In Sermon Illustrations: "Not Hearers Only"

The Impermanence Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 26, 2010

The Impermanence of Democracy About 200 years ago, as the United States was beginning its experiment, Alexander Fraser Tytler wrote: “A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public ...read more

Scripture: Romans 13:1-7

Tags: Bondage, Politics

Themistocles Harnesses The Wind To Help Win The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 27, 2010

Themistocles harnesses the wind to help win the Greek naval battle at Salamis They shall mount up with wings as eagles.”] Themistocles, who led the Greeks in the famous naval battle of Salamis, for some reason unknown to his troops, delayed the engagement. It was expected that he would avail ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 40:27-31

Tags: God's Omnipotence

Dianne Odell's Attitude Remained Positive, Even ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 7, 2010

Dianne Odell’s Attitude Remained Positive, Even in an Iron Lung I read once of Dianne Odell of Jackson, Tennessee. She was quite a lady. Her life story received nation-wide attention. Dianne graduated from high school and college, she was involved with her church, and wrote her autobiography. ...read more

Scripture: John 8:34-36

Tags: Disability

Biblical Fellowship  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 15, 2010

BIBLICAL FELLOWSHIP If the local church is going to develop the kind of beauty that God says is possible, that which will attract others to Christ, we much commit to becoming together, the kind of church Christ calls us to be. A church that is a biblical fellowship. In his book, Rediscovering ...read more

Scripture: Acts 2:42-47

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Pieces To The Puzzle

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Aug 11, 2010

Why is it that we have more faith that the pieces of a puzzle made by a company in Taiwan will all fit together than we have that the pieces of our life that are presented to us by God will fit together? One person chooses to put like pieces together first, while another chooses to put the edges of ...read more

Tags: Trust

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Looks Great, But What Does It Do?

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Dec 17, 2010

LOOKS GREAT, BUT WHAT DOES IT DO? I once read about a certain Mr. Wahlstrom who purchased an old bombsight and took it apart to see what made it work. As he began to put it back together, he decided to add to it some spare parts he had from other projects. Over time, friends and neighbors took an ...read more

Tags: Church Purpose Of

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Two Kinds Of Giving

Contributed by T D on Dec 28, 2010

TWO KINDS OF GIVING I have witnessed in my years of ministry people come to church and when they do not like a decision of the leadership or the minister, they decide to stop giving as a protest or decide to shift their giving to missions in order to inflict pain on the ministry of the church. ...read more

Tags: Giving General

Denomination: Evangelical Free

Something In Their Eyes...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 6, 2011

SOMETHING IN THEIR EYES... A prominent atheist named Matthew Parris wrote in a 2008 essay about a strange phenomenon that he had observed in Africa. Amazingly, as an atheist, he wrote an essay for The Times titled, "Why Africa Needs God." Although Parris made it clear that he does not believe in ...read more

Scripture: John 8:31-36

Tags: Christian Witness

The World Is Without Hope

Contributed by Ken Pell on Jun 5, 2011

THE WORLD IS WITHOUT HOPE In Kurt Vonnegut’s novel, Cat’s Cradle, an important book comes to light. It is titled, "What Can a Thoughtful Man Hope for Mankind on Earth, Given the Experience of the Past Million Years?" The chief character is anxious to read it. But when he does, he finds that it ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:12

Tags: God Brings Hope

Denomination: Nazarene

Just As I Am Without One Plea

Contributed by Dennis Davidson on Jun 6, 2011

JUST AS I AM WITHOUT ONE PLEA Charlotte Elliot came to Caesar Milan and asked how she could become a Christian. The old man replied, "My dear, it is very simple. You have only to come to Jesus." And she said to him, "But I am a very great sinner, will He take me just as I am?" "Yes, He will ...read more

Tags: Confession Of Sin

Denomination: Baptist

Frenemies

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 7, 2011

FRENEMIES A frenemy is a friend/enemy. You like a frenemy and you hate a frenemy. You work with a frenemy when it is convenient and self-serving, but when it is not, the frenemy becomes a nemesis. The Urban Dictionary states a frenemy is "an enemy disguised as a friend." and twists the old adage ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 37:1-4

Tags: Forgiveness For Others

A Safe Place

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Mar 3, 2012

A SAFE PLACE Some years ago, I used to see Project Safe Place signs. Perhaps you have seen them too. They were most often displayed on houses along residential streets, or on fire stations, or even on public library buildings. They are diamond-shaped with a yellow background and a black logo, ...read more

Tags: Security

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

War Horse: Perseverence

Contributed by Paul Barreca on Apr 8, 2012

WAR HORSE: PERSEVERENCE Last week, I watched "War Horse." It's a Steven Spielberg film about a young English boy and his horse. The family is about to lose their farm because dad bought a horse for his son. The father bears a war injury and cannot tend the farm. He spends his last money ...read more

Tags: Tenacity

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Cup On Its Side  PRO

Contributed by Tim White on Apr 16, 2012

THE CUP ON ITS SIDE A teacher set a cup on the table in front of his two disciples. He took a flask that had a little water in it and poured the water into the cups, evenly dividing all that was left. Trying to teach the students to be hungry for more knowledge, he said, "Your cup has water, but ...read more

Tags: Religion

Denomination: Baptist

Dream Big: Google's Founders

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 18, 2012

DREAM BIG: GOOGLE'S FOUNDERS In 1998, Larry Page and Sergey Brin picked the number one followed by 100 zeroes while they were still graduate students at Stanford University. That number in mathematical terms is called a googol, and that became the name of their new enterprise. Today, Google ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 3:20-21

Tags: Business And Marketplace

Hope In The Storm  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 14, 2012

HOPE IN THE STORM Fresh out of Oxford, John Wesley was perplexed over England's complicated social problems: slavery, economic uncertainties, corruption, drunkenness, gambling, and prostitution. This deeply religious, sensitive soul became a parish minister and, subsequently, a missionary to ...read more

Tags: Security

Death Steals From Us

Contributed by Jeffrey Rowe on Dec 29, 2012

Death steals from us in this life by suddenly separating us from the people and things we’ve come to care about. It robs us. A little while back, our church office building was broken into by thieves who took some of our equipment. Personally I’ve had my car broken into a couple of times. I’m ...read more

Tags: Death

Denomination: Holiness

Last Words

Contributed by Rick Pendleton on Feb 6, 2013

LAST WORDS My father worked for the railroad when I was younger. One night a train was backing up to hook up to some other cars and one man was not watching. He was in the way and the train made the connection right through his body. He did not die immediately, but he knew he had only a short ...read more

Tags: Evangelism Urgency

Denomination: Baptist

It's Like Dropping A Penny Into Water

Contributed by Tim Secrist on Feb 22, 2013

IT'S LIKE DROPPING A PENNY INTO WATER On October 28, 1993, the U.S. Space Command watched as a two-ton chunk of a Chinese satellite began to reenter the earth’s atmosphere. According to their calculations, this satellite would plunge into the Pacific Ocean 500 west of Baja, California. When it ...read more

Tags: Technology

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Savior Or Judge?

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jan 14, 2014

A young man was drinking heavily and decided to go for a swim at a California beach. Fortunately, an older man was watching the young man as he entered the water and did not come back up for air. The older man ran to the struggling young man and saved his life. A few years later, that same ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16-18

Tags: Evangelism, Christ, Decision, Judgment Day

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational