In Sermon Illustrations: "Missing Out"

The Occult, The Supernatural, And Teenagers

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 6, 2011

THE OCCULT, THE SUPERNATURAL, AND TEENAGERS In 2006, researcher George Barna came out with the top 12 most significant or surprising faith findings for that year. Coming in second was this report: "Three out of every four teenagers have engaged in at least one type of psychic or witchcraft-related ...read more

Scripture: Deuteronomy 18:9-13

Tags: Supernatural

Visiting Preacher  PRO

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 13, 2014

A pastor went out visiting his church members on a Saturday afternoon. At one house, it was obvious that someone was home, but nobody came to the door even though the preacher knocked several times. Finally, the minister took out his church business card and wrote out "Revelation 3:20" on the ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 3:1-10

Tags: Sin, Temptation, Adam And Eve

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

God Is Everywhere. However, He Does Not Want You ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 12, 2005

God is everywhere. However, He does not want you to reach out for Him everywhere but only in the Word. Reach out for it and you will grasp Him aright. Otherwise you are tempting God and setting up idolatry. That is why He has established a certain method for us. This ...read more

Tags: Bible Influence

God Is Everywhere. However, He Does Not Want You ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 17, 2006

God is everywhere. However, He does not want you to reach out for Him everywhere but only in the Word. Reach out for it and you will grasp Him aright. Otherwise you are tempting God and setting up idolatry. That is why He has established a certain method for us. This teaches ...read more

Tags: Bible Influence

There Were Two Young Men Who Were Toying With ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

There were two young men who were toying with doing something wrong that would be disapproved of by their fathers. One of them finally decided he could not go along. The other young man asked sarcastically, "Are you afraid your dad will find out and hurt ...read more

Tags: God Brings Purpose

A Young Soldier Was In His Tent When The Battle ...

Contributed by Charles Wallis on Nov 10, 2008

A young soldier was in his tent when the battle was just about to break out. He heard an explosion and jumped into the nearest fox hole. His fellow soldiers looked at him and laughed. They all said, "That was our artillery going off." He had jumped into the ...read more

Tags: Fear And Worry

Denomination: Pentecostal

Stolen Raft

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Feb 2, 2009

STOLEN RAFT Some Boeing employees on the airfield decided to steal a life raft from one of the 747s. They were successful in getting it out of the plane and home. Shortly after they took it for a float on the river, they noticed a Coast Guard helicopter coming toward them. It turned out that the ...read more

Tags: Character

Denomination: Independent/Bible

The Family. We Were A Strange Little Band Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"The family. We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one anothers desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, ...read more

Scripture: Luke 13:10-17, Numbers 12:13-15

Tags: Family

You Are Not Going To Have The Laugh On Me By ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"You are not going to have the laugh on me by luring me into resolutions. I know my weaknessesI shall continue to be pleasant to insurance agents, from sheer lack of manhood; and to keep library books out over the date and so incur a fine. My only hope, you see, is resolutely ...read more

Tags: New Year's Day

Be Careful What You Smile About

Contributed by James Snyder on Mar 20, 2021

Dr. James L. Snyder I am a student of smileology and have been just about all my life. If you can't smile at something, it's not worth thinking about. Of course, certain things in life are serious, but not that many. Too many people take everything seriously and ruin their life. These are ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:4-5

Tags: Humor, Facebook, Lockedout

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Attitude Can Be Changed Simply By Humbly Coming ...  PRO

Contributed by Scott Jensen on Oct 24, 2008

Attitude can be changed simply by humbly coming to God, ready to receive what He offers, even if it's not the answer we expected. The story is told of an old man who lived on a farm in the mountains of eastern Kentucky with his young grandson. Each morning, Grandpa was up early sitting at the ...read more

Tags: Attitude General

Denomination: Lutheran

What Prayer Is…  PRO

Contributed by Steve Malone on Jun 6, 2002

What Prayer Is… Prayer is coming into the presence of God… Prayer is entering the throne room of the KING of kings and LORD of lords… Prayer is taking our concerns to the one who cares for me Prayer is to stand on holy ground… Prayer is communicating with the creator of the world…(the one spoke ...read more

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Journey From Heaven To Dump  PRO

Contributed by A. Todd Coget on Nov 29, 2002

THE JOURNEY FROM HEAVEN TO DUMP Author and pastor Leith Anderson writes: Several years ago I was visiting Manila and was taken, of all places, to the Manila garbage dump and saw something beyond belief. Tens of thousands of people make their homes on that dump site. They’ve constructed shacks out ...read more

Scripture: John 1:1-18

Tags: Christmas Advent

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

A Soaring Buzzard Gliding Over Alabama Collided ...

Contributed by Kenneth Henes on Jun 22, 2004

A soaring buzzard gliding over Alabama collided with a turboprop Marine trainer. The collision, spreading feathers and broken glass through both of the trainer cockpits, knocked out the flight instructor and his student. The instructor, regaining consciousness thought the student was dead so he ...read more

Tags: Discipleship

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Do You Know Where Pearls Come From? They Come ...

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Aug 25, 2006

Do you know where pearls come from? They come from oysters. An oyster is a shellfish that lives in the ocean. They have a very hard shell that protects them, but sometimes something like a small grain of sand can get inside the shell and it causes a lot of pain and discomfort for the oyster. God ...read more

Tags: Hardship Of Life

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Stalled Engine  PRO

Contributed by Richard Goble on Nov 12, 2007

Stalled Engine There is no situation I can get into that God cannot get me out of. Some years ago a man was learning to fly. The flight instructor told him to put the plane into a steep and extended dive. The student was totally unprepared for what was about to happen. After a brief time the engine ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

When Do We Usually Want To Know God's Will? When ...

Contributed by Brian Matherlee on Jul 29, 2008

When do we usually want to know God's will? When we've run out of answers. Thank God for the times the answers run out and we must look to him! Tony Dungy is the coach of the Indianapolis Colts who won the Super Bowl last season. He is a devout Christian and has written a book, not about ...read more

Tags: God's Sovereign Will

Denomination: Wesleyan

Ray Of Light, Ray Of Hope

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 10, 2009

RAY OF LIGHT, RAY OF HOPE There is a story about how the caverns north of Yellowstone National Park were discovered. As the story goes, one of the original explorers was walking along the top of that mountain and fell through a hole, and he dropped down several hundred feet into this cavern and ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:14

Tags: God Brings Hope

Emergency Locator On Raft Compared To Not Being ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 10, 2010

Emergency Locator on Raft Compared to Not Being Able to Hide Sin A big part of his prayer is confession. Nehemiah confessed his sin. He owned the problem. They were sins not simply of commission but of omission. Trying to hide our sins from God is impossible. He knows all about them. Numbers 32:23 ...read more

Scripture: Numbers 32:23

Tags: Sin Exposed

The Croquet Lesson

Contributed by Scott Spencer on Oct 16, 2011

THE CROQUET LESSON Some missionaries in the Philippines set up a croquet game in their front yard. Several of their Agta Negrito neighbors became interested and wanted to join the fun. The missionaries explained the game and started them out, each with a mallet and ball. As the game progressed, ...read more

Tags: Christian Love

Denomination: Calvary Chapel