In Sermon Illustrations: "Moving Forward"

In His Book, Building A Contagious Church, Mark ...

Contributed by Dr. George Calhoun on Oct 20, 2008

In his book, Building a Contagious Church, Mark Mittleberg asks us to join him in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan. As you walk up to the large arena, you see a mass of young people in line for a concert. The headline act is shock-rockeer Marilyn Manson (named after Marilyn Monroe and mass murderer ...read more

Tags: Outreach

Denomination: Baptist

Forgiveness On A Kid's First Job

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 9, 2009

FORGIVENESS ON A KID’S FIRST JOB Forgiveness was the most important lesson best-selling author Tony Hillerman learned as a kid on his first job. His story goes... "I was 14 when Mr. Ingram knocked on our farmhouse door in Sacred Heart, Oklahoma (pop. 38). The old sharecropper lived about a mile ...read more

Scripture: Luke 6:27-36

Tags: Forgiveness For Others

All Lambert's Fault

Contributed by Tyler Edwards on Apr 16, 2009

ALL LAMBERT'S FAULT Have you ever been to Lamberts Cafe? If not, I highly recommend it. The waiters wear suspenders and bow ties, the meals are served on metal skillets. The drinks come in the largest plastic cup you will ever see, and there are peanuts on the floor. It is the home of the throwd ...read more

Tags: Gluttony, Sin Wages Of

Denomination: *other

Peter Missed 3 Opportunities To Take A Stand For ...

Contributed by Rick Crandall on May 31, 2009

*Peter missed 3 opportunities to take a stand for Jesus. -How many opportunities have we missed? *Penn Gillette is a magician and comedian that you may have seen on TV. He is also an atheist. But Penn has a clip on YouTube where he tells about a man who talked to him after a show last year. This ...read more

Tags: Evangelism, Evangelism Urgency

Denomination: Baptist

Missionary Encounters ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 19, 2009

Missionary Encounters Ants Steven Cook tells of reading an account of a missionary from India: "The Lord must have desired to teach me something through the "ants" because He allowed me to come in contact with enough of them! The encyclopedia says there are more ants than any other insect. It seems ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 6:1-11

Tags: Missions

Deadly Civil War Gun Powder Explosion Due To ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 16, 2009

Deadly Civil War Gun Powder Explosion Due To Carelessness by Troops When the Federal troops occupied Cheraw, South Carolina, the Confederates left so much gun powder behind that the Union troops decided to dump most of it in a little creek. Some of the Union troops were looking for some ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 6:27-28

Tags: War, Temptation Sex

I Think God Gives Us Opportunities Like That To ...

Contributed by Sean Harder on Dec 4, 2009

I think God gives us opportunities like that to help us build our trust in Him. I used to go hiking and camping a lot by myself in the wilderness (not a good idea I know). But I remember getting lost once, and this was before I was even a Christian. I had literally no idea how to get back, and I ...read more

Tags: Trust

I Recall One Sunny Afternoon When I Was 13 Years ...

Contributed by Chris Surber on Feb 5, 2009

I recall one sunny afternoon when I was 13 years old and had only recently moved to Butte, Montana where I lived for a couple of years during high school with my father and grandfather. One afternoon I was exploring a very old log cabin style garage on the back of the property where we lived. It ...read more

Tags: Purity

Denomination: Christian Church

How You Finish

Contributed by Sylvester Fergusson on Feb 23, 2009

HOW YOU FINISH James was excited as he turned the two hundred mark heading towards home. Two and three-quarter laps had gone and he was still in the lead. His one and only goal was to win this race and he was full of confidence that he could do it. His thoughts race ahead to the podium, the ...read more

Tags: Christian Values

Denomination: Adventist

You're Not Home Yet!

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Feb 25, 2023

An old missionary couple had been working in Africa for years, and they were returning to New York City to retire. They had no pension; their health was broken; they were defeated, discouraged, and afraid. They discovered they were booked on the same ship as President Teddy Roosevelt, who was ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:22-23

Tags: Missionaries, Heaven, Faithfulness, Spiritual Fruit, Rewards, Fruit Of The Spirit  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Crickets And Crosses

Contributed by Loyd C. Taylor on Mar 30, 2023

Early one Easter morning I stood before an old church graveyard. The crickets were chirping their morning melody for me. I saw three crosses that had been placed there by the congregation, erected as a reminder of the crosses on the hill called Calvary. Calvary, where Jesus was crucified between ...read more

Tags: Easter, Resurrection, Morning, Sunrise, Nature, Sunrise Service, Resurrection Day  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Making Up The Story

Contributed by Austin W. Duncan on Apr 17, 2026

There's a famous photograph called "Grace." An old man at a simple table, head bowed, hands folded over a loaf of bread and an open book. Most people have seen it. Before I ever learned the actual story behind it, I made up my own. In my version, the man is newly retired. His kids ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 11:17-20

Tags: Communion, Missing The Point

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Mercy In The Middle Of War

Contributed by Joshua Blackmon on May 2, 2026

Illustration: Mercy in the Middle of War There’s a remarkable true story from World War II that my late pastor loved to use when preaching about God’s mercy. It involves two men: Franz Stigler and Charlie Brown. Charlie Brown was flying a B-17 bomber over Germany when his plane was badly ...read more

Scripture: 2 Peter 3:8

Tags: Mercy, Longsuffering, Wwii

Denomination: Pentecostal

How Long Is Eternity

Contributed by Loyd C. Taylor on May 31, 2026

How Long Is Eternity? People have tried to describe eternity, but no preacher, no teacher, no human tongue can ever fully tell how long forever really is. At best, we can only stand at the edge of it, look into it, and feel our hearts break. Imagine a crow flying from the earth to the moon—a ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16, John 3:36, John 5:24, Matthew 7:12-14, Matthew 7:21-23, Jude 1:21, 1 Timothy 1:16, Titus 1:2, Romans 6:23  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Salvation, Eternal, Eternal Life, The Gospel, Delay, Procrastination, Forever, Today  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Christianstein  PRO

Contributed by Ray Navarro on Dec 7, 2001

It was a dark and stormy night. You could hear the thunder in the distance. Bats flapped their wings in the darkness of the night. There the castle stood. The wolves were howling; the trees were swaying in the wind as it whistled. And inside the castle, a faint light shown…from a ...read more

Scripture: James 5:7-9, James 5:7-9, Luke 9:28-62, 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Tags: Family, Misconceptions, Patience, Restore, Inclusive, Jesus Teachings, Joy, Tithe, Welcome  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Adventist

Dennis E. Mannering Was Teaching A Class For ...  PRO

Contributed by Sheila Crowe on Sep 27, 2002

Dennis E. Mannering was teaching a class for adults, when he did the "unpardonable." He gave the class homework! The assignment was to "go to someone you love within the next week and tell them you love them. It had to be someone you have never said those words to before or at least haven’t shared ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Tags: God

Denomination: United Methodist

The Price Of A Miracle  PRO

Contributed by David Yarbrough on Mar 24, 2003

THE PRICE OF A MIRACLE Let me tell you about Tess. Tess was a precocious eight-year-old little girl. One day she heard her mom and dad talking in a serious and somber tone about her little brother, Andrew. Tess didn’t understand everything that they were saying, but she got the gist: Her little ...read more

Tags: Change, Character, Giving General, Excitement, Joy, Miracles, Wonder, Sanctification  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Only A Few Days Ago I Saw A Video Of The Bradford ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Holdcroft on Nov 8, 2003

Only a few days ago I saw a video of the Bradford City fire disaster, as part of a fire training exercise at work. I was eight years old when it happened, and had heard about it, but I had never seen the footage, that was captured live, by a shocked camera crew who just kept filming. On Saturday ...read more

Tags: Knowing God's Will, Doing God's Will

Denomination: Pentecostal

Before This Month Began To Prepare Our ...  PRO

Contributed by Kerry Kinchen on Nov 10, 2003

". . . before this month began to prepare our ground against seed-time. In the midst of April we began to set, the weather being then seasonable, which much encouraged us, giving us good hopes of after plenty: the setting season is good till the latter end of May. But it pleased God for our further ...read more

Tags: Thanksgiving Holiday, Favor

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

My Wife And I Recently Saw A Television Show On ...  PRO

Contributed by Bruce Ferris on Aug 26, 2006

My wife and I recently saw a television show on The History Channel titled, “The Man Who Predicted 911.” We were both moved by this hour presentation and its focus on one man by the name of Rick Rescorla. Long before September 11th, Rick Rescorla, the 62-year-old head of security at the Morgan ...read more

Scripture: James 5:19-20, Mark 13:1-2

Tags: Lost, What Is Evangelism?

Denomination: Baptist