In Sermon Illustrations: "Missed Opportunity"

Be A Line-Guide

Contributed by Timothy Darling on Jan 26, 2009

BE A LINE-GUIDE When they were teaching me to march in the Navy, for a while until they learned that I have eye problems (go figure) they made me a line-guide. A line-guide is in the front corner of the ranks and marches straight, so that everyone else can mark their place off him. The line-guide ...read more

Tags: Endurance

Denomination: Mennonite

Hosea 2: Low-Down Person

Contributed by Johnny Wilson on Feb 12, 2009

HOSEA 2: LOW-DOWN PERSON I was watching an old movie on television and I heard a line that I’d missed before. The villain of this comedy was talking on the phone and said something like: "Sure, I know what kind of low-down person would sue his own mother, but we’re not talking about me!" It caught ...read more

Tags: Judgment

Denomination: *other

As Joni Earickson Tada Puts It… The Message He ...

Contributed by David Rumley on Apr 16, 2009

AS JONI EARICKSON TADA PUTS IT… The message He wanted to get across was that sin kills; Hell is real, but God is merciful, His kingdom can change you, and I am your passport. And anytime people missed that and started to come to Jesus simply to get their situations fixed, the Savior backed away. I ...read more

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Denomination: Pentecostal

When Michigan Played Wisconsin In Basketball ...

Contributed by Bobby Scobey on Jul 28, 2009

When Michigan played Wisconsin in basketball early in the season in 1989, Michigan’s Rumeal Robinson stepped to the foul line for two shots late in the fourth quarter. His team trailed by one point, so Rumeal could regain the lead for Michigan. He missed both shots, allowing Wisconsin to upset ...read more

Tags: Repentance, National Repentance

Denomination: Pentecostal

I'd Rather Have You

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 1, 2009

I'D RATHER HAVE YOU A father and his young daughter were great friends and much in each other's company. Then the father noted a change in his daughter. If he went for a walk, she excused herself from going. He grieved about it, but could not understand. When his birthday came, she presented him ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 11:28-30

Tags: Family

Rudyard Kipling's Writings Not Only Made Him ...

Contributed by Curtis Emerson on Dec 18, 2009

Rudyard Kipling’s writings not only made him famous but also brought him a fortune. A newspaper reporter came up to him once and said, "Mr. Kipling, I just read that somebody calculated that the money you make from your writings amounts to over one hundred dollars a word.” He reached into his ...read more

Tags: Thanksgiving Holiday

Denomination: Lutheran

Baskin' Through Life

Contributed by Davon Huss on Dec 13, 2010

BASKIN' THROUGH LIFE Two robins were sitting in a tree. One of the robins turned to his buddy and announced that he was hungry. The other robin said that he was hungry too, so they flew down to find some lunch. As they came down, they saw an entire field full of worms. They ate and ate until ...read more

Tags: Lordship Of Christ

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Maybe If You Listened...  PRO

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Jan 4, 2011

"MAYBE IF YOU LISTENED..." In the middle of an argument, my Mum would say something like this - "Maybe if you LISTENED for a change, you would understand what I am trying to tell you!" So often I am not so much listening but simply waiting for the other person to finish so that I can get across my ...read more

Scripture: Acts 4:13

Tags: Everyone, Parable Sower And Seed, Problem

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Reunited

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Jan 23, 2011

REUNITED This week (1-11) an interesting story hit the presses: A woman who was kidnapped as a newborn 23 years ago says finding her real mother "felt like a dream." Carlina White was just 19 days old when she disappeared from Harlem Hospital in New York. She tells the New York Post that when ...read more

Tags: Salvation

Denomination: Independent/Bible

It Was There All Along  PRO

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Mar 6, 2011

IT WAS THERE ALL ALONG I remember a time when I had misplaced my good pen and I was looking for it everywhere. I looked in drawers. I looked under things, behind things and in things. I looked on the floor, but it was nowhere. And then I found it. I was holding it in my mouth the whole time. ...read more

Tags: Kingdom Of God

Denomination: Methodist

Everything I Need To Know I Learned From Noah  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 4, 2011

EVERYTHING I NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED FROM NOAH In 1988, Robert Fulghum published his best-selling book, Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. Recently, somebody suggested another book title: Everything I Need to Know I Learned from Noah. For example... * Don't miss the boat. * Plan ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 11:7

Tags: Noah

If We'd Only Joined Hands Sooner  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 30, 2011

IF WE'D ONLY JOINED HANDS SOONER A number of years ago in Canada, a little two-year-old girl wandered away from her neighborhood. It was a cold, winter day. Her parents alerted the neighbors and they saw some tracks in the snow, but there were a lot of other tracks, so for several hours the ...read more

Scripture: Romans 15:1-7

Tags: Unity

Lost And Found

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 13, 2012

LOST AND FOUND In London there is an official governmental office for lost and found items. It is the London Transports “Lost Property Office.” It is located on the side of the Baker’s Street Station, just across the street from the fictitious residence of Sherlock Holmes. It has been there since ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:1-10

Tags: Parable Lost Coin

The Infinite Can Penetrate The Finite!!

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Mar 1, 2016

Herbert Spencer, one of the popularizes of agnosticism over a century ago, observed accurately that a bird has never been known to fly out of space. Therefore, he concluded by analogy that it is impossible for the finite to penetrate the infinite. Even if God does exist, we can never know Him ...read more

Scripture: John 1:14

Tags: Jesus, Creator, Infinite, Agnosticism

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Mardi Gras Miracle

Contributed by Richard L. Brown on Apr 17, 2021

“The Mardi Gras Miracle.” On Fat Tuesday of 1994 I was on my way to a meeting at Normal Presbyterian Church. I was listening to a basketball game. Kentucky was playing LSU at LSU and Kentucky was down 16 points at half time. I was concerned but to make things worse LSU started the second half ...read more

Scripture: John 20:19-31

Tags: Doubt, Doubting Thomas

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Still Standing

Contributed by David Dunn on Dec 16, 2025

When I was in ninth grade, I was chosen to recite the Declaration of Independence in a high school patriotic play. I had the whole thing memorized. Every word. Every pause. I had practiced it until it lived in my bones. What I didn’t know — and wouldn’t discover until later — was that my zipper ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:9, 1 Corinthians 1:27

Tags: Grace, Weakness

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

Mother — Job Description  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 2, 2005

MOTHER - Job Description POSITION TITLE : Mom, Mama, Mommy, Mother JOB DESCRIPTION : Candidates must be willing to work variable hours, which will include evenings and weekends and frequent 24 hour shifts on call. Some overnight travel required, including trips to primitive camping sites on rainy ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 31:1-31

Tags: Parenting, Mother's Day

Reports The Denver Post: "Like Many Sheep ...  PRO

Contributed by David Selleck on Nov 17, 2005

Reports the DENVER POST: "Like many sheep ranchers in the West, Lexy Fowler has tried just about everything to stop crafty coyotes from killing her sheep. She has used odor sprays, electric fences, and ’scare-coyotes.’ She has slept with her lambs during the summer and has placed battery-operated ...read more

Tags: Fear And Worry

Denomination: Methodist

New Rules Barna Research Group Has Identified The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 6, 2006

New Rules Barna Research Group has identified the following New Rules for the next generation. Some will encourage you, others will cause alarm. 1. Personal relationships count. Institutions don’t. 2. The process is more important than the product. 3. Aggressively pursue diversity among ...read more

Tags: What Is Evangelism?

A Wealthy Man Before Leaving On An Extended ...  PRO

Contributed by Jim Kilson on May 6, 2006

A wealthy man before leaving on an extended vacation said to a contractor, "While I am away, I want you to build me a fine new home according to these plans. Be sure you work with extreme care, and use the best of everything. Tell me the cost as soon as you have it and I’ll send you a check." ...read more

Scripture: John 14:1-6, 1 Corinthians 3:10-15

Tags: Heaven, Eternity, Foundation, Building, Dishonesty  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ