In Sermon Illustrations: "Our Only Hope"

Recently I Read About A Pastor Who Had A Thorn. ...

Contributed by Art Good on Jul 26, 2007

Recently I read about a Pastor who had a thorn. He had just started - getting involved in teaching and preaching and sensing that it might be some area of calling for him. It was on a Sunday morning at this church and five minutes into his message he started to get dizzy and woozy and the room ...read more

Denomination: Wesleyan

Why Should I Worship A Dead Jew?

Contributed by Christine Forehand on Oct 22, 2008

"Why Should I Worship a Dead Jew?" This challenging question was posed by a sincere young Jewish student who had been attending evangelistic meetings conducted by the author and composer of this hymn, Alfred H. Ackley. Mr. Ackley's answer to this searching question, ultimately prompted the writing ...read more

Tags: Easter Resurrection

Denomination: Pentecostal

One Giant Leap For Mankind  PRO

Contributed by Bruce Howell on Dec 10, 2008

ONE GIANT LEAP FOR MANKIND ONE OF THE GREAT EVENTS OF THE 20TH CENTURY took place on July 20th, 1969, at exactly 4:17 P.M., EDT, when the Lunar Module "Eagle" landed on the surface of the moon. The Apollo 11 mission was the first manned mission to land on the moon. It was the 5th human spaceflight ...read more

Tags: Christmas

Denomination: Wesleyan

Plumb Luck

Contributed by Terry Blankenship on Jan 25, 2009

PLUMB LUCK Plumber recovers $78,000 diamond ring; Woman accidentally flushed 7-carat gem down restaurant toilet PHOENIX - Just a case of plumb luck. It took a plumber to retrieve a woman's 7-carat diamond ring after city workers failed in efforts to flush the gem out of the pipes of a restaurant ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 5:6-7

Tags: Anxiety

Denomination: Baptist

On The Day President Obama Was Inaugurated, Eliot ...

Contributed by Joe La Rue on Jan 27, 2009

On the day President Obama was inaugurated, Eliot Swainson happened to be in Washington, D.C. The city authorities had expected record numbers of people to attend the inauguration, so they asked for assistance from other cities to help with crowd control. Metro Officer Swainson from Houston, ...read more

Tags: Salvation

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Alcoholics Anonymous And Celebrate Recovery

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 12, 2009

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS AND CELEBRATE RECOVERY By 1934, alcoholic Bill Wilson had ruined a promising Wall Street career because of his constant drunkenness. He was introduced to the idea of a spiritual cure by an old drinking buddy, Ebby Thacher. While in a hospital, Wilson underwent what he believed ...read more

Tags: Addiction

No Coasting

Contributed by John Bright on Jan 7, 2026

Whenever the price of gas goes up, people start thinking about saving gas by coasting their cars downhill. I have a vague memory of a news story from way back in the 1970s about a guy who was going downhill and decided to turn the car off to save gas. One little problem – that was when new cars ...read more

Scripture: 2 Peter 1:10-11

Tags: Assurance, Falling

Denomination: Methodist

The Empty Chair And The Full Table

Contributed by Austin W. Duncan on Apr 17, 2026

Thanksgiving can be really sweet. Good food. Laughter. Familiar traditions. A little more time with people you care about. But it can also expose what’s missing. Sometimes the empty chair hits harder than the full table. Sometimes the family tension stays quiet until someone says one sentence, and ...read more

Scripture: Mark 16:1-2

Tags: Grief, Authenticity

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Bug! Bug! Where’s The Bug?

Contributed by James Snyder on Nov 14, 2020

As far back as I can remember, every time I would leave the house, the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage would say, "Be careful. Drive safely." It’s as though she doesn’t think I could drive carefully without giving me some instructions. I think it has become just a routine for ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:12

Tags: Mistakes, Together, Harmony

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Ants, Ants, Ants, Where's The Uncles

Contributed by James Snyder on Mar 27, 2021

I have learned in my life that the small things are the ones that get you down. You would think the big things are the ones to steal most of your time. But those big things call attention to themselves from the very beginning. You know they're there, you know you have to do something about it, ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 30:25

Tags: Humor, Ants, Small Problems, Uncles

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

The Regifting Queen Of The Family

Contributed by James Snyder on Dec 30, 2023

Sitting around the Christmas tree with my family and opening up Christmas presents, it stirred fond memories of my Aunt Edith. She was known as The Regifting Queen of our family. And believe me, she earned that name quite well. Most of the family didn't catch on to what she was doing. I know ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 6:7-8

Tags: Christmas, Gifting

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Small Courtesies, Small Considerations, ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 20, 2002

Small courtesies, small considerations, habitually practiced in our daily lives, give a greater charm to the character than any display ...read more

Tags: Love Of The Disciples, Christian Love

Reason Itself Is Fallible, And This Fallibility ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 7, 2006

Reason itself is fallible, and this fallibility must find a place in our logic. Nicola Abbagnano (1901–1990), Italian philosopher. ...read more

Tags: Truth Absolute

The More Profoundly We Study [the Bible], And ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 11, 2007

"The more profoundly we study [the Bible], and the more closely we observe its divine precepts, the better citizens we will become ...read more

Tags: Bible Influence

One Of The Best Ways To Get Yourself A ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

One of the best ways to get yourself a reputation as a dangerous citizen these days is to go about repeating the very phrases which our Founding ...read more

Tags: Political Freedom

Whatever Greatness We Have Is What God Produces ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

Whatever greatness we have is what God produces in us. Nothing will ever deny us of the greatness he wants for us ...read more

Tags: Greatness

The Autumn Of Human Life, Like The Autumn Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"The autumn of human life, like the autumn of nature, can bring richness of beauty. A life of the heart and of the mind ...read more

Tags: Hardship Of Life

Old Age Is A Blessed Time. It Gives Us Leisure ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"Old age is a blessed time. It gives us leisure to put off our earthly garments one by one, and dress ourselves for heaven. Blessed are ...read more

Tags: Hardship Of Life

Let Us Joyfully Stand In The Midst Of The Fiery ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"Let us joyfully stand in the midst of the fiery furnace, knowing that we shall lose nothing in the fire but our bonds, and that ever in the ...read more

Tags: Creation

Hail, Guest, We Ask Not What Thou Art; If ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"Hail, guest, we ask not what thou art; If friend, we greet thee, hand and heart; If stranger, such no longer ...read more

Tags: Hospitality