In Sermon Illustrations: "Mission To Family"

What's Wrong With Slandering Someone?

Contributed by Rev. Matthew Parker on Aug 29, 2014

I was speaking with someone this past week who has spent a great deal of his life travelling around the world, much of it for a mission agency. He spoke of a time when he visited an extremely remote, forested part of India where people live very primitively. He stayed there for a while. This fellow ...read more

Scripture: 2 Peter 1:5-7, 2 Peter 1:5

Tags: Godly Character, Transparency

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Cross Is The Attraction

Contributed by Andrew Moffatt on Sep 8, 2016

The famous first national Salvationist here in Sri Lanka, Arnolis Weerasooriya whose picture we all walk past every day said something about the cross. Can you remember reading it, it is on his picture. That’s right he said, “Cross is the attraction.” He died from cholera some years later on the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 20:20-28

Tags: Suffering, Enduring Suffering, Proclaiming

Denomination: Salvation Army

Nobody Left Behind

Contributed by Roy Fowler on Sep 13, 2020

We hear the mantra of “No Man left behind” (referring to both men a women) coming from the Military. But the left behind principle has more to do with those living. Although it does pertain to those that are MIA (Missing in Action). The “No Man left Behind” is seen as ---no matter the cost--- that ...read more

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Tags: Encourage Each Other, Nobody Left Behind

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Hurricane Victims' Suffering Lead Them To ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 10, 2010

Hurricane Victims’ Suffering Lead Them to Christ 38-year-old Carlotta Bennett was riding out Hurricane Katrina in her attic with her family. The winds had blown her house way off its foundation, and the rising water was threatening to flood the house to the roof and drown the five people in the ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:28

Tags: Suffering Joy In

Skeletons In Our Closets

Contributed by Tim Smith on Feb 19, 2012

SKELETONS IN OUR CLOSETS The Rockefeller family is considered to be one of the most philanthropic families in the world, helping humanity globally in issues like economics, religion, education and environmental affairs. Yet the Rockefeller family tree is filled with many skeletons. William Avery ...read more

Tags: Sin General

Denomination: Methodist

The Witch Of Wall ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 13, 2012

THE WITCH OF WALL STREET Hetty Green, nicknamed "The Witch of Wall Street" (November 21, 1834 – July 3, 1916), was an American businesswoman, known for her frugality during the Gilded Age, as well as for being the first American woman to make a substantial impact on Wall Street. She was born ...read more

Scripture: James 5:1-6

Tags: Money, Greed

The Gold Wrapping Paper

Contributed by Roy Fowler on Dec 19, 2014

The Gold Wrapping Paper - An Inspirational Short Christmas Story Once upon a time, there was a man who worked very hard just to keep food on the table for his family. This particular year a few days before Christmas, he was upset with his little five-year-old daughter after learning that she had ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:1-19

Tags: Christmas Gift, Anger, Patience, Child Rearing

Denomination: Independent/Bible

U.s. Donor Profiles: According To Campbell ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 10, 2006

U.S. Donor Profiles: According to Campbell research, the following are typical profiles of U.S. donors. (1) Gender: 60% female, 40% male. (2) Ethic Origin: 85% Caucasian, 7% African American, 3% Hispanic, 1% Asian and 4% other. (3) Median Age: 54. Of course individual organiza-tions donor profiles ...read more

Tags: Giving General

U.s. Donor Profiles According To Campbell ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 10, 2006

U.S. Donor Profiles According to Campbell research, the following are typical profiles of U.S. donors. (1) Gender: 60% female, 40% male. (2) Ethic Origin: 85% Caucasian, 7% African American, 3% Hispanic, 1% Asian and 4% other. (3) Median Age: 54. Of course individual organiza-tions donor profiles ...read more

Tags: Giving General

Jill C. Manning Submitted A Testimony To The ...

Contributed by Sherm Nichols on Nov 13, 2006

Jill C. Manning submitted a testimony to the Senate Hearing On Pornography’s Impact On Marriage & The Family, Nov 10, 2005. It was a research paper, 52 pages on The Impact of Internet Pornography on Marriage and the Family. One study she cites describes the affect on marriage as noted in divorce ...read more

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

What Will You Give?  PRO

Contributed by A. Todd Coget on Jun 14, 2002

[illustration] The story is told of a prince and his family who were captured by an enemy king. When brought before the enemy king, the prisoner was asked, "What will you give me if I release you?" "Half of my wealth," was the prince’s reply. "And if I release your children?" "Everything I ...read more

Tags: Marriage Commitment, Marriage Obligations

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Children Have] A Great Need To Know Where ...  PRO

Contributed by Bruce Emmert on May 22, 2001

[Children have] a great need to know where behavioral boundaries are and who has the courage to enforce them. Years ago, during the early days of the progressive-education movement, an enthusiastic theorist decided to take down the chain-link fence that surrounded the nursery-school yard. He ...read more

Tags: Children, Parenting

Denomination: United Methodist

Married And Happy With You-Know-What  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 16, 2002

MARRIED AND HAPPY WITH YOU-KNOW-WHAT A new study commissioned by the Family Research Council of Washington, D.C., found that the people most likely to report a high degree of satisfaction with their current sex life are married people who strongly believe that sex outside of marriage is wrong. ...read more

Scott Currin" (Nfi), Nov 02, Came To Church ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

"Scott Currin" (NFI), Nov 02, came to Church with family, and introduced himself and said that he was moving to the community. About two weeks later he called and told of mothers death to DWI in Florida...trying to get back home, to Texas, his car broke down, and he needed $150 for bus fare, ...read more

Tags: Christian Love

Make Me Fit To Live With

Contributed by Ferdinand Funk on Sep 26, 2008

Make Me Fit to Live With John Drescher, in his book, If I Were Starting My Family Again, says something really profound. He used to pray for his children, that they would become more obedient, pleasant, loving, and so on. And then he says: "... it struck me that this kind of praying myst stop...I ...read more

Tags: Parenting

Denomination: Mennonite

Prayer In Kind

Contributed by Bobby Scobey on Oct 29, 2008

PRAYER IN KIND It was the Christmas season and a meeting was held in a small church for the announced purpose of praying for a local family that was having a tough time of it. The family was large and they didn't have enough food or enough money to keep the place properly heated. As the people ...read more

Tags: Prayer Supplication

Denomination: Pentecostal

An Example From Montana. Seniors Saying That ...

Contributed by Todd Brock on Nov 13, 2008

An example from Montana. Seniors saying that they want to reach families – so they were willing to bend so that our style of worship and our way of doing things would attract those we were trying to reach. And God blessed that group abundantly. Our Sr. Adult group grew faster than the rest of ...read more

Tags: Love For God

Denomination: Baptist

.significant Differences In Law (That Is, ...

Contributed by Grant Sisson on Mar 5, 2009

...significant differences in law (that is, approved behavior) exist where fundamental values are different. I met a young woman from the Middle East who came to work for a time at The Center for Families. She had come to America with her family, and after they had been here only a couple of ...read more

Tags: Christian Values

Lost Alasdair

Contributed by Warner Pidgeon on Jul 10, 2011

LOST ALASDAIR In October 1984 my brother-in-law Alasdair got lost. As a family they had visited Venice – long before I knew them – Sandy and Valerie my in-Laws, Moira my wife who was 14 at the time, and Alasdair who was 11. They were at St. Mark’s square, Venice – at the same time as Queen ...read more

Tags: Parable Lost Sheep

Denomination: Anglican

Harry Potter: Temptation

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Jul 30, 2011

HARRY POTTER: TEMPTATION Every great story has great characters. And in truly great stories, the characters go through significant change. This change is called a character arc. For example, if you’re familiar with the Harry Potter series, you know that Harry starts off in the story as an ...read more

Tags: Temptation General

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed