In Sermon Illustrations: "Parable Sower And Seed"

The Founder Of Ibm Thomas Watson Says: "The Way ...  PRO

Contributed by Don Hawks on Nov 26, 2003

The founder of IBM Thomas Watson says: "The way to succeed is to double your failure rate." Or as Thomas Edison said "There is only one good idea in 100 so I want to discover the 99 failures as quick as possible."Here is a personal evaluation question: Do I view failure as an opportunity for growth ...read more

Tags: Evangelism Fear Of, Evangelism Urgency, What Is Evangelism?

Denomination: Methodist

Spiritual Fruit: "This Has Been Plastered"  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 24, 2009

SPIRITUAL FRUIT: "THIS HAS BEEN PLASTERED" Benjamin Franklin learned that plaster sown in the fields would make things grow. He told his neighbors, but they did not believe him and they argued with him trying to prove that plaster could be of no use at all to grass or grain. After a little while, ...read more

Scripture: John 13:35, Mark 4:1-9

Tags: Fruit Of The Spirit

I Knew My Father Was Pleased

Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Jan 6, 2011

I KNEW MY FATHER WAS PLEASED It reminds me of a story that Jonathan Goforth (1859-1936) the great Canadian missionary in China, used to tell. Jonathan’s father put him in charge of one of the family farms at the age of 15. He drew special attention to one very large field, which had become choked ...read more

Tags: Obedience

Denomination: Anglican

Faith Like A Potato: Don't Give Up Hope

Contributed by Selwyn Robins on Apr 19, 2011

FAITH LIKE A POTATO: DON'T GIVE UP HOPE There is a movie called 'Faith Like a Potato'. It takes place in South Africa. Long story short a farmer w/an anger management issue is converted to a believer (follower) of the word. Needing to bring in money for his family, he decides to plant a crop of ...read more

Tags: Faith

Denomination: Charismatic

Archelaus, The Son Of Herod The Great, Went ...

Contributed by William Hooper on Jun 12, 2010

Archelaus, the son of Herod the Great, went to Rome in 4 BC to have his father’s will confirmed, by which he was to be his successor. But a crowd of Jews followed close on his heels with a protest to the emperor: “We don’t want this man to be our king.” They had good reason for hating him: ...read more

Tags: Jesus Teachings

Denomination: Baptist

Actress Julia Roberts’ Wedding To Daniel ...

Contributed by Ed Sasnett on Jun 23, 2010

Actress Julia Roberts’ wedding to Daniel Moder featured the vow to “love, support, but not obey.” Will Smith’s vows merely promised good manners. He revealed that in his vows to Jada Pinkett in 1997 “our vows did not promise to forsake all others. The vow that we made was that ‘you will never ...read more

Tags: Marriage Commitment, Sexual Immorality

Denomination: Baptist

Bible Printing Errors

Contributed by Thomas Cash on Dec 17, 2009

BIBLE PRINTING ERRORS While the Bible itself is infallible, fallible human beings have made notorious mistakes in trying to have the book printed. For example, * The "Judas Bible" (1611): Judas (rather than Jesus) came with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, even though the previous ...read more

Tags: Bible Truth

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Communion: In Remembrance

Contributed by Gene Gregory on Aug 11, 2012

COMMUNION: IN REMEMBRANCE A man was working in his backyard one day, when his neighbor began talking to him over the fence. He said, "Yeah, my wife and I went to one of those seminars yesterday, you know, where they teach you ways to improve your memory and such." His neighbor commented, ...read more

Scripture: James 1:19-21, James 1:19

Tags: Lord's Supper

Denomination: Baptist

Sprouting To New Life

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 11, 2011

SPROUTING TO NEW LIFE A few years ago, when archaeologists began excavating in the courtyard of a medieval monastery, they found seeds that had been dormant for more than 400 years that had begun to grow. King Henry VIII had closed the monastery in 1539, and herbs tended by the monks died. But ...read more

Scripture: Mark 4:16-34

Tags: Born Again

Grandma's Game

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 11, 2008

GRANDMA'S GAME Eight-year-old Ann Johnson wrote this poem which expresses the influence of millions of grandparents on their grandchildren: My grandma likes to play with God, They have a kind of game. She plants the garden full of seeds, He sends the sun and rain. She likes to sit and talk with ...read more

Tags: Family

I Have Prayed For A Sick Lady Who Had Cancer, And ...

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Feb 26, 2010

I have prayed for a sick lady who had cancer, and she died. In fact more than one person I have prayed for has died and not been healed. Do you want someone like me to pray for you? Why weren't they healed? Not enough faith? I prayed for a wonderful Pastor who had cancer who was involved in doing ...read more

Tags: Jesus' Ministry

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Some Time Ago, I Was Informed That The Vacuum ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Some time ago, I was informed that the vacuum cleaner at home did not work. I checked the belts, etc., and all seemed fine. Then it came to me. I removed the hose and looked through it. No light came through it from the other end. I removed the clogged up dirt, and the vacuum worked fine after ...read more

Tags: Doing God's Will

Many Years Ago A Group Of Small Farmers, Being ...

Contributed by Warner Pidgeon on Jun 7, 2009

Many years ago a group of small farmers, being particularly superstitious, kept a corner of their fields uncultivated in order to pacify certain evil spirits. They believed that by sacrificing this one corner to the spirits, the remainder of the field would be left undisturbed and fertile. What ...read more

Tags: Sin, Sin General

Denomination: Anglican

Kill Us, Torture Us, Condemn Us...

Contributed by Thomas Cash on Aug 15, 2011

KILL US, TORTURE US, CONDEMN US... An early Christian leader named Tertullian (164-200AD) declared: “Kill us, torture us, condemn us, grind us to dust. The more you mow us down, the more we grow, for the seed of the church is the blood of the Christians. Every single drop of our blood springs up, ...read more

Tags: Persecution

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

A Group Of Ministers And A Salesman's ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

A group of ministers and a salesman’s organization were holding conventions in the same hotel, and the catering department had to work at top speed serving dinners to both. The salesmen were having spiked watermelon for dessert. But the chef discovered that it was being served to the ministers by ...read more

Tags: Leadership General

G ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 31, 2008

GERANIUMS A man walked into a flower shop and asked for some potted red geraniums. "I’m sorry," said the clerk in flower shop, "we are completely sold out of all of our potted geraniums. But I’d be more than happy to give you a deal on something else. Could you use African violets ...read more

Tags: Trust

Because The Blood Is The Life Of Man, And Of All ...

Contributed by Charles Jones on Oct 21, 2008

Because the blood is the life of man, and of all flesh,and man’s blood became corrupted by the entrance of sin, sinless blood was needed to redeem man because “the children are partakers of flesh and blood” it was necessary that the etrnal Son of God, by reason of the Everlasting Covenent ,take ...read more

Tags: Blood Of Christ

Denomination: Pentecostal

In The Beginning, God Created The Heavens And The ...  PRO

Contributed by Gerald Cornelius on Mar 27, 2001

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Quickly, God was faced with a class action suit for failure to file an environmental impact statement. God was granted a temporary permit for the project, but was stymied with the “cease and desist” order for the earthly part. Then God said, ...read more

Tags: Creation, Apologetics God, Government, Hell

Denomination: Baptist

Thanksgiving Poem: We Plow The Fields By Matthias ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 26, 2009

Thanksgiving Poem: We Plow The Fields by Matthias Claudius The poem entitled "We Plow The Fields," by Matthias Claudius, says things well: We plow the fields, and scatter The good seed on the land, But it is fed and watered By God’s Almighty hand; He sends the snow in winter, The warmth to swell ...read more

Scripture: Luke 17:11-19

Tags: Thanksgiving Holiday

In A Poem Attributed To Archbishop Oscar Romero, ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 31, 2008

In a poem attributed to Archbishop Oscar Romero, entitled “Prophets of a Future Not Our Own,” he states: “It helps, now and then, to step back and take the long view. We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work. Nothing we do is complete, ...read more