In Sermon Illustrations: "Passing Love Along"

No One Is A Lost Cause

Contributed by Tim Smith on Feb 11, 2015

Ron Smith was in law enforcement for 20 years. After he retired, he was asked to join a prison ministry of his church. He scoffed at the idea, knowing he had put a lot of those guys in prison and he, above all, knew what types of peoplethey were. But eventually he broke down and joined and God ...read more

Scripture: Luke 23:32-43

Tags: Forgiveness, Compassion, Hope, Reconciliation

Denomination: Methodist

Beauty

Contributed by Tim Smith on Sep 25, 2016

Pastor Randy Kanipe tells the story of a Sabbath time away from his church while he was struggling with failure. He happened to be walking by a cow pasture and stopped to gaze over the fence, pondering the ’green pastures’ that he imagined God leading him through - my attention was drawn down to a ...read more

Scripture: James 3:2, John 1:5

Tags: Failure, Failures, Poop

Denomination: Methodist

Casket Stolen

Contributed by Roberta Karchner on Feb 28, 2020

Funerals usually go calmly. But sometimes things happen that change everything. Perhaps the greatest example is that of Easter morning, as the women arrive to prepare the body, only to find that the stone was rolled away and the body of Jesus was missing. There was much running around and great ...read more

Scripture: John 20:1-8, Matthew 28:1-10, Luke 24:1-10, Mark 16:1-8

Tags: Easter, Tomb, He Is Risen, Stone Rolled Away, Ressurection, Missing Body, Mary At Tomb  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Bless Assurance: Fanny Crosby

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Jan 16, 2021

ASSURANCE: free from doubt, a positive declaration intended to give confidence, a sure promise, in a religious sitting it means salvation by the inner witness of the Holy Spirit that we are justified. No harm will come, with great faith. FANNY JANE CROSBY was born in 1820 and died in 1915 at the ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16, John 14:27, John 14:1-3

Tags: Assurance, God Can

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Evil Has Arrived

Contributed by Dr. Ronald Shultz on Sep 7, 2021

I am afraid that if Paul Revere rode through our towns crying, "The evil is coming! The evil is coming" Church folks would go back to sleep instead of rising to arms and in the morning have him arrested for disturbing the peace. The same works for revival. The call may come and God ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 2:5, Romans 13:11, Ezekiel 33:6-7

Tags: Candlestick, Awake, Hell, Soul, Sleep, Watchman  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Amazing Forgiveness

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 31, 2022

A policeman recounted an incident when he and other officers shot an eighteen-year-old boy and burned the body. Eight years later the policeman returned to the same house and seized the boy's father. The wife was forced to watch as policemen bound her husband on a woodpile, poured gasoline over ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 65:3

Tags: Grace, Forgiveness

Remember The Duck

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 31, 2022

A little boy visiting his grandparents was given his first slingshot. As he practiced in his Grandma’s backyard, he spied her pet duck. On an impulse, he took aim and let fly. The stone hit, and the duck fell dead. The boy panicked. Desperately he hid the dead duck in the woodpile only to look up ...read more

Scripture: Mark 11:25

Tags: Grace, Forgiveness

Ancient Christian Fable - There Is No Other Plan

Contributed by J Jeffrey Smead on Mar 13, 2023

There is an ancient Christian fable ... that tells of Jesus encounter ...as he reentered ...Heaven. As the angels spoke with him, ...Gabriel, noticed ...that Jesus bore the marks of the cross, ...and being inquisitive, ...said to Jesus: Master, ...you must have suffered terribly for those people ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 4:19, Romans 10:14, Acts 8:4-7, Acts 1:8

Tags: Plan, Salvation, You, Fisher Of Men

Denomination: Anglican

The Man Who Couldn't Kill Himself

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Aug 21, 2023

Centuries after Esther lived, there lived a man named William Cowper. At the young age of thirty-two, wracked by deep depression and despair, Cowper decided finally to take matters into his own hands and kill himself. He hired a carriage to take him to the Thames River. The carriage driver, a ...read more

Tags: Hymn Stories, Mysteries, Death, Miracles, Depression, Providence, Suicide  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Big Turkey In The Freezer

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Nov 21, 2023

A Christian woman went into the local pet shop to buy a parrot for company. She selected a beautiful bird, but the pet store owner said he didn't think that she'd be happy with this particular parrot because he had belonged to a salty old sailor who used very bad language. She replied ...read more

Tags: Birds, Parrots, Holidays, Food, Profanity, Punishment, Discipline, Cursing, Thanksgiving  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Thief On The Cross Didn't Go To Church!

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Feb 3, 2024

A pastor saw one of his sheep in the grocery store and got around to asking where they had been lately. Was it something I said? Is it another church?" The man laughed and said, "Oh, no, we love you and the people of our church." The pastor was left to his own curiosity. He then ...read more

Scripture: James 2:14-26

Tags: Work, Excuses, Tithing, Thief On The Cross, Faith, Grace, Service, Baptism, Church, Salvation  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Those Cookies Are For Your Funeral!!!

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Nov 12, 2024

As an elderly man lay dying in his bed, death’s agony was suddenly pushed aside as he smelled the aroma of his favorite homemade chocolate chip cookies drifting up the stairs. Gathering his remaining strength, he lifted himself from the bed. Leaning against the wall, he slowly made his way out of ...read more

Tags: Death, Marriage, Heaven, Husbands, Wives, Funerals, Cruelty, Cookies, Mean People  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[120]. A Message From A Poem – He Has Done All This

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Jul 2, 2025

[120]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – HE HAS DONE ALL THIS What has the Lord done for you? Do you take time to run through what God has made you, and what great promises He has given you, and what future promises await you? It is an excellent exercise because we must always be mindful of our dear ...read more

Scripture: Mark 5:19-20

Tags: Great Things, Christian Poetry, Christian Poems

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

God's Ultimate Protection - Psalm 91

Contributed by Rick Crandall on Sep 26, 2025

God's Ultimate Protection - Psalm 91 Judy Anderson grew up as a missionary kid in Zaire. As a little girl, she went to a day-long rally celebrating the 100th anniversary of Christian missionaries coming to that part of the country. After a full day of messages and music, an old man came ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 91:1-16

Tags: Eternal Life, Refuge, Cross Of Christ, Messiah Prophecies, Fear, Protection, Resurrection, Trust, Overcome, Fortress  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

[281]. A Message From A Poem – The Lord Is

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Jan 31, 2026

[281]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – THE LORD IS This poem is the second shortest one I think I have written. I use lots of metaphors here – a metaphor is when you say something is another thing. A simile is saying something is like another thing. There is no rhyme scheme in the poem but there is ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 27:1, Psalm 18:2

Tags: Metaphor, Christian Poems, The Lord Is

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

One Of The Best Ways To Bear Everlasting Fruit Is ...

Contributed by Rick Crandall on Apr 19, 2010

One of the best ways to bear everlasting fruit is to share your Christian testimony with other people. This morning we have a YouTube clip with part Drew Brees’ Christian testimony. Drew gave this testimony earlier this season in an interview with Jill Ewert from the Fellowship of Christian ...read more

Tags: Testimonies About Jesus

Denomination: Baptist

A U.s. Volunteer Nurse Helps In Haiti After ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 28, 2010

A U.S. Volunteer Nurse Helps in Haiti After Earthquake Gene McCoy is the Sr. Minister of the Memorial Christian Church in Mt. Home, AR. His oldest daughter, Heidi, is a nurse and has gone to Haiti to serve with a medical team. She was written her folks several times, which I have shared via email. ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 14:14

Tags: Compassion

Experiences Of Mediocrity, Bob Russell, When God ...  PRO

Contributed by A. Todd Coget on Nov 1, 2001

[Experiences of Mediocrity, Bob Russell, When God Builds a Church, Howard Publishing Co, 2000, pp 110-11] The experience for a first-time visitor in many … churches goes something like this: You drive into the parking lot of the church at 10:40 Sunday morning. You assume you’re five minutes early ...read more

Tags: Church Practices

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

A Preacher Once Wrote About An Incident In His ...  PRO

Contributed by Jeff Strite on May 19, 2002

A preacher once wrote about an incident in his life: “I’d received a notice from my 13 year old son’s school announcing a meeting to preview the new course in sexuality. Parents could examine the curriculum and take part in an actual lesson presented exactly as it would be given to the students. ...read more

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 4:3

Tags: Marriage Faithfulness

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

What I'll Be Doing For Memorial Day  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 19, 2002

WHAT I'LL BE DOING FOR MEMORIAL DAY Memorial Day is a rough day for me. It’s a day of remembering. Remembering can be curse when you’ve spent years trying to forget. It’s even worse when you get mad at yourself for not being able to remember. It’s strange that you forget so many things you want ...read more

Tags: Holidays Civic, Christian Disciplines