust upward. At ...read more

Tags: Endurance

Denomination: Calvary Chapel

Your Sins Have Been Your Downfall, Is Where The ...

Contributed by Andrew Moffatt on Aug 18, 2012

"Your sins have been your downfall", is where the tar starts sticking to the tyres. Most people generally don’t like the whole “s” word thing. For some reason there is an issue with the human brain that tells us to kick up stink when we are having a good time, a pleasurable time and someone, some ...read more

Scripture: Romans 6:23

Tags: Repentance, Sin Bondage To, Sin And Grace

Denomination: Salvation Army

A Brief Excerpt From The Biography* Of ...

Contributed by Suresh Manoharan on Sep 17, 2012

A brief excerpt from the Biography* of D.Livingstone that immortal missionary to Africa captures the essence of his ministry…on how he had modeled it on His master. ‘They (people to whom he ministered) had decided to go to Kolobeng, too, for they felt that they could not live without their white ...read more

Tags: Jesus' Ministry

Denomination: *other

Forget The Gps!

Contributed by Robert Harmon on Oct 4, 2014

My brother Curtis had come home from Italy to visit us, and attended worship at the congregation where I served. Afterword, he wanted to go to Mammoth Cave and show his wife and son one of the natural wonders of the US. We tagged along, and I told him I knew the way. He said, “Naw, we’ll use the ...read more

Scripture: Acts 17:11-12

Tags: Direction, Apologetics, Bible Study, Bible Truth

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The New Never Gets Old

Contributed by Charlie Roberts on May 5, 2019

Saw a guy with his new car the other day, or at least it sure seemed new the way he admired it walking away backwards from it almost to the point of stumbling over the curb. You know one thing we like to do, is show off the new. I could relate with the man, he couldn’t stop looking at the shiny ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:17, 2 Chronicles 7:14

Tags: Relationship, New, Salvation

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Be Doers Of The Word

Contributed by Brad Beaman on Oct 8, 2022

There is a made-up story about a man who had a dream about heaven. The story is not true but the point it illustrates is true. In this story a man had a dream he died and went to heaven. He toured heaven and it was marvelous just as he imagined it would be. He sees mansions, streets of gold and ...read more

Scripture: James 1:19-25

Tags: Doing, Great Sermons, Doers Of The Word, Practical Faith, Not Hearers Only, Do What It Says, James On Doing  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Jonathan Goforth

Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Oct 24, 2025

The reason we preach the Gospel is because we love God our heavenly Father and not to gain brownie points in heaven. Yes it will be hard work at times. Story: The well known Canadian missionary, Jonathan Goforth told this story about the joy that God has - when we are faithful in doing what he ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:1-23

Tags: Father's Joy, Goforth

Denomination: Anglican

Pastor Bob Schmidgall Said Of Super Bowl Sunday, ...  PRO

Contributed by Bobby Scobey on Mar 27, 2007

Pastor Bob Schmidgall said of Super Bowl Sunday, "That’s a pastor’s nightmare. What do you do on Super Bowl Sunday night? Go watch the game? I’m not worried about watching it. I’m worried about all those people don’t come to church." Then he quoted this, written by a minister: "As a minister ...read more

Denomination: Pentecostal

One Day A Boy Came To His Father And Said, "Dad, ...  PRO

Contributed by Philip Harrelson on Jan 13, 2005

One day a boy came to his father and said, "Dad, it’s just six weeks before I will be going to college and I was wondering if you were going to give me a going-away present. If you are, I have a suggestion to make." The father smiling answered, ’What is your suggestion, son?" The boy’s eyes ...read more

Tags: Parenting

Denomination: Pentecostal

Greg Louganis Recorded An Unprecedented ...  PRO

Contributed by Ian Biss on Jan 29, 2002

Greg Louganis recorded an unprecedented double/double in Olympic diving when he won gold medals in the men’s 3-meter springboard and platform competition in both the 1984 and 1988 Olympics. Few will ever forget how he fought back in 1988. In the springboard event he missed one dive and hit the ...read more

Tags: Parenting, Unconditional Love

Denomination: Grace Brethren

The Golden Rule Of Family  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 9, 2002

THE GOLDEN RULE OF FAMILY One of Grimm’s fairy tales tells of an old man who lived with his son, the son’s wife, and the young couple’s four-year-old boy. The old man’s eyes blinked, and his hands shook. When he ate, the silverware rattled against the plate, and he often missed his mouth. Then ...read more

Tags: Relationships, Compassion, Family, Golden Rule