In Sermon Illustrations: "Only"

The Story Of George Beverly Shea

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 17, 2012

THE STORY OF GEORGE BEVERLY SHEA George Beverly Shea was a young man in the late 1920s aspiring to become a well-known singer. He entered Houghton College in New York in 1928 to get some good music training, but family financial problems caused him to leave after only one year. He found a job as a ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 2:15-17

Tags: Commitment To Christ

Attitude Is Everything

Contributed by Lalachan Abraham on Feb 3, 2013

ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING Mahatma Gandhi, popularly known as the ’Father of the Nation, India also known as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, was born on October 2, 1869, and died on January 30, 1948. Gandhi was a great freedom fighter who played a significant role in achieving independence for India from ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:12

Tags: Attitude General

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Turn A Blind Eye  PRO

Contributed by Ken Pell on Jul 8, 2013

TURN A BLIND EYE We must obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29) Have you turned a blind eye to God’s Word? Perhaps you’ve heard the phrase "turn a blind eye," which means to ignore undesirable information. The saying comes from a 19th century British naval battle. On April 2, 1801, during the ...read more

Scripture: Acts 5:29

Tags: Obedience, Civil Obedience

Denomination: Nazarene

The Gold Wrapping Paper

Contributed by Roy Fowler on Dec 19, 2014

The Gold Wrapping Paper - An Inspirational Short Christmas Story Once upon a time, there was a man who worked very hard just to keep food on the table for his family. This particular year a few days before Christmas, he was upset with his little five-year-old daughter after learning that she had ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:1-19

Tags: Christmas Gift, Anger, Patience, Child Rearing

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Free For The Taking: Grace

Contributed by Richard Tow on Jul 18, 2017

Joseph Cooke was a missionary to Thailand a generation ago. He illustrated grace this way. Picture a happily married couple in which both husband and wife are all that either could ever wish the other to be. The husband always respects his wife’s feelings, always treasures her individuality, is ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 1:8-9, Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 5:8

Tags: Grace, Love Of God

Denomination: Charismatic

Stubbornness In Marriage

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Oct 13, 2017

If you were asked to name three areas where you and your spouse disagree, you'd likely be able to do it without thinking very hard. Might even be able to produce a top 10 list if given a few more minutes. And sadly, unless someone at your house starts doing some giving in, the same issues are going ...read more

Tags: Wedding, Stubbornness, Marriage Commitment

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Titanic And The Importance Preparing Ourselves For Growth

Contributed by David Simpson on Apr 17, 2018

Growth is a natural part of growing up! The Lord wants us to grow up…to feed on Him and get growing! Ephesians 4:15 "Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ." Col. 1:10 "And we pray this in order that you may live a life ...read more

Tags: Immaturity, Be Prepared, Growth, Preparation, Maturity, Selfishness, Disaster  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian Church

Watch Out For Icebergs

Contributed by Steve Kinnard on Feb 10, 2019

: On April 14, 1912 there was another boat out on the water in Trouble. this ship was considered unsinkable, it had the latest Technology built in. The Captain of the ship said “ I can’t Imagine any condition that would cause this ship to flounder I cannot conceive of any vital disaster ...read more

Scripture: Mark 4:35-41

Tags: Disaster, Touble

Denomination: Pentecostal

Open Rebuke Is Better Than Secret Love.

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jan 25, 2021

The Scripture tells us that "Open rebuke is better than love carefully concealed. Faithful are the wounds of a friend but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful" (Proverbs 27:5-6).   Rebuke means sin is not only pointed out, it is condemned. The church really doesn’t do this ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Timothy 4:1-3

Tags: Sin, Preaching, Repentance, Rebuke, Pastors, The Word Of God, Preachers  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Bee The Body Of Christ

Contributed by Dr. Bradford Reaves on Jan 14, 2022

My dad has bees. Today I went to his house and he showed me all of the honey he had gotten from the hives. He took the lid off of a 5 gallon bucket full of honey and on top of the honey there were 3 little bees, struggling. They were covered in sticky honey and drowning. I asked him if we could ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:27, Galatians 6:2

Tags: Family, Body Of Christ, Helping, Caring, Bees, Love, Church  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Brethren

He Knew The Shephard

Contributed by Ron Freeman, Evangelist on Apr 26, 2022

INTRODUCTION Story: He Knew the Shepherd 1. Three men gave a presentation from the 23rd Psalms. It went like this, a. The first man read from the Psalms with superb diction, clarity, and reverence. The audience stood up and gave him a standing ovation. b. The second man quoted the entire Psalms ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 23:1-6, John 12:31-33, John 3:14-17

Tags: Knew Shepherd In The Psalms, Christ Centered Preaching, Spoke Well, Read Well, Knew The Shepherd, Quoted The Psalms, Read The Psalms, Christ, Shepherd, Preaching, Lift Him Up  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Am I An Enabler?

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Feb 7, 2023

Text, Galatians 6:6, KIV: 6 Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things. Not long ago I had lunch with a pastor friend. We talked about several different things but when I mentioned something I had seen on Sermon Central, he was alarmed! He asked me, ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 6:6

Tags: Communication, Humor, Pastors

Denomination: Baptist

Evolution Is The Problem - And The Solution?

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Jul 19, 2023

Gov Pritzker (Illinois) gave the 2023 Commencement Address at North Eastern University "… Whenever we see someone who doesn't look like us, or sound like us, or act like us or love like us, or live like us - the first thought that crosses almost everyone's brain is rooted in either ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:1-3, Romans 3:23, Galatians 5:22-23, Psalm 139:14, Romans 7:21-25, Genesis 1:27, Genesis 3:17-19  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Evolution, Compassion, Salvation, Kindness, Education, Humanity, Fruit Of The Spirit  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Astronaut On Moon Sees The Love Of God

Contributed by Rick Crandall on Sep 24, 2025

One of the best testimonies of God’s goodness and love you will ever hear is from astronaut Jim Irwin. He served as the Lunar Module pilot for Apollo 15. Jim was the eighth person to walk on the Moon. *And he told about an experience he had when he went to the moon. Jim said: "When I looked ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 144:1-15

Tags: Floods, High Tower, The Lord Our Rock, Righteous War, Brevity, Praise The Lord, Mortality, Traitors, Deceivers, The Lord Of Hosts, Joy, Rock, Fortress, God's Help, Deliverer, King David, Shield, Salvation  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

A Saint

Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Oct 27, 2025

Story: In a small country village in Sicily, there were two brothers, renown members of the local Mafia. They were mean, bad and very rich. No one had a good word to say about them. Indeed, everyone seemed to have a story about how they had either been cheated or maligned by the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:1-14, Hebrews 12:18-24

Tags: Saint, Mafia

Denomination: Anglican

Light Is Powerful (And Sometimes Annoying)

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Feb 20, 2026

I had a teacher in high school who used to do an experiment with a light bulb. He had a static electricity machine and when you put a light bulb near the source of static electricity, the bulb would burn. The only problem was that he was also holding on to the electrical cord attached to the light ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:13-16, Isaiah 49:6

Tags: All Nations, Mission, Sent, Evangelism, Light  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The One Question I Didn't Want To Hear

Contributed by Austin W. Duncan on Apr 18, 2026

Before my second senior year at Texas Tech I interned as a graphic designer at a church in Las Vegas. A close family friend named Jud Wilhite was the senior pastor there, and he had offered me an internship during a family trip. Well, several years after that internship, I had kept in touch with ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 4:19, Luke 14:23

Tags: Evangelism, Calling

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

By Bobby G. Bodenhamer, ...

Contributed by Bobby Bodenhamer on Oct 17, 2008

By Bobby G. Bodenhamer, D.Min. For October 19, 2008 Introduction - A life of "change" Isn’t it remarkable how rapidly things change? In looking at this passage in Jeremiah my mind was drawn back over my life time. I was borne (I think I was born. Dad always told me that he found me in an old ...read more

Tags: Testimonies About Jesus

Denomination: *other

Memories Of A Magnificent Man

Contributed by Eduardo Quintana on Jun 12, 2017

My father was born in 1911. His older brother, his only sibling, had already died. His father died two years later. In that era no government programs existed to provide for them, so his mother, an Irish immigrant, moved in with his paternal grandparents. His grandfather was a blacksmith, and his ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 1:3

Tags: Parenting, Legacy, Fatherhood

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Some Thoughts On The 4b Movement

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Nov 15, 2024

Introduction: Ever since the November 2024 American elections, there seems to be more and more reference to the “4B” movement. That this movement began in South Korea a number of years ago seems to be of little importance to any number of American women. This is especially true of those American ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:19, Romans 13:9, Acts 15:29

Tags: Women, Christian Living, 4b Movement

Denomination: Baptist