In Sermon Illustrations: "Natural Man"

Newton And Amazing Grace

Contributed by Jesse Bennett on Nov 9, 2008

NEWTON AND AMAZING GRACE A long time ago, a man truly experienced God’s grace His name was John Newton. Though he was brought up in the church as a child, he became a calloused man full of anger, pain, and uncertainty. Because of that, He experienced many troubles. At one time, he was a ...read more

Tags: Grace

Denomination: Baptist

Help In The Garden  PRO

Contributed by John Herrmann on Nov 14, 2008

HELP IN THE GARDEN An old Italian lived alone in New Jersey. He wanted to plant his annual tomato garden, but it was very difficult work, as the ground was hard. His only son, Vincent, who used to help him, was in prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son and described his predicament: Dear ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 20:12

Tags: Service, Honor, Father's Day, Help, Confidence  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Lutheran

The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 10, 2009

THE PUSH A man and his wife are awakened at 3 o’clock in the morning by a loud pounding on their door. The man gets up and goes to the door where a drunken stranger in the pouring rain is asking for a push. "Not a chance!" says the husband. "It’s three o’clock in the morning!" He slams the door ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 6:9

Tags: Servanthood

Changing The Label On ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 13, 2009

CHANGING THE LABEL ON SIN Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman told of a distinguished minister, Dr. Howard, from Australia who preached very strongly on the subject of sin. After the service, one of the church deacons came to counsel with him in the study. "Dr. Howard," he said, "we don’t want you to talk as ...read more

Tags: Sin General

God's View Of People

Contributed by Paul Clemente on Nov 16, 2022

Genesis 8:15-22 Devotional After the flood had dried up, God instructed Noah (v15) and Noah obeyed (v16). Isn’t it interesting that we note birds from the ark but not fish…. Noah, did you keep fish in the ark??? – either he kept fish in the ark or God kept fish in the clouds or God recreated ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 8:15-22

Tags: People, Love, Worship, Sin, God  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Independent/Bible

A Miraculous Story Of Forgiveness

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Aug 12, 2024

Scottish soldiers, forced by their Japanese captors to labor on a jungle railroad, had degenerated to barbarous behavior, but one afternoon something miraculous happened. A shovel was missing. The officer in charge became enraged. He demanded that the missing shovel be produced, or else. When ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:28-32

Tags: Atonement, Sacrifice, Forgiveness, Cross, Unconditional Love, Death Of Christ  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Building Bridges

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Jan 8, 2026

WILL ALLEN DROMGOOLE, 1860 TO 1934. She wrote over 7,500 poems and 5,000 essays. Her works are recorded in 13 books. My Dad, Wade M. Hughes (1931) committed this poem to memory and would often use it when speaking to leaders. I love this poem. ***THE BRIDGE BUILDER AN OLD MAN, GOING DOWN A LONE ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:6-12, Philippians 4:11-13

Tags: Bridge, Build

Denomination: Assembly Of God

The Suffering Of "El Santo"  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 13, 2003

THE SUFFERING OF "EL SANTO" Sister Yolanda Tarango discovered "El Santo" one day when as a small girl she was sent to the family shed to finish throwing her pity party. She noticed a strange parcel in the corner, covered with a heavy cloth. Peering under the cover, she was shocked to find bloody ...read more

Tags: Easter Good Friday, Jesus Christ, Humanity Of Christ

The Preacher Stood On The Street Corner Preaching ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 2, 2005

The preacher stood on the street corner preaching to anyone who would listen. A man approached him who looked like he had lived on the street forever. "Can I help you" asked the preacher. "I think you can" said the bum. "Would you like me to tell you about Jesus?" "No." "Would you like me to ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 4:12

Tags: Bible Influence

Power Of The Flesh  PRO

Contributed by Daniel Olukoya on Apr 17, 2009

POWER OF THE FLESH A certain man was in very big trouble. He was sacked from five jobs. When he could not feed his family again, his wife ran away, leaving him with three daughters. To worsen his sorrow, his first daughter became pregnant while in form three. When he tried to beat her, she said, ...read more

Tags: Pride

Denomination: Pentecostal

One Rascal Among Honest Men

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 19, 2011

ONE RASCAL AMONG HONEST MEN A king visited a slave ship, and there was a slave galley where they chain men to the oars and they row and a man beats the drum and another man has a lash to make them row. And they would take the prisoners of the state and put them to use, pulling on the oars. The ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 1:8-10

Tags: Confession Of Sin

Torpedo Approaching  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 29, 2012

TORPEDO APPROACHING Allow me to tell you a story about a young man named Bill, who joined the Navy, when World War II began. One night his ship came into Boston, and he decided to visit his former pastor and friend, Rev. Stidger. During their visit together, Rev. Stidger said, "Bill, tell me the ...read more

Scripture: John 15:9-17

Tags: Heroism

The Late Henri Nouwen, A Great Theologian And ...

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Jun 10, 2007

The late Henri Nouwen, a great theologian and priest, retells an old story in his famous book, The Wounded Healer: “One day a young fugitive, trying to hide himself from the enemy, entered a small village. The people were kind to him and offered him a place to stay. But when the soldiers who ...read more

Denomination: Methodist

3 Men Were Walking On A Beach One Afternoon ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

: 3 men were walking on a beach one afternoon when they came across an old lamp. The first man picked it up and began to rub it and out popped a genie. The genie said I am here to give each of you one wish each. The first man did not hesitate he said I want a million dollars – POOF, instantly a ...read more

Tags: Peace

Tennessee Three-Kick Rule

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Tennessee Three-Kick Rule A NYC lawyer went duck hunting in the mountains of East Tennessee. He shot and dropped a bird, but it fell into a farmer’s field on the other side of the fence. As the lawyer climbed over the fence, an elderly farmer drove up on his tractor and asked him what he was ...read more

Tags: Anger

It's As If God Says To A Rebellious Mankind, "Ha! ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 3, 2008

It’s as if God says to a rebellious mankind, "Ha! Rebel against me all you want. No matter what you do, what I’ve determined will come to pass will come to pass! Look! It’s as good as done. I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill" A man once met Horace Greely, the famous newspaper editor, ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 2:6

Failure Maybe Opportunity?

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Sep 12, 2020

REMEMBER FAILURE MAY BE BUT AN OPPORTUNITY---- GEORGE CAMPBELL MORGAN, 12/9/1863. He died May 16, 1945. He preached his first sermon at 13 years of age. In 1888 a young man named CAMPBELL MORGAN had made application to the WESLEYAN SCHOOL of ministry. Campbell was one of 150 men to apply ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 3:13-14, Ecclesiastes 12:1

Tags: Remember, Opportunity

Denomination: Assembly Of God

The Horse Won't Stop!

Contributed by John Bright on Jan 17, 2021

There's this guy who had been lost and walking in the desert for about 2 weeks. One hot day, he sees the home of a missionary. Tired and weak, he crawls up to the house and collapses on the doorstep. The missionary finds him and nurses him back to health. Feeling better, the man asks the ...read more

Scripture: Mark 1:35

Tags: Supplication, Prayer

Denomination: Methodist

The Bridge Operator

Contributed by David Dunn on Oct 5, 2025

There was once a man whose job was to operate a drawbridge for passing trains. Most of the time the bridge stayed raised to allow ships to move freely along the busy waterway. But when a train was scheduled to cross, he would lower the bridge, lock it in place, and signal that the way was ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16, Romans 5:8

Tags: Grace, Atonement, Sacrifice, Redemption

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

Know What You Believe  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 23, 2002

KNOW WHAT YOU BELIEVE The contention of the atheist is logically unsustainable and realistically unlivable. English journalist Steve Turner, in a work entitled, “Creed” sums it up pretty well: We believe in Marxfreudanddarwin. We believe everything is OK as long as you don’t hurt ...read more