In Sermon Illustrations: "Nominal Christian"

On June 18, 1956, A Freak Accident Happened On A ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 3, 2008

On June 18, 1956, a freak accident happened on a lake in New York. A speeding motorboat bounced on a wave and shot into the water two of its passengers, a 50-year old man and a little girl. To keep the girl from drowning, the man held her head above water while the boat circled back to pick them ...read more

Nizhizaka Hill Is The Place In Nagasaki, Japan ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 11, 2008

Nizhizaka Hill is the place in Nagasaki, Japan where the 26 martyrs were executed on 15 February 1597, 400 years ago. They went to their deaths singing Psalm 113. Paul Miki was preaching. Contrary to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the ruler of Japan’s expectation the Christians’ faith was strengthened. ...read more

Tags: Persecution

Mourner's Bench

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Jun 26, 2006

MOURNER'S BENCH In the late 1700’s there was something called the “mourner’s bench.” An altar call would be given, and people who desired to become Christians would come down front to a bench at the front and pray until they “felt” saved. They would be seeking a “strange warming of the heart” as ...read more

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Dietrich Bonhoeffer Says In His Book "Life ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 27, 2008

Dietrich Bonhoeffer says in his book "Life Together": "God has willed that we should seek and find His living Word in the witness of a brother/sister, in the mouth of a man/ woman. Therefore, the Christian needs another Christian who speaks God's Word to him/her. He/she needs him again and again ...read more

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

A Pastor Named Wayne Field Asks A Series Of ...

Contributed by Anne Benefield on Jan 29, 2009

A pastor named Wayne Field asks a series of profound questions: “What would happen if we applied the same standards of loyalty to our Christian activities that we expect from other areas of our lives?  If your car starts every three tries, is it reliable?  If the post carrier ...read more

Tags: Trust

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Believing Isn't Just Seeing

Contributed by Dennis Marquardt on Oct 18, 2000

BELIEVING ISN'T JUST SEEING A student wrote on a physics exam that he did not believe in the atom, so he did not write a paper on it like instructed. The professor called him up and asked him why he didn’t believe in atoms. The student’s response was, "I have never seen one, and no one else has ...read more

Tags: Doubt

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Pulling On Both Oars  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 26, 2009

PULLING ON BOTH OARS An old Scotsman operated a little rowboat for transporting passengers. One day a passenger noticed that the good old man had carved on one oar the word "Faith" and on the other oar the word "Works." Curiosity led him to ask the meaning of these oars. The old man, being a ...read more

Scripture: James 2:14-26, James 5:1-7

Tags: Faith Vs. Works

Graham Stuart Staines (1941-January 1999) Was An ...

Contributed by Ajai Prakash on Nov 6, 2009

Graham Stuart Staines (1941-January 1999) was an Australian missionary who was burnt to death along with his two sons Philip (aged 9) and Timothy (aged 7) while sleeping in his station wagon at Manoharpur village in Keonjhar district in Orissa, India in January 1999. On the night of 22 January ...read more

Tags: Persecution

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Anchor During Life's Storms  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 7, 2009

ANCHOR DURING LIFE'S STORMS In October of 1991, a storm stronger than any in recorded history hit the coast off of Gloucester, Massachusetts. This storm created an almost apocalyptic situation in the Atlantic Ocean, where boats encountered waves of 100 feet - the equivalent of a ten story building ...read more

Scripture: Acts 27:21-36

Tags: Hardship Of Life

A Bug's Life (Disney)

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Jan 19, 2010

A Bug's Life (Disney) Overview -- Hopper explains to his gang that one ant may be harmless and unable to stop them, like throwing one seed at a gang member. Hundreds of ants joined together, though, could bury them as surely as hundreds of seeds do. This speech rallies his gang to crush the ants' ...read more

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Getting The Fruit For Yourself  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 6, 2010

Getting the Fruit for Yourself A family was driving to Tampa, Florida. As far as the eye could see, orange trees were loaded with fruit. When we stopped for breakfast, I ordered orange juice with my eggs. "I’m sorry," the waitress said. "I can’t bring you orange juice. Our machine is broken." We ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 5:11-14

Tags: Growth In Christ

Sabbath Vs. Little League

Contributed by Davon Huss on Mar 1, 2011

SABBATH VS. LITTLE LEAGUE The NT changes several things about the Sabbath. However, it is wise to observe a time of rest and worship. A couple of years ago Roman Catholic Cardinal John O' Connor took on Little League baseball because many altar boys were missing Sunday services. He wanted ...read more

Tags: Sabbath

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Said Musa

Contributed by Warner Pidgeon on Mar 10, 2011

SAID MUSA I have recently been exchanging letters with our MP John Baron regarding a man named Said Musa. Some of you know about his situation. Said is an Afghan convert from Islam to Christianity. In May 2010 he was arrested during a crackdown on converts because under Islamic religious law it is ...read more

Tags: Islam

Denomination: Anglican

Prayed Into The Kingdom

Contributed by Michael Walther on May 25, 2011

PRAYED INTO THE KINGDOM Chuck Sackett did not grow up in a Christian home. But he joined the Boy Scouts and wanted to complete the “God and Country” merit badge. So he walked a few blocks to a small church for several weeks. He filled out his papers, and did what he had to do get that badge. ...read more

Tags: Prayer Persistence

Denomination: Lutheran

Korean Cell Churches

Contributed by Dale Pilgrim on Nov 9, 2011

KOREAN CELL CHURCHES Assemblies of God Church in Seoul, Korea: It started in 1958 when Paul Yonggi Cho (later David) held a service in his friend’s home with her three children. Passionate desire to share Christ by inviting other people to their home church soon resulted in exponential growth. ...read more

Tags: Church Growth

Denomination: Salvation Army

What's The Demand?

Contributed by Scott Jensen on Feb 5, 2012

WHAT'S THE DEMAND? The magazine, Christianity Today, reported in its April 4, 1986 issue of a tool company that manufactured drill bits. Faced with financial losses, company executives gathered to discuss the problem: a declining demand for drill bits. The CEO challenged his men: "How can we ...read more

Scripture: Mark 1:29-39

Tags: Truth

Denomination: Lutheran

Stabilizing The Leaning Tower Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 5, 2012

STABILIZING THE LEANING TOWER OF PISA In the early nineties, the leaning Tower of Pisa began to lean too far. Seeing that the 180-foot-high tower would soon become dangerous, engineers designed a system to salvage the twelfth-century landmark by holding the lean constant. First the engineers ...read more

Scripture: Romans 13:1-7

Tags: Government

We Are Here! We Are Here!

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Jan 23, 2013

WE ARE HERE! WE ARE HERE! From movie, "Horton Hears a Who!" Clip from movie about 5 minutes. The "Who" people with the help of Horton shouted, proclaimed, cried out and made themselves heard -- it was life and death by the way -- they did this to let the rest of the world around them know that ...read more

Tags: Church Purpose Of

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Going Beyond Our Teachers  PRO

Contributed by Davon Huss on Jul 9, 2013

A well-known Bible teacher gives this insight: "Someone on our staff informed me several months ago that a woman had called the ministry office to find out what my 'official position' was on a biblically gray area. When she was told that it's not my policy to make 'official' public statements ...read more

Scripture: Mark 7:1-23

Tags: Legalism, Opinion, Spiritual Growth, Debatable

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Matt Mikalatos Has Identified Several Imagina...

Contributed by Tim Smith on May 28, 2015

Matt Mikalatos has identified several Imaginary Jesus’ we hold. There’s TV Jesus, who says: "If you follow me, you will have the life you always wanted. Money! Wealth! Big house! Fancy plane! Unending health!" There’s Hollywood Jesus who is mild and kind and never asks for anything difficult. ...read more

Scripture: Mark 8:27-35

Tags: Barriers To Growth, Potholes

Denomination: Methodist