In Sermon Illustrations: "Pastor Appreciation"

A Friend Of Mine Was Comfortable As The Senior ...

Contributed by Dr. Mark Eckart on Jul 6, 2009

A friend of mine was comfortable as the senior pastor in a local church in the Midwest. The church paid well, took great care of his family, and he was positioned to advance in his denominational movement. However, one night he attended a camp service and was listening to a missionary speaker and ...read more

Tags: Missions, Sacrifices

Denomination: Holiness

Why Women Talk More Than Men

Contributed by Glynda Lomax on Sep 27, 2021

“According to a theory of sociologists who study human nature, the number of words spoken by the average man in a given day are about 10,000. The average woman uses about 25,000 words in a day. – from speechmastery.com My pastor was doing a teaching on the power of the tongue Sunday morning and ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 18:21

Tags: Idle Words, Power Of The Tongue

Denomination: Charismatic

A Better Vow  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 22, 2003

A BETTER VOW Eric Snyder, Minister of the Farwell Church of Christ tells this story: I recently did a wedding. During the wedding rehearsal, the groom pulled me aside and made me an offer. He said "Look, I’ll give you $100 if you’ll change the wedding vows. When you get to me and the part ...read more

Tags: Submission, Romantic Love, Oneness, Marriage, Marriage General, Miracles Of Jesus  (view more)  (view less)

Joy Does Not Become Elusive To People. People ...  PRO

Contributed by Denise Raterta on Nov 30, 2005

Joy does not become elusive to people. People choose to elude joy and God, for that matter. I remember how Jennifer Aniston’s character in the movie “The Good Girl” resented her lady friend’s consistent cheerfulness by saying: “I wonder what the h--- that woman is so d--- happy about.” It’s ...read more

Tags: Joy

Denomination: *other

A Man Sent A Letter To Ann Landers. He Wrote, ...  PRO

Contributed by Melvin Newland on Feb 20, 2001

A man sent a letter to Ann Landers. He wrote, "This is for the woman who was distressed about her son. I would like to ask her some questions about the boy. Is he disrespectful? Has he been arrested for drunk driving? Has he been kicked out of college for cheating? Has he made his girl friend ...read more

Tags: Children, Sin General

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

A Man Working In The Produce Department Was Asked ...  PRO

Contributed by Brian La Croix on Oct 3, 2001

A man working in the produce department was asked by a lady if she could buy half a head of lettuce. He replied, "Half a head? Are you serious? God grows these in whole heads and that’s how we sell them!" "You mean," she persisted, "that after all the years I’ve shopped here, you won’t sell me ...read more

Tags: Christian Love

Denomination: Wesleyan

I Almost Lost The That Which Is Most Precious To ...

Contributed by Steven Simala Grant on Jun 4, 2002

I almost lost the that which is most precious to me almost 3 years ago. I was here doing some interviews for Day Camp Staff when the phone rang. It was a friend of my wife, Joanne, who called to say that Joanne had just been loaded into an ambulance and was being taken to the U of A hospital. ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

But First A Chance For You To Laugh A Little Once ...

Contributed by D. Greg Ebie on Sep 20, 2007

But first a chance for you to laugh a little once again with my top twelve common words as redefined by parents with children. 12. DUMB WAITER: one who asks if the kids would care to order dessert. 11. DEFENSE: what you’d better have around the yard if you’re going to let the children play ...read more

Tags: Children

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Dirty Laundry

Contributed by Jason Bonnicksen on Mar 15, 2011

DIRTY LAUNDRY I have to admit, I dislike washing the laundry, but I detest wearing filthy clothes even more. Okay, truth be told, I don’t usually have to wash the clothes. My wife does most of it, and she does it well. I’m thankful, though, she doesn’t toil in the same manner as our ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 6:1-11

Tags: Atonement

Denomination: Lutheran

Christ In Me

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Jun 26, 2011

CHRIST IN ME A preacher friend of mine named Mike told of his conversion to Christ. He told me his family was known throughout the community as the worst examples of humanity. The parents were irresponsible. The kids were troublemakers. They lived like animals, even eating food out of ...read more

Tags: Testimonies About Jesus

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Revival Is The Visitation Of God, Which Brings To ...

Contributed by Donnie Martin on Jul 30, 2009

Revival is the visitation of God, which brings to life Christians who have been sleeping and restores a deep sense of God’s near presence and holiness. Thence springs a vivid sense of sin and a profound exercise of heart in repentance, praise, and love, with an evangelistic outflow. Each revival ...read more

Tags: Revival

Denomination: Baptist

Misjudging The Composer

Contributed by Jung Lee on Jan 16, 2024

In a prestigious concert hall, a renowned pianist was scheduled to perform a masterpiece by a legendary composer. The audience, filled with anticipation, settled into their seats as the performance began. However, it quickly became apparent that something was amiss. The pianist, who had been ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 100:1-2

Tags: Perfection, Imperfection, Performance, Flaw, Faith, World, Message, Discernment  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

The Video "Transformations" Made In 1999 Shows ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 16, 2004

The video "Transformations" made in 1999 shows stunning Revivals that are taking place mostly in third world countries (Africa, South America, etc) - Revivals that have literally TRANSFORMED ENTIRE TOWNS AND CITIES for Jesus. It showed how in one Columbian city (notorious as a drug citadel), ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:11-13

Before I Discovered That My Cell Phone Had A ...  PRO

Contributed by Josh Mcdowell on Mar 9, 2005

Before I discovered that my cell phone had a lock screen button I would often accidentally dial the last number in my cell phone’s registry. The biggest problem was that I never realized that it had happened. I would go on with normal life and my cell phone would be on for an extended period of ...read more

Scripture: Acts 1:8

Tags: Christian Disciplines

Denomination: Baptist

God Ain't Dead

Contributed by Tim Zingale on Jun 26, 2006

A pastor wrote: "Some time ago I saw a picture of an old burned-out mountain shack. All that remained was the chimney...the charred debris of what had been that family’s sole possession. In front of this destroyed home stood an old grandfather-looking man dressed only in his underclothes with a ...read more

Tags: Faith General

Denomination: Lutheran

This Week I Came Across This Tongue Firmly ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

This week I came across this tongue firmly implanted in cheek article titled “Pastor Quits Sports”. Here is why this pastor quit going to sporting events: 1. Every time I went they asked me for money. 2. The people with whom I had to sit didn’t seem very friendly. 3. The seats were too hard and ...read more

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Serving Jesus

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Serving Jesus • A certain family in a Southern Baptist Church had been inactive for years. • The family simply never went to church any more and every effort to get them to attend had failed. • One day one of the sons, name John, was bitten by a rattlesnake. The father immediately sent for the ...read more

Tags: Hell

A Striking Christmas Card Was Once Published ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

A striking Christmas card was once published with the title "If Christ Had Not Come". It was founded upon our Savior’s words "If I had not come." The card represented a pastor’s falling into a short sleep in his study on Christmas morning and dreaming of a world into which Jesus had never come. ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 6:9-15

Tags: Faith

You Can Never Tell How The Thorough Learning Of ...

Contributed by Owen Bourgaize on Jul 6, 2008

You can never tell how the thorough learning of Scripture will be used in later life. Richard Wurmbrand was a pastor in Romania and was imprisoned and tortured for his faith by the communist authorities. He testified that it was the passages of Scripture that he had memorized as a youth, which ...read more

Tags: Bible Influence

Denomination: Baptist

The Church Can Still Strike ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 11, 2008

THE CHURCH CAN STILL STRIKE FEAR In 1988, Wally Magdangal was pastoring an underground church in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He was a Filipino lay pastor of Christian foreign workers wishing to gather for worship. In 1992, soon after the conclusion of the Gulf War, the house church had grown to over ...read more

Tags: Persecution