In Sermon Illustrations: "New Years"

Why Be Buried With A Fork In Your ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 4, 2010

Why Be Buried With a Fork in Your Hand There was a woman who had been told she only had 3 months to live. Her doctor recommended that she start making preparations to die. And so, she contacted her Pastor to talk about her final wishes. She told him which songs she wanted sung at her funeral, what ...read more

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Tags: Heaven

Phantom Guilt

Contributed by Larry Wilson on Jul 9, 2010

PHANTOM GUILT Amputees often experience some sensation of a phantom limb. Somewhere, locked in their brains, a memory lingers of the nonexistent hand or leg. Invisible toes curl, imaginary hands grasp things, a "leg" feels so sturdy a patient may try to stand on it. For a few, the experience ...read more

Tags: Guilt

Denomination: Baptist

Temporary Castles  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 28, 2011

TEMPORARY CASTLES "A little boy is on the beach. On his knees he scoops and packs the sand with plastic shovels into a bright red bucket. Then he upends the bucket on the surface and lifts it. And, to the delight of the little architect, a castle tower is created. "All afternoon he will work. ...read more

Scripture: James 4:13-17, Luke 12:15-21, Ecclesiastes 3:1-15

Tags: Death

Salvation From The Rubble

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 28, 2011

SALVATION FROM THE RUBBLE The September 11, 2002 issues of TIME magazine has a touching article about 31-year old Genelle Guzman. Genelle was the last of just four people caught in the debris of the Twin Towers to be found alive. After the planes hit the World Trade Center, Genelle was ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:6-8

Tags: Salvation

The City And Its Crosses

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 20, 2011

THE CITY AND ITS CROSSES Two water towers have always served as landmarks for travelers heading for their homes near Wauconda, Illinois. But especially at the holidays. More than 40 years ago, John Kuester, then village police chief, suggested mounting large twin crosses on the towers to ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:14-16

Tags: Christian Witness

Grant And Custer  PRO

Contributed by Bruce Ball on Apr 21, 2011

GRANT AND CUSTER There is a story of two Civil War Generals: George A. Custer and Ulysses S. Grant. Both graduated from West Point -- Gen. Grant, being the oldest, graduated in the 1840's and Gen. Custer in 1861. Grant fought in several wars and was a field General in every sense of the word. ...read more

Tags: Humility, God's Humility

Denomination: *other

God Wants To Pull The Stickers Out  PRO

Contributed by Tim White on Jun 6, 2011

GOD WANTS TO PULL THE STICKERS OUT The little girl hopped away screaming. Obviously, the fear of living forever with a sticker in her foot was not as terrifying as the thought of me pulling it out. But a five-year-old could not out-run the preacher. Not hopping on one foot, anyway. After I ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 1:6

Tags: Sanctification

Denomination: Baptist

The Weak Will Become Strong  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 12, 2011

THE WEAK WILL BECOME STRONG The story is told of a ten-year-old boy who decided to study judo. The problem was he had been in a car accident and had lost his left arm. So he started the lessons and was doing well but he couldn’t understand why after 3 months of lessons that his coach had only ...read more

Scripture: James 1:2-5

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Soul Surfer: Fulfill God's Destiny

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Jul 19, 2011

* SOUL SURFER: FULFILL GOD'S DESTINY Soul Surfer is the inspiring true story of teen surfer Bethany Hamilton. Bethany lost her left arm in a shark attack and courageously overcame all odds to become a champion again, through her sheer determination and unwavering faith in Jesus Christ. Bethany ...read more

Tags: Fulfillment

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Just Wanted To Tell You I Love You  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 29, 2011

JUST WANTED TO TELL YOU I LOVE YOU Paul Powell tells the story of a well-known preacher from years ago. His name was Carter Jones. Carter had a small room in the attic of his home that he used as a place of prayer. When he was especially burdened, he would make his way up the winding staircase to ...read more

Scripture: Mark 12:29-31

Tags: Love For God

John Stott, A Humble Man

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 7, 2011

JOHN STOTT, A HUMBLE MAN I like the way Thomas Carlyle put it some time ago. He said, "One example is worth a thousand arguments." (Thomas Carlyle, quoted in Men of Integrity, July/August 2000; www.Preaching Today.com) In difficult times, we don't need dictators and arguments. We need leaders ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 5:1-4

Tags: Humility

You Can't Come In...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 8, 2011

"YOU CAN'T COME IN..." There was once a town drunk who gave his heart to Jesus Christ. He immediately stopped drinking and began to look for a church and had purposed in his heart that he would attend the first church he found. Determined to turn his life around he found a church and went in. He ...read more

Scripture: James 2:1-13

Tags: Hypocrisy

Napoleon On Christ

Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Nov 18, 2011

NAPOLEON ON CHRIST Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor Napoleon I of France (1769-1821), was one of the greatest military commanders of all time. He conquered the larger part of Europe and did much to modernize the nations he ruled. What did Napoleon say about Jesus? "I know men and I tell you that ...read more

Tags: Jesus Christ

Denomination: Anglican

I Prayed Her Home  PRO

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Dec 10, 2011

I PRAYED HER HOME Praying in Tongues From August 2002 to December 2010 my family suffered the affliction of brain cancer which was placed by Satan (2 Corinthians 12:7; Luke 13:10-17) upon my “helpmate,” (Genesis 2:18-25) Bonnie K. Laughlin. Just like many conservative preachers of the Word of ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 14:18

Tags: Gifts Tongues

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

A White Man Would Come

Contributed by Davon Huss on Dec 12, 2011

A WHITE MAN WOULD COME At 2006 when the National Missionary Convention was held in Indianapolis, IN, the invited guest for the Bible study was a man named Mont Cox, a professor at Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas. He told a story I think I will never forget. As a young man growing up he ...read more

Tags: Prayer In The Spirit

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The "Regard For Others" Ethic

Contributed by Don Berry-Graham on Jan 24, 2012

THE "REGARD FOR OTHERS" ETHIC John Sommerville currently teaches history at the University of Florida. He has been carrying out an exercise with his students for years. He challenges his students with the following thought experiment. Imagine that you see a little old lady coming down the ...read more

Scripture: Luke 10:25-37

Tags: Neighbor

Denomination: Baptist

The Story Of The Gipper

Contributed by Charlie Roberts on Feb 2, 2012

THE STORY OF THE GIPPER It was halftime of the 1928 Army vs. Notre Dame Game that legendary head coach Knute Rockne gave his "win one for the Gipper" speech to his beleaguered players. Notre Dame was having one of its worst seasons on record and Rockne was trying to salvage what he could of the ...read more

Tags: Encouragement

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Stop Expecting Life To Be Perfect

Contributed by Tim Smith on Feb 19, 2012

STOP EXPECTING LIFE TO BE PERFECT Donald Miller has written a book called, "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years." It's about the journey Don went on when a couple of filmmakers decided to make a movie about his life, based on his book Blue Like Jazz. Now during the process of writing a screenplay ...read more

Tags: Discipleship

Denomination: Methodist

Amish Grace And Forgiveness

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Mar 9, 2012

AMISH GRACE AND FORGIVENESS Following the tragic Amish school shooting of 10 young schoolgirls in a one-room Amish school in October 2006, reporters from throughout the world invaded Lancaster County, PA to cover the story. However, in the hours and days following the shooting a different, an ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness In Jesus

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Consecrated To God From Youth

Contributed by Samuel Reyes on Apr 9, 2012

CONSECRATED TO GOD FROM YOUTH “Los más grandes hombres de la iglesia cristiana fueron vidas consagradas a Dios desde su juventud. -Juan Wesley era un estudiante en Oxford cuando fundó el Club Santo. -Martin Lutero tenía 27 años cuando abrazo el pasaje y fue inspirado en todo su ministerio por el ...read more

Tags: Youth

Denomination: Free Methodist