In Sermon Illustrations: "Parables"

Begging The Governor

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 1, 2004

BEGGING THE GOVERNOR The story of a Danish noblewoman, Baroness Blixen, was made known in the movie "Out Of Africa." She lived in Kenya as the owner of a large Coffee plantation. There was a tribe known as the Kikuyu tribe that Blixen had grown to love. Some of the Kikuyu lived on a part of the ...read more

Scripture: Luke 18:1-8

Tags: Parable Widow, Prayer Persistence

The Purpose Of The Light  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 19, 2005

THE PURPOSE OF THE LIGHT "There is an old story about a lighthouse keeper who worked on a rocky stretch of coastline. Once a month he would receive a new supply of oil to keep the light burning so that ships could safely sail near the rocky coast. One night, though, a woman from a nearby village ...read more

Scripture: Mark 4:1-35

Tags: Parable General, Giving Yourself

In "Acts 29," Dr. Terry Teykl Relates That One ...  PRO

Contributed by Melvin Newland on Nov 14, 2001

In "Acts 29," Dr. Terry Teykl relates that one day the mayor of a small city was driving through the city square when he noticed 2 city workers doing something rather unusual. Along one side of the main street, they were working steadily. One of the men was digging a hole in the ground, & the ...read more

Tags: Parable Shrewd Manager, Workplace

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Our Misery Is That We Thirst So Little For These ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 20, 2002

Our misery is that we thirst so little for these sublime things, and so much for the mocking trifles of time and ...read more

Tags: Kingdom Of God, Parable General

There's An Ancient Document From The Second ...  PRO

Contributed by Alan Perkins on Feb 16, 2002

There’s an ancient document from the second century called the "Epistle to Diognetus". It’s a letter from a Christian to a prominent pagan named Diognetus, in which the author, who is unknown, is describing and defending this strange new religion of Christianity. It reads, in part: "The Christians ...read more

Tags: Parable General, Kingdom Of God

Denomination: Baptist

Leo Tolstoy Once Wrote A Story About A Successful ...

Contributed by Christian Cheong on Mar 9, 2010

Leo Tolstoy once wrote a story about a successful peasant farmer who was not satisfied with his lot. He wanted more of everything. One day he received a novel offer. For $1000, he could buy all the land he could walk around in a day. The only catch in the deal was that he had to be back at his ...read more

Tags: Greed, Parable Rich Fool

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Hannah And Michael: Finding What Was Lost  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 1, 2011

HANNAH AND MICHAEL: FINDING WHAT WAS LOST Let me tell you what happened to Ted Forbes back in 1984. While walking down a street in Chicago...Ted found a wallet. Being an honest Christian man he wanted to return it to its owner. So he opened it to look for identification. The wallet contained just ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:8-10, Luke 15:11-32, 1 Corinthians 13:8, John 17:1-26

Tags: Love, Parable Lost Coin

Is Your Name In The Bible?--The Case Of A New ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 5, 2012

IS YOUR NAME IN THE BIBLE?--THE CASE OF A NEW YORK CITY BAG LADY Years ago, there was a bag lady in New York City who attended a preaching service at a Manhattan Rescue Mission. Afterwards in the line to receive soup, she mentioned to the preacher she was now ready to give her life to Jesus. She ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:1-7

Tags: Sunday, Parable Lost Sheep

A Man Was Preaching To A Church In Australia. ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

A man was preaching to a church in Australia. The congregation had big black Bibles and severe expressions... And they knew their Bibles, and were proud of that. It was a smallish group, so he decided to engage them in dialogue: ’Who knows who the Pharisees were?’ They did. ’The Pharisees got a ...read more

Tags: Parable Pharisee, Jesus The Light

Robert Robinson Had Been Saved Out Of A ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Robert Robinson had been saved out of a tempestuous life of sin through George Whitfield’s ministry in England. Shortly after that, at the age of twenty-three, Robinson wrote the hymn Come, Thou Fount. Come, Thou Fount of ev’ry blessing, Streams of mercy, never ceasing, Call for songs of loudest ...read more

Tags: Stubbornness, Parable Prodigal Son

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

Unsung Heroines-The "sinful Woman" At Simon's House

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Aug 4, 2022

Introduction: We don’t know her name, or much of anything else about her, except for one incident where she’s featured. What she did, and to whom, qualifies her to be an unsung heroine! Text: Luke 7:36-39, KJV: 36 And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into ...read more

Scripture: Luke 7:36-50

Tags: Forgiveness, Parables, Unsung Heroines

Denomination: Baptist

Acorn Theology

Contributed by Todd Catteau on Dec 10, 2021

I love fall. I love the cooler weather. I love the changing colors. I love football. I love fall with this exception—raking leaves. I have a big oak tree out in my front hard and it is amazing how many leaves that tree can produce. I was out raking the other day and not only was I amazed at all ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 6:9, 1 Corinthians 15:58

Tags: Patience, Steadfastness, Parable, Endurance, Autumn, Sower, Seed, Parables, Evangelism  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Cheapest Way To Park A Rolls Royce!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 26, 2023

In Mattew 25, Jesus taught the Parable of the Talents to His disciples. The parable shows the value of investing wisely by those who took their talent and multiplied it through wise negotiation. The one who buried his talent and did not invest was scolded by the Lord. Here is a funny ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 25:14-30

Tags: Talents, Investing, Saving Money, Parables, Business, Kingdom Of God, Money Management  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Funnnnnny Story About The Fatted Calf!!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Mar 15, 2022

FUNNNNNNNNNNY!! A Pastor was doing the children’s devotional in the church service one Sunday when he called all of the kids to the front and asked them this question: “Boys and girls, in the Parable of the Prodigal Son, who was the saddest of all to see the younger brother come back home from the ...read more

Tags: Fattened Calf, Humor, Parables, Prodigal Son, Jokes, Older Brother, Luke 15  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

How Far Do We Take This? Jesus Doesn't Say. I ...

Contributed by Mark Eberly on Jul 13, 2009

How far do we take this? Jesus doesn’t say. I can’t tell you but I can make suggestions that push you to a greater dependence on God and a greater obedience. Albert Schweitzer left his status as a professor, gave up his organ playing and went to Africa as a missionary doctor. He believed this ...read more

Tags: Poverty

Denomination: Church Of God

Sow Indiscriminately

Contributed by I. Grant Spong on Jul 15, 2017

In the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13) Jesus spoke of the kingdom of heaven being like an indiscriminate sower. This contradicts theories surrounding church growth of targeting certain statistically measurable demographics. There is no such target audience in this parable. The seed of the kingdom ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:1-23

Tags: Sower, Church Growth

Denomination: Baptist

[159]. A Message From A Poem – Good Seed In The Thorny Ground

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Aug 9, 2025

[159]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – GOOD SEED IN THE THORNY GROUND This poem was written for a recent message in a series I am currently doing on the Parables of the Kingdom from Matthew 13. It relates to the third soil type in the parable known as The Sower, {{Matthew 13:22 “The one on whom seed ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:31-34, Ephesians 5:11, Matthew 13:22

Tags: Thorny Ground, Christian Poetry, Christian Poems, Choked, Riches, Priorities, Good Seed, Parable Of The Sower, Worries  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

On The Other Side Of The Equation, John Piper ...

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Aug 18, 2008

On the other side of the equation, John Piper observes: “This was one of Luke’s great passions—that Christians use their possessions for the needs of others and not just for their own comforts. Luke alone tells the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30–37). Luke alone tells the parable of the ...read more

Tags: Money

Denomination: Independent/Bible

The Willingness Of God To Answer Your Prayer

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Mar 8, 2022

"My friend, do you think that God is asleep? Do you feel that He has gone to bed when you pray, and you cannot get Him up? Do you believe that He does not want to answer your prayers? God does want to answer your prayers and He will. That is what this parable is saying. You do not have ...read more

Tags: Parables, Persistence, God The Father, Importunity, God's Willingness, Prayer, God's Love  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational