In Sermon Illustrations: "Off Color"

Shepherdless Sheep

Contributed by Gregg Bitter on Aug 2, 2009

SHEPHERDLESS SHEEP How pitiful shepherdless sheep are! Shepherdless sheep become easy prey for wolves, coyotes, and other predators. They can’t outrun them. They can’t outfight them. And what wolf would be scared off by a bleating: baaa? Sheep are left torn and bloodied and dead without a ...read more

Tags: Jesus Christ

Denomination: Lutheran

There Was A Pastor, Who After The Usual Sunday ...

Contributed by Dennis Selfridge on Jan 20, 2010

There was a Pastor, who after the usual Sunday Evening Hymns, stood up, walked over to the pulpit and, before he gave his sermon for the evening, briefly introduced a guest minister who was in service that evening. In the introduction, the Pastor told the congregation that the guest minister was ...read more

Tags: Salvation

Denomination: Wesleyan

The Pearl Of Greatest Price  PRO

Contributed by Jesse Roncales on Mar 12, 2010

THE PEARL OF GREATEST PRICE A Christian missionary in India had befriended a devoted Hindu, and had explained that salvation is a gift. Then one day the Hindu told the missionary he was going to crawl many miles on his knees to Delhi as a means of earning salvation. But before he leaves he gave ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 10:10-14, Ephesians 2:8-9

Tags: Salvation

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Transformed

Contributed by Bobby Scobey on Apr 28, 2010

TRANSFORMED Once upon a time, there was a prince who fell in love with a fair maiden. But his enemy captured the fair maiden and held her captive in a tower. Now the prince had a plan to rescue her, so he recruited the help of two small creatures to send a message to the maiden. First, there was ...read more

Tags: Character

Denomination: Pentecostal

My Dad Used To Tell A Story About An Old Georgia ...

Contributed by David Swinney on May 31, 2010

My dad used to tell a story about an old Georgia redneck who would routinely head out into the swamp and return with a boat full of fish—more than anyone could conceivably catch, even in a long day of fishing with rod and reel. Well, in the course of time, his exceptional good luck caught the ...read more

Tags: Power

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

When We Truly Are The Church

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Feb 6, 2011

WHEN WE TRULY ARE THE CHURCH Chuck Colson tells this story: "My mind goes back to a Christmas 20 years ago in Romania, when the country was still in the grip of communist tyranny. The story begins with Laszlo Tokes, pastor of a fast-growing reformed church in the city of Timisoara. His ...read more

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Denomination: Methodist

Disunity Stories  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 26, 2011

DISUNITY STORIES A man was stranded on an island. Alone for a number of years. Finally he was located and some people came ashore to rescue him. Before they took him off the island, he wanted to show them around. He took them to his hut and said "This is the home I built with my own 2 hands." Then ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-6

Tags: Divisions

My Sheep Know My Voice  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 9, 2011

MY SHEEP KNOW MY VOICE Do you all know much about Emperor Penguins? I was not very familiar with these birds until a few years ago when the documentary, March of the Penguins, came out. And as I watched this documentary, I learned many intriguing facts about this largest of the penguin family. ...read more

Scripture: John 10:27-29

Tags: Parable Lost Sheep

What Are You Doing, Lord? Amazing Grace

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 31, 2011

WHAT ARE YOU DOING, LORD? AMAZING GRACE A couple days ago I was commuting to the church from Boissevain where we were camping this week, and heard an interview with a young woman named Kristen James Anderson, ironically on the last day of our free satellite radio. She came from a great family, ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 42:5

Tags: Grace

Fire In The Hole

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 7, 2011

FIRE IN THE HOLE Centralia was a small mining town in the eastern part of Pennsylvania with about 1000 residents making their income off of the coal dug just underneath the crust. The town had existed the same way for over a century when pre-Civil War settlers moved out to dig up the anthracite ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:21-30

Tags: Hell

Mothers Live For Others  PRO

Contributed by Fr Mund Cargill Thompson on Sep 29, 2011

MOTHERS LIVE FOR OTHERS We've got all sorts of people here this morning. One thing we have got a lot of is mothers. Some of you, your children are long grown up. But you have the experience of having been a mother. So? Well, every mother lives her life for another. And that is what the church ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Tags: Mother's Day

Denomination: Anglican

The 5 Biggest Mistakes That Threaten ...  PRO

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Feb 4, 2012

THE 5 BIGGEST MISTAKES THAT THREATEN RELATIONSHIPS Dr. Edward Hallowell and his wife, Sue, authors of Married to Distraction: Restoring Intimacy and Strengthening Your Marriage in an Age of Distraction, teach you how to spot hidden distractions in your relationship and reveal the mistakes you may ...read more

Tags: Marriage Struggle

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Testimony About God's Comfort After A Suicide

Contributed by Rick Crandall on Jun 26, 2012

Mot Richey was one of the precious senior adults at McClendon Baptist Church in West Monroe. She went home to be with the Lord in 2006. Mot was a lovely Christian lady. She was also a wonderful singer, wife and cook. In my whole life, I never met a more loving couple than Jack and Mot Richey. ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 1:1-4, John 16:33, John 14:1-6

Tags: Grief, Suicide, God's Comfort

Denomination: Baptist

Dreams

Contributed by Glynda Lomax on Dec 27, 2014

“There are many ways of breaking a heart. Stories were full of hearts being broken by love, but what really broke a heart was taking away its dream - whatever that dream might be.” - Pearl S. Buck Everybody has a dream. What’s your dream? What was your dream when you were young and full of ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 34:18

Tags: Adversity, Brokenhearted, Broken Dream

Denomination: Charismatic

The Substitute  PRO

Contributed by Paul Steen on Oct 8, 2016

The Moose was in the game to score. He took the handoff at the five-yard line from the quarterback and stunted to the right. The right guard and tackle had split the defenders and there was a slight hole in the line for him. Moose instantly was in the hole. He put his head down and fought through ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:3

Tags: Substitute, Substitute Sacrifice, Our Substitute

Denomination: Calvary Chapel

A Train For Christmas

Contributed by Paul Steen on Dec 9, 2017

When I was a little boy, Christmas was really exciting. Sears Roebuck and Company would send toy catalogs out to my mom because she had an account with them. I would spend hours every Christmas looking at every item in the catalog. The catalog was filled with every kind of toy a boy could think ...read more

Tags: Christmas, Jesus Came, Unto Us A Child, A Son Is Given

Denomination: Calvary Chapel

Mr. Schemer On The Broad Road

Contributed by David Goering on Sep 20, 2018

There was a man named Mr. Evangelist who grabbed a handful of pamphlets containing scripture verses and the good news that had transformed his very own life. off he went into the highways and byways and as he went he began to share these pamphlets with everyone that providence would put in his ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 36:2, Matthew 7:13-14

Tags: Self Righteousness, The Broad Road, Self Flattery, Self Justification

The Payment For The Parts

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Feb 20, 2020

One of the worst things that could happen to anybody is a car accident. My oldest son had this happen recently. He was okay, just a few bruises, but the car was totaled. Not good. A day or so later, he and I went to the garage where the car had been towed. We took turns removing his personal ...read more

Scripture: Romans 6:23

Tags: Salvage, Accidents, Recycling

Denomination: Baptist

The Difference Maker

Contributed by Ed Sasnett on Sep 16, 2020

My pastor, Wana Archer, tells about a time when he was a teenager and worked at a restaurant for .25 cents/hour. In this restaurant, there was a gambling machine that looked like a pinball machine. A player would deposit a nickel and get one shot to hit the jackpot or win some money. He noticed ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:1-11

Tags: Holy Spirit, Obedience

Denomination: Baptist

Obadiah: He Feared The Lord During Ahab’s Days

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Sep 22, 2021

Introduction: several men were named Obadiah in the Old Testament. This man, in this story, lived during the days of Ahab and Elijah. He was known for a few things, even though he is only mentioned in one passage of Scripture. Text, 1 Kings 18:1-5, KJV: 1 And it came to pass after many days, that ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 18:1-5, Genesis 39:1-6

Tags: Elijah, Obadiah, Ahab, Prophets, Unsung Heroes  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist