In Sermon Illustrations: "Mystery Of God Can Be Found"

Prison Doors Open From ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 13, 2009

PRISON DOORS OPEN FROM OUTSIDE Dietrich Bonhoeffer, imprisoned by Hitler during World War II, writes to his fiancé about one of the many lessons he learned from life in prison: “A prison cell, in which one waits, hopes, does various unessential things, and is completely dependent on the fact ...read more

Scripture: John 8:36

Tags: Christian Liberty

The Church Is Not Selfish - President Kennedy Quote

Contributed by J Jeffrey Smead on Dec 9, 2025

Our society ... the world in which we live ... is a self-first ... a self-oriented society. The big question ... often asks by those in the world is ... "What's in it for me?" or "How will I benefit from this?" However, ... we as followers of the Christ ... are a new ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:4, James 3:8-10, John 13:15, Philippians 2:1-11

Tags: Body, Self, Selfish, Individual, Benefit, Caring, Spirit  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Anglican

If You Ever Seen The Movie "Cast Away" With Tom ...

Contributed by Jeff Simms on Aug 10, 2003

If you ever seen the movie “Cast Away” with Tom Hanks then you probably know who Wilson is. The story goes that Hanks plays the part of Chuck Nolan, a fast paced FedEx executive who gets stranded when his plane goes down in the middle of the South Pacific. In trying to survive, he started a fire ...read more

Tags: Prayer Adoration

Denomination: Baptist

The Evangelist David Pawson Tells A Story About A ...  PRO

Contributed by Andy Beech on Nov 29, 2005

The evangelist David Pawson tells a story about a budgerigar that sang hymns. He belonged to an old lady in Cardiff and could sing a whole verse of ’What a friend we have in Jesus!’ And when visitors come to this old folks home they heard a little voice saying ’What a friend we have in Jesus,’ ...read more

Scripture: 2 Chronicles 20:22-28

Tags: Giving General

Denomination: Methodist

You Are A Full-Time ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 25, 2009

YOU ARE A FULL-TIME MINISTER In his book, Doing Church as a Team, Pastor Wayne Cordeiro, wrote the following: "Every member is a minister. God calls us to be full-time ministers! Full-time? Yes! Not just on Sundays, not just at Bible studies, but full-time. Do we love God just part-time? Do we ...read more

Scripture: Luke 9:2

Tags: Servanthood

Occasionally, I Read A Web Log By A Young Man Who ...

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Feb 26, 2010

Occasionally, I read a web log by a young man who gives only his first name, which is Justin. In a recent post on his blog, which he calls “Uban Idealist,” he says this. He says, “For a long time my reaction to seeing [the broken] areas in my life has been to work hard on them. Try to act more ...read more

Tags: Humility

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Five Facts About Valleys

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Apr 17, 2017

God designs valleys for His sheep to grow and sometimes He has to "make us lie down" there to teach us how to trust Him. Here are 5 facts about valleys we need to remember: 1. Valleys are INEVITABLE. Jesus promised valleys would come in this world (John 16:33). 2. Valleys are UNPREDICTABLE. ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 23:1-4

Tags: Character, Tests, Trials, Valleys Of Life

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Great Violinist, Niccolo Paganini Willed His ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

The great violinist, Niccolo Paganini willed his marvelous violin to city of Genoa on condition that it must never be played. The wood of such an instrument, while used and handled, wears only slightly, but set aside, it begins to decay. Paganini’s lovely violin has today become worm-eaten and ...read more

Tags: Servanthood

Dan Huxley Owns A World Record In An Unusual ...

Contributed by Thomas Cash on Aug 20, 2007

Dan Huxley owns a world record in an unusual category: he pulls airplanes. The most remarkable happened on October 15, 1997 when he broke his own record. On that day at the Mascot Airport in Sydney, Australia he strapped a harness around his upper body, attached one end of a steel cable to it and ...read more

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Civil Disobedience For The Christian

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Aug 28, 2023

The Hebrew midwives disobeyed Pharaoh’s orders and refused to kill the Jewish babies (Ex. 1:15–22). Daniel and his three friends refused to eat the king’s food (Dan. 1), and the three friends also refused to bow down to Nebuchadnezzar’s image (Dan. 3). The apostles refused to stop witnessing in ...read more

Tags: Esther, Law, Persecution, Government, Authority, Civil Disobedience  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

First The Stones; Then The Mountain!" 1 ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Apr 26, 2005

“First The Stones; Then The Mountain!” 1 Corinthians 9:24-28 Key verse(s) 6:“Therefore I do not run as a man aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air.” One thing I have learned is that one of the primary reasons for accepting defeat too soon is that some of us, myself included, tend to ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 9:24-28

Tags: Endurance, Faith

Denomination: Lutheran

[212]. A Message From A Poem - Everything In Its Season

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Sep 26, 2025

[212]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM - EVERYTHING IN ITS SEASON This poem covers a lot of ground. Broadly it is connected with the state of things, being the season of man. God created all of us and we live our lives in this world, but all of us are accountable for our actions. Some of that is ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 15:18, Genesis 12:3, Joel 3:2, Isaiah 5:20-21, Ecclesiastes 3:1-5  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Death, Season, Evil, Curse Israel And Be Cursed, Christian Poems, Charlie Kirk, Israel, Birth, Good, Time For Everything, United Nations, Palestinians  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Gehenna: The Valley Of The Shadow Of Death

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Apr 17, 2017

The Hinnom Valley was the place Jesus had in mind when He talked about Hell. The Hebrew word for this valley is, "Gehinnom", and the Greek word is, "Gehenna." The Hinnom Valley was located on the south and west side of the city of Jerusalem. It was a very dark place and many believe it is the ...read more

Scripture: Luke 16:19-31

Tags: Faith, Hell, Gehenna

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Boli Zhang, A Young Chinese Writer, Was Born In ...  PRO

Contributed by Dana Chau on May 26, 2002

"Boli Zhang, a young Chinese writer, was born in Heilong Jiang Province in China. He studied writing at the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at Beijing University. His news reporting had won several literature awards in mainland China and Taiwan. In 1989, Zhang participated in the ...read more

Tags: Assurance Of Salvation, Sharing Your Faith, Humility

Denomination: *other

Christian History Issue 20 Stated, "Charles ...  PRO

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Jan 8, 2005

Christian History Issue 20 stated, “Charles Grandison Finney is considered America’s greatest past revivalist. Church roles swelled in the wake of Finney’s revivals. Though it is hard to gather accurate statistics, he is often directly, or indirectly credited with conversions of around 500,000.” ...read more

Scripture: Jonah 3:1-10

Tags: Holiness, Sharing My Testimony

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Don Richardson Spent Several Frustrating Years ...  PRO

Contributed by John Weeks on Dec 9, 2006

Don Richardson spent several frustrating years among the Sawi tribe in New Guinea. He had come from America as an anthropologist/missionary, hoping to bring the Christian message to a nearly stone-age tribe. But his message kept colliding with the tribe’s unusual beliefs. Christian values of love ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16, John 3:16

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Elijah Cadman

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 10, 2011

ELIJAH CADMAN Let me tell you about the six-year-old drunken chimney sweep who went on to become a great leader in our movement. Elijah Cadman was born in Coventry, the youngest of five children of a drunkard father who died when Cadman was three years old. Aged six, Cadman was unusually small ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:11-21

Tags: Becoming A Christian

Christian Code Of Conduct  PRO

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Jul 3, 2008

CHRISTIAN CODE OF CONDUCT We should all commit ourselves to a code of conduct that glorifies the Lord no matter where we are at in life. Why? Because it will benefit those around us and make God look good. Here are few dimensions to the Christian Code of Conduct: (This code was adapted from a ...read more

Tags: Character

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Gift Nobody Wants

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 22, 2008

The Gift Nobody Wants In 1999 Dr Paul Brand and Philip Yancey co-wrote a book called "Pain: the Gift Nobody Wants." Dr Brand was born in India to missionary parents, and has spent most of his life caring for people with leprosy. One of Dr Brand's greatest discoveries was that people with leprosy ...read more

Tags: Guilt

Have You Ever Heard Of The "Dependent Order Of ...  PRO

Contributed by Martin Field on Aug 7, 2001

Have you ever heard of the "Dependent Order of Really Meek and Timid Souls"? When you make an acrostic of the first letters of its name, you have the word "Doormats." The Doormats have an official insignia—a yellow caution light. Their official motto is: "The meek shall inherit the earth, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:5

Tags: Fear And Worry, Endurance, Christian Love

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican