In Sermon Illustrations: "Pastoral Leadership"

Confession

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Illustration- Confession A man told his pastor he had done a terrible thing and could find no rest for his conscience. The pastor asked him, “Have you confessed it to the Lord?” And the man replied, “Pastor, I’ve confessed that sin a thousand times.” The wise pastor said, “That is 999 ...read more

Tags: Endurance

Keep Your Fire Hot  PRO

Contributed by John Perry on Feb 8, 2010

Keep Your Fire Hot A pastor went to visit a man who had been absent from church for some time. When the pastor arrived at the house of his wayward parishioner he found him sitting by a fire of glowing coals. The man fully expected his pastor to rebuke him for his tardy attendance at services. But ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 10:24-25

Tags: Church General

Denomination: Pentecostal

I Am Sure All Of Us Had Our Fair Share Of Being ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

I am sure all of us had our fair share of being disrupted, disparaged or discouraged by rude behavior such as insults, curses, or gossip. Three pastors went to the pastor’s convention and were all sharing one room. The first pastor said, “Let’s confess our secret vices one to another. I’ll start ...read more

Tags: Apologetics Jesus

Spite Fences  PRO

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Jul 10, 2003

SPITE FENCES: I had a good friend that pastored a church in the same town where I pastored. We had a very good friendship and often pent time together. We both loved to laugh. The church my friend pastored was next to a local grocery store. The grocery store venders would park in the back of the ...read more

Tags: Christian Values, Forgiveness General

Denomination: Assembly Of God

A Majority Of Americans--8 Out Of 10--Say That ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 10, 2006

A majority of Americans--8 out of 10--say that they are Christians, but only half that number know who delivered the Sermon on the Mount. Most Americans think the Ten Commandments are valid rules for living, but many have a rough time recalling exactly what those rules are. Among teenagers, 3 in 10 ...read more

Tags: Bible Influence

Being A Servant Comes Down To Basin Theology. ...

Contributed by Kyle Rye on Apr 29, 2009

Being a servant comes down to basin theology. "Remember what Pilate did when he had the chance to acquit Jesus? He called for a basin and washed his hands of the whole thing. But Jesus, the night before His death, called for a basin and proceeded to wash the feet of the disciples. It all comes down ...read more

Tags: Servanthood

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Author Bobb Biehl Said He Decided About Twenty ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Author Bobb Biehl said he decided about twenty years ago to make a hobby of asking questions. Questions help us to focus. He began collecting them, and included an entire chapter of questions in his book, Increasing Your Leadership Confidence. Six that would help us are those Rudyard Kipling ...read more

Tags: New Year's Day

Ray Pritchard: He Says, "We Don't Have A ...

Contributed by Dean O'bryan on Sep 22, 2008

Ray Pritchard: He says, "We don’t have a leadership crisis. What we have is a servanthood crisis. We have too many people who want to be first, who want to lead the parade, who want to be on top of the heap, who want the big office, the title, the power, the perks and the prestige. We don’t have ...read more

Tags: Servanthood

Denomination: Baptist

Writing In His Book, A Work Of Heart, Dr. Reggie ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 26, 2009

Writing in his book, A Work of Heart, Dr. Reggie McNeal, director of the leadership development for the Southern Baptist Convention says, "Common wisdom maintains that children are given to parents so parents can instruct them. The truth is, God gives children to parents to teach parents things ...read more

Tags: Parenting

The Little Boy Was Innocently Talking To The ...

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Sep 6, 2005

The little boy was innocently talking to the arrogant pastor. "Today my dad taught me all about Babylon." Really? replied the pastor. And how did he explain Babylon? He ...read more

Tags: Faith

Denomination: Independent/Bible

When The Immanuel Baptist Church First Called ...  PRO

Contributed by Tim Richards on Sep 2, 2004

When the Immanuel Baptist Church first called Pastor Waite he quickly made his way to each home. Letting people know that he wanted to know anything about the people that would be helpful in his ministry. It wasn’t long before the new pastor knew most of the church secrets. When it came to getting ...read more

Tags: Men And Women, Unity

Denomination: Baptist

What Not To Believe

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 22, 2011

WHAT NOT TO BELIEVE Ben Patterson, campus pastor of Westmont College, tells the story of a retired pastor who began noticing that his former congregation was sliding away from orthodoxy. The pastor saw this as his fault and stated, in two sentences, his great failure as a pastor: "I always told ...read more

Scripture: Romans 16:17-19

Tags: Doctrine

You Do Not Have To Travel Very Far In Any ...  PRO

Contributed by Lindsey Mann on Jul 24, 2002

You do not have to travel very far in any direction before you come across somebody who is away from the influence and authority of the Father. I can remember two such incidents. I was once visiting a church pastor in Kings Cross, Central London. As I made my farewell I stepped out onto the ...read more

Tags: Sin General

Denomination: Pentecostal

Jingle Bells  PRO

Contributed by Peter Loughman on Dec 23, 2006

JINGLE BELLS The two of them were best friends in seminary, studying together, helping each other financially when one or the other got in a pinch, they stood by each other through thick and thin. When they graduated from seminary both coincidentally received a church call within the same state: ...read more

Scripture: John 14:1-6, John 14:1-3

Tags: Death

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Suffering For The Right Reasons

Contributed by Bradley Kellum on Aug 25, 2009

SUFFERING FOR THE RIGHT REASONS Richard Wurmbrand is the founder of a ministry called "Voice of the Martyrs." Some of you receive their publication. Richard Wurmbrand was a Romanian Pastor who was imprisoned by the Russians and tortured for his faith in Christ. In May of 1966 Pastor Wurmbrand ...read more

Tags: Affliction

Denomination: Baptist

Seeing You For Real

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 3, 2011

SEEING YOU FOR REAL Just a few years ago, Leadership Journal did an interview with Saul Cruz, who along with his wife founded Armonia (Harmony) Ministries in Mexico City. They minister to hundreds of poor people all over Mexico today, but they began their ministry by planting a church on the edge ...read more

Scripture: Acts 20:17-19

Tags: Servanthood

Let's Kiss  PRO

Contributed by Juan Lane on May 15, 2005

“Let’s Kiss” There was a pastor who had a parrot. All the parrot would say was, “Let’s pray, let’s pray.” The pastor tried to teach him to say other things but to no avail. He learned that one of his deacons had a parrot. Thet parrot would only say, “Let’s kiss. Let’s kiss.” So the pastor decided ...read more

Tags: Prayer Answered

Denomination: Pentecostal

Amen, Pharaoh

Contributed by Jeremiah Menyongai on Oct 5, 2010

AMEN, PHARAOH A pastor was invited at another church to preach. When he began his sermon, there was enthusiasm. The more the congregation responded loud to his sermon, the longer he went on. Finally, he noticed that the host pastor had started responding to his sermon by saying "Amen, ...read more

Scripture: James 1:9

Tags: Moses, Go, Release, Excitement, Enthusiasm, Windy, Long, Short, Direct, Point, Sermon, Brief  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Charismatic

Church Attendance Excuse

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Jan 22, 2025

A pastor said: “You need to join the Army of the Lord!” My friend replied, “I'm already in the Army of the Lord, Pastor.” Pastor questioned, “How come I don't see you except at Christmas ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 10:25-27

Tags: Faithfulness, Excuses, Church Attendance

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Our 7-Year-Old Daughter Had Just Won $2.00 For ...  PRO

Contributed by Curtis Kittrell on Sep 23, 2001

Our 7-year-old daughter had just won $2.00 for her memory work in Sunday school. After the morning service, the pastor’s wife congratulated her. Our daughter proudly announced, "And I put it all in the morning’s offering!" "My, how wonderful!" the pastor’s wife exclaimed. "I’m sure God will be ...read more

Tags: Children

Denomination: Pentecostal