In Sermon Illustrations: "Passing Love Along"

What's Your Dream?

Contributed by Grant Van Boeschoten on Apr 22, 2008

WHAT'S YOUR DREAM? Mathew Barnett, at the young age of 20, was asked by his father Tommy Barnett to pastor an Inner City Church in Los Angeles. The first day that Mathew was at the Church it had a congregation of forty people. But instead of growing under his young and enthusiastic leadership, ...read more

Tags: Dreams

Getting Back On Track

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 31, 2008

GETTING BACK ON TRACK Jim Baker is back in the pulpit again. "It's awesome to die and come back," he told about 400 worshipers at Way of Life Church, where he was the guest speaker one Sunday. The former PTL Ministries leader presided over a multimillion dollar TV ministry until he resigned amid a ...read more

Tags: Basics Of Christianity

Living Together And Divorce

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 11, 2009

LIVING TOGETHER AND DIVORCE A recent study by the Penn State University interviewed 92 couples found, in general, those who lived together before marriage were • more verbally aggressive, • more hostile and • less supportive than those who waited until marriage to live ...read more

Scripture: Malachi 2:16

Tags: Divorce

No Record

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 28, 2009

"NO RECORD" Several years ago Bob Sheffield of the Navigators told a moving story picturing the essence of what it means to receive God’s forgiveness. Before he became a Christian, Bob played professional hockey in Canada. He was tough, loved to fight and found himself in jail one night after a ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 103:1-22

Tags: Atonement

Buying Them Back

Contributed by Johnny Wilson on Aug 11, 2009

BUYING THEM BACK We're told about a gift of grace (singular) and informed that it will help us to build up the church in LOVE. Do you see a pattern, here? Whatever we have to use in God's service comes directly from God. It's a lot like a former colleague experienced at Ziff-Davis Publishing. He ...read more

Tags: Grace

Denomination: *other

Daddy's Empty ...

Contributed by Johnny Creasong on Aug 28, 2009

DADDY’S EMPTY CHAIR A man’s daughter had asked the local minister to come and pray with her father. When the minister arrived, he found the man lying in bed with his head propped up on two pillows. An empty chair sat beside his bed. The minister assumed that the old fellow had been informed of ...read more

Tags: Prayer, Prayer Adoration

Denomination: Church Of God

Man Learns To Forgive His ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 14, 2009

Man Learns to Forgive His Enemy The apostle Paul said, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). We don’t serve in order to merit God’s forgiveness. We serve because we have already received God’s forgiveness. And our service is ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:32

Tags: Forgiveness, Forgiveness For Others

Years Ago I Was Working Two Jobs Trying To Get ...

Contributed by Sean Harder on Dec 18, 2009

Years ago I was working two jobs trying to get into professional golf. One of those was a courier job where you had to use your own vehicle. I had a very reliable Honda civic hatchback, great for driving in the city, a fair bit of space in the back with the seat folded down. It was the best car I ...read more

Tags: Mistakes

Medical Volunteer Transforms Life Of Man ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 26, 2010

Medical Volunteer Transforms Life of Man Previously Thought To Be In A Vegetative State The simple point to what God is reminding us of is, “The Extra Mile” can change a life and win a soul to Jesus. To me that makes the pain of going the extra mile a pleasure. I listened to an interview on Jeremy ...read more

Scripture: Luke 10:25-37

Tags: Compassion

There Is Something Convenient About Being A ...

Contributed by Thomas Cash on Mar 9, 2010

There is something convenient about being a fence-straddler. We think we can have the best of both worlds. But in order to make a real commitment to Jesus Christ, we have to weigh our options. Anyone who has ever struggled with their faith will come out stronger. One of my biggest personal ...read more

Tags: Prayer Of Faith

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Does God Have The Say?

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Mar 13, 2010

DOES GOD HAVE THE SAY? WE HAVE JUST MOVED TO SYDNEY NSW from the Whitsundays in Queensland, Australia. I didn't come seeking a better position, certainly not better scenery or more money. We don't even have our own house to live in at present. When we moved, we moved because we knew that God was ...read more

Tags: God's Provision

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

British Clergyman Repudiates The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 6, 2010

British Clergyman Repudiates the Church’s Traditional Understanding of the Cross The Very Reverend Dr. Jeffrey Philip Hywel John believes that the church’s traditional understanding of the cross of Christ is both “repulsive” and “insane.” His comments in the spring of 2007 about the cross ignited a ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31

Tags: Cross, False Doctrine

Thought Control.  PRO

Contributed by Andrew Moffatt on Jun 2, 2010

Thought Control. What thought? Every thought. The one I have about the Ford Mark One Zephyr that I would like to one day own, the one about how angry I get with repeating a request that someone shuts the door behind them, the thought about how I’d like that last slice of chocolate cake that is for ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 10:5

Tags: Temptation General

Denomination: Salvation Army

Big Ed

Contributed by Christopher Lanham on Jul 19, 2010

BIG ED When I was in high school, there was this girl -- let's call her "Edith". Everyone called her Big "Ed" because she was on the heavy side. She was the youngest of four sisters, the three older ones being very attractive. Edith accepted the nickname, showed no real signs of being injured ...read more

Tags: Friendship General, Misfit

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

You Will Meet An Old Lady

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 3, 2010

YOU WILL MEET AN OLD LADY You are going to meet an old lady someday. Down the road ahead, 10, 20, 30 years; she’s waiting for you. You will be catching up with her. What kind of old lady are you going to meet? That is a rather significant question. She may be a seasoned, soft, and gracious lady. ...read more

Scripture: Luke 6:43-45

Tags: Character

The Son And The Rose

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 22, 2011

THE SON AND THE ROSE Arnold Prater, in his book You Can Have Joy! tells about a man in a little English village named John Deckard. He was a clerk in a textile factory. A modest and quiet man, he lived in an ordinary little house at the edge of town with his wife and his six-year-old son, Rob. ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:4

Tags: Parenting

Mama's Prayers  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 9, 2011

MAMA'S PRAYERS E. V. (Ed) Hill, who pastored Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles, tells the story of how "Mama’s" love and prayers changed his life. During the height of the Depression, Hill’s real mother, who had five children of her own, didn’t have enough food to go around, so ...read more

Scripture: Luke 11:1-13

Tags: Mother's Day

One Life At A Time: Rudy's Story

Contributed by Tim Smith on Oct 8, 2011

ONE LIFE AT A TIME: RUDY'S STORY Rudy Rasmus learned the family business from his father when he was just five years old. His dad brought home a set of blueprints and unveiled his business plans. He said, "This a motel and other people's husbands are going to come and give us money to spend time ...read more

Scripture: Acts 9:1-31

Tags: Conversion, Testimonies About Jesus

Denomination: Methodist

Sending The Very Best  PRO

Contributed by Perry Greene on Nov 18, 2011

SENDING THE VERY BEST Someone has composed the following list of "Cards You'll Never See at Hallmark": "Looking back over the years that we've been together, I can't help but wonder.... What was I thinking?!" "I've always wanted to have someone to hold, someone to love.... After having ...read more

Scripture: James 1:19-25, Philippians 1:3-30, Matthew 25:31-46

Tags: Joy, Friendship General

Denomination: Independent/Bible

The Mark Of Jesus  PRO

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Feb 17, 2012

THE MARK OF JESUS When I was pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Levelland, there was a man in our church, the owner of a local business and a highly intentional Christian. The apostle Paul once said of himself that he bore "on [his] body the marks of Jesus" (Gal. 6:17). Well, this man bore ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:25-33

Tags: Sanctification

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed