In Sermon Illustrations: "Old Leaven"

John Piper On Minimizing Doctrine

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 1, 2012

JOHN PIPER ON MINIMIZING DOCTRINE I think John Piper put it best in his book, Contending For Our All. He wrote: "To the emerging church that would like to minimize doctrine, Athanasius would say, 'Our young people in Alexandria die for doctrine about Christ. What do your young people die for?' ...read more

Scripture: Titus 1:9

Tags: Doctrine

What Commitment?

Contributed by Tim Smith on Jul 1, 2012

WHAT COMMITMENT? When I was in my first year of ministry, I walked into our District preachers meeting at the same time as Bobbie Potter, who was pastor of Munholland UMC in Old Metairie. He asked if I preach last Sunday which I did. Then he asked, "What did you ask them to commit to?" I said I ...read more

Tags: Worship General

Denomination: Methodist

Billy Graham: Strong Statements

Contributed by Davon Huss on Aug 20, 2012

BILLY GRAHAM: STRONG STATEMENTS The preacher to the Presidents, Billy Graham, now 93 years old, has come out with some surprising statements in the past few months. Recently, Mr. Graham quotes his late wife Ruth as saying, "If God doesn't punish America, He'll have to apologize to Sodom and ...read more

Tags: Judgment

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Jealous In A Restaurant  PRO

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Jan 10, 2013

JEALOUS IN A RESTAURANT There is an old story about an older couple having dinner in a restaurant. The wife sees another couple about their age sitting in a booth nearby. She sees the husband sitting close to his wife, with his arm around her. He is whispering things in her ear, and she is smiling ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:28

Tags: Contentment, Marriage General

Denomination: Baptist

Angel At Fredericksburg

Contributed by Perry Greene on Mar 25, 2013

ANGEL AT FREDERICKSBURG No longer able to withstand the wrenching moans of the suffering wounded and dying Union soldiers, 19 year old Confederate Sergeant Richard Kirkland of the 2nd South Carolina approached Brigadier General Joseph Kershaw, CSA, to seek permission to go to their aid. Initially ...read more

Tags: Angels

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

They Won't Let Me In, Either!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 28, 2014

THEY WON’T LET ME IN, EITHER! Years ago in the Deep South, a Baptist church was struggling over whether or not to allow a black gentleman to join their church. He had been their janitor for years and decided he wanted to be part of the church family. A special vote of the congregation was called ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 33:1-20

Tags: Church, Racism, Presence Of God

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Chapter 11

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton 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

I Was Driving Home One Sunday From Trinity Of...

Contributed by Tim Smith on May 28, 2015

I was driving home one Sunday from Trinity of Gentilly, where I was serving. I was on Napolean headed toward the river and had just passed Pascale Manales when I saw Covenant Presbyterian Church at the corner of St. Charles Ave. I then had a vision of younger families in the Uptown and Garden ...read more

Scripture: Acts 16:1-10

Tags: Holy Spirit, God's Guidance, Visions

Denomination: Methodist

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

Sowing And Reaping

Contributed by Steve Kinnard on Feb 15, 2019

SOWING and REAPING In my life time I’ve eaten a lot of taters and beans In fact, I’ve grown a lot of taters, and I’ve grown a lot of beans. But I’ve never raised beans from a tater plant, nor have I ever got taters from a bean bush. If fact, I found that 99% of the time you reap what you sow, ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 6:6-8

Tags: Sowing, Reaping

Denomination: Pentecostal

Redwood Trees Teach A Lesson On Unity

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Aug 12, 2019

The huge redwood trees in California are considered the largest living things on earth and the tallest trees in the world. Some of them are over 300 feet high and over 2,500 years old. One would think that trees so large would have a tremendous root system, reaching down hundreds of feet into the ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 2:1-9

Tags: Unity, Working Together

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Inn

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Nov 25, 2019

The INN was full. The "inn" is mentioned in the Old Testament, and was still in operation in the New. The Inn was located on land that had been given to Chimham by DAVID (2 Samuel 19:32-40). It was a place to accommodate a number of TRAVELERS (Jeremiah 41:17). Holman Bible Dictionary ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:6-7

Tags: Christmas, Bethlehem, Inn, No Room At The Inn

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Christmas Cards Can Be Funny!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Dec 21, 2020

Our culture really gets into Christmas cards. It’s reported that Americans send 2.1 billion of them each year. Hallmark alone has more than 2,700 Christmas card designs. I don’t always read the cards but do like to catch up on those famous “Our-family-is-perfect Christmas letters” often found ...read more

Scripture: John 1:1-12

Tags: Christmas, Christ, Holidays, Laughter, Christmas Humor  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Moody's Attitude Toward Death

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Dec 13, 2022

Thousands came to faith in Christ through Moody’s meetings. As he approached the end of his life, he viewed Heaven as something to anticipate. Moody wrote: “Some day you will read in the papers that D.L. Moody of East Northfield, is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it! At that moment I shall be ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 9:27

Tags: Death, Heaven, Salvation, Funerals

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

You Can Change

Contributed by Richard Tow on Mar 27, 2023

Colin Smith tells the story of a friend who had a severe heart attack. The man said it felt like an elephant on his chest. He survived, but the doctor told him he would have to change his diet. Colin asked the man what he ate before the heart attack. The man said he loved cheeseburgers, fries, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:6, 2 Timothy 2:22, Luke 6:21

Tags: Habits, Hunger, Addiction, Righteousness, Health, Eating  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Charismatic

It Happened At Work…

Contributed by Loyd C. Taylor on Sep 3, 2023

Church chuckle: It Happened at work… Like the situation that a nurse shared which happened at the hospital where she works. One night a young intern came into the hospital ward shaking her head. "There’s an old man out there by the vending machines," she continued, "and he’s putting ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 3:23

Tags: Funny Stories, The Work Place, Vending Machines, Work, Humor, Labor Day  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

The Rich Man And The Mirror

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Apr 10, 2024

One day a certain old, rich man of a miserable disposition visited a rabbi, who took the rich man by the hand and led him to a window. He said, "Look out there my wealthy friend." The rich man looked into the street. "What do you see"? asked the rabbi. "I see men, ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:10

Tags: Gold, Selfishness, Silver, Money, Wealth, Greed, Riches  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Swallowed By A Whale - The Sign Of Jonah

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Feb 13, 2025

Jonah was in the belly of a great fish for 3 days and 3 nights! A kayaker from Chile was in the mouth of a Humpback whale for about 3 seconds - before being spit out! The story was reported by CNN (February 13, 2025) A humpback whale briefly swallowed a 24-year-old kayaker last Saturday during ...read more

Scripture: Jonah 1:17, Matthew 12:39, Matthew 12:40

Tags: Bible, Jonah, Miracles, Rejection, Escape, Signs, Reliability Of Scripture  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Repent For Better Health

Contributed by John Bright on Mar 10, 2025

Since this is the season of Lent, it’s a good time to repent of the unhealthy habits we have developed over the years. That means we tell God: “You’re right, and I’m wrong.” That’s the beginning of repentance. Then we need to make a plan. There’s an old saying: Those who fail to plan, plan to ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 53:4-6, Acts 3:19

Tags: Diet, Food, Repent, Health, Sleep, Exercise, Bible Reading  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Methodist

Have To Die To Go To Heaven

Contributed by John Bright on Apr 17, 2025

Remember, all the bodies are going to die. Jesus had a body. What happened on the cross? He died. So will we. Amen – the end. That would be a terrible place to end a sermon but it reminds me of a Sunday School story. The teacher asked the children, “If I sold my house and car and gave all my ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 9:2, Matthew 7:13-14

Tags: Heaven, Sunday School

Denomination: Methodist