In Sermon Illustrations: "Older Couple"

Dizzy Is As Dizzy Says

Contributed by James Snyder on May 27, 2023

Several years ago, I had a heart attack, which surprised my family and friends, who didn't know I had a heart. I was not sure I had a heart either until that day it attacked me. What my heart had against me to attack me like that I still have not figured out. Two years later, I have to go in ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 5:6-7

Tags: Stress, Medicine, Dizzy

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Cultivating The Fine Art Of Listening

Contributed by James Snyder on Dec 16, 2023

If confession is good for the soul, I must confess here, I have not been successful at everything in my life. Oh yes, there are a few things I have been successful at, which I won’t mention right now. But many things I have failed to succeed at. One thing I have failed to succeed at, even though I ...read more

Scripture: James 1:19

Tags: Relationships, Hearing

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Unintentionally Humorous Texts: Micah’s Misfortunes: "What Aileth Thee?”

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Mar 15, 2024

Introduction: Micah of Ephraim is one of the more unusual characters in Scripture. We’ve seen a couple of his misfortunes, but now, in another unintentionally humorous text, we’ll see he faced a problem he couldn’t possibly solve. Text: Judges 18:18-26, KJV: 18 And these went into Micah's ...read more

Scripture: Judges 18:18-26

Tags: Danites, Micah Of Ephraim, Idols

Denomination: Baptist

[067]. A Message From A Poem – Eden’s Garden And Gardens Of Significence

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Mar 27, 2025

[067]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – EDEN’S GARDEN AND GARDENS OF SIGNIFICENCE This poem is an examination of the Garden of Eden, mainly dealing with Satan’s temptation and man’s fall into sin. There are a lot of teachings that derive from this account in Genesis 3 and in the poem I try to bring ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:12, 1 Corinthians 15:45-47, Matthew 19:4-6, Revelation 21:1-2

Tags: Eden, Poetry, The Fall, Mary Magdalene, Poem, Gardens, Satan, Temptation, Serpent, Gethsemane, Adam And Eve, Garden Of Eden  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Boy, Oh Boy, What A Day It Was

Contributed by James Snyder on Sep 27, 2025

Dr. James L. Snyder Throughout my years, I have had many crazy days. I guess it's crazy days that develop character. If so, I have a lot of character. I never had a day quite like last week. Everything seemed to go wrong for me. When we got up, our electricity was off. It had been off for ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:13

Tags: Accident, Scam

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

If She Cannot Fix It, It’s Not Broken

Contributed by James Snyder on Oct 4, 2025

Life has its many ups and downs. There are some weeks when there are more downs than ups. But if I didn’t have a down, I probably wouldn’t appreciate an up. This past week was one of those down weeks. One day, we lost our electricity for maybe six hours, my printer died on me and some scammer ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 147:3

Tags: Frustration, Fixing

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

There Was Once A Great And Noble King Whose Land ...  PRO

Contributed by Tim Zingale on Feb 21, 2006

There was once a great and noble King whose land was terrorized by a crafty dragon. Like a massive bird of prey, the scaly beast delighted in ravaging villages with his fiery breath. Hapless victims ran from their burning homes, only to be snatched into the dragon’s jaws or talons. Those devoured ...read more

Scripture: Mark 9:2-9

Tags: Transfiguration, Transformation, Sin Deceptive

Denomination: Lutheran

The Dragon

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 26, 2007

"The Dragon" I would like to tell you a story this morning about a dragon. "There was once a great and noble King whose land was terrorized by a crafty dragon. Like a massive bird of prey, the scaly beast delighted in ravaging villages with his fiery breath. Hapless victims ran from their burning ...read more

Scripture: Mark 5:25-34

[325]. A Message From A Poem - Vanitas Vanitatum – Part 3 Of 3

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Mar 27, 2026

[325]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM - VANITAS VANITATUM – PART 3 of 3 This poem begins with the story of a man who is committed to so many things but in the end he became worn out and finally could not find fulfillment in what he was doing. He began to despair and could not see the purpose of life. ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 1:2-3, 1 Timothy 6:7, Ecclesiastes 1:14, Ecclesiastes 2:11, Ecclesiastes 10:1, Ecclesiastes 9:13-18, Ecclesiastes 3:1-2  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Vanity, Wisdom, Despair, Foolishness, Under The Sun, Appointed Time, Remember Your Creator, Vanity Of Vanities, Vanitas Vanitatum, Christian Poems, Under Heaven  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Room  PRO

Contributed by Ely Lambert on Aug 19, 2002

The Room In that place between wakefulness and dreams, I found myself in the room. There were no distinguishing features save for the one wall covered with small index card files. They were like the ones in libraries that list titles by author or subject in alphabetical order. But these files, ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness In Jesus, God's Provision

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

In August Of 1983, I Started My Sophomore Year ...  PRO

Contributed by John Harvey on Apr 28, 2004

In August of 1983, I started my sophomore year in high school. At that time I made the conscious decision not to be the good little girl anymore. I had a crush on someone I had known for the past 3 years and I was going to date him. Well, not only did he become my boyfriend, before long he had ...read more

Tags: God's Forgiveness, God's Provision

Denomination: Baptist

When Your Back Is Against The Wall, Pat Riley, ...  PRO

Contributed by Philip Harrelson on Feb 19, 2005

WHEN YOUR BACK IS AGAINST THE WALL, PAT RILEY, NBA COACH The Los Angeles Lakers were dominating the Boston Celtics in the final round of the 1984 National Basketball Association championship. The Lakers beat Boston on their home floor in Game 1. They beat them by 33 points in Game 3. They were ...read more

Tags: Christian Disciplines, Endurance

Denomination: Pentecostal

The Mission Of David Livingstone  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 30, 2011

THE MISSION OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE The modern missionary movement really got started about 150 years ago with people who were concerned about the continent of Africa. There was a Scottish preacher by the name of Robert Moffatt who was serving in South Africa. He returned to Scotland to try to enlist ...read more

Scripture: Romans 15:14-24

Tags: Missions, Intercessory Prayer

Getting Away With It Is Half The Fun

Contributed by James Snyder on Sep 19, 2020

I must admit I don't get away with very much, and I never have. It's not that I never try. It's just that whenever I try to get away with something, it always backfires. I wish there were a class somewhere entitled, "How You Can Get Away with Anything." I certainly would sign ...read more

Scripture: Numbers 32:23

Tags: Sin, Humor

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

What’s Pete Got To Do With Anything?

Contributed by James Snyder on Feb 20, 2021

If there's anybody that can be conned, it's Yours Truly. It's not so much that I'm stupid; I'm just naïve. I believe when somebody says something, they mean exactly what they say. So, if you can't swindle me, you might as well hang it up and get a real job. I must ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 3:12-13

Tags: Blame, Accusations

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

In His Book The Renew Mind (Bethany House, ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

In his book The Renew Mind (Bethany House, 1981), Larry Christiansen tells a story that is a perfect illustration for our sermon text for today. I’d like for you to imagine that you live in a run down apartment. As I describe this, I actually picture in my mind my apartment in St. Paul I shared ...read more

Tags: Jesus Temptation

Unwanted Items—the Ark Of The Covenant

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Jul 16, 2025

Unwanted Items—The Ark of the Covenant Introduction: To “frame” this illustration, we’d need to look at a couple of chapters in 1 Samuel. In chapter 4, the writer tells us of Israel’s decision, foolish as it was, to bring the Ark of the Covenant out of the Tabernacle and down to the battlefield. ...read more

Scripture: 1 Samuel 5:1-12

Tags: Philistines, Ark Of The Covenant, Unwanted Items

Denomination: Baptist

[359]. A Message From A Poem – Everyone Is Greedy For Money

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Jun 3, 2026

[359]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – EVERYONE IS GREEDY FOR MONEY Everyone is greedy for money and they have a multitude of schemes to acquire it. Because I am old I can remember back in the 1950s when we went shopping with mum and shopkeepers were honest and always gave you good value. In those ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 6:13, Hebrews 13:5, 1 Timothy 6:9, Matthew 8:20, 1 Timothy 6:10-11  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Money, Greed, Poverty, Gain, Extortion, The Love Of Money, Christian Poems, Multinationals, Prices, Heavenly Riches  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Mickey Mantle's Salvation Story

Contributed by Tom Feola on Feb 4, 2012

MICKEY MANTLE'S SALVATION STORY The #7 is for the Mick, or Mickey Mantle, who played for the New York Yankees.    Why do I bring this out about Mickey Mantle.  Well 1st of all without a team playing with Him Mick would have won zero World Series.  But because of a team effort Mickey played in 12 ...read more

Tags: Lordship Of Christ

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[323]. A Message From A Poem - Vanitas Vanitatum – Part 1 Of 3

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Mar 27, 2026

[323]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM - VANITAS VANITATUM – PART 1 of 3 This poem begins with the story of a man who is committed to so many things but in the end he became worn out and finally could not find fulfillment in what he was doing. He began to despair and could not see the purpose of life. ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 1:2-3, 1 Timothy 6:7, Ecclesiastes 1:14, Ecclesiastes 2:11, Ecclesiastes 10:1, Ecclesiastes 9:13-18, Ecclesiastes 3:1-2  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Vanity, Wisdom, Despair, Foolishness, Folly, Under The Sun, Remember Your Creator, Vanity Of Vanities, Vanitas Vanitatum, Christian Poems, An Appointed Time, Under Heaven  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational