In Sermon Illustrations: "One Solitary Life"

Biting The Hand That Feeds You  PRO

Contributed by Ty Tamasaka on Jul 26, 2011

BITING THE HAND THAT FEEDS YOU The other week, Laura and I were watching the Animal Planet. On the show we were watching was a dog that was rescued from a neglectful family. The poor animal had a big chain collar embedded into its neck. It had been a long time since the large animal had ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:1-3

Tags: Sacrifice, Compassion, Trust

Denomination: Other

Thoughts On The Body Of Christ

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 18, 2012

THOUGHTS ON THE BODY OF CHRIST Here are some thoughts on The Church from a few 30 on down in age individuals from the book "The Relevant Church": Quotes: Brian Kay, "It is impossible to be a follower of Christ and not be part of a local church!" "No one can have God as Father who does not also ...read more

Scripture: Acts 2:42-47

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Free!

Contributed by Tim Smith on Oct 21, 2012

J Vernon McGee told the story of the days before the Civil War in a city in the south. At the center of town, there is a commotion as a crowd gathers for a public auction to watch the proceedings. In the crowd is an uncouth, foulmouthed, loud, boisterous man who is the meanest, cruelest, most ...read more

Tags: Grace, Slaves To Sin

Denomination: Methodist

Trust

Contributed by Ken Henson on Nov 3, 2018

Proverbs 3:5-8 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not rely on your own understanding for support. 6 In all your habits acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight 7 Don’t look at yourself as wise—fear God and leave evil 8 It will bring health to umbilical cord and refreshment ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 3:5-8

Tags: Not Relying On Self, Belief, Trust, Relying On God

Denomination: *other

[113]. A Message From A Poem – Have You Seen A Gouldian Finch?

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Jun 20, 2025

[113]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – HAVE YOU SEEN A GOULDIAN FINCH? I keep finches including the gouldian finch, one of the most beautiful finches in the world, if not the most beautiful. If you have not seen one, go do a search on the internet. This poem covers a number of subjects. When you look ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:8, Acts 17:30-31, John 1:3

Tags: Creation, Evolution, Repent, Colors, Christian Poetry, Christian Poems, Gouldian Finches, Wise Designer  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[165]. A Message From A Poem – Kindness In The Christian’s Pain

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Aug 15, 2025

[165]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – KINDNESS IN THE CHRISTIAN’S PAIN We all need kindness, but not everyone can give kindness. Some find it too hard because of their backgrounds, and some are just so selfish they are incapable of it. Kindness is a special gift when it is given in a sacrificial way, ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 3:12, Ephesians 2:7, Galatians 5:22

Tags: Pain, Compassion, Kindness, Great High Priest, Christian Poems, God Is Kind  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Handel's Messiah-The Back Story

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Dec 9, 2023

George Frideric Handel's Messiah is one of the most beautiful musical renditions of Scripture ever created. What we don’t often hear about is the troubled back story during the writing of the Messiah. It was at this time that Handel was struggling financially because there was a shift in music, ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 9:1-7, Isaiah 53:3, 1 Timothy 6:15-16

Tags: Christmas, King Of Kings, Handel's Messiah, Rejected, Despised  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

[198]. A Message From A Poem – O Forest, How You Weep In Pain

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Sep 13, 2025

[198]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – O FOREST, HOW YOU WEEP IN PAIN This is a serious poem and I like it very much. Like most of my poems it comes out of some personal experience. If this was a musical composition it would be in a minor key. The summary is, “O forest, how you weep in pain, but ...read more

Scripture: Lamentations 3:22-23, Amos 4:7-8

Tags: Tropical Rainforest, Drought, Weeping, Barrenness, Signs Of The Times, Christian Poems, Rainforest, World, Sin, Persecution, Forest, Barren, Dryness, Pain  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[299]. A Message From A Poem – The World Imitates The Forest In Drought

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Feb 27, 2026

[299]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – THE WORLD IMITATES THE FOREST IN DROUGHT This poem is a comparison. The first 5 stanzas describe trees affected by a long, dry spell, and the remainder of the poem transfers those conditions to a sinful world suffering a spiritual drought. Sometimes I like to ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 13:5-6, Lamentations 3:22-23

Tags: Drought, Desertion, Sustain, Spiritual Drought, Christian Poems, Fallen Leaves  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[316]. Poem Message - To Be Absent From The Body And At Home With The Lord

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Mar 20, 2026

[316]. A POEM MESSAGE - TO BE ABSENT FROM THE BODY AND AT HOME WITH THE LORD This poem means a lot to me. What of the future? What of the glorious hope? What of the Christian’s destiny? These questions all have one answer – TO BE ABSENT FROM THE BODY IS PRESENT WITH THE LORD! That is taken ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 64:4, 1 Corinthians 2:9, 2 Corinthians 12:4, Philippians 3:20-21, 2 Corinthians 5:6-8  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Death, Destiny, Home, Called, Citizenship In Heaven, Present With The Lord, Absent From The Body, At Home With The Lord, Christian Poems, Passing Through Death, Inexpressible Words  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Euodia And Syntyche - Conflict At Philippi

Contributed by Sam Mccormick on Dec 24, 2016

EUODIA AND SYNTYCHE We can’t help wondering what caused disharmony between two women in the church at Philippi, but we will not find the answer--only that Paul urged these women to live in harmony. That’s all we know. Yet until the Lord shall return, Bible-readers everywhere will know there was ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:2-3

Tags: Disagreement, Agree, Argument, Conflict

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

If I Cannot Give My Children A Perfect Mother I ...

Contributed by Lynn Malone on May 18, 2005

"If I cannot give my children a perfect mother I can at least given them more of the one they’ve got — and make that one more loving. I will be available, I will take time to listen, time to play, time to be home when ...read more

Tags: Children, Parenting

Denomination: Methodist

The Football Season Is Upon Us. With Cable ...

Contributed by Larry Jacobs on Jul 1, 2005

The football season is upon us. With cable channels - you can find football on 7 nights a week. One man put it best when one of his friends ask him, " What are you going to do now that Football is over"? He ...read more

Tags: Parenting

Denomination: Baptist

According To The Latest Survey From Gallup, The ...

Contributed by Bumble Ho on Sep 26, 2005

According to the latest survey from Gallup, the number one reason for people joining a church is because “they like the pastor” (55%). The number one reason for leaving a church other than relocation is “disappointment with the pastor” D. Michael Lindsay, ...read more

Tags: Church General, Church Body Of Christ

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Harold Lindsell Wrote: ‘all That Is Meant By ...

Contributed by Peter Bines on Sep 19, 2006

Harold Lindsell wrote: ‘All that is meant by saying one takes the Bible literally is that one believes what it purports to say. This means that figures of speech are taken as figures of speech. No evangelical takes figures of speech literally. Nor does any ...read more

Tags: Bible Study

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Over The Years Pastor Mitchell Has Prayed For A ...

Contributed by J. Brad Campbell on Nov 6, 2006

Over the years Pastor Mitchell has prayed for a lot of people and one of the things that he began to notice several years ago was the amount of children that were brought to him for prayer that were deaf in only one ear. What he began to find out was that many of these ...read more

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

When You're Washing Dishes Or Cleaning House; ...

Contributed by Dale Pilgrim on Dec 30, 2006

When you’re washing dishes or cleaning house; when we play Monday night hockey and exchange laughter in the dressing room; when one lies in a hospital bed waiting for someone to attend to a need; when we stand over the remains of a loved one ...read more

Denomination: Salvation Army

Below Standard  PRO

Contributed by Marcus Naugler on Nov 21, 2001

BELOW STANDARD Two cows were grazing alongside a highway when a tank-truck of milk on its way to the distributor happened to pass. On one side of the truck in big red letters was a sign that read, "Pasteurized, homogenized, standardized, Vitamin A ...read more

Scripture: John 3:1-21

Tags: Forgiveness For Others, Faith Vs. Works, Grace

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

When Confronted With Two Courses Of Action, I Jot ...

Contributed by Dru Ashwell on Dec 16, 2001

When confronted with two courses of action, I jot down on a piece of paper all the arguments in favor of each one - then on the opposite side I write the arguments against each one. Then by weighing the arguments pro and con and canceling them out, I take the course ...read more

Tags: Knowing God's Will, God's Omniscience

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Bible Society Of South Africa Reports That ...  PRO

Contributed by James Buchanan on Sep 12, 2003

The Bible Society of South Africa reports that in an early draft of their translation of the Bible into Southern Sotho (one of many South African dialects), the typesetter typed "jwala" (which means "beer") instead of "jwalo" (which is translated "so"). The result of Genesis 1:9 ...read more

Tags: Bible Influence

Denomination: Independent/Bible