In Sermon Illustrations: "Missing Out"

In 1914; Sir Earnest Shackleton, And Explorer ...

Contributed by Ken Mckinley on Jan 19, 2010

In 1914; Sir Earnest Shackleton, and explorer from England attempted to cross Antarctica. His exploration didn’t go so well though as his ship, “The Endurance,” was caught in the ice pack and slowly crushed as the ice closed in around it. Luckily, Shackleton and his crew managed to make it off ...read more

Tags: Second Coming

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Let Me Share With You My Story Of The ...

Contributed by Vera Hughes on Jan 20, 2010

Let me share with you my story of the “Great Cake Bake”. The great cake bake is the story of the day I was to prepare the ultimate cake for Thanksgiving dinner with my new in-laws. I mean this cake was going to be better than Betty Crocker could imagine. I remember waking up on Thanksgiving Day ...read more

Tags: Endurance

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

You Are Not Alone

Contributed by Jim Kane on Mar 14, 2010

YOU ARE NOT ALONE Reed Lessing tells the story of a Native American ritual for training young braves: "On the night of a boy’s thirteenth birthday, he was placed in a dense forest to spend the entire night alone. Until then he had never been away from the security of his family and tribe. But on ...read more

Tags: Suffering Loneliness

Denomination: Church Of God

John Stott On Temptation

Contributed by Christian Cheong on Oct 30, 2010

JOHN STOTT ON TEMPTATION "The command to get rid of troublesome eyes, hands and feet is an example of our Lord’s use of dramatic figures of speech. What he was advocating was not a literal physical self-maiming, but a ruthless moral self-denial...to reject sinful practices so resolutely that we ...read more

Tags: Dead To Sin

Denomination: Independent/Bible

What Do You Mean "I Love You"?

Contributed by Bret Toman on Jan 4, 2011

WHAT DO YOU MEAN "I LOVE YOU"? Dennis Rainey interviewed a man who had been stung by his father’s filthy heart, his failure to love. As a boy his dad decided to leave his mom for another woman. The Dad kissed his son on the forehead, said “I love you,” and walked out the door. What could he ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:6

Tags: Christian Love

Denomination: Baptist

A Greater Hero Than You Think

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 1, 2011

A GREATER HERO THAN YOU THINK One summer morning as Ray Blankenship was preparing his breakfast, he gazed out the window, and saw a small girl being swept along in the rain-flooded drainage ditch beside his Andover, Ohio, home. Blankenship knew that farther downstream, the ditch disappeared with ...read more

Scripture: John 15:13

Tags: Hero, Heroism, Culvert

Resurrection Tree

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 5, 2011

RESURRECTION TREE In a cemetery in Hanover, Germany, is a grave on which were placed huge slabs of granite and marble cemented together and fastened with heavy steel clasps. It belongs to a woman who did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. Yet strangely, she directed in her will that her ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:35-58

Tags: Immortality

A Dying Church  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 5, 2011

A DYING CHURCH An artist was once asked to put on canvas what he considered to be the picture best symbolizing a decaying and dying church. After several months, he returned and reported that he had finished the task. The hour finally arrived when the painting was to be unveiled. Several people ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 3:1-6

Tags: Church Growth

Singing For The Girls

Contributed by Guy Mcgraw on Jun 22, 2011

SINGING FOR THE GIRLS Last Sunday night I preached in a town called San Miguel. It was known for witch doctors and demonic things going on. We had a constant string of problems happening one after another. The church was crowded with every seat taken and faces looking through the back doors and ...read more

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Set Free

Contributed by Alison Bucklin on Jul 2, 2011

SET FREE Ray Bakke, the Executive Director of International Urban Associates, tells a great story from World War II. An airman named MacDonald and a Scottish chaplain bailed out behind German lines, were captured and put into a prison camp, with MacDonald in the American barracks and the chaplain ...read more

Tags: Restoration

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Trust Made The Difference

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Jul 3, 2011

TRUST MADE THE DIFFERENCE Years ago, when my nephew Josh was about 9 years old, we were out in the yard playing tag. He had tagged me and was running for all he was worth to get away from me. He was laughing and laughing as he looked back at me chasing him. Then he turned around and ran into a ...read more

Tags: Trust

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Improving On A Good Design...or Not

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 8, 2011

IMPROVING ON A GOOD DESIGN...OR NOT Years ago I bought a Chevy Caprice at a used car lot. It was a thing of beauty. It was big and stylish and it purred as I drove it down the road. Well, it purred for the first few days. Then it began to cough and sputter and I had difficulty getting above 30 ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 1:27-30

Tags: Church General

Working For Food

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 10, 2011

WORKING FOR FOOD I like the story of the rich executive who announced to his church one morning that he was going to give up all he owned so that he had to depend on his faith in God for everything he needed. He sold everything, gave it to the poor, and moved into a rented home down on the bad ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:19-34

Tags: Prayer Of Faith

Tears And Trust

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 23, 2011

TEARS AND TRUST Years ago, when my nephew Josh was about 9 years old we were out in the yard playing tag. He had tagged me and was running for all he was worth to get away from me. He was laughing and laughing as he looked back at me chasing him. Then he turned around and ran into a tree. It ...read more

Scripture: Habakkuk 3:17-19

Tags: Faith, Trust

I Came Upon My 3rd Grade Report Card From A Small ...

Contributed by Brad Henry on Dec 9, 2011

I came upon my 3rd grade report card from a small school in Western Pennsylvania. The teacher wrote, "I feel Bradley could do so much better. Inattentive." Well not much has changed. ADD started early. But I was not inattentive when it came time for sports. Why the disconnect? It is because I was ...read more

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Shannon's Sacrifice

Contributed by Greg Nance on Feb 25, 2012

SHANNON'S SACRIFICE It was March 24, 1998 in Westside Middle School near Jonesboro, Arkansas. A total of five people, four female students and a teacher, were killed at a school shooting. Ten people, nine students and one teacher, were injured. The perpetrators of the shooting were two students, ...read more

Tags: Sacrifices

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Fear Of The Resurrection

Contributed by Perry Greene on Jul 2, 2012

FEAR OF THE RESURRECTION In a cemetery in Hanover, Germany, is a grave on which were placed huge slabs of granite and marble cemented together and fastened with heavy steel clasps. It belongs to a woman who did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. Yet strangely, she directed in her will ...read more

Tags: Men's Day

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

A Father's Legacy

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 30, 2012

A FATHER’S LEGACY Ken Hemphill tells the story of what took place at his church when he was pastor of FBC of Norfolk. He was out on the sidewalk welcoming people as they got out of their cars. About 3rd in line was a father & his teenage son. The father had a golf shirt on, and he evidently was ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 22:6

Tags: Father's Day

Inspiration: Ten Feet At A Time

Contributed by Dave Clark on Dec 11, 2012

INSPIRATION: TEN FEET AT A TIME Being a provoker doesn’t mean you have to be a perfect person, it just means you have to be a person doing your best in the situations where you find yourself. Several years ago after a devastating California earthquake, the news camera panned a devastated ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 15:1

Tags: Restoration

Denomination: Disciples Of Christ

The Boat Is On Fire

Contributed by Jerry Thorpe on Mar 8, 2013

THE BOAT IS ON FIRE Robert E. Lee pleasure boat. Steamed out of Vicksburg. Hundreds of people were aboard. After midnight the boat caught fire. The captain discovered it and told his first mate to rush down through the saloon and down every corridor to wake everyone up. He didn't have time to ...read more

Tags: Rapture, Evangelism Urgency

Denomination: Church Of God