In Sermon Illustrations: "Ordinary People"

Amen, Pharaoh

Contributed by Jeremiah Menyongai on Oct 5, 2010

AMEN, PHARAOH A pastor was invited at another church to preach. When he began his sermon, there was enthusiasm. The more the congregation responded loud to his sermon, the longer he went on. Finally, he noticed that the host pastor had started responding to his sermon by saying "Amen, ...read more

Scripture: James 1:9

Tags: Moses, Go, Release, Excitement, Enthusiasm, Windy, Long, Short, Direct, Point, Sermon, Brief  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Charismatic

Internal ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 23, 2010

Internal Audit My wife Tina is an internal auditor for T. Marzetti. When she walks into a plant to do an audit she can tell a lot about that plant by what she sees. If she finds that the financials, employment records, inventory, and quality control aspects of the plant are good it is an indication ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 12:33-37

Tags: Tongue, Guarding Your Heart

Only One Opinion Counts

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 22, 2011

ONLY ONE OPINION COUNTS An umpire named Babe Pinelli once called Babe Ruth out on strikes. When the crowd booed with disapproval, the legendary Ruth turned to the umpire and said, "How could you call that a strike? There are 40,000 people here who are of the opinion that the last pitch was a ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 16:7

Tags: God's Judgment

A Young Man Had Finished His First Semester In ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 25, 2011

A young man had finished his first semester in college, and was spending the weekend at home. Somewhat bored with the old place, he was regaling his father with the wonders of his campus and the enlightened people there. After getting up a head of steam and warming up to his subject he said, "Why, ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 11:2

Tags: Arrogance

The City Of Nazareth Was Inhabited By ...

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Mar 28, 2011

"...the city of Nazareth was inhabited by families from the royal line of David from which the Messiah was to come. The name of the city comes from the Hebrew word for a branch or sprout, netzer...Isaiah 11:1 predicts the coming of the Messiah. 'A shoot will come from the stump of Jesse, from his ...read more

Tags: Humility

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Gratitude For A Savior

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 5, 2011

GRATITUDE FOR A SAVIOR A lady was on a lake steamer when her little girl fell overboard, and the woman was almost frantic. A gentleman on the boat had a large Newfoundland dog. The dog was directed to leap into the water and save the child. He did so and swam ashore with the little girl, part of ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:13-15

Tags: Gratitude

Continuing In Blindness

Contributed by Guy Mcgraw on Apr 6, 2011

CONTINUING IN BLINDNESS One of the greatest tragedies for people would be to live in darkness when they could live in the light. Rose Crawford had been blind for 50 years. Then she had an operation in an Ontario hospital. She said, "I just can't believe it," as the doctor lifted the bandages from ...read more

Tags: Ignorance

Are You Forgetful?  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2011

ARE YOU FORGETFUL? I was relieved recently to find out that I'm not the only one who forgets things. According to researcher Karen Bolla, everyone does at one time or another. These are the six things people most often forget: • (6). faces 42% • (5). what was said 49% • (4). words 53% • (3). ...read more

Scripture: Lamentations 3:19-24

Tags: Memories

Evading The "R" Word

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 17, 2011

EVADING THE "R" WORD Jimmy had trouble pronouncing the letter "R" so his teacher gave him a sentence to practice at home: "Robert gave Richard a rap in the rib for roasting the rabbit so rare." Some days later the teacher asked him to say the sentence for her. Jimmy rattled it off like this. "Bob ...read more

Tags: Repentance

No Picture Exists  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 3, 2011

NO PICTURE EXISTS On a wall near the main entrance to the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, is a portrait of a man with this inscription underneath. "James Butler Bonham--no picture of him exists. This portrait is of his nephew, Major James Bonham, deceased, who greatly resembled his uncle. It is ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 2:3-8

Tags: Jesus Christ

The Heating Plant

Contributed by Christopher Gregas on May 17, 2011

THE HEATING PLANT Five young college students were spending a Sunday in London, so they went to hear the famed C.H. Spurgeon preach. While waiting for the doors to open, the students were greeted by a man who asked, "Gentlemen, let me show you around. Would you like to see the heating plant of ...read more

Tags: Prayer General

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Is That All?  PRO

Contributed by Thomas Cash on Jul 14, 2011

IS THAT ALL? Listen to the words of Francis Chan: "You go to a building, someone gives you a bulletin, you sit in a chair, you sing a few songs, a guy delivers maybe a polished message, maybe not, someone sings a solo, you go home. "Though Christians believe in an almighty and all powerful God ...read more

Tags: Zeal

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Phobias Into Faith

Contributed by Brad Henry on Aug 5, 2011

PHOBIAS INTO FAITH As most of you have read in my past e mails I hate to camp. I hate the dark. I hate spiders and you show me a snake I am finished. But the Lord has used all these phobias for me to put my faith into practice. If we had everything we ever needed we wouldn’t need God. Left to ...read more

Tags: Fear And Worry

Not Ashamed

Contributed by William L. Vincent on Aug 15, 2011

NOT ASHAMED No matter what you are looking for, you can find a religion or philosophy to fit your state of mind. We find this culture creating pressure on the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. We find people church-shopping--looking for the right “fit” for their needs. And I realize that we need to ...read more

Tags: Church Practices

Denomination: Orthodox

Let The River Flow

Contributed by William Akehurst on Nov 25, 2011

LET THE RIVER FLOW Maryland’s Conowingo Hydroelectric Dam on the Susquehanna River is a great architectural feat. We can drive across the Dam and see the high water on one side and the lower level rapids and flow of water on the other. This dam was not built to contain a raging river and dam up ...read more

Tags: Missions

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The World: A Temporary Container

Contributed by Guy Mcgraw on Jan 3, 2012

THE WORLD: A TEMPORARY CONTAINER The first garbage day after Christmas must be the biggest garbage day of the year. You can tell what most people got for Christmas by just looking at the garbage pile in front of the house. We usually throw out all the boxes--unless you have children who like to ...read more

Tags: Church Discipline

The Mortal Work Of Art

Contributed by Davon Huss on Jan 16, 2012

THE MORTAL WORK OF ART Shelley Jackson is a writer. Yet, you cannot read anything she's written in a magazine, book or screen. Instead, you have to look at people. Her story is written on human skin. Her story is called "Skin." Jackson calls it "a mortal work of art." It is a fictional piece ...read more

Tags: Church Purpose Of

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

We Need To Slow Down  PRO

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Feb 9, 2012

WE NEED TO SLOW DOWN A study by the US National Commission on Sleep Disorders blamed half of all traffic accidents on tiredness. Put that together with our penchant for speeding, and the result is carnage on the roads. Annual traffic fatalities now stand at 1.3 million worldwide, more than double ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 127:2

Tags: Sabbath, Sleep, Traffic, Rest

Denomination: Baptist

The Substance Of Faith

Contributed by Antonio Silveira on Mar 1, 2012

THE SUBSTANCE OF FAITH Example: Give some play-doh to 2 people and ask them to create something out of that "substance" In the millennia-old Aristotelian tradition, as well as early modern traditions that follow it, substances or ousia are treated as having attributes and modes or things. This ...read more

Tags: Faith

Denomination: Baptist

Silent Cal

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 7, 2012

"SILENT CAL" President Calvin Coolidge was a man of few words, and the words he spoke were often blunt. A female journalist once told him, "Mr. President I made a $100 bet with another journalist that I could get you to say more than three words. Would you care to comment?" Calvin Coolidge smiled ...read more

Scripture: James 1:2-4

Tags: God In The Hardships