In Sermon Illustrations: "Not Hearers Only"

I Pulled Into The Zeller's Parking Lot On ...

Contributed by Dale Pilgrim on Jan 28, 2008

I pulled into the Zeller’s parking lot on Thursday. A young man was changing a tire. I went along to ask if things were okay (after all, I can’t prepare for today and not demonstrate the heart of being a Good Samaritan). He told me he was simply removing the ‘dummy’ tire and replacing it with the ...read more

Denomination: Salvation Army

Hile Parachuting Of Any Kind Is Risky, The ...

Contributed by Bruce Ritter on Feb 2, 2008

hile parachuting of any kind is risky, the incoming fire of a fortified enemy, raises the danger profile for any special forces mission seeking to get behind enemy lines. Not only does a paratrooper become an easy target, but the sound of the aircraft would also alert the enemy. HALO stands for ...read more

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Its Critical That We Keep In View Were We Are ...

Contributed by Richard Francis on Feb 29, 2008

Its critical that we keep in view were we are going, on a recent trip to the USA I made a mistake on not doing that. I wanted to travel to Bloomington, so booked the flights arrived at the airport, stood for an hour in freezing winds waiting for a taxi, was praying for one to arrive and for me to ...read more

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Leaving A Message For ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 13, 2009

LEAVING A MESSAGE FOR GOD In March 2009, Dutch artist Johan van der Dong decided God needed a telephone number. So, he got him one, a cell phone number to be exact--to show that God was "available anywhere and anytime." In an interview, Dong said, "In earlier times you would go to a church to say ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 15:29

Tags: Prayer, Prayer General

Don't Waste The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 14, 2009

DON’T WASTE THE WISDOM Pastor Warren Weirsbe told of a time when an associate of his, a gifted secretary, was going through great trials. She had had a stroke, her husband had gone blind, and then he had to be taken to the hospital where (we were sure) he would die. He saw her in church one Sunday ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 14:33

Tags: Wisdom

Marks Of A Healthy Church  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 19, 2009

Marks of a Healthy Church Walt Disney was a dreamer. His crowning vision was EPCOT; Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. He envisioned the perfect city of 20,000 using all of the most modern advances technology. One problem, Walt Disney died before his cream was ever realized. His dream ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 3:1-22

Tags: Church Purpose Of

Brain ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 23, 2009

Brain Translplant There’s a story about a wealthy man who was terminally ill. The doctor said, "There’s only “one thing” that will save you. “A brain transplant.” - It’s an experimental operation. And it’s very expensive." The wealthy guy said, - "Money is no object. Can you get me a brain?" The ...read more

Scripture: Mark 16:1-6

Tags: Power, Christ's Power

My Parents Had A Grapevine In The Backyard. They ...

Contributed by Sean Harder on Dec 4, 2009

My parents had a grapevine in the backyard. They just let it grow and some of the branches grew up and intertwined around this big evergreen tree about 20 feet in the air, others grew through the cedar hedge that was beside it. Some of these branches must have been forty feet long, but they never ...read more

Tags: Discipleship

Gianni Poli Of Italy Won The 1986 New York ...

Contributed by Paul Carlson on Jan 25, 2010

Gianni Poli of Italy won the 1986 New York Marathon in 2:11:06. On March 2, 2003, Mark Yatich of Kenya won the Los Angels Marathon in 2:09:52. To me, however, the real hero of both marathons was the man who finished dead last in both. He is fifty-seven year old Bob Wieland. In 1986 he finished the ...read more

Tags: Faith, Perseverance

Denomination: Baptist

He's No Longer In The Grave  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 15, 2011

HE'S NO LONGER IN THE GRAVE In 1887, twenty two years after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, his coffin was dug up and opened because there were constant rumors that his body was not in the grave. So they dug it up and the body was there. The rumors continued so 14 years later they ...read more

Scripture: John 20:1-20

Tags: Jesus Lives, Easter Resurrection

Expectations And Reality

Contributed by Tim Hinrichs on Nov 29, 2011

EXPECTATIONS AND REALITY I had arrived only a couple weeks before in the Czech Republic and was living with a retired Czech couple in a small village. Being the only American in the area I was somewhat a celebrity. One day a couple elders from a local church visited me to ask if I would preach in ...read more

Tags: Disappointment

Denomination: Lutheran

R. A. Torrey--Praying, Believing, And Not ...

Contributed by Mark Stepherson on Jan 9, 2012

R. A. TORREY--PRAYING, BELIEVING, AND NOT DOUBTING After R. A. Torrey had been a Christian for more than forty years, someone asked him to visit a family and pray for one member who was dying with typhoid fever. God revealed to Torrey that the man would live. He told them that when he arrived. ...read more

Scripture: Mark 11:22-24

Tags: Faith, Prayer, Prayer Of Faith

Denomination: Baptist

Mark Of The Beast

Contributed by Bruce Ball on Oct 9, 2012

In verse 15, it tells us what will happen to those people who do not accept the Evil One’s mark: “15 … and all who refuse to worship the image or take his mark will be killed.” I saw recently where Motorola has developed an all inclusive data chip that is no larger than a grain of rice. It ...read more

Tags: Second Coming

Denomination: *other

Christ Is The Wind, Christianity Is The Sail  PRO

Contributed by Ken Pell on Mar 2, 2013

CHRIST IS THE WIND, CHRISTIANITY IS THE SAIL Does the practice of our religion reflect the God we serve? In Shane Hipps' book, "Selling Water by the River: A Book about the Life Jesus Promised and the Religion that Gets in the Way," he uses an analogy from sailing to express what has happened in ...read more

Scripture: James 1:26-27

Tags: Religion

Denomination: Nazarene

Ivan The Terrible

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 11, 2014

THE BURIAL CLOTHES OF IVAN THE TERRIBLE In 1547 Ivan the IV became Grand Duke of Russia, and he proclaimed himself "Czar" which is a form of the word "Caesar." He actually claimed to be god on the earth. He later became known as Ivan the Terrible, because he was a cruel, vicious leader. He not ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 22:1-14

Tags: Righteousness, Jesus Parables, Wedding Banquet

Is It Death Or Really Life?

Contributed by Tim Smith on Feb 11, 2015

Robin Norwood in her book, “Why Me? Why This? Why Now?” writes, “A very wise old fried of mine who has just celebrated his 100th birthday said to me about a recent news broadcast he recently heard about 73 people losing their lives in a plan crash: “Don’t they know we can’t lose our lives? We can ...read more

Scripture: Luke 23:32-43

Tags: Death, Eternal Life

Denomination: Methodist

Crucufixion

Contributed by Tim Smith on Feb 11, 2015

David Smith writes about crucifixion. They would take the upright beam and place it in a hole in the ground and fix it steadfast. And then they would take the victim and lay his hands on the cross beam, driving spikes into his quivering flesh and with a rope would hook it onto the cross beam and ...read more

Scripture: Luke 23:33-38

Tags: Crucifixion, Death On A Cross

Denomination: Methodist

Rain Man Doesn't Understand Inheritance

Contributed by David Ward on Feb 25, 2016

"Rain Man" was the top moneymaking film of 1988, and also won the Oscar for Best Picture. It tells the story of an abrasive and selfish wheeler-dealer named Charlie (Tom Cruise), who discovers that his estranged father has died and bequeathed all of his multimillion-dollar estate to his other son, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:19-34

Tags: Priorities, Wealth And Riches, Eternal Inheritance, Treasures In Heaven

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

No One Thanked Him.

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Dec 2, 2020

Back in 1860, an excursion boat on Lake Michigan collided with a freighter and began to sink less than a mile from the shore. Hundreds of passengers began screaming as they leaped into the icy water. Edward Spencer was a student at a nearby seminary, and he ran down to the beach to see what he ...read more

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Tags: Thanksgiving, Gratitude, Selfishness, Depression

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Grace Story/Joke

Contributed by Bruce Blythe on Apr 13, 2021

There are not many stories/jokes that illustrate Grace (plenty of definitions of Grace though!) so I made this one up for my sermon on Romans 11 (Reciprocity No, Grace Yes). Hope people find it helpful. Blessings. Bruce A Jew, an Islamic and a Christian were drinking coffee on a ship. Then the ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:8-9

Tags: Grace Alone, By Grace We Are Saved, Reciprocity

Denomination: Baptist