In Sermon Illustrations: "Persecuted Christian"

Is That All?  PRO

Contributed by Thomas Cash on Jul 14, 2011

IS THAT ALL? Listen to the words of Francis Chan: "You go to a building, someone gives you a bulletin, you sit in a chair, you sing a few songs, a guy delivers maybe a polished message, maybe not, someone sings a solo, you go home. "Though Christians believe in an almighty and all powerful God ...read more

Tags: Zeal

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Men And Women's Roles

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 8, 2011

MEN AND WOMEN'S ROLES Wayne Grudem and John Piper identified and addressed a problem in leadership back in 1991 which is still relevant: "A controversy of major proportions has spread through the church. It began over 20 years ago in society at large. Since then an avalanche of feminist ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 2:9-15

Tags: Men And Women

Winning In Losing  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 11, 2011

WINNING IN LOSING Both teams that play in the Super Bowl think they will win, so both teams have special t-shirts and hats designed that declare them the victors. It costs about $2 million to have the apparel made--which means for the losing team, $2 million goes to waste, right? Wrong. A recent ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 9:19-23

Tags: Giving General

Packer On God's Impassivity

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Aug 22, 2011

PACKER ON GOD'S IMPASSIVITY J.I. Packer does an excellent job defining the doctrine of God's impassivity: "This means, not that God is...unfeeling..., but that no created beings can inflict pain, suffering and distress on him at their own will. In so far as God enters into suffering and ...read more

Tags: God In The Hardships

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Gluttony Pants

Contributed by Tim Smith on Oct 8, 2011

GLUTTONY PANTS Chef Chris Cosentino, Food Network star and executive chef at Incanto restaurant in San Francisco, has created the Gluttony Pants for those of us who occasionally indulge and engorge without the post-meal awkwardness. The pants have three buttons, allowing you to expand the pants' ...read more

Tags: Sin General

Denomination: Methodist

Allow The Word To Disturb You  PRO

Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on Nov 4, 2011

ALLOW THE WORD TO DISTURB YOU "We need to repent of the haughty way in which we sometimes stand in judgment upon Scripture and must learn to sit humbly under its judgment instead. If we come to Scripture with our minds made up, expecting to hear from it only an echo of our own thoughts and never ...read more

Tags: Bible Truth

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Dead People Everywhere

Contributed by Jeff Gauss on Jun 29, 2012

DEAD PEOPLE EVERYWHERE Sometimes the most basic truths of Christianity can be quite confusing. Take for instance the first time little Suzy attended a funeral service. The minister used the phrase, "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust." Suzy didn't understand so she asked her grandma, who was with her, ...read more

Tags: Death

Denomination: Baptist

Why Say No When Everybody Else Is Saying ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 9, 2012

WHY SAY NO WHEN EVERYBODY ELSE IS SAYING YES? Writing in the aftermath of World War II, Elton Trueblood looked back to those few brave German Christians who had the courage to oppose Adolph Hitler. When so many others went along or simply kept silent, a few, a courageous handful, would not go along ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 22:36-38

Tags: Love For God

The Real Story Of Unequally Yoked.  PRO

Contributed by Davon Huss on Jan 31, 2015

David Slagle, a minister at a small church in Atlanta, tells the story of a woman in her late 20’s. The woman had befriended a man living in her apartment complex. Slagle and his wife asked whether the two were dating. The man in question was a known atheist. The young woman answered, “No, I’m ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:1-10

Tags: Marriage, Premarital, Unequally Yoked, Pre-Marital Counsel

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Conformity

Contributed by Don Berry-Graham on Feb 29, 2016

I first noticed this in leading people to Christ. They were beautiful before they were “church broke.” Great young converts often start out as radiant Christians and end up only as carbon-copy Baptists. Great young ministers start out as adorable mavericks, but after a business meeting or two and a ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:1-2, Romans 12:2-5

Tags: Conformity, Accepting

Denomination: Baptist

If Billy Goes To Hell, Do You Care?

Contributed by Steve Kinnard on Feb 10, 2019

Billy was born in 1972 into a family of drug abusers. His mother died of an overdose when little Billy was three years old, His father was wanted in Tennessee for selling drugs. Little Billy was slipped into Tennessee to live with relatives. In all reality little Billy spent his life looking for ...read more

Scripture: Luke 16:19-31

Tags: Hell, Compassion

Denomination: Pentecostal

Old Nature

Contributed by Steve Kinnard on Feb 15, 2019

OLD MAN Some time ago, a person I worked with came up to me and said, “if I didn’t know you, I would be terrified to meet you on the street”. If my coworker only knew half of what I’d been, He would never even talk to me. God took the most vile, evil, misguided person in the world and ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:22-32

Tags: New Man, Old Man

Denomination: Pentecostal

Pigs Don't Say Thanks!

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Nov 21, 2019

An old farmer who was a loyal, church-going Christian was spending the day in a large city. He entered a restaurant and sat down at the table near a group of young men from the city. When his meal was brought to the table, the farmer quietly bowed his head and said grace. One of the smart-aleck ...read more

Tags: Thanksgiving, Prayer, Gratitude, Jokes, Meal Grace  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

A Wise Heart

Contributed by Dr. Ronald Shultz on Jul 15, 2021

Proverbs 16:21 The wise in heart shall be called prudent: and the sweetness of the lips increaseth learning. KJV This does not mean you sugar coat the Word, but rather choose words or actions that do not offend in such a way no one wants to listen. Too many times Christians are rude and crude not ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 16:21

Tags: Speech, Lips, Sweetness, Prudent, Wisdom  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Embraced By The Darkness

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Apr 18, 2022

"Embraced By the Light" or is it more like.... "Embraced By the Darkness?" The idea of Hell and judgment are nowhere to be found in Betty Eadie’s bestseller, Embraced By The Light, on the N.Y. Times bestseller list. In November 1973, Eadie allegedly died after undergoing a ...read more

Tags: Judgment, False Teachers, Lies, Deceit, False Prophets, Hell, Death, Jesus, Heaven  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

In The Fulness Of Time, God Sent His Son

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Dec 19, 2022

•When God sent His Son into the world, the ancient world benefited from several conditions that made it far easier to spread the news of the good new of salvation. Some of those conditions were: • Roman Law - This protected Paul and others as they traveled the Roman world and preached the ...read more

Tags: Christmas, Bethlehem, Rome, Prophecy, History, Sovereignty Of God  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

3 Types Of People In The Wilderness

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Mar 17, 2023

THREE TYPES OF PEOPLE IN THE WILDERNESS (Joshua 1, I Corinth. 2:13-3:3) * THOSE LIVING IN EGYPT (NATURAL MAN) - unbelievers in bondage to sin. Christ is on the outside of their life. Those in Egypt were freed from slavery by the blood of a sacrificial Lamb, a picture of Christ on the Cross, ...read more

Tags: Promised Land, Wilderness, Carnal, Canaan, Natural Man, Spiritual Man, Backsliding, Spiritual Victory, Spirit Filled Life  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Fooled By Our Emotions

Contributed by Alison Bucklin on Jun 17, 2023

One of the most difficult things, all Christians must surely admit, is to differentiate between a truly spiritual fervor and a carnal, animal zeal and enthusiasm. Natural animal spirits and temperament may very well make one fervent and zealous.... There is nothing of which a preacher needs to be ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:21, Jeremiah 17:9

Tags: Spirituality, Enthusiasm, Martin Lloyd Jones

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Should Pastors Preach Against Corrupt Politicians? Bonhoeffer Did.

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Apr 6, 2024

At the height of WWII, Protestant theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer was imprisoned for taking a stand against Hitler. Yet, he continued to urge fellow believers to resist Nazi tyranny. A group of Christians, believing that Hitler was the Antichrist, asked Bonhoeffer, "Why do you expose yourself ...read more

Tags: Rapture, Pastors, Hitler, Signs, Return Of Christ, Bonhoeffer, Evil, Prophecy, Politics, Darkness, Second Coming, Last Days  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Views On The Nephilim

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Oct 13, 2024

Who Are the Nephilim? 4 Different Theories For centuries, scholars from Judaism and Christianity have presented different views on who the Nephilim were. 1: The first view is that fallen angels had relations with the "daughters of men," which resulted in a part human, part supernatural ...read more

Scripture: Jude 1:6-8

Tags: Satan, Angels, Flood, Noah, Judgment, Giants, Nephilim  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational