In Sermon Illustrations: "New Years"

Father's Day Is Almost Upon Us And It Reminded Me ...  PRO

Contributed by Bruce Howell on Jun 13, 2009

FATHER’S DAY IS ALMOST UPON US and it reminded me of a story I read about a dad who really understood his role. Some years ago, in a military academy, the students mutinied, probably a reaction to the hard demands of such an environment. The students had struck in everything: lessons, study ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:4

Tags: Father's Day

Denomination: Wesleyan

Spiritual Growth Takes Time  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 25, 2009

SPIRITUAL GROWTH TAKES TIME There was once a farmer who went to town to purchase seeds for his farm. As he was returning home one of the squash seeds he had purchased fell from his pocket onto the ground. It happened that within a few feet was another seed of a different type. The place where the ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 4:12-13

Tags: Spiritual Growth, Growth In Christ

The Enemy Of Anger: Itself

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 25, 2009

THE ENEMY OF ANGER: ITSELF Anger is its own worst enemy. Some people criticize the Bible and reject it as a bunch of dos and don’ts. The Bible is a common sense book that is given for our good. Anger is one such example. It causes high blood pressure, sleeplessness, stomach problems, and ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:26-27

Tags: Anger

Traditions  PRO

Contributed by Thomas Cash on Jul 7, 2009

TRADITIONS When the Shema prayer (Deuteronomy 6:4-9) was recited during a service at an old synagogue in Eastern Europe, half the congregation stood up and half remained sitting. The half that was seated started yelling at those standing to sit down, and the ones standing yelled at the ones ...read more

Tags: Bitterness

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Love Is Never Inconsiderate

Contributed by Mark Eberly on Sep 21, 2009

LOVE IS NEVER INCONSIDERATE Gary and Mary Jane Chauncey were totally devoted to their eleven-year-old daughter Andrea. Andrea was confined to a wheelchair because of cerebral palsy. Andrea was pretty insignificant to practically everyone except her parents. The Chauncey family were passengers on ...read more

Tags: Christian Love

Denomination: Church Of God

Sunday School Student And Far Side On ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 10, 2009

Sunday School Student and Far Side on Jonah The story is told of a Sunday School teacher who was proud of her lesson for the day. She thought that she had presented the material quite nicely. Summing up, she asked her class, "And what do we learn from the story of Jonah and the great fish?" An ...read more

Scripture: Jonah 3:1-5

Tags: Jonah

Mother Hen Sacrifices Her Life To Protect Chicks ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 17, 2009

Mother Hen Sacrifices Her Life To Protect Chicks During Fire in Yellowstone National Park, National Geographic Article There was an article in National Geographic several years ago provided a penetrating picture of God’s wings. After a forest fire in Yellowstone National Park in the US, forest ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 91:1-16

Tags: Animals, God's Protection

Missionaries' Lives Spared From Marytrdom As They ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 22, 2009

Missionaries’ Lives Spared from Marytrdom As They Sang the Hymn, "Face to Face" Many years ago, a band of Chinese terrorists had captured Rev. and Mrs. Porteous, who were serving as missionaries in China with the old China Inland Mission. The terrorists led them to a lonely spot on a hill and ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 10:17-39

Tags: Missions

The Adoption Of Michael Oher

Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on Jan 4, 2010

THE ADOPTION OF MICHAEL OHER Michael Oher was born in Memphis, TN. His dad was murdered and his mom a cocaine addict. He didn’t have a permanent address until he was 16 and went to 11 schools in 9 years. At the age of 16, he had a measured IQ of 80. Michael was staying with a friend whose son ...read more

Tags: Adoption

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Nathaniel Hawthorne's Great Stone ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 6, 2010

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Great Stone Face Perhaps some of you remember Nathaniel Hawthorne’s story about the great stone face. A little lad lived in a village where there was a mountain with a rock formation which they called the great stone face. The people had a legend that someday someone would ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 3:17-18

Tags: Change

Picked From The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 1, 2010

Picked From the Fire John Wesley never forgot a terrible night of his childhood. He was only six years old at the time, and he had awakened in the family’s old rectory to find it ablaze from top to bottom. Everyone else had been dragged from the building, but by some extraordinary oversight he had ...read more

Scripture: Zechariah 3:1-5

Tags: Hell, Fire

So I Can See You Come

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Jul 6, 2010

SO I CAN SEE YOU COME Some years ago in Dayton, Ohio, a very young little girl came to know the love of Jesus Christ. She became an earnest Christian. She loved her father very much, but her father was not a Christian and he had no concerns for the affairs of the Body of Christ. Each evening as ...read more

Tags: Funerals Christian

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

An Angel Story

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Aug 3, 2010

AN ANGEL STORY Julie and the kids were on their way home from the park when it happened. Ben was only about 5 years old and happily walking and running ahead on the edge of the road. There was no footpath beside the road, but he was still on the grassy area. Then he must have seen our house on the ...read more

Tags: Angels

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Hanging Onto The "Bomb"

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 13, 2010

HANGING ONTO THE "BOMB" For four hours he held the cylinder, waiting for rescue or an immediate death. After digging up what appeared to be an unexploded WWI bomb, David Page held on to it, afraid that letting go would detonate the device. While holding the bomb, the terrified 40-year-old from ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:6-7

Tags: Anxiety

Forgetting The Things Of Earth

Contributed by Robert Joseph on Oct 13, 2010

FORGETTING THE THINGS OF EARTH In January of 1997, astronaut John Blaha returned to earth after spending the previous four months aboard the Russian Space Station, Mir. Besides conducting various experiments, his mission was to help scientists understand the effects of long term weightlessness ...read more

Tags: Disciplines General

Denomination: Pentecostal

It Moves, For All That!

Contributed by Rodelio Mallari on Nov 20, 2010

IT MOVES, FOR ALL THAT! Galileo, in 1609, began experiments which led to the invention of the telescope. His first instrument had for its tube, a piece of leaden organ pipe, and a magnifying power of three diameters. In 1611 he visited Rome, and showed the clergy and others the wonders of the ...read more

Tags: Truth

Denomination: *other

Patience And Jell-O

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 6, 2011

PATIENCE AND JELL-O Jell-O celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1997. I was fascinated to read the story of the man who invented it. In 1897, a man by the name of Pearle Wait wore several hats. He was a construction worker. He dabbled in patent medicines and went door to door selling homemade ...read more

Scripture: 1 Chronicles 12:32

Tags: Christian Values

Peace In The Storm

Contributed by Tim Smith on Mar 17, 2011

PEACE IN THE STORM Adam Hamilton tells the story of leading a team down to Bay St. Louis to help gut houses after Katrina. They were assigned to a woman who brick house was completely inundated and they were asked to gut a two-story garage. In the room above the garage were literally hundreds and ...read more

Tags: Faith

Denomination: Methodist

What Will Your Grandchildren Say?

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2011

WHAT WILL YOUR GRANDCHILDREN SAY? Max Lucado shared this in Outlive Your Life: A few years back, three questions rocked my world. They came from different people in the span of a month. Question 1: Had you been a German Christian during World War II, would you have taken a stand against ...read more

Scripture: Ezekiel 16:49-50

Tags: Poverty

We Need More Wilberforces

Contributed by Merv Budd on May 2, 2011

WE NEED MORE WILBERFORCES In the middle of the eighteenth century, Christians became increasingly concerned about the slave trade. They amassed information on the inhumane treatment of the slaves and believed that eventually they could generate sufficient public support to overcome the slave trade ...read more

Tags: Heroism

Denomination: Baptist