In Sermon Illustrations: "Mocking God"

De-Sanctified Churches

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 19, 2011

DE-SANCTIFIED CHURCHES Not too long ago, a real estate listing in Dallas had the simple headline: "Converted Church." In other words, what had once been a church facility is now somebody's house. The listing under the heading had this description: "The altar has been adapted for use as a granite ...read more

Scripture: 2 Thessalonians 1:3-4

Tags: Church Purpose Of

Deceiver  PRO

Contributed by Michael Walther on May 25, 2011

DECEIVER Ephesians 6.10-12 Especially, "schemes of the devil..." Here Paul explains the realities of evil in this world. How different this is from popular ideas about evil. There is a comical view of evil -- the character who wears a red suit and carries a pitch fork. Then there is the ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-12

Tags: Satan

Denomination: Lutheran

Built Out Of Junk

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 8, 2011

BUILT OUT OF JUNK Did you hear about the homeless man in Brazil who built his own car out of junk? Orismar de Souza is a homeless man in Brazil who decided to build the car using junk, spare parts and a hammer and chisel. Four years later, the "shrimpmobile" has him back on his feet. Souza, 35, ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Tags: Born Again

Testimony Of Charles Spurgeon  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 3, 2011

TESTIMONY OF CHARLES SPURGEON Charles Spurgeon, credited as the greatest preacher in the history of the English World, read a copy of Pilgrim’s Progress while plundering through his grandfather’s belongings. Through this book he became aware of his sinfulness and depravity. He carried this guilt ...read more

Scripture: John 3:14

Tags: Salvation

The Path Of Rescue—follow The Light

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 3, 2011

THE PATH OF RESCUE--FOLLOW THE LIGHT Bob Russell shared an interesting illustration about darkness and light several years back with the Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY. He said: "Every once in a while we get a bird inside this sanctuary. He doesn't really want to be in here, but ...read more

Scripture: John 8:12

Tags: Salvation

Firm Foundation  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 5, 2011

FIRM FOUNDATION Ravi Zacharias told about doing a lectureship several years ago at the Ohio State University. As he was being driven to the lecture, they passed what was then the "new" Wexner Art Center. The driver commented, "This is a new art building for the university. It is a fascinating ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:24-27

Tags: Foundation

Under Authority

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 15, 2011

UNDER AUTHORITY I used to be a substitute teacher. Most of the time, I had good classes. Sometimes I had bad classes. But one day, I had a horrible class. Kids were running around the room, throwing paper wads, screaming and yelling. One kid ran out the side door into the courtyard and came back ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 21:18-22

Tags: Authority

The Anger Of King Henry Ii

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 18, 2011

THE ANGER OF KING HENRY II King Henry II of England, back in around 1200, had a lot of power. He put an end to a long and bloody civil war, and ruled both England and a large chunk of France for many years. He was so famous that a movie was made about him, about 25 yrs ago, starring Richard Burton ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:21-26

Tags: Anger

Prevailing Prayer  PRO

Contributed by Scott Spencer on Oct 7, 2011

PREVAILING PRAYER Daniel Nash and Charles Finney were great evangelists in the early 1800s. On one occasion, when meetings had begun in a particular city, a group of young men confronted Charles Finney, openly announcing that they were going to break up the meetings. Finney and Nash decided this ...read more

Tags: Prayer General

Denomination: Calvary Chapel

The Gates Will Not Prevail

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Oct 17, 2011

THE GATES WILL NOT PREVAIL Jesus said: "Upon this rock (of Peter's testimony that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God) I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it" Matthew 16:18 Now the odd thing about Jesus' statement was this: Gates don't attack. ...read more

Tags: Hell

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Anibal Sat In A Brazilian Jail Cell, Guilty Of ...

Contributed by Bret Toman on Dec 22, 2011

Anibal sat in a Brazilian jail cell, guilty of murder. He was a weightlifter, with bulging biceps, a leathery face and a tattoo of an anchor on his forearm that seemed to symbolize his personality. But he appeared to soften as the preacher talked with him about guilt, forgiveness, a God who knew ...read more

Tags: Discipleship

Denomination: Baptist

Not Home Yet

Contributed by Dale Pilgrim on Feb 15, 2012

NOT HOME YET Author Anne Graham Lotz told a story in her book, "Heaven, My Father's House". It is the story of an old missionary named Samuel Morrison who had spent twenty five years doing ministry in Africa. He returned to America on the same ocean liner that brought President Teddy Roosevelt ...read more

Tags: Heaven

Denomination: Salvation Army

A Sacrifice Of Praise Hurts!

Contributed by Mark Stepherson on Mar 1, 2012

A SACRIFICE OF PRAISE HURTS! Several years ago, there was a song on Christian radio that said, "We bring a sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord." It had a happy, upbeat tune. Listening to it, I had the feeling that the singers were intrigued by the words but had not personally ...read more

Tags: Prayer Adoration

Denomination: Baptist

Spurgeon's Poor Sermon

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Mar 14, 2012

SPURGEON'S POOR SERMON Mr. Spurgeon once preached what in his judgment was one of his poorest sermons. He stammered and floundered, and when he got through felt that it had been a complete failure. He was greatly humiliated, and when he got home he fell on his knees and said, "Lord, God, thou ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:26

Tags: Holy Spirit General

Denomination: Baptist

Tempered For Christ

Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on Apr 4, 2012

TEMPERED FOR CHRIST A blacksmith, about 8 years after his conversion to Christ, was asked by an unbeliever, "Why is it you have so much trouble? I have been watching you since you trusted Christ as your Savior and began to 'walk square' and seem to love everybody, and you seem to have twice as ...read more

Tags: Holiness

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

How Well Do You Obey?  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 7, 2012

HOW WELL DO YOU OBEY? How we admire the obedience a dog shows to its master! Archibald Rutledge wrote that one day he met a man whose dog had just been killed in a forest fire. Heartbroken, the man explained to Rutledge how it happened. Because he worked out-of-doors, he often took his dog with ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:21-23, Luke 9:23-27, Jeremiah 7:21-24

Tags: Obedience

Rent A Family…?

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 14, 2013

RENT A FAMILY...? I read a recent article about how people in Japan are so busy that older people can now rent a family. Here’s the quote: "In Japan, you can rent a family. Elderly Japanese who are isolated from their children by the frantic pace of modern life can rent a 'family' for lunch and a ...read more

Scripture: Acts 2:42-47

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

The "Group-Think" Impulse  PRO

Contributed by Robert Joseph on Jun 1, 2013

THE "GROUP-THINK" IMPULSE Stand up for the truth. Romans 12:2 says, "...Do not be conformed to this world..." [NKJV] People today show a stong tendency to adjust their opinions to match those of the group. This goes a long way towards explaining why only a fraction of the educated population ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:2

Tags: Homosexuality, Peer Pressure, Truth Absolute

Denomination: Pentecostal

Trading Places

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 7, 2014

Several years ago, a Baptist camp in Texas was having the annual softball game between counselors and campers on the last day of church camp. The teams divided up and went at each other. After the game started, a teenager in center field chased a long fly ball and hurt his ankle. His pastor was ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:17-21

Tags: Atonement, Forgiveness, Cross, Blood Of Christ

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Is It Death Or Really Life?

Contributed by Tim Smith on Feb 11, 2015

Robin Norwood in her book, “Why Me? Why This? Why Now?” writes, “A very wise old fried of mine who has just celebrated his 100th birthday said to me about a recent news broadcast he recently heard about 73 people losing their lives in a plan crash: “Don’t they know we can’t lose our lives? We can ...read more

Scripture: Luke 23:32-43

Tags: Death, Eternal Life

Denomination: Methodist