In Sermon Illustrations: "Over Thinking"

If They Were Our ...

Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on Dec 24, 2009

IF THEY WERE OUR OWN If you boy or my girl were in darkness – Were groping alone in the night, Soul—weary and helplessly seeking In vain for a glimmer of light, Thro’ the dangerous depths of a forest, Bewildered and frightened and lost, Would I be at home by the fireside Demurring and counting ...read more

Tags: Evangelism Urgency

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Back When The Generals Led Their Troops Into ...

Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on Jan 4, 2010

Back when the generals led their troops into battle rather than directing them from a ‘situation room’ half a world away, it is said that Alexander the Great’s position was about to be over-run by the enemy. Turning to a valiant young soldier at his side, the great military genius implored the boy ...read more

Tags: Prayer General

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Something Beautiful

Contributed by Barry Edmondson on Feb 5, 2011

SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL In 1502, in Florence, Italy there was a large block of marble given to a church in Santa Maria, the church immediately hired who they thought was a professional to sculpt this enormously huge piece of rock. The man was a professional and soon after commencing this great task ...read more

Tags: God Brings Purpose

Denomination: Pentecostal

Stay And Wait And Watch

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 7, 2011

STAY AND WAIT AND WATCH A little boy was told by his father to wait on a corner by a department store, while the father had a tire changed on his car. It turned out that the car required more attention than the man had anticipated, and it took over an hour. The father anxiously hurried back to ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:1-3

Tags: Trust

Why Did God Make Mothers?

Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on May 10, 2011

WHY DID GOD MAKE MOTHERS? Consider these answers given by elementary-age children to the following questions. "Why did God make mothers?" "Mostly to clean the house." "To help us out of there, when we were getting born." "How did God make mothers?" "God made my Mom just the same like he made ...read more

Tags: Mothers

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Childhood Reminders

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Nov 7, 2011

CHILDHOOD REMINDERS When I first came to Wichita Falls, Joe and Eloise were living over on Hursh, and I remember going to call on them one day. The front door cradled a lovely stained-glass window. When I asked about it, Joe said, "It’s from the old church in Vernon." Every time he entered and ...read more

Tags: Growth In Christ

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Ingersoll And The Patience Of God

Contributed by Guy Mcgraw on Mar 5, 2012

INGERSOLL AND THE PATIENCE OF GOD Robert Ingersoll, an American Agnostic, after delivering one of his addresses, pulled his watch from his pocket and said, "According to the Bible, God has struck men to death for blasphemy. I will blaspheme Him and give Him five minutes to strike me dead and ...read more

Tags: Judgment

God, You're In My Way.  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 28, 2012

"GOD, YOU'RE IN MY WAY." A California pastor, Kyle Idleman, talks about his last move in his book, Not a Fan. In that move, he saved the heaviest piece of furniture for last -- the desk from his office. And as he was pushing and pulling the desk with all his might, his four-year-old son came over ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:6-8, Philippians 4:4-7

Tags: Anxiety

Cast Your Net On The Right Side

Contributed by Herb Pulse on Jun 28, 2017

I come from a fishing family. When I became old enough to walk, I became old enough to experience the wonderful world of fishing. One of things I particularly love is throwing a shad net. Often times it becomes very draining work, and at the tender age of 12 I became the primary go-to-guy for ...read more

Scripture: John 21:6

Tags: Jesus, Net, Cast

Denomination: Christian Church

Boat In The Storm

Contributed by Steve Kinnard on Oct 27, 2019

ILLUS: BOAT THRU THE STORM Imagine you’re in a small boat and a sudden storm comes up. The sky is dark the wind is howling; the waves are raging. All of a sudden there are 20-foot swells and your boat is being tossed like a twig in a stream, one minute you are at the bottom of the swell the next ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:12

Tags: Good Fruit, Bad Fruit

Denomination: Pentecostal

His Rightful Place

Contributed by Glynda Lomax on Apr 11, 2022

I have a dog named Simba. I named him Simba because he is the color of a lion and he has the personality of a lion even though he is a chihuahua. One afternoon, we were really tired and I decided to take a quick nap with Simba. Simba has a certain place on the bed beside me where he always lays. ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:33, Luke 10:41

Tags: Putting God First, Resting, Making Room For God, Making Time For God

Denomination: Charismatic

When Church Makes You Throw Up!

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Nov 12, 2024

Marty, a little boy, was in church one Sunday with his mother Doris, when he started feeling sick. 'Mummy,' he inquired, 'can we leave now?' 'No,' his mother replied, 'the service isn't over yet.' 'Well, I think I'm about to throw up.' Marty ...read more

Tags: Church, Children, Mothers, Sick

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

I Need A Push

Contributed by David Dunn on Oct 25, 2025

A man and his wife are awakened at 3 a.m. by a loud pounding on their door. The man gets up and goes to the door where a drunken stranger in the pouring rain is asking for a push. “Not a chance,” says the husband- “It’s three o’clock in the morning!” He slams the door and returns to bed. “Who ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 6:2, Luke 6:31

Tags: Service, Compassion

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

Good Breeding Consists In Concealing How Much We ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 11, 2007

Good breeding consists in concealing how much we think of ourselves and how little ...read more

Tags: Family

If At First You Dont Succeed, Try, Try Again. ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"If at first you dont succeed, try, try again. Dont think of it as failure. Think of ...read more

Tags: Hardship Of Life

God Grant Me The Courage Not To Give Up What I ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"God grant me the courage not to give up what I think is right, even ...read more

Tags: Cynicism

Half Of Our Mistakes In Life Arise From Feeling ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"Half of our mistakes in life arise from feeling where we ought to think, and ...read more

Tags: Mistakes

Dubito Ergo Cogito; Cogito Ergo Sum. (I Doubt, ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"Dubito ergo cogito; cogito ergo sum. (I doubt, therefore I think; I ...read more

Tags: Thought

A Few Believed…  PRO

Contributed by Aubrey Vaughan on Apr 26, 2007

3. A FEW BELIEVED… One of the great films of 1999 was The Matrix, starring Keanu Reeves. It’s a futuristic sci-fi movie, where the world has been taken over by computers. The computers need the energy that comes from human bodies, so they keep a supply of genetically engineered humans in a ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Introduction: You May Not Recognize The Name But ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Introduction: You may not recognize the name but Vinko Bogataj, but in a few minutes those of you over the age of 35 will remember him, and those of you who are younger than that will be able to identify with him more than you might think. On March 21st, 1970, Bogataj was competing at the World ...read more

Tags: God In The Hardships