In Sermon Illustrations: "Pastoring"

John Wesley: Desired Personal Holiness, But Felt ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 28, 2008

John Wesley: Desired personal holiness, but felt like a failure. A serious man speaking to John Wesley, "Sir, you wish to serve God and to heaven? Remember that you cannot serve him alone. You must therefore find companions or make them; the Bible knows nothing of solitary religion." Wesley's ...read more

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Don't Just Count Them, Look Them In The Eye

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 28, 2009

DON’T JUST COUNT THEM, LOOK THEM IN THE EYE An item in Leadership magazine illustrates the importance of giving attention to needs, not just to numbers. "During World War II, economist E.F. Schumacher, then a young statistician, worked on a farm. Each day he would count the 32 head of cattle, then ...read more

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

I Love Baptisms. I Always Love It When People ...

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Dec 27, 2009

I love Baptisms. I always love it when people respond to Jesus in this way. I remember as a TEENAGER seeing people from our YOUTH GROUP being BAPTISED in a BAPTISMAL POOL at the FRONT of our Church. It was so STRANGE to me. I watched as people WALKED DOWN THE STEPS of a SMALL POOL at ...read more

Tags: Baptism

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

It Interests Me That God Tests Me By Allowing Me ...

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Dec 27, 2009

"It interests me that God tests me by allowing me to go through difficult situations in order to prove the quality of my character, the genuineness of my worship and the motivations of my service. What is your Marah? I can sing praises easily when things are working out well for me. Throughout my ...read more

Tags: Suffering Joy In

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Love Of Christ Enables Believers  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 31, 2010

THE LOVE OF CHRIST ENABLES BELIEVERS I like the way one pastor put it years ago (1986) when he became overwhelmed with all the "ideals" he was collecting from church growth seminars and books. He said, "Quite frankly, I'm sick to death of ideals. I have so many ideals and I've been so frustrated ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 4:13-16

Tags: Growth In Christ

Make A Wish

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 10, 2010

MAKE A WISH Have you ever dreamed of finding a genie in a lamp where you could get three wishes? Our Pastor, who is in charge of the prison ministry, always tells the same joke, because the prisoner population has a new turnover each time he visits. He always sets them up by asking if they had ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 13:16

Tags: Fool

Underdoing Personal Responsibility

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 5, 2010

UNDERDOING PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY Craig Groeschel, a well known pastor and author of the "Christian Atheist" says: "As Christians, we can be tempted to 'overdo faith.' I put that in quotes because it would be more accurate to say it's 'underdoing personal responsibility.' There's really no way ...read more

Scripture: James 2:14-26

Tags: Faith Vs. Works

Cruel Grace  PRO

Contributed by Bret Toman on Jan 4, 2011

CRUEL GRACE "Thirty years ago, many people chose churches based on whether the church believed and taught the truth. Today, many choose churches based on whether the church makes them feel comfortable. If a church tells the truth, it will gain some people but lose others. One out of five women ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:6

Tags: Grace

Denomination: Baptist

I Tithe—he'll Find Me.  PRO

Contributed by Denn Guptill on May 1, 2011

"I TITHE--HE'LL FIND ME." Two men have ended up marooned on an island in the South Pacific. You can fill in the blanks as to how they got there. So they are on the clichéic deserted island, one palm tree, nothing to see but the ocean. One guy is in a complete panic, pacing back and forth, ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 3:5-21, Matthew 23:23

Tags: Offering, Tithe, Tithes

Denomination: Wesleyan

Stop Or Slow Down  PRO

Contributed by Akinsanya Adubi on May 6, 2011

STOP OR SLOW DOWN Pastor John Hagee told us a story of a driver that refused to stop at a STOP sign; he was then pulled over by a cop. The cop told him that the reason he pulled him over was because he refused to stop at a STOP sign. He replied that he slowed down, the cop then explain to him that ...read more

Scripture: Luke 6:38

Tags: Sin Bondage To

Denomination: Pentecostal

God Picks The Unlovable Ones

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 15, 2011

GOD PICKS THE UNLOVABLE ONES Anne Lamott described a time when a fellow church member told about adopting her son through an organization called A.S.K. -- Adopt Special Kids. Part of the adoption process included filling out a questionnaire checking "yes" or "no" for one's willingness to adopt ...read more

Scripture: John 4:1-42

Tags: Adoption

Not If Jesus Is Like Dad  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 21, 2011

NOT IF JESUS IS LIKE DAD Some months ago I heard a touching story about a humble, consecrated pastor whose young son had become very ill. After the boy had undergone an exhaustive series of tests, the father was told the shocking news that his son had a terminal illness. The youngster had accepted ...read more

Scripture: John 14:1-3

Tags: Father's Day

Travelers Vs. Tourists

Contributed by Tim Hinrichs on Mar 29, 2012

TRAVELERS VS. TOURISTS Canadian Pastor Mark Buchanan in his book "Your Church is Too Safe" points out the radical difference between a traveler and a tourist. "A traveler literally means 'one who travails.' He labors, he suffers, endures. A traveler -- travailer - ...immerses himself in a culture, ...read more

Tags: Discipleship

Denomination: Lutheran

God, You're In My Way.  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 28, 2012

"GOD, YOU'RE IN MY WAY." A California pastor, Kyle Idleman, talks about his last move in his book, Not a Fan. In that move, he saved the heaviest piece of furniture for last -- the desk from his office. And as he was pushing and pulling the desk with all his might, his four-year-old son came over ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:6-8, Philippians 4:4-7

Tags: Anxiety

A Story To Tell

Contributed by Bobby Jenkins on Feb 2, 2013

A STORY TO TELL (A poem to honor our military veterans ) By Pastor Bobby W. Jenkins Jr. A story to tell, one we can’t fully understand One of sacrifice and bravery of so many men A story to tell of a perilous fight That cost so many their lives and gathered such might A story to tell of the ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 33:12

Tags: Military, America, Soldier, Veterans, Holidays Civic  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Assembly Of God

God Is Not An Assistant  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 23, 2013

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR AN ASSISTANT? Tim Keller, a pastor in Manhattan, New York, said that in 1970 a Sunday school teacher changed his life with a simple illustration. The teacher said, “Let’s assume the distance between the earth and the sun (92 million miles) was reduced to the thickness of this ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 1:1-3

Tags: God's Omnipotence

Trials

Contributed by Tim Smith on May 28, 2015

Sam Dixon was the General Secretary of the United Methodist Committee on Relief. He died under the rubble in the Montana Hotel of Haiti, serving God while meeting with other relief agencies to work together to better help the Haitian people. When one serves God so faithfully and suddenly is killed, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:13-16

Tags: God's Sovereignty, Serving, Choices, The Price To Follow

Denomination: Methodist

A National Prayer Of Repentance  PRO

Contributed by Troy Borst on May 31, 2001

A NATIONAL PRAYER OF REPENTANCE Joe Wright is the pastor of Central Christian Church in Wichita, KS. On January 23, 1996, He was asked to be the guest chaplain for the Kansas State House in Topeka. He prayed a prayer of repentance that was written by Bob Russell, pastor of Southeast ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:18-21

Tags: Walk, Controversial, Independence Day, National, Repentance, Prayer, Prayer Confession  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

A National Prayer Of Repentance  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 30, 2002

A NATIONAL PRAYER OF REPENTANCE Joe Wright is the pastor of Central Christian Church in Wichita, KS. On January 23, 1996, He was asked to be the guest chaplain for the Kansas State House in Topeka. He prayed a prayer of repentance that was written by Bob Russell, pastor of Southeast Christian ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 14:34, Jonah 3:6-10, Jeremiah 18:7-14, Acts 2:1-13

Tags: Christian Liberty, Gambling, Prayer, Repentance, Men, Independence Day  (view more)  (view less)

I Recently Met A New Friend We'll Call Mike

Contributed by Brian Harvison on Apr 12, 2008

I recently met a new friend we’ll call Mike Mike told me his testimony Mike believed he was saved Was going through life as a saved man, but not really on fire for God Things that should have negatively affected him, his friends behavior, his environment , didn’t He just ignored those things and ...read more

Denomination: Baptist