In Sermon Illustrations: "More"

Hiding The Word Of God

Contributed by Perry Greene on Jan 10, 2012

HIDING THE WORD OF GOD During World War II, Jewish inmates of the Yanov labor camp in occupied Poland defied their Nazi guards, secretly conducting religious services inside their darkened barracks. To observe their ritual, the Jews had cut religious scrolls into sections, bound the parchment ...read more

Tags: Bible Influence

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Playing In The Dirt

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 15, 2012

PLAYING IN THE DIRT If you see a baby playing in the dirt, the baby may be dirty but you pretty much don’t make a big deal about it because it’s understood that babies play in dirt. Babies try to eat dirt. Babies scrub themselves in dirt. Dirt is a toy to a baby. But if you see a ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:11-16

Tags: Growth In Christ

Substitute Soldiers

Contributed by David Simpson on Jan 15, 2013

Here in the South, there are memorials in most towns to the bloodiest war fought on American soil – the Civil War. Over 600,000 died in that conflict. What is often not known is that both the North and the South allowed “substitute soldiers.” A man drafted for military service could literally ...read more

Tags: Substitute, Memorial Day, Sacrifices

Denomination: Christian Church

The Borg

Contributed by Ken Pell on Apr 6, 2013

The Borg There is a mortal enemy in the Star Trek series called, “The Borg.” Every trekkie knows about them. Whether you follow the Next Generation, or the Voyager series you know about these ghastly characters. In fact, TV Guide rated them as the #4 worst villains of their top 100. “The Borg” are ...read more

Tags: Sin General

Denomination: Nazarene

Is Evangelism Too Hard?

Contributed by Tim Smith on May 11, 2014

Jenn Hopkins writes of attending a funeral several years ago. "There he lay, dead. He was gone and unsaved. Lived a life and then, in the flash of an eye, he was in Hell. Someone I loved and respected was gone and so was my opportunity to share the Gospel with him. His funeral was in a church, one ...read more

Scripture: 2 Peter 3:8-13

Tags: Evangelism, Hell

Denomination: Methodist

Christmas In July

Contributed by Davon Huss on Nov 16, 2014

It seems like stores put out their Christmas merchandise earlier every year. Let’s start selling Christmas stuff in July, beat the holiday rush. Song by Brave Combo- The president was passing laws, Gave a call to Santa Claus He said, "get that toy machine on high. Economy is in a slump I know ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 9:28

Tags: Second Coming, Christmas Advent

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Standing Up For Persecuted Christians

Contributed by John Crowe on Oct 29, 2015

Michael Horowitz is a Jewish attorney in Washington, D.C. who has done more for persecuted Christians than almost any Christian I know. He recently wrote to me that from his long experience with efforts to help rescue persecuted Christians, his sad experience is that U. S. Christian leaders are ...read more

Scripture: Mark 9:41

Tags: Persecution, Persecuted Christian

Denomination: Baptist

The Power Of Silence

Contributed by Michael Deutsch on Jun 4, 2016

They say silence is golden – but is it possible that too much silence is not such a good thing? There’s a room in the United States that’s so quiet it becomes unbearable after a short time. The longest anyone has survived in the ‘anechoic chamber’ at Orfield Laboratories in South Minneapolis is ...read more

Scripture: John 10:4-5

Tags: Silence, Listening To God

Denomination: Baptist

Mom, That Was For You!

Contributed by Nickolas Kooi on Aug 30, 2017

A pastor went to the hospital to visit Maggy, one of his members. She was in the last stages of her life because of cancer, and was heavily medicated, and unresponsive. He went to support her family, who was taking it hard. When he got there, he was surprised with what he saw. Her daughter, ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:9-13

Tags: Service, Love, Honor, Sacrificial Love

Denomination: Lutheran

Perpetual Babyhood

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Jul 18, 2018

WE HAVE AN IMPERATIVE COMMAND: 2 Peter 3:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen. PERPETUAL OR ETERNAL BABYHOOD… From LIVING WITH JESUS TODAY by Juan Carlos Orte We have a phenomenon in the church today which I ...read more

Tags: Babyhood, Diaper Changes

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Eating The Wrong Cookies - Assumptions

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Sep 30, 2019

A traveller, between flights at an airport, went to a lounge and bought a small package of cookies. Then she sat down and began reading a newspaper. Gradually, she became aware of a rustling noise. From behind her paper, she was flabbergasted to see a neatly dressed man helping himself to her ...read more

Scripture: Joshua 9:1-14

Tags: Deception, Assumptions, Satan's Craftiness

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

8 Lies Addicted Gamblers Tell Themselves

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Oct 15, 2019

8 Lies Addictive Gamblers Tell Themselves 1. "One more trip to gamble won't hurt anything." 2. "I need to go gamble to see my friends." 3. "I'm a loser, so who cares if I gamble." 4. "I deserve to gamble, because I have had a hard week." 5. ...read more

Scripture: 2 Thessalonians 3:12

Tags: Excuses, Gambling, Work

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Excess Baggage

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Dec 2, 2020

In 1845, the ill-fated Franklin Expedition sailed from England to find a passage across the Arctic Ocean.The crew loaded their two sailing ships with a lot of things they didn't need: a 1,200-volume library, fine china, crystal goblets, and sterling silverware for each officer with his initials ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 12:1-2, Colossians 3:1-4, Matthew 6:33

Tags: Vision, Worldliness, Spiritual Victory, Habits, Spirit Filled Life  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Inventing Our Own Words

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Dec 8, 2020

The right word can make a difference. Sometimes the right word needs to be invented. 2. Here are some suggested new words: CARPETUATION (kar pet' u a shun)n. The act, when vacuuming, of running over a string or a piece of lint at least a dozen times, reaching over and picking it up, examining ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 25:11

Tags: Vocabulary, Thesaurus, Words, Creativity, Language, Terminology  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Humility

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Jun 27, 2021

The Western meaning of humility derives from the usage of the Hebrew speaking Jews, Latin speaking Romans and the Greeks, in particular Greek speaking Christians of the first century. In all three languages the word used to describe humility means "low", as in low to the ground: the ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 2:1-11

Tags: Service, Humility, Power

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Children's Letters To The Pastor

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Dec 31, 2021

Children’s letters to the Pastor Dear Pastor, I would like to go to heaven someday because I know my brother won't be there. Stephen. Age 8, Chicago Dear Pastor, I know God loves everybody but He never met my sister. Yours sincerely, Arnold. Age 8, Nashville. Dear Pastor, Please say ...read more

Tags: Children, Humor, Pastors

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Simplicity Of The Gospel

Contributed by Jerry Cosper on Jan 31, 2022

How does the thief on the cross fit into your theology? I think many times we complicate the issue of getting into heaven. What is required? Let's think about the the thief on the cross. No baptism, no communion, no confirmation, no speaking in tongues, no mission trip, no volunteerism, and ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16

Tags: Gospel, Cross

Denomination: Baptist

Christmas Traditions Around The World

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Dec 19, 2022

As Americans, we pride ourselves in "doing Christmas up big." Tons of gifts, big holiday feasts, huge trees, Lights on the houses. Here are some of the other ways people prepare for the celebration of Christmas: * In Italy they have no Christmas trees, instead they decorate small ...read more

Tags: Customs, Traditions, Christmas, Birth Of Christ

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Keeping The Main Thing The Main Thing!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 2, 2023

It was a 99-degree September day in San Antonio, Texas, when a woman accidentally locked her 10-month-old baby inside a parked car. Frantically the mother ran around the auto in near hysteria, while a neighbor attempted to unlock the car with a clothes hanger. Soon the infant was turning purple ...read more

Tags: Priorities, Distractions, Little Things, Heroes, Evangelism, Vision  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Semper Fi - Forever Faithful

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 12, 2023

One of the most tragic events during the Reagan Presidency was the Sunday morning terrorist bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut, in which hundreds of Americans were killed or wounded as they slept. Many of us can still recall the terrible scenes as the dazed survivors worked to dig out their ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:22-23

Tags: Holy Spirit, Commitment, Faithfulness, Fruit Of The Spirit, Works Of The Flesh, Spirit Filled Life  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational