In Sermon Illustrations: "One Solitary Life"

Anger Vs. Annoyance  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 3, 2012

ANGER VS. ANNOYANCE A young girl who was writing a paper for school came to her father and asked, "Dad, what is the difference between anger and annoyance?" The father replied, "It is mostly a matter of degree. Let me show you what I mean." With that the father went to the telephone and dialed a ...read more

Scripture: James 1:19-20, Ephesians 4:26

Tags: Anger

The Shepherd's Voice

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 10, 2012

THE SHEPHERD'S VOICE If you know and follow Jesus as Shepherd you will be able to flee from untruth and ungodly belief systems. D.L. Moody told the following: A friend, who was traveling in the East, heard that there was a shepherd who still kept up the custom of calling his sheep by name. He ...read more

Scripture: John 10:1-18

Tags: Parable Lost Sheep

My Friend Will Find Me

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 16, 2012

MY FRIEND WILL FIND ME Sam was a great bird dog. If he pointed to a clump of bushes, there surely was a bird in there. He was much more than just a bird dog. Often we’d share together lazy lunches in an abandoned apple orchard, and the snooze that followed. Late one afternoon, Sam and I became ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 4:7-9

Tags: Trust

Could It Happen Every Day?

Contributed by Tim Smith on Jul 1, 2012

COULD IT HAPPEN EVERY DAY? Jeff Ingle tells the story of spending four days with 75 other pastors in a Pastor's Prayer Summit in Wisconsin. He writes, "In my time I've been to many camps, conferences and retreats but never have I been to anything like this. For four days, we met together with no ...read more

Tags: Worship General

Denomination: Methodist

A Father's Legacy

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 30, 2012

A FATHER’S LEGACY Ken Hemphill tells the story of what took place at his church when he was pastor of FBC of Norfolk. He was out on the sidewalk welcoming people as they got out of their cars. About 3rd in line was a father & his teenage son. The father had a golf shirt on, and he evidently was ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 22:6

Tags: Father's Day

Tarzan Story: Failure To Recognize

Contributed by Suresh Manoharan on Sep 2, 2012

TARZAN STORY: FAILURE TO RECOGNIZE Johnny Weissmuller, the champion Olympic swimmer who donned the role of Tarzan the Ape Man in the silver screen with as much aplomb in 1930s and 40s as he dominated the Olympic swimming lanes in 1920s, had "a close encounter of a different kind" with the ...read more

Tags: Second Coming

Denomination: *other

Ridiculous Gifts  PRO

Contributed by Ken Henson on Sep 11, 2012

RIDICULOUS GIFTS There is a program in the US called “Good Morning America.” This was about 10 years ago, there was a lady named Joan London, who did a segment on Christmas Gifts and made some suggestions about the list: “You may want to include these in your list: • Jaguar 220 – this is a ...read more

Tags: Christmas, Gift, Value, Gifts General

Denomination: *other

You Follow What You're Tied To  PRO

Contributed by Rick Pendleton on Oct 31, 2012

YOU FOLLOW WHAT YOU'RE TIED TO Two hunters were out hunting and come upon what appeared at first as an abandoned farm. The barn was sagging, the house was in disrepair, and there were junk cars and car parts lying around. The only thing that made it a working farm were a few chickens pecking away ...read more

Scripture: John 5:1-5, Luke 21:5-35, Ecclesiastes 3:1-15

Tags: Fear, Marriage, Sin Bondage To, Sidetracked

Denomination: Baptist

The Choice Of Sheep And Goats

Contributed by Stephen Belokur on Nov 27, 2012

THE CHOICE OF SHEEP AND GOATS I tried and tried to think of a common example that could be used to illustrate this separation of the sheep from the goats but was unable to do so because this situation is so unique and the reason it is so unique is because the sheep and the goats have chosen their ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 25:31-46

Tags: Judgement, Salvation, Free Will, Sheep And Goats, Free Moral Agency  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Nazarene

Joanne Shetler Spent Years In The Philippines ...

Contributed by Tim Spear on Dec 3, 2012

Joanne Shetler spent years in the Philippines with the Balangao people, translating the Bible into their language and trying to tell them the good news of the Savior. But it was slow going. One day Ama, a man who had “adopted” her as his Balangao daughter, picked up an English New Testament from ...read more

Tags: Missions

Denomination: Baptist

The Donkey And The Complaining Wife

Contributed by Shine Thomas on May 7, 2013

THE DONKEY AND THE COMPLAINING WIFE I once heard of a farmer who had a complaining wife. From morning till night she would complain about something or the other. The only time he got relief was when he went to the farm with his donkey. One day as he was plowing, his wife brought him lunch. He ...read more

Tags: Complaining

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Position Versus Discipleship

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 7, 2013

POSITION VERSUS DISCIPLESHIP C. Gene Wilkes, in his book Jesus on Leadership, says, "Confusion arises when you equate higher 'positions' with leadership . . . As long as 'position' is honored above discipleship -- being a follower -- church leaders will honor the ambitious over the obedient." We ...read more

Scripture: James 2:14-26

Tags: Faith Vs. Works

Don't Blame The Judge

Contributed by Tim Smith on May 11, 2014

God has done everything He possibly can to keep you out of Hell and still leave you as a person with free will. Now some Christians argue otherwise that it is in fact God who sends people to hell. Peculiar Pilgrim blog writes, "No one would choose to go into hell ... Not one person would decide to ...read more

Scripture: 2 Peter 3:8-13

Tags: Hell, Judgement

Denomination: Methodist

Jesus Loves The Little Children

Contributed by Davon Huss on Oct 24, 2014

I had a preacher friend, Carl Etchinson, who had several children. These children grew up and then began having children so Carl had many grandchildren. One of his sons was having another baby. The baby was born late at night and Carl’s son did not call Carl. They forgot the next morning to ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 3:1

Tags: God The Father, Heavenly Father

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Surrendering To God

Contributed by Tim Smith on May 28, 2015

Ravi Zacharias tells the amazing story of a young Christian, Hien Pham, whom he met in Vietnam who served as an interpreter with the American forces. Shortly after Vietnam fell, Hien was imprisoned on accusations of helping the Americans. His jailers tried to indoctrinate him against democratic ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:13-16

Tags: Grace, Persecution, Prayer, Surrender, Standing On Promises  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Methodist

Kory Wilcoxon- Gary, Who Was In His 50s, Was ...

Contributed by Davon Huss on Apr 25, 2016

Kory Wilcoxon- Gary, who was in his 50s, was mentally disabled, and had the mental capacity of a six- or seven-year-old. He also had one of the worst singing voices I’ve ever heard. His singing was slurred and never close to the right key. And he didn’t have the social development to recognize his ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 95:1-2

Tags: Singing, Make A Joyful Noise

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Illustration Of Giving

Contributed by John Oscar on Jan 15, 2017

A family came home from church one Sunday and after they had lunch they sent their 6-year-old son off to play. After awhile, his mother realized that they hadn’t heard much from him, which any parent knows is a recipe for disaster. The mother got up from her recliner and walked to the child's ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 9:6-11, Malachi 3:6-12

Tags: Faith, Offering, Giving, Tithe Or Give, Tithes And Offering  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Preaching Fluff Versus Quality

Contributed by I. Grant Spong on Jun 8, 2017

I once lived in a town where there were two preachers who were polar opposites. The one was very charismatic and enthusiastic. But, he did not preach the Bible. I asked him one day why he didn't preach the Bible. His answer was that the people could read their Bibles at home. He preached ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:16-20

Tags: Great Commission, Preach Christ, Teach Jesus

Denomination: Baptist

How To Finish A Great Book

Contributed by Jim Butcher on Apr 11, 2018

There are a lot of books that are great and unread. You know, those books that everyone says are great: “it’s a classic,” “one of the best books of all-time,” “a masterpiece.” But almost no one reads them. Jordan Ellenberg, a University of Wisconsin professor, used Amazon’s Kindle to do an ...read more

Tags: Perseverance, Bible, Scripture

Denomination: Baptist

The Heizer Creek Baptism

Contributed by Jim Butcher on Apr 11, 2018

Note: this story happened to me - Jim Butcher of Madison WV. One of my favorite baptism stories comes from a friend of mine who owns a house on Heizer Creek. He had a nice spot on his property to do baptisms and told the nearby country churches they were welcome to use it anytime, which a few of ...read more

Tags: Change, Transformation, Cursing, Baptism

Denomination: Baptist