In Sermon Illustrations: "Over Thinking"

Seeing—and Believing

Contributed by Bill Butsko on Sep 10, 2010

SEEING--AND BELIEVING Two children were playing on a hillside, when they noticed that the hour was nearing sunset, and one said, wonderingly: "See how far the sun has gone! A little while ago it was right over that tree, and now it is low down in the sky." "Only it isn’t the sun that moves; it’s ...read more

Tags: Faith

Denomination: Christian Church

The Hundred-Dollar Word

Contributed by Sajeev Painunkal, Sj on Oct 10, 2010

THE HUNDRED-DOLLAR WORD I’m sure you have all heard of Rudyard Kipling. He is the author of famous books like The Jungle Book and Captain Courageous. His writings not only made him famous but also brought him a fortune. A newspaper reporter came up to him once and said, "Mr. Kipling, I just ...read more

Tags: Gratitude

Denomination: Catholic

Because I'm A Gentleman  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 23, 2011

BECAUSE I'M A GENTLEMAN A middle-aged business executive once approached the front entrance of the office building in which he worked. A young feminist came up at the same moment, so he stepped back and held the door open for her to pass on through. She looked at him and said with annoyance, ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 3:7

Tags: Character

The Harp String Of Hope

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 17, 2011

THE HARP STRING OF HOPE G.F. Watt has a famous painting entitled Hope. It pictures a poor woman against the world. Her eyes are bandaged so that she cannot see ahead. In her hands is a harp, but all the strings are broken save one. Those broken strings represent her shattered expectations, her ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 42:1-11

Tags: God Brings Hope

Potato Provision

Contributed by Tim Hinrichs on Apr 20, 2011

POTATO PROVISION I remember just a few years ago when we lived in Poland as missionaries. We were struggling so much financially. The dollar had plunged in value and we lost about 1/3 of the value of our money and were wondering if we would have to return back to the States. So we were praying for ...read more

Tags: God's Provision

Denomination: Lutheran

Loyalty And The Promotional Bottleneck

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 8, 2011

LOYALTY AND THE PROMOTIONAL BOTTLENECK Peter Drucker gave this warning to those who would push back this principle, "Contrary to popular legend, subordinates do not, as a rule, rise to position and prominence over the prostrate bodies of incompetent bosses. If their boss is not promoted, they will ...read more

Scripture: Mark 3:13-19

Tags: Leadership General

Disposable Guilt Bags

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 12, 2011

DISPOSABLE GUILT BAGS Several years ago a new product called "Disposable Guilt Bags" appeared in the supermarkets. It consisted of a set of ten ordinary brown bags on which were printed the following instructions: "Place the bag securely over your mouth, take a deep breath and blow all your guilt ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 32:1-5

Tags: Guilt

Diocletian

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Sep 4, 2011

DIOCLETIAN In its first 300 hundred years the Christian church endured repeated waves of persecution. But perhaps the worst came while Diocletian was emperor of Rome (A.D.284-305). Convinced that the Christians were conspiring against him, Diocletian sought to annihilate them throughout his ...read more

Tags: God's Sovereign Will

Denomination: Brethren

Flotsam And Jetsam

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Jan 19, 2012

FLOTSAM AND JETSAM Flotsam and jetsam are commonly used terms. They are used to describe the wreckage and debris that floats in the water after a shipwreck. What isn't so well known is that there is a difference between flotsam and jetsam. Flotsam is anything that ends up in the water resulting ...read more

Tags: Sin General

Denomination: Brethren

A.w. Tozer: The Position Of Christ In The Church  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 1, 2012

A.W. TOZER: THE POSITION OF CHRIST IN THE CHURCH The present position of Christ in the gospel churches may be likened to that of a king in a limited constitutional monarchy. The king is in such a country no more than a traditional rallying point, a pleasant symbol of unity and loyalty much like a ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 1:15-20, Matthew 6:10

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

A Jealous Wife  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 8, 2012

A JEALOUS WIFE A man worked in an office with several attractive ladies. His wife, constantly jealous, had a list of questions ready every day. Then she would examine his coat. If she found a blond hair she would accuse, "You’re having an affair with a blond woman." If she found a red hair, black ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 3:19

Tags: Marriage Faithfulness

Sure You Want To Win The Lottery?

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Jun 1, 2012

SURE YOU WANT TO WIN THE LOTTERY? When William "Bud" Post won $16.2 million in a 1988 lottery, one of the first things he did was try to please his family. Unfortunately, his kin was of the unfriendly sort. Post's brother hired a hit man to kill him, hoping to inherit some money. Other family ...read more

Tags: Money

Denomination: Independent/Bible

God Is Not An Editor

Contributed by David Tack on Oct 17, 2012

GOD IS NOT AN EDITOR "God is looking for common ordinary people like you and me who are willing to let Him use as He sees fit. He wants to write our story, He doesn’t want to be our editor. But, we want to write the story and then we call God in as our editor. When the story gets messy then we ...read more

Scripture: Luke 9:23

Tags: Discipleship

Denomination: Baptist

The Exxon Valdez Is An Oil Tanker That Was On Its ...

Contributed by Gaylon Clark on Nov 14, 2012

The Exxon Valdez is an oil tanker that was on its way to Long Beach, California. Instead, it crashed into a reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska. The crash resulted in the second largest oil spill in US History. Between 25-32 million gallons of oil spilled into the Ocean. Over 250,000 members of ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 6:7-10

Tags: Good Deeds, God's Purposes, Fatigue, Rest, Commandments Sabbath  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Poinsettia

Contributed by David Simpson on Dec 19, 2014

There are a lot of symbols at the Christmas season. All represent something. Santa Claus, mistletoe, wreaths, candles, etc. I’ve always admired the beauty of poinsettias, and decided to do a little research on them. You may know that they were named after Joel Poinsett, who happened to be the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 2:1-12

Tags: Christmas, Wise Men, Star Of Christmas, Poinsettia

Denomination: Christian Church

Door Of Hope

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 24, 2015

There is a small metal door painted white in the side of a tiny mission church in Johannesburg South Africa. This door is changing lives. On it are painted the words “door of hope.” That is exactly what it is for various babies within the city. On average some forty to fifty babies were being ...read more

Scripture: John 10:7-10

Tags: Hope, Jesus The Door, Rescuing Babies

The King Has One More Move  PRO

Contributed by Dwayne Brown, Phd on Apr 9, 2015

This story has been told by Christian speakers as far back as 1955 when Billy Graham told a variation of it early in his ministry. Two men are standing in front of a painting called Checkmate in an art gallery. In the painting, a man is playing chess with the devil. The devil is grinning ...read more

Tags: Don't Quit, God Is In Control

Denomination: Baptist

Clean Conscience

Contributed by Shine Thomas on Jul 24, 2017

Xaviera Hollander wrote a book with a title: The Happy Hooker. Hollander, a prostitute, sought to silence the people who believe that no prostitute could find joy in what she was doing. In her book, Hollander celebrates the joy that she experienced in her profession, saying that she never felt ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 32:1-6

Tags: Guilt, Conscience, Pure Heart

Denomination: Assembly Of God

The Dead Rat

Contributed by Paul Steen on Dec 11, 2017

A boy ran into his house to tell his mom something. He had a dead rat in his hand. But he didn't notice that the pastor of their church was talking to his mom. The boy said, “Mom, you'll never guess what! I was out behind the garage and there was this rat. I picked up a rock and threw it and hit ...read more

Tags: Excuses, Making Excuses

Denomination: Calvary Chapel

The Billionaire’s Happiness

Contributed by Jim Butcher on Apr 11, 2018

Jack Ma has a lot to be happy about. He is the founder and executive chairman of the Alibaba Group, a tech company in China. Among the things going his way: - His company went public in September 2014 and its worth shot up to $25 billion. - He is the richest man in China. - His company is the ...read more

Tags: Money, Wealth, Contentment, China

Denomination: Baptist