In Sermon Illustrations: "Parables"

Infinitely Important  PRO

Contributed by Brian Mavis on Apr 25, 2001

INFINITELY IMPORTANT "Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be ...read more

Tags: Christianity, Cs Lewis, Apologetics General, Parable General, Truth  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

By The Seeds You Plant  PRO

Contributed by Dru Ashwell on Dec 16, 2001

BY THE SEEDS YOU PLANT "Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 1:1

Tags: Parable Sower And Seed, Sharing Your Faith, What Is Evangelism?

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

In The Film The Matrix, We Are Taken To The Year ...  PRO

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Oct 6, 2002

In the film The Matrix, we are taken to the year 2199. The world has been taken over and is being run by AI: artificial intelligence. Harvested humans live in a computer generated dreamworld of artificial reality, never understanding that they are captives of an evil empire. But there are a few ...read more

Tags: Kingdom, Kingdom Of God, Parable Sower And Seed, Supernatural, Deception  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Methodist

With Our Arms About Their Knees  PRO

Contributed by Joseph Colebank Ii on Jan 19, 2005

WITH OUR ARMS ABOUT THEIR KNEES “Have you no wish for others to be saved? Then you are not saved yourself. Be sure of that…. The saving of souls, if a man has once gained love to perishing sinners and his blessed Master, wil be an all-absorbing passion to him. It will so carry him away, that he ...read more

Tags: Evangelism Urgency, Parable Sower And Seed, Sharing Your Faith

Denomination: Baptist

You Are Grounded!!!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Mar 15, 2022

THE PRODIGAL SON'S RETURN... We were sitting in Church a few weeks ago while the minister delivered a sermon based on the timeless story of the prodigal son. When he got to the point where the father sees his son returning and races out to meet him, the minister said loudly and with ...read more

Tags: Parables, Prodigal Son, Jokes, Prodigals, Children, Parents, Humor  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Seminary Students Who Would Not Stop To Help

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Mar 20, 2022

In her book Kindness: Reaching Out to Others, Phyllis J. Le Peau relates this story: “Some seminary students were asked to preach on the story of the Good Samaritan. When the hour arrived for their sermon, each one was deliberately delayed en route to class. As the students raced across campus, ...read more

Tags: Parables, Hypocrisy, Levite, Good Samaritan, Jerusalem, Jericho, Priest  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Narrow Definition Of Neighbor

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Mar 20, 2022

With their passion for definition, Jewish Rabbis sought to define who a man's "neighbor" was. They confined the word "neighbor" to include only their fellow Jews. For instance, some of them said that it was illegal to help a Gentile woman in her time of childbirth for ...read more

Tags: Levites, Priests, Rabbis, Parable, Neighbor, Kindness, Good Samaritan  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Greatest Building Disaster In History

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Apr 2, 2022

In 1174, the Italian architect Bonnano Pisano began work on what would become his most famous project: a separately standing eight-story bell tower in the city of Pisa. There was just one “little” problem: builders quickly discovered that the soil was much softer than they had anticipated, and the ...read more

Tags: Foundations, Eternity, Obedience, Rock, Sand, Word Of God, Parables  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Last Sermon D.l. Moody Preached

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Apr 4, 2022

D.L. Moody was one of the greatest preachers in American history. On November 23, 1899 in the Civic Auditorium in Kansas City, Moody became very sick as he preached. “I must have souls in Kansas City,” he had told the students at his school in Chicago. “Never have I wanted so much to lead men and ...read more

Tags: Evangelism, Faithfulness, Parables, Moody, Preach The Word, Great Supper  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

A Conference With The Devil

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Apr 15, 2022

A fictitious story has been told of a conference between Lucifer and his demons. It seems as though Satan was upset because he had not deceived enough souls and so he called for a conference with his head demons. "What are we going to do! We are not claiming enough souls for the Kingdom of ...read more

Tags: Invitation, Excuses, Evangelism, Demons, Parable, Satan, Time, Today  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Some Years Ago Two Princeton University ...  PRO

Contributed by Ed Sasnett on Jan 30, 2006

Some years ago two Princeton University psychologists, John Darley and Daniel Batson, decided to conduct a study inspired by the biblical story of the Good Samaritan. They met with a group of seminarians, individually, and asked each one to prepare a short, extemporaneous talk on a given biblical ...read more

Tags: Fulfillment

Denomination: Baptist

John Maxwell Tells In His Book, "The Leader ...  PRO

Contributed by Melvin Newland on Apr 16, 2001

John Maxwell tells in his book, “The Leader Within You,” the story of the building of the Great Wall of China. They built it so high that no one could get over it. And they built it so thick that no one could tunnel through it. They built this gigantic wall that still exists today. And then the ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 20:19

Tags: Children, Faith, Parenting

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Isaac Watts Penned A Beautiful Hymn Based On The ...  PRO

Contributed by Gregg Strawbridge on Jul 8, 2002

Isaac Watts penned a beautiful hymn based on the parable of the feast in Luke 14: HOW SWEET AND AWFUL IS THE PLACE WITH CHRIST WITHIN THE DOORS, WHILE EVERLASTING LOVE DISPLAYS THE CHOICEST OF HER STORES. WHILE ALL OUR HEARTS AND ALL OUR SONGS JOIN TO ADMIRE THE FEAST, EACH OF US CRY, WITH ...read more

Tags: What Is Evangelism?, Church Purpose Of

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

In His Book The Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis ...  PRO

Contributed by John Williams Iii on Aug 29, 2002

In his book The Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis describes what is like a parable that is ongoing through different episodes of how a Senior Demon, whom he calls Screwtape trains his young and vulnerable apprentice nephew Wormwood how to disrupt, derail and hinder the growth and progress of ...read more

Tags: Discipleship, Truth

Denomination: United Methodist

What Purpose Do These Denominations Play? ...

Contributed by Lynn Malone on Jun 13, 2005

What purpose do these denominations play? Charles Spurgeon, great Baptist preacher of 19th century London uses an illustration. Spurgeon said: “When I read [Genesis 6:14, about rooms in Noah’s ark] I thought it would serve for a point in the parable… Those who lived in one room did not stand or ...read more

Tags: Unity, Church Practices

Denomination: Methodist

A Certain Man Wanted To Sell His House In Haiti ...

Contributed by Bobby Scobey on Jun 6, 2007

A certain man wanted to sell his house in Haiti for $2,000. Another man wanted to buy it, but because he was poor, he couldn’t afford the full price. After much bargaining, the owner agreed to sell the house for half the original price with just one stipulation: He would retain ownership for one ...read more

Denomination: Pentecostal

Robin Meyers, In His Book Morning Sun On A White ...  PRO

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Jun 10, 2007

Robin Meyers, in his book Morning Sun on a White Piano, quotes theologian Ernest Campbell who summarizes the ministry of Jesus with these words: “A reforming Jew, convinced that the people had turned love into legalism, [Jesus] went about asking those people who thought they were ‘in’ (Pharisees, ...read more

Denomination: Methodist

The Americas Cup Is Coming Up This Week And We ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

The Americas cup is coming up this week and we were considering that as a kind of parable for the church. The Americas cup is won and lost on small differences. As with any ship design, a sailing yacht embodies many necessary elements, which must dovetail to accomplish its mission. What is nice ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:1

Tags: God's Provision

Some Things In This World Look Very Much Alike. ...  PRO

Contributed by Gene Gregory on Jul 24, 2007

Some things in this world look very much alike. They are very similar. For instance, a King Snake and a Coral Snake look very much alike. An alligator and a crocodile look a lot alike. They are very similar. We have a citrus tree growing in our yard, that produces both sweet and sour oranges, ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Many People Claim That Their Faith Is A Personal ...

Contributed by Austin Mansfield on Sep 18, 2007

Many people claim that their faith is a personal matter, not public. So it’s OK to tear down the symbols of our faith, like a cross on Mt. Soledad, or removing a small cross from the official seal of Los Angeles, while leaving a large image of the goddess Pomona intact — a pagan image of the Roman ...read more

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican