In Sermon Illustrations: "Old"

The Missed Opportunity In Mongolian ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 4, 2009

The Missed Opportunity in Mongolian History A 13-year-old Mongolian inherited land from his father. Through great strategy and awesome fighting ability, he formed fighting bands that conquered village after village. Eventually he became known as Genghis Khan and ruled over 2 million people. His ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:19-20

Tags: Evangelism Urgency

Michael Gerard

Contributed by Bruce Rzengota on Dec 28, 2009

Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson (born June 30, 1966) was the undisputed heavyweight champion and remains the youngest man ever to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles. He won the WBC title at just 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old, after defeating Trevor Berbick by a TKO in the second ...read more

Tags: Character

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

You Have To Love Him Into It

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 1, 2010

"You Have To Love Him Into It"--A Stock Assistant Learns a Big Lesson A stock assistant was working at a grocery store on Christmas Eve. One of the things he was responsible for was the display in one of the aisles which was a pyramid of canned products. He had to rebuild this display many times ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:8-20

Tags: Unconditional Love

Why Did The Father Will The Death Of His Only ...

Contributed by Donnie Martin on May 12, 2010

Why did the Father will the death of his only beloved Son, and in so painful and shameful a form? Because the Father had “laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isa. 53:6). Jesus’ death was vicarious (undergone in our place) and atoning (securing remission of sins for us and reconciliation to God). ...read more

Tags: Salvation

Denomination: Baptist

The Year Of The Yes  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 23, 2010

THE YEAR OF THE YES Playwright Maria Hedley had her fill of terrible dates. Most of the dates she went on she thought the guys would be great candidates but they were totally unsatisfying. She got sick of her own taste and decided that fate couldn’t mess up her love life anymore than she could, ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 7:25-40

Tags: Kindness

There Will Always Be Weeds

Contributed by Tim Smith on Mar 17, 2011

THERE WILL ALWAYS BE WEEDS Jesus described another kind of soil which is filled with weeds and thistles and torpedo grass and other kinds of things. When Giovanna and I moved into our house, it had been vacant for a year. It’s built in an old flood plain of Lake Pontchartrain, which means that ...read more

Tags: Sin General

Denomination: Methodist

Edison And Lincoln: Pictures Of Commitment

Contributed by Patrick Nix on Mar 23, 2011

EDISON AND LINCOLN: PICTURES OF COMMITMENT Look at the life of Thomas Edison. At 21, he patented his first major invention: the Electrical Vote Recorder (a device 100 years ahead of its time!). At 26, he invented the automatic telegraph and paraffin paper. At 30, the phonograph (earliest record ...read more

Tags: Commitment To Christ

Denomination: Baptist

The Richest Man On The Island

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 4, 2011

THE RICHEST MAN ON THE ISLAND In his autobiography Just As I Am, Billy Graham recalls a story demonstrating that apart from God, we will not gain anything from living wisely. He said: Some years ago Ruth and I had a vivid illustration of this on an island in the Caribbean. One of the wealthiest ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:6-10

Tags: Money

The Lottery  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 20, 2011

THE LOTTERY Did you know that the first modern-day lottery was started in 1963 in the state of New Hampshire? Did you know that the state of Massachusetts, started their lottery in 1972 with 50 cent tickets and a drawing once a week. It now has 33 different games to choose from their sales have ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:6-10, Psalm 37:35

Tags: Money, Contentment

Do You Have The Nerve Of A Squirrel?

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 12, 2011

DO YOU HAVE THE NERVE OF A SQUIRREL? A young writer with a very uncertain income went into a quiet park to contemplate a serious problem. For four years he had been engaged, but felt he did not have enough money to get married. He wanted to live and write in Paris, Rome, Vienna, ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 3:5-6

Tags: Trust

The Hard Work Of Farming

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 9, 2011

THE HARD WORK OF FARMING I was raised in town and not on a farm. However, in 1969 I moved to a small farming town in Iowa called Bayard. It’s about 65 miles northeast of Des Moines, IA. And that’s where I began to learn a little about farming and harder work than I was used to! I had some grain ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 2:6

Tags: Hardship Of Life

A Desire To Know Him More

Contributed by Paul Barreca on Aug 20, 2011

A DESIRE TO KNOW HIM MORE Just imagine how wonderful it would be if our greatest desire was to know God more! Dennis Wise really loved Elvis Presley--so much so that not long after Presley died, Dennis had his face lifted by a plastic surgeon and his hair contoured so that he took on an ...read more

Tags: Worship General

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

We Don't Know Her Story

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 22, 2011

WE DON'T KNOW HER STORY They called her their troubled one, or their feisty one. She had wild flyaway hair much like that of a punk rocker, but jet-black. And she was only, at the oldest, a couple of weeks old. So small, she looked as if she could fit in one hand. The ICU nurses all took turns ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 19:13-15

Tags: Prayer Supplication

Rubbing Shoulders With God

Contributed by Dale Pilgrim on Sep 5, 2011

RUBBING SHOULDERS WITH GOD We visited Our Lady of Quebec, the Cathedral Basilica in old Quebec City. I had a plethora of emotions upon entering this bastion of structures, dating back 365 years, having been built in 1647. It continues its stately gaze as the oldest parish church in North America. ...read more

Tags: God's Omnipotence

Denomination: Salvation Army

What Will You Need?

Contributed by Rick Gillespie- Mobley on Sep 25, 2011

WHAT WILL YOU NEED? Let's suppose for a moment you are in a place you have never been before. You have no idea how you got there. A person comes out and tells you, "You must go into that room and choose one of four things to take with you on your journey when you leave this place. You may not ask ...read more

Tags: Knowing God's Will

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

We Know Our Future Includes A Promise. But We Do ...  PRO

Contributed by Ed Lu on Nov 26, 2011

We know our future includes a promise. But we do not know how to transition into that promise. Maybe ’not knowing’ is just an excuse – we just straight out refuse to take that next step. That’s because while we are in the present, we often permit the past to occupy and govern our emotions. We drag ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 32:17-21, 2 Kings 5:1-14

Tags: Christian Disciplines

Denomination: Baptist

Bad Blood

Contributed by Antonio Silveira on Mar 25, 2012

"BAD BLOOD" "Bad blood" is an English phrase referring to enmity between two (or more) people or groups. This is a reference to the breaking of military covenants. Not too long ago in the 19th century leeches were enjoying a golden age. Millions were raised for medical use as their fame as a ...read more

Tags: Blood Of Christ

Denomination: Baptist

The Heritage Tree  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 11, 2012

THE HERITAGE TREE The Heritage Tree, Cape Perpetua, Central Oregon coast. This giant spruce is called The Heritage Tree because it stands almost 200 feet tall and because it started to grow as a seedling about the same time Martin Luther was pounding his theses on the church door at Wittenberg. ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 2:1-2

Tags: Discipleship

It's What's Under The Hood That Counts  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 25, 2012

IT'S WHAT'S UNDER THE HOOD THAT COUNTS Harry Reider tells a story about the first car that he ever owned. He was sixteen years old and his father took him to a car auction and bought a pink car for $75. It was a 1957 Ford that his dad insisted that the color was really "coral." "I can't drive a ...read more

Scripture: Acts 1:8

Tags: Holy Spirit In Believers

God's Banana Stalk

Contributed by Hal Seed on Nov 9, 2012

GOD'S BANANA STALK One of my favorite stories in The Bible Questions is the story of the Motilone (Mow-til-oh-ee) Indians of Columbia, South America. In the 1960s, the Motilones were Stone Age headhunters feared by all their neighboring tribes. They had killed every white man who trespassed into ...read more

Tags: Bible Influence

Denomination: Baptist