In Sermon Illustrations: "Mood Swings"

The "Far Country" Leaves No Room For Error Or ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

The “far country” leaves no room for error or adjustment. Lou Gehrig, the famous baseball player with the New York Yankees, once found himself in a pressure-filled moment during a game. Unwittingly, a New York sportswriter gave a lesson more about life than baseball when he wrote what ...read more

Tags: Parable Prodigal Son

The Little Satellite That Could

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 8, 2009

THE LITTLE SATELLITE THAT COULD In 1972, NASA launched the exploratory space probe Pioneer 10. According to Leon Jaroff in Time magazine, the satellite’s primary mission was to reach Jupiter, photograph the planet and its moons, and beam data to earth about Jupiter’s magnetic field, radiation ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:58

Tags: Endurance

Romanians Take Vengeance On Former Dictator, ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 5, 2009

Romanians Take Vengeance on Former Dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu A few years ago Nicolae Ceausescu, the cruel dictator of Rumania, was executed by revolutionaries. You probably remember seeing his bullet riddled body on the newscasts. The revolutionary forces emptied their rifles of ammunition as ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 16:5

Tags: Political Freedom

Rebellion At The Heart Of Mankind (Funny Story)

Contributed by J Jeffrey Smead on Nov 20, 2025

When my granddaughter was about three years old, ... my wife Lee and I ... were babysitting our grandchildren in Morton Illinois. Anna wanted to go outside and play on our own. I thought this was a good teaching moment. So, ... I knelt down beside her ... so that we could look at each other ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 6:12-23, Romans 6:16-18, John 8:34, John 8:31-32  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Slave, Mortal, Freedom, Sin, Heart, Teach, Rebellion  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Anglican

Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Motives For Meditation

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Mar 25, 2024

Dietrich Bonhoeffer required his seminarians to give half an hour each morning to scripture meditation. Many of the students struggled with this task, so he wrote these instructions to help them understand the importance of meditation and to help them learn how to meditate on God’s Word. Why do I ...read more

Tags: Prayer, Word Of God, Meditation, Quiet Time, Spiritual Discipline, Devotionals, Bible  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

God So Loved  PRO

Contributed by Johnny Small on Mar 12, 2003

God So Loved I want to paint a picture for you this morning. Picture yourself arguing with a friend and you really lose it. You pull out a gun and kill your friend. You are caught and arrested. You receive your day in court and found guilty of your sin of murder. You are sentenced to die by ...read more

Tags: Promises Of God, Forgiveness In Jesus

Denomination: Baptist

Grace At ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 20, 2009

Grace At Bat I read this week about a baseball game that one day took place. It seems that the Lord’s team was playing Satan’s team. The Lord’s team was at bat, the score was zero to zero, and it was in the bottom of the 9th inning with two outs. The Coach and the Lord stood by observing the game. ...read more

Scripture: Romans 3:21-26

Tags: Grace, God's Grace, E

Learning To Get Up Quickly  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 4, 2010

LEARNING TO GET UP QUICKLY In the book A View From the Zoo, Gary Richmond tells about the birth of a giraffe: The first thing top emerge are the baby giraffe's front hooves and head. A few minutes later, the little newborn is hurled forth, falls ten feet, and lands on its back. Within seconds, ...read more

Scripture: James 1:2-4

Tags: Hardship Of Life

Fear, Love, Joy  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 7, 2003

FEAR, LOVE, JOY In the movie First Knight, Lancelot (played by Richard Gere) is a wanderer and highly skilled swordsman who fights for whoever will pay him. Seeing a princess and her entourage under attack in the woods, he decides to save her. Attracted to the princess, Guinevere, he later visits ...read more

Tags: God Brings Hope, Love Of The Disciples, Joy

Nothing But Prayer And Worship  PRO

Contributed by Ray Pritchard on Aug 28, 2003

Nothing But Prayer and Worship This week I chance to stop and worship God in an extended way for the first time in the last seven years. I spent four days with 75 other pastors in a Pastor’s Prayer Summit at a place called Wonderland Camp in Wisconsin. In my time I’ve been to many camps, ...read more

Tags: Prayer Adoration, Prayer Confession

Denomination: Independent/Bible

The Good Old ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2010

The Good Old Days A girl who went to college, but she just hated it. She told herself, “If I can ever get out of college, get married and have children, I know I’ll finally be able to enjoy life.” So she stuck with it. She went to classes every day and finally graduated from college. Then she got ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:15-17

Tags: Age, Aging

Building A Relationship With God (Running The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 19, 2009

Building a Relationship with God (Running the Race) It was the summer before my Senior year at Jamestown College. I had taken up riding my bike several times a week and had gotten up to riding 10-20 miles in a single go. Needless to say… I was feeling pretty good about myself. So when school ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Tags: Sports

All In Due Time, So She Says

Contributed by James Snyder on Oct 17, 2020

For several weeks, or has it been years, I’ve been waiting for an important package to come through the mail. I don’t know why they call it snail mail because I have seen snails crawl faster. With all our technology today, you would think that mail could come in on a particular schedule, and ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:1-2

Tags: Time, Humor, Patience

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

The Most Toys? (09.08.05--The Temporal ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Sep 6, 2005

The Most Toys? (09.08.05--The Temporal Things!--Matthew 16:26) The world teaches this--You can never have too much of a good thing! We must always have enough or we are being somehow cheated of that which we truly deserve. If one were to ever wonder why we live in such a greedy world, this tenet, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 16:26

Tags: Finding Fulfillment

Denomination: Lutheran

Eileen's Story  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 25, 2011

EILEEN'S STORY "In an article in Campus Life a young nurse writes of her pilgrimage in learning to see in a patient the image of God beneath a very 'distressing disguise.' "Eileen was one of her first patients, a person who was totally helpless. 'A cerebral aneurysm (broken blood vessels in the ...read more

Scripture: Luke 9:10-17, Luke 18:18-30, Mark 12:38-44

Tags: Compassion, Sanctification, Impossible

After Church…  PRO

Contributed by Melvin Newland on Feb 20, 2001

AFTER CHURCH... There he stood, in the midst of the Golden Corral restaurant, with Thousand Island dressing dripping from his hair, over his glasses, down his face, all over his jacket, pants, & shoes. And I’m not talking about a little bit of Thousand Island dressing, I’m talking about 2 gallons ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-17

Tags: Children, Hypocrisy

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Batters Hustling To The Plate To Take Their ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 10, 2005

Batters hustling to the plate to take their swings? Questionable calls going uncontested. Umpires being thanked after the game? Fans returning foul balls? This is Major League Baseball? It was. For a few weeks during the spring of ’95, professional baseball was a different game. The ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 28:1-40

Being A Parent Changes Everything. But Being A ...

Contributed by Johnny Creasong on Apr 15, 2005

Being a parent changes everything. But being a parent also changes with each baby. Here are some of the ways having a second and third child is different from having your first. 1) Your Clothes 1st baby: You begin wearing maternity clothes as soon as your OB/GYN confirms your pregnancy. 2nd ...read more

Tags: Parenting

Denomination: Church Of God

Breaking The Heart Of The Father

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 30, 2010

BREAKING THE HEART OF THE FATHER D. J. Wilbur Chapman told a story related to him by R. A. Torrey of an old father and mother who determined to give their boy an education. They were as poor as they could be. They had a conference in their home, and decided to send their boy to the university. ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 23:22-26

Tags: God The Father

Poor I-Sight

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Jan 23, 2013

POOR I-SIGHT We suffer from poor I-sight. Not eyesight, a matter of distorted vision that lenses can correct, but I-sight. Poor I-sight blurs your view, not of the world, but of yourself. Some see self too highly. Maybe it's the PhD or pedigree. A tattoo can do it; so can a new truck or the Nobel ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 22:37-39

Tags: Self

Denomination: Baptist