In Sermon Illustrations: "Pearl Of Great Price"

Lucado On Alcoholism

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 23, 2011

LUCADO ON ALCOHOLISM Max Lucado, one of America's great Christian leaders, found that out earlier in his ministry. He once said, "I come from a family of alcoholism. If there's anything about this DNA stuff, I've got it." For more than 20 years, drinking was not a major issue for Lucado, but about ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 3:1-5

Tags: Alcohol

Take My Hand  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 7, 2011

TAKE MY HAND The story is told of a man and his boy who was with him, when a little fellow, in Scotland, and for the first time he possessed what in that country is known as a top-coat. They were walking out one cold day, and the way was slippery. The little fellow's hands were deep down in his ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 16:18, Proverbs 16:18-33

Tags: God, Hands, Pride, Hold, Pluck  (view more)  (view less)

The Big Announcement

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 1, 2011

THE BIG ANNOUNCEMENT We hear good news in lots of different ways, and I am glad that we got to hear the Easter story told by some of our children this morning. There is something about hearing a child tell this great story that gives it new power. I can no longer hear the Resurrection story ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:1-10

Tags: Easter Resurrection

Works-Driven Rituals

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 4, 2011

WORKS-DRIVEN RITUALS Every year a great throng of people make pilgrimage to the Shrine of Guadalupe in Mexico, a site where supposedly the Virgin Mary once stood...however unlikely that is. They go there hoping to get her attention, and to get her to intervene for them with her son Jesus. They ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 1:7-10

Tags: Action

Navy Seals

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 9, 2011

NAVY SEALS I don’t know much about the army but here is something I read recently about those Navy Seals who shot Osama Bin Laden. It’s good to be a Navy SEAL right now. The elite sailors are being showered with praise for their successful operation in Pakistan that resulted in the killing of ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 2:3

Tags: Hardship Of Life

Dying For Someone Like That

Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on Aug 12, 2011

DYING FOR SOMEONE LIKE THAT During the war in Vietnam, a young West Point graduate was sent over to lead a group of new recruits into battle. He did his job well, trying his best to keep his recruits from ambush and death. But one night, when they had been under attack, he was unable to get one of ...read more

Tags: God's Love

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Where Can I Get A Heart Like Yours?

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 12, 2011

WHERE CAN I GET A HEART LIKE YOURS? Bill White of Paramount, California talks about being in Compton, California, working with volunteers from several different churches on a Saturday doing projects to serve the city. At lunch time, he was headed down a narrow side street when he saw dozens of ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 2:11-12

Tags: Christian Witness

The Last Letter Of Karen Watson

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 18, 2011

THE LAST LETTER OF KAREN WATSON Our International Mission Board is working on a project called "The Last Letter." It’s actually an old tradition of soldiers and missionaries who as they boarded a ship, wrote their family and friends a letter that they think might be their final ...read more

Scripture: Mark 8:34-38

Tags: Missions

Billy Graham: Growing Old Has Been A Surprise  PRO

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Feb 7, 2012

BILLY GRAHAM: GROWING OLD HAS BEEN A SURPRISE Billy Graham, in his book "Nearing Home: Life, Faith, and Finishing Well" (pp. 1-2, Thomas Nelson), he writes: Growing old has been the greatest surprise of my life. The young live for the here and now. Thinking ahead seems to be in the form of dreams ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 16:31

Tags: Aging

Denomination: Baptist

Worship At A Garbage Dump

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 21, 2012

WORSHIP AT A GARBAGE DUMP Imagine a town built atop an active landfill. That is "Garbage City" in Cairo, Egypt, longtime home to an impoverished, marginalized community of Coptic Christians for whom life is only going to get harder. The so-called Zabbaleen have been the trash collectors of Cairo ...read more

Scripture: John 4:24

Tags: Worship General

Finish Strong

Contributed by Jeffrey Rowe on Dec 29, 2012

In 2 Tim 4:7 Paul said that death was like finishing the race. Like crossing the finish line. That all of life is really about one thing – finishing well. Accomplishing the dreams and goals that God has for your life. I ran cross country in high school. We’d go out to these golf courses and ...read more

Tags: Death, Running The Race

Denomination: Holiness

Pax Romana  PRO

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Dec 30, 2012

PAX ROMANA About 27 years before Jesus was born Rome experienced something unique that history has called Pax Romana = the peace of Rome. Beginning with the reign of Augustine, Emperor of Rome and lasting till about 180 A.D. (a period of 200 years) Rome was at peace. They had few internal ...read more

Tags: Peace

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

A Boost For Not Boasting!!!

Contributed by Suresh Manoharan on Oct 21, 2016

A Boost for not Boasting!!! Probably you have heard this story before but here it goes again...a tale involving a frog prone to self-boasting and his two crane friends who planned to “live happily together ever after” inhabiting as they were a pond overflowing with rich flora and fauna but that ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 9:23-24

Tags: Power, Prudence, Boasting In Christ

Denomination: *other

Judging God's Mirror

Contributed by David Goering on Sep 1, 2018

Suppose a young couple woke up in the morning after a good night sleep and the husband looked in the mirror on the dresser and became very angry at the reflection because of what he saw... his hair was disheveled and he had a sleep wrinkle that ran down the one side of his face, so he took his ...read more

Scripture: James 1:23-25

Tags: Character, Reflection, Mirror, Gods Word

Mountain Stream

Contributed by Roy Fowler on Sep 30, 2021

Where I was Pastoring at the time I got 5th Sunday off. I had a favorite fishing hole. The water wasn’t very deep so I could wade in the water. That was fun for me. It had big trees that hung over the water and the sun would shine through them and made it look beautiful. It was great, this river ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 1:1-6

Tags: Becoming Finished, Facing Storms

Denomination: Independent/Bible

God With Us - Immanuel (Charles Spurgeon)

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Dec 5, 2021

(Charles Spurgeon December 24, 1854) Do you know the full meaning of that name Immanuel, “God with us”? No, he who knows it best knows little of it. Alas, he who knows it not at all is ignorant indeed, so ignorant that his ignorance is not bliss, but will be his damnation. Oh! may God teach you the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 1:23, Isaiah 7:10-15

Tags: Heaven's Hallelujah, Sufferer's Comfort, Christmas, Immanuel, God With Us, Charles Spurgeon  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Living Or Dead

Contributed by Max Furman on Dec 24, 2021

On Easter Sunday, religious leaders and the disciples had all witnessed the same event. However, both saw something differently. A few years ago, I was getting ready to leave the house for a run and as my wife and I talked, I learned that she was soon going to run an errand. Jokingly, I told her ...read more

Scripture: Luke 24:8-11

Tags: Easter, Resurrection

3 Men Were Walking On A Beach One Afternoon ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

: 3 men were walking on a beach one afternoon when they came across an old lamp. The first man picked it up and began to rub it and out popped a genie. The genie said I am here to give each of you one wish each. The first man did not hesitate he said I want a million dollars – POOF, instantly a ...read more

Tags: Peace

A Friend Of Mine Told Me About A Time He Was A ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

A friend of mine told me about a time he was a youth counselor at church camp. During the week they had various types of activities. They had bible classes, and prayer groups, and hiking, and worship services, and of course some type of sporting competition every day. All the kids were having a ...read more

Tags: Ot Characters

The Clouds Move—but Slowly (Grief)

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

THE CLOUDS MOVE-BUT SLOWLY (grief) I heard her talking about it on the radio. A thoughtful young lady, to be sure. She was discussing her grief - the grief of losing her husband after only two years of marriage. He was a policeman. She knew the dangers he faced, but was proud that he truly cared ...read more

Tags: Easter Resurrection