In Sermon Illustrations: "Parable Shrewd Manager"

Two Men, Two Soils  PRO

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Jan 28, 2011

TWO MEN, TWO SOILS Two of the men have impacted my life. Both of them died of cancer. For many years one of these men allowed his CIRCUMSTANCES to harden him towards those in his family and towards God. I thought my dad was about as far away from God as he could be. He seemed to be represented ...read more

Tags: Parable Sower And Seed

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Lost And Found

Contributed by Jason Bonnicksen on Mar 15, 2011

LOST AND FOUND Our tummies rumbled --it was time for lunch. "What do ya say we head-in," I asked, as the girls strapped in. We careened down the mountain and caught the chairlift. My baby and I rode on one chair, behind her two, older sisters in another. The view ahead would make a great shot, ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:8-10

Tags: Parable Lost Coin

Denomination: Lutheran

The Voice Of The Shepherd  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 22, 2011

THE VOICE OF THE SHEPHERD There once was a shepherd that lived in the Scottish highlands. This shepherd had a daughter and he would take her with him when he went out on the moors to take care of the sheep. The thing that the little girl liked best was to hear the call of shepherd. His voice ...read more

Scripture: John 10:1-18, Mark 4:26-34

Tags: Parable Lost Sheep

The Lost Son

Contributed by Brent Kirby on May 27, 2011

THE LOST SON A young boy, around the age of eight, lived in Alaska with his parents. His dad was the Boy Scout leader of the area. The troop of the young boy decided to go mountain climbing up a two mile high mountain called Bald Eagle. The boy loved to climb and made a competition with the other ...read more

Tags: Parable Prodigal Son

Denomination: Wesleyan

The Sheep Dog  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 9, 2011

THE SHEEP DOG A man by the name of Keith Miller told of the time when his daughters were very young. They’d drop them off at the church’s children’s chapel on Sundays before the 11 am service. But one day Keith chanced to be in the class when the preacher was telling the story for the day to the ...read more

Scripture: John 10:11-18

Tags: Parable Lost Sheep

If You Obey

Contributed by Dr. Nicholas M. Muteti on Jun 15, 2011

IF YOU OBEY Nearly thirty years ago, I was a middle school teacher in Kenya. One day I took 20 students, and I told them: "I will do my best to teach you and train you. If you obey me, you will be the best students of this school." They were excited. In a short time, I realized that only some ...read more

Tags: Parable Sower And Seed

Denomination: Baptist

Lost Alasdair

Contributed by Warner Pidgeon on Jul 10, 2011

LOST ALASDAIR In October 1984 my brother-in-law Alasdair got lost. As a family they had visited Venice – long before I knew them – Sandy and Valerie my in-Laws, Moira my wife who was 14 at the time, and Alasdair who was 11. They were at St. Mark’s square, Venice – at the same time as Queen ...read more

Tags: Parable Lost Sheep

Denomination: Anglican

My Sheep Know My Voice  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 9, 2011

MY SHEEP KNOW MY VOICE Do you all know much about Emperor Penguins? I was not very familiar with these birds until a few years ago when the documentary, March of the Penguins, came out. And as I watched this documentary, I learned many intriguing facts about this largest of the penguin family. ...read more

Scripture: John 10:27-29

Tags: Parable Lost Sheep

Persistent Sowers

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 15, 2011

PERSISTENT SOWERS During a particular drought several years ago, much of the seed that had been planted did not come up. The seed that did produced runty plants that promised a scanty yield, if any at all. Grass burned up in the intense heat, and the cattle nearly starved. Many farmers were forced ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:1-23

Tags: Parable Sower And Seed

The Lukewarm Sheep  PRO

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Aug 29, 2011

THE LUKEWARM SHEEP Now, for the sake of my illustration, I want to break a flock of sheep down into 3 groups. 1. The first group of sheep had DECIDED to look to Shepherd & follow Him wherever He leads. These are the "Good sheep" who follow the "Good Shepherd. Jesus said: "My sheep hear my voice, ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 3:14-22, John 10:4, John 15:1-11

Tags: Parable Lost Sheep

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Shepherd's Voice

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 10, 2012

THE SHEPHERD'S VOICE If you know and follow Jesus as Shepherd you will be able to flee from untruth and ungodly belief systems. D.L. Moody told the following: A friend, who was traveling in the East, heard that there was a shepherd who still kept up the custom of calling his sheep by name. He ...read more

Scripture: John 10:1-18

Tags: Parable Lost Sheep

Lost And Found

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 13, 2012

LOST AND FOUND In London there is an official governmental office for lost and found items. It is the London Transports “Lost Property Office.” It is located on the side of the Baker’s Street Station, just across the street from the fictitious residence of Sherlock Holmes. It has been there since ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:1-10

Tags: Parable Lost Coin

Christ Transforms A Prisoner

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 18, 2012

CHRIST TRANSFORMS A PRISONER Chuck Colson tells story after story of men in prison who had committed crimes, but who came to Christ and were thoroughly converted. No one would have guessed that some of these men would be devout followers of Christ one day. One such story was the account of a man ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:1-32

Tags: Parable Prodigal Son

A Tragic Dream Fulfilled--The Case Of Robert ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 1, 2012

A TRAGIC DREAM FULFILLED--THE CASE OF ROBERT BURNS Robert Burns, the famous poet, occasionally had times of serious reflection of the state of his soul. He recorded one of those times when he compared himself to the review of his past life. He wrote that he was like a lonely man walking amidst the ...read more

Scripture: Luke 8:4-15

Tags: Parable Sower And Seed

Vanishing Waves

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 28, 2012

VANISHING WAVES A wise man once told me to pour a glass of water. He dipped his index finger into the cup, I watched as miniature waves hit the glass only to halt seconds later. The wise man told that regardless of how important the world will ever view me or my accomplishments, history will only ...read more

Scripture: Luke 12:13-34

Tags: Parable Rich Fool

Love Your Neighbour

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Oct 12, 2021

Canadian Folk singer (and believer) Bruce Cockburn wrote this song for his church in San Franciso. The story is told in Christianity Today, October 12, 2021. ORDERS; (Bruce Cockburn) The just the merciful the cruel The stumbling well-intentioned fool The deft the oaf the witless pawn The golden ...read more

Scripture: Luke 10:25-37

Tags: Parables, Neighbor, Love

Denomination: Pentecostal

We May Never See The End Results, But That Is The ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 20, 2002

We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker. We are workers, not master builders, ministers, not messiahs. We are prophets of a ...read more

Tags: Parable General, Parable Sower And Seed, Kingdom Of God

Built By Grace  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 19, 2004

BUILT BY GRACE Years ago, late on a stormy night in Philadelphia, an elderly couple walked wearily into a hotel. They approached the night clerk at the desk and practically begged him for a room. Apparently there were three conventions in town, and every hotel was filled to capacity. "Are there ...read more

Scripture: Luke 14:12-24, Luke 19:11-26

Tags: Grace, Parable Great Banquet

There Once Was A Carpenter Who Visited One Of Two ...  PRO

Contributed by Karl Eckhoff on Feb 12, 2004

There once was a carpenter who visited one of two brothers who had recently grown embittered with each other over a misunderstanding over the farm they had managed together for the past 40 years. The carpenter was in need of work; or so he said, and he asked the one brother if there was anything ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:11-13

Tags: Jesus Teachings, Parable General

Denomination: Lutheran

So If The Kingdom Of Heaven Is So Valuable, Why ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

So if the kingdom of heaven is so valuable, why doesn’t everybody do everything they can to be a part of it? I think it’s because value is often in the eye of the beholder. What has value and what doesn’t is really up to personal interpretation. What some people think are valuable have no value at ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 3:1-12

Tags: Fig Tree, Parable General