In Sermon Illustrations: "New Patch On Old Garment"

They Sent Me To Finish  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 12, 2009

THEY SENT ME TO FINISH With all the pomp and prestige that the Chinese government went to in order to put their best foot forward, there was one person who they honored who stood out. He is now in his seventies, but China brought him to Bejing as an honored guest. Why? The odd thing is that John ...read more

Scripture: Acts 20:24

Tags: Endurance

Qualifications For Ministry  PRO

Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Mar 15, 2009

QUALIFICATIONS FOR MINISTRY What qualifies someone for a task? There is a story of the testing of a candidate for missions work: One snowy morning at 5:00 A.M., a missionary candidate rang the bell at a missionary examiner’s home. Ushered into the office, he sat three hours past his appointment ...read more

Tags: Humility, Fruit Of The Spirit

Denomination: Other

Buried Treasure For Isaac  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 17, 2009

BURIED TREASURE FOR ISAAC One night, a poor Jewish man named Isaac from Krakel, Poland, in a vivid dream, saw a buried treasure hidden under a particular bridge in the distant city of Prague. For the next two weeks, he dreamed of the particular city, the same bridge, and the buried treasure. The ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 2:1-16

Tags: Blessing

The Richest Man In The World

Contributed by Tyler Edwards on Apr 16, 2009

THE RICHEST MAN IN THE WORLD After 13 years, Bill Gates is no longer the richest man in the world. The technology tycoon was not ranked Richest Man in the World for the first time in over a decade. Bill Gates fell from his spot on the top to a lowly number three position. His net worth of $58 ...read more

Tags: Greed

Denomination: *other

Whom God Loves, He Chastens

Contributed by Clark Tanner on May 15, 2009

WHOM GOD LOVES, HE CHASTENS George MacDonald was a 19th century orator and story-writer who C.S. Lewis once called his master as relates to story-telling and relating truth through fantasy. One of MacDonald’s short stories was titled, "The Gifts of the Child Christ." The main character of the ...read more

Tags: God In The Hardships

Denomination: Orthodox

2 Corinthians 7:1,

Contributed by Tim Adams on Dec 1, 2009

2 Corinthians 7:1,“Let us cleanse ourselves” - that means we would do a good job if we were just as fond of straightening our own selves out as we are to find the faults of others. It is God’s Holy Spirit that will do the work but we must enter in to an active cooperation with God on this matter. ...read more

Tags: Sin Exposed

Denomination: Baptist

Forgiving And Forgetting

Contributed by Davon Huss on Feb 15, 2010

FORGIVING AND FORGETTING Mr. Peale tells a story about a man who suffered from many health problems: headaches, skin troubles, gastric disturbances, insomnia. It did not take Mr. Peale long to discover that one basic cause was the burning anger that he felt toward his brother. The brother, the ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness For Others

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Video Illustration: Wingclips.com Narnia Movie ...

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Apr 13, 2010

Video Illustration: Wingclips.com Narnia movie clip “The Wardrobe.” The following from Wingclips.com: Some journeys take us far from home. Some adventures lead us to our destiny. Based on the beloved classic novel by ‘CS Lewis’, Four London children are sent to a professor’s country home in order ...read more

Tags: Salvation

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Since I Had Nothing Better To Do And Everyone Had ...

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Jun 5, 2010

Since I had nothing better to do and everyone had gone out, I decided to watch the war movie "SAVING PRIVATE RYAN". It was some years ago now and I was at my daughter's house and Joel, my son-in-law had just connected his TV WITH SURROUND SOUND. The movie was set during the invasion of Normandy in ...read more

Tags: War

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Withholding Your Best Wine  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 30, 2010

WITHHOLDING YOUR BEST WINE There is a story about an old village in Spain. The people of this village heard the king planned to visit there. No king had ever done that. So naturally, they became excited and wanted to offer a great celebration that would show their adoration and that would honor ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 29:13

Tags: Honor, Hypocrisy, Dishonor

John Harper's Last Convert  PRO

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Nov 10, 2010

JOHN HARPER'S LAST CONVERT John Harper was born into a Christian family May 29, 1872. He became a Christian 13 years later and had already started preaching by age 17. He received training at the Baptist Pioneer Mission in London, and in 1896 he founded a church, now known as Harper Memorial ...read more

Tags: Evangelism, Witness, Conversion, Evangelism Urgency

Denomination: Brethren

Sing Praise

Contributed by Ray Ellis on Nov 22, 2010

SING PRAISE We can get victory over hardships by singing praise to the Lord. "My mouth is filled with Your praise...all day long." Ps. 71:8 NAS Roger Bennett, pianist and songwriter died in 2007. Prior to his death he wrote on his website: Our enemy stalks us exactly the way the Bible ...read more

Tags: God In The Hardships

Denomination: Free Methodist

Would You Hire Him?

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 2, 2011

WOULD YOU HIRE HIM? A certain church found itself suddenly without a pastor, and a search committee was formed. In due course it received a letter from a man applying for the vacant position. The committee chairman read: "I am considered to be a good preacher, and I have been a leader in most of ...read more

Scripture: Acts 26:1-29

Tags: Paul

The Eagle And The Mouse  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 1, 2011

THE EAGLE AND THE MOUSE There is an old story of an eagle who, on an early morning during the spring thaw, soared high above the forest looking for something to eat. As he followed the course of a river he looked down and spied a small rodent, trapped on a piece of ice that had broken free and was ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Tags: Temptation Power

Poor Man's Philanthropist  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 11, 2011

POOR MAN'S PHILANTHROPIST In 2005, when Thomas Cannon died of colon cancer in a hospital in Richmond, Virginia, he was 79. Thomas described himself a "poor man's philanthropist." When Thomas was three years old, his father died. Once Thomas' mother remarried, the family of six lived in a ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 9:1-15, 2 Corinthians 9:15

Tags: Giving General

Who Is This Guy?

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Aug 29, 2011

WHO IS THIS GUY? Chuck Colson relates this interesting story in his book How Then Should We Live?: "In William Steig's Yellow & Pink, a delightfully whimsical picture book for children, two wooden figures wake up to find themselves lying on an old newspaper in the hot sun. One figure is painted ...read more

Tags: Creation

Denomination: Methodist

A Cub Scout's Father

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 9, 2011

A CUB SCOUT'S FATHER Gilbert was an eight year old in Cub Scouts. Each member of the club had to build a wooden car. It could only be 20cm long. Everyone was given a block of wood, some wheels and some instructions. Gilbert didn't have a dad to help him. So mum read the instructions and Gilbert ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 68:5

Tags: God The Father

Repentance Is Not A One-Time Event

Contributed by Tim Smith on Feb 19, 2012

REPENTANCE IS NOT A ONE-TIME EVENT Doug Tegner tells the story of attending a one-day leadership retreat called to deal with his church's current crisis. Redwood Chapel was founded in 1962 and has since hosted the Bay Area Sunday School convention (BASS), had strong music programs, planted vibrant ...read more

Tags: Repentance

Denomination: Methodist

Make It Your Aim Not To Sin

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Mar 24, 2012

MAKE IT YOUR AIM NOT TO SIN The whole purpose of John's letter, he says, is that we not sin. One day as I was studying this chapter I realized that my personal life's objective regarding holiness was less than that of John's. He was saying, in effect, "Make it your aim not to sin." As I thought ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 2:1

Tags: Holiness

Denomination: Baptist

Prayer And The Motorcycle  PRO

Contributed by Bruce Ball on Nov 13, 2012

PRAYER AND THE MOTORCYCLE There was a woman at work when she received a phone call that her daughter was very sick with a fever. She left work and stopped by the pharmacy to get some medication for her daughter. She returned to her car to find that she had locked the keys inside the car when ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:28, John 13:31-38, Proverbs 28:9, 1 Thessalonians 5:17

Tags: Renewal, Alive, Rededication, Prayer Hardship

Denomination: *other