In Sermon Illustrations: "Not Now"

Faithful Unto Death

Contributed by Mark Stepherson on May 29, 2012

FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH When Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, the city was buried for 1700 years. When it was rediscovered, artifacts left a detailed picture of what was happening in the city at the time. For example, archeologists could identify the time by the clothes people were wearing, the produce ...read more

Tags: Obedience

Denomination: Baptist

Vanishing Waves

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 28, 2012

VANISHING WAVES A wise man once told me to pour a glass of water. He dipped his index finger into the cup, I watched as miniature waves hit the glass only to halt seconds later. The wise man told that regardless of how important the world will ever view me or my accomplishments, history will only ...read more

Scripture: Luke 12:13-34

Tags: Parable Rich Fool

Jaymalis Davis Was Highlighted In The ...

Contributed by Tim Smith on Oct 21, 2012

Jaymalis Davis was highlighted in the Times-Picayne series entitled, “Louisiana Incarcerated.” He lives in central city surround by drugs, crime and unemployment. His mother is crack addicted and largely absent from his home and his father, who was in and out of jail for drugs and car theft and ...read more

Tags: Grace

Denomination: Methodist

Death

Contributed by Jeffrey Rowe on Dec 29, 2012

In Psalm 23, death is described as casting a shadow. Let’s look at that for a moment. Have you ever been enjoying a nice sunny day when all of a sudden a dark cloud hides the sun? All of a sudden you’re in this shadow! What does the shadow do? It hides the light. It makes it more difficult to ...read more

Tags: Death

Denomination: Holiness

Kyle Idleman On Tomorrow

Contributed by Kevin Karhoff on Mar 19, 2013

When fans are asked about when they will get serious about their commitment to follow Jesus, the most common answer is tomorrow. There is a tendency to treat our relationship with Jesus like the diet we keep meaning to start. I'm going to start eating right, as soon as I finish off this chicken ...read more

Scripture: Luke 9:59-60

Tags: Surrender, Jesus Christ, Evangelism Urgency

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Richard Eye On Divorce

Contributed by Davon Huss on Apr 16, 2013

RICHARD EYRE ON DIVORCE "We now have over 40 years worth of very conclusive statistics that show that children from two parent homes (a mother and a father) are at substantially less risk for drug abuse, teen pregnancy, school dropout, suicide, and a whole host of other problems. Statistically ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 19:6

Tags: Children

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Why Jesus Used Parables

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on May 16, 2013

WHY JESUS USED PARABLES The following thoughts reveal why Jesus used the parabolic method (They are adapted from - All the Parables of The Bible by Herbert Lockyer). • Parables attract attention and when fully understood are sure to be remembered. They are a great help for our short-term ...read more

Tags: Parables, Jesus Teachings

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

No Slackers  PRO

Contributed by Davon Huss on Sep 2, 2013

NO SLACKERS A large company, feeling it was time for a shakeup, hired a new CEO. This new boss was determined to rid the company of all slackers. On a tour of the facilities, the CEO noticed a guy leaning on a wall. The room was full of workers and he wanted to let them know that he meant ...read more

Scripture: Romans 16:6-12

Tags: Labor Day, Pride Before A Fall, Work Ethic

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Riches Are A Mess  PRO

Contributed by Davon Huss on Oct 8, 2013

RICHES ARE A MESS John Alexander-- "Consider this paraphrase: You think it’s good to be rich? Well, you’re wrong. Riches are a mess. It’s you poor who are fortunate. You think it’s good to be well fed now? You’re wrong. You’d be better off hungry. You think you should pursue laughter? ...read more

Scripture: Luke 6:20-26, James 5:1-6

Tags: Hungry, Poor, Popularity, Mourner

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Faith When Faced With Death?  PRO

Contributed by Michael Sechler on Jan 25, 2014

My son, Micah died in 2012 from kidney disease and complications. As he lay dying I wrote this in my journal: "Sitting at the bedside of my dying son at 3:48 in the morning. Weeping like crazy. Bertrand Russell once said that 'no one can sit at the bedside of dying child and believe in God.' Well ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 46:1

Tags: Faith, Trial, Child Death, Belief In God

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Chapter 11

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Mar 4, 2014

Two old friends met one day after many years. One graduated from a prestigious college and was very successful. The other had not attended college and was very poor. The poor friend said, "How has everything been going with you?" The successful friend said, "Well, one day I opened the Bible at ...read more

Scripture: James 4:1-11

Tags: Wealth, Riches, Success

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

There Is No Racial Distinction In The Kingdom Of God

Contributed by Howard Gunter on Mar 29, 2017

All human beings are equally created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26-27). God loved the world so much that He sent Jesus to lay down His life for us (John 3:16). The “world” obviously includes all ethnic groups. I like to use the following illustration which works as well with ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 1:26-27

Tags: Human Life, Jesus Died For All

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Grace Is A Free Gift

Contributed by Daniel King, D. Min. on Aug 2, 2018

Main Idea: If you pay for a free gift, it is no longer free. Verse: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV). Illustration: Once there was a husband who gave a beautiful ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:8-9

Tags: Faith, Grace, Salvation

Denomination: Charismatic

Compassion For The Lost

Contributed by Shine Thomas on Nov 9, 2018

D.L. Moody told the story of his conversion this way: “When I was in Boston I used to attend a Sunday school class, and one day I recollect my teacher came around behind the counter of the shop I was at work in, and put his hand upon my shoulder, and talked to me about Christ and my soul. I had not ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 49:13, Luke 19:41-44

Tags: Compassion Of God, Compassion For Lost, Compassion Of Jesus, Compassion For Souls

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Two Trees

Contributed by Steve Kinnard on Feb 15, 2019

TWO TREES Imagine you are walking through the woods on a path, one side of the path is in sunlight and one side is in darkness. On each side of the path is a tree. The tree on the left is in darkness and the tree on the right is bathing in the sunlight. The tree on the left is old, scary, and ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 1:1-6

Tags: Evil, Good

Denomination: Pentecostal

Framed

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Nov 11, 2019

A cow and a chicken were framed and thrown into prison. They knew they had to get out to bring the criminals to justice so they spent weeks designing escape plans. Finally, a month after they had been thrown in, they escaped in the middle of the night. However, they weren't silent enough and ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 39:1-23

Tags: Framed, Accused

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Time Allows Me To See Gods Working Better.

Contributed by Roy Fowler on Jun 19, 2020

I got my first cup of coffee and slowly moseyed to my front porch. Walking to the banister putting my elbows there I sipped my coffee. I looked around my neighborhood, I kinda live on a small knoll, and it seemed so peaceful. The birds were singing, they were flying around and there was what seemed ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 119:66

Tags: Thinking, God Working

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Morning Time With God

Contributed by Roy Fowler on Sep 13, 2020

I got my first cup of coffee and slowly moseyed to my front porch. Walking to the banister putting my elbows there I sipped my coffee. I looked around my neighborhood, I kinda live on a small knoll, and it seemed so peaceful. The birds were singing, they were flying around and there was what seemed ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 119:66

Tags: Time With God, Sunday Morning

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Thomas Edison Shows Us How To Forgive

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Apr 10, 2022

Thomas A. Edison was working on a crazy contraption called a "light bulb" and it took a whole team of men 24 straight hours to put just one together. The story goes that when Edison was finished with one light bulb, he gave it to a young boy helper, who nervously carried it up the stairs. ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness, Forgiving Others

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

If Marriage Is That Much Work....

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Oct 23, 2022

Because of a shortage of maids, the minister’s wife advertised for a male servant to help around the house. The next morning, a nicely dressed young man came to the front door of the parsonage. The minister opened the door and jumped right into the conversation. "Can you start breakfast by 7 ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:18-31

Tags: Love, Marriage, Work, Humor, Engagement, Singles, Fiancee  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational