In Sermon Illustrations: "Not Now"

A Brain Surgeon On Parenting ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 10, 2009

A BRAIN SURGEON ON PARENTING INFLUENCE I read a book entitled Gifted Hands, the autobiography of Dr. Ben Carson, Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins hospital in Boston. This is what he writes: "My mother was a remarkable woman who was pregnant and then married at age 13. She worked ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 3:20-21

Tags: Parenting

Mendelssohn And Rembrandt: Artists In Christ

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 10, 2009

MENDELSSOHN AND REMBRANDT: ARTISTS IN CHRIST This past Tuesday we noted the 200th anniversary of the birth of the composer Felix Mendelssohn. Mendelssohn was born into a family with deep spiritual roots. His grandfather Moses Mendelssohn was a rabbi and a philosopher. But Felix’s parents, ...read more

Tags: God Brings Hope

God Just Needs A Voice  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 13, 2009

GOD JUST NEEDS A VOICE John Stott, a well-known British pastor and theologian, was invited to preach at the University of Sydney in Australia; but after he got there, he lost his voice. He describes his experience as follows: "What can you do with a missionary who has no voice? We had come to ...read more

Scripture: Luke 21:14-15, Matthew 1:18-24

Tags: God Brings Purpose

The Power In Touching The Untouchable  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 14, 2009

THE POWER IN TOUCHING THE UNTOUCHABLE Jesus, the Christ, is still in the business of touching the untouchable! You may feel like you are too dirty or too wicked for Jesus, the Christ, to touch you with His forgiveness today! As an illustration, you may remember the move enitled "The Elephant ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:8

Tags: Grace

Character: Prototype Plus Pneumatic Force  PRO

Contributed by Johnny Wilson on Aug 14, 2009

CHARACTER: PROTOTYPE PLUS PNEUMATIC FORCE Jesus is the very imprint or prototype of God’s essential reality. The word used in the Greek here is pronounced "kah-rahk-TEER" (sometimes "kah-rahk-TAYR") and it is the word from which we get "character." In the original Greek usage, it meant an imprint ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:1-6

Tags: Jesus Christ, Potter, Fix, Who Is Jesus

Denomination: *other

Running The Race

Contributed by Sylvester Fergusson on Aug 22, 2009

James was excited as he turned the two hundred mark heading towards home. Two and three –quarter laps had gone and he was still in the lead. His one and only goal was to win this race and he was full of confidence that he could do it. His thoughts race ahead to the podium, the applause, the glory, ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 3:12, Philippians 2:3

Tags: Sacrifice, Glory, Help, Focus, Fool, Determination, Honour, Caring  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Adventist

Cost Of Discipleship  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 19, 2009

COST OF DISCIPLESHIP I recently read the true story about a preacher who was standing at the door shaking hands as the congregation departed. He grabbed one man by the hand and pulled him aside. The preacher said to him, "You need to join the Army of the Lord!" The man replied, "I’m already in the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 16:24-25

Tags: Discipleship, Follow, Deny, Gross

Ignoring The Barriers Of The Past

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 19, 2009

IGNORING THE BARRIERS OF THE PAST Every four years, the world’s attention turns to the summer Olympic games. For a few days, men and women from around the globe gather to compete against the best. Amazing records are broken and new ones are set at these games. The Four-Minute-Mile: Just a few ...read more

Scripture: Deuteronomy 1:1-8, Deuteronomy 2:1-3, Ecclesiastes 9:10

Tags: Encouragement

Wartime Speech By Churchill,

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 29, 2009

Wartime Speech by Churchill, "We Will Never Surrender" On the fifth of June, 1940, not even a month after he became prime minister, Winston Churchill spoke to the British people to encourage them of their desperate situation. Bear in mind that in September of the previous year the Nazis had ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 6:9

Tags: War

Mark 8:35 For Whoever Wants To Save His Life A ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 5, 2009

Mark 8:35 For whoever wants to save his life a will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. (NIV) Now, Jesus is not talking about the cost of our salvation here, because that is free! Romans 6:23 says, “The FREE gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our ...read more

Scripture: Mark 8:34-38

Tags: Discipleship, Risk

A Child's Fascination With The Refrigerator ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 20, 2009

A Child’s Fascination with the Refrigerator Light As a child I was fascinated one day by’ the fact that when you open the refrigerator, there is always a light burning. I was fascinated by it because I wanted to know whether that light was on when the door was closed as well as when it was open. ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:14-16

Tags: Light Of The World, Christian Witness

Elementary School Student Doubts President's ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 1, 2009

Elementary School Student Doubts President’s Identity On March 11, 1991, eight-year-old Anthony Henderson upset the distinguished leader of our nation, President George Bush. President Bush was visiting Anthony’s school and had sat down beside Anthony to read him a book. Suddenly in the midst of ...read more

Scripture: John 13:34-35

Tags: Christian Witness

How Satan And The World Are Like A Pack Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 11, 2009

How Satan and the World are Like a Pack of Dogs While visiting Loretta’s parents in Indiana last summer I spent each morning walking several miles. They live in the middle of farm country. The roads are straight and long with corn and bean fields lining them. There are few houses and fewer cars. As ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 5:8-11

Tags: Satan

Margaret Waage Wrote Of An Especially Important ...

Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on Dec 26, 2009

"Margaret Waage wrote of an especially important Christmas eve in her life. She got off her job at noon and stood dejectedly in the crowd waiting for the subway train. She had worked by herself all morning since her fellow workers had been given the day off. Now many people around her were talking ...read more

Tags: Christmas Eve

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Everywhere I Look People Offer Me Rewards If I ...

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Jan 29, 2010

Everywhere I look people offer me rewards if I buy this or shop at their store, or buy petrol at certain petrol stations. I am rewarded on my credit card if I buy a certain amount using their card. People at the Super Market ask me “Do you have a rewards Card?” Buy one get one free. We bought a ...read more

Tags: Servanthood

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Music To Raise The Dead

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on May 10, 2010

"MUSIC TO RAISE THE DEAD", an album from a Christian Rock group called Resurrection startled the Christian world with it's intensity in the 1970's. They did this in a day when many conservative pastors and evangelists actively thundered their warnings from the pulpit against the evils of rock music ...read more

Tags: Gifts Healing

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Mom's Chicken Soup Coupled With Forgiveness Wins ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 10, 2010

Mom’s Chicken Soup Coupled with Forgiveness Wins Over Disgruntled Church Member A lady tells as story that is a real picture of forgiveness. She says my mom, now in heaven, was a good cook. She was a good forgiver too and the combination of these two qualities resulted one day in an incident I love ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:43-48

Tags: Forgiveness For Others

Same, Same

Contributed by Scott Wakefield on May 17, 2010

Found at http://www.christianstandard.com/articledisplay.asp?id=783 In an article for Christian Standard magazine, preacher and college president Matt Proctor reflects on the Incarnation: My 5-year-old, Carl, and my 3-year-old, Conrad, love it when I dress like them. After they put on jeans and a ...read more

Tags: Incarnation, Humanity Of Christ

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

I'm Always Fascinated By The Stories Of People ...

Contributed by Bret Toman on May 20, 2010

I'm always fascinated by the stories of people who win large sums of money in lotteries. A large majority of whom wish they had never won. Willie Hurt of Lansing, Mich., won $3.1 million in 1989. Two years later he was broke and charged with murder. His lawyer says Hurt spent his fortune on a ...read more

Tags: Money, Gambling

Denomination: Baptist

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