In Sermon Illustrations: "Personal Holiness"

An Admission Of Guilt

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on May 14, 2023

There once was a governor of the state of Texas who received an invitation to speak at one of the penitentiaries in that state. He spoke to the assembled prisoners and afterwards said that he would be around for a while to listen to anything any of the convicts might wish to tell him. He could take ...read more

Scripture: John 3:1-26

Tags: Confession, Testimony, Guilt, Pardon

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Do You Have One Heart?

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Aug 5, 2023

Missionary Jim Walton was translating the NT for the Muinane people of La Sabana in the jungles of Colombia. But he was having trouble with the word "peace". During this time, Fernando, the village chief, was promised a 20-minute plane ride to a location that would have taken him 3 days ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-11

Tags: Bitterness, Bond Of Peace, Forgiveness, Peace, Missions, Unity, Relationships  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

If Jesus Was Born Today

Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Oct 24, 2025

If Jesus was born today, it would be in a bed and breakfast A traffic warden, working late, would be the first on the scene. Later a TV network would arrive with their good wishes. The whole Occasion would be filmed as part of *Is this the Son of God” one hour special If Jesus was 30 today, ...read more

Scripture: John 11:25

Tags: Jesus, Born, Modern Day

Denomination: Anglican

The Trademark - Is Jesus Mark On You? - Humor

Contributed by J Jeffrey Smead on Dec 9, 2025

If we are Honest ... Often ... When we are shopping, ...... we will look for name brands that we know. For brands ... that we ... trust. We often recognize those products ... by their trademarks ...... or by ... their ... logos. Companies spend millions of dollars on research ... in order that ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 2:1-2, Philippians 2:6-11, Ephesians 4:4, James 3:8-10, Matthew 20:26-28  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Logos, Trademark, Mark

Denomination: Anglican

Trapping The Ball!" Psalm 25: 16-21 Key ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Jul 4, 2004

“Trapping the Ball!” Psalm 25: 16-21 Key verse(s): 21 “May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope is in you.” Integrity! Perhaps it is one of the loneliest words in the English language. For many it creates the image of one standing alone, apart from the others, because just the ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 25:16-21

Tags: Character

Denomination: Lutheran

Keys To The Kingdom?

Contributed by Peter Loughman on Sep 29, 2009

KEYS TO THE KINGDOM? At a former church, the day I started my job as an associate pastor I was given a set of keys to the church by one of the Trustees, Bill. Bill told me, "Peter, these are not all the keys to the church, we are only giving you four keys: One key to the church building, one key ...read more

Tags: Basics Of Christianity

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Memorial Day In The Military, Medal Of Honor ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 2, 2010

Memorial Day in the Military, Medal of Honor Recipient It’s 3am on a cold winter day. Patchy snow covers the landscape as Loudspeakers overhead blare telling everyone to get to their places. Surrounded by sandbags, concrete barriers and roughly 10,000 soldier, sailors, airman and marines, Bagram ...read more

Scripture: John 15:13

Tags: Sacrifice, Holidays Civic

Fear And The Deceits Of The Heart  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 3, 2010

FEAR AND THE DECEITS OF THE HEART I think Edward Welch chose brilliantly the title for his book on overcoming the fear of man: When People are Big and God is Small. Maybe you can relate to his personal awakening to this problem when he was a high-school senior: "I had always been shy and ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 51:11-13, Isaiah 51:12-16

Tags: Ransom, Fear And Worry

Who Are You Rescuing?

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 28, 2010

WHO ARE YOU RESCUING? Jesus, help us to control our desires. May a thirst for knowing You and a longing to please You become our strongest passion, like it was for Mary Frances Housley. Let me tell you a true story. MARY FRANCES HOUSLEY was born October 12, 1926 in Knoxville, Tennessee. She grew ...read more

Scripture: John 15:12-13

Tags: Evangelism Urgency

The Invisible Enemy

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 7, 2011

THE INVISIBLE ENEMY "Good night, sleep tight, and don't let the bed bugs bite" has been spoken by loving mothers to their children for decades as they gently tucked their little ones to sleep and wished them a good night. The phrase itself carries within it the gentle reminder of a younger age and ...read more

Scripture: James 1:19-27

Tags: Sin Bondage To

Honor Your Father And Mother

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Jun 13, 2020

Father’s Day 2020 is just a few days away as I write this. My dad left this world in 2018 but I still remember so many things about him. Some of course are too personal to share but there a good number of good memories I’ll always cherish. Dad was about five feet, ten inches in height—the smallest ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 20:12, Ephesians 6:2

Tags: Memories About Dad, Father's Day, Fathers

Denomination: Baptist

Ken Blanchart And Barbara Glands Did Some ...  PRO

Contributed by Guy Mcgraw on Jan 21, 2008

Ken Blanchart and Barbara Glands did some training with three thousand front-line workers at grocery stores and retail outlets across the country. They talked about the power of words and how what you say really does make a difference in people’s lives. A month later, Barbara said she got a call ...read more

Mothers Of ...

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

Mothers of Influence It is a great privilege and responsibility to be a mother. No one has a more profound and enduring influence upon those around them than a mother raising her children in the fear and wisdom of the Lord. Timothy, was one such young man who was greatly influenced by ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 1:5

Tags: Mother's Day

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Greatest Love Of All  PRO

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

The Greatest Love of All "For this reason I kneel before the Father... that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power... to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love surpasses ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 3:14-19

Tags: Hardship, God's Love, Endure

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The History Of Wwjd

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Sep 9, 2008

The History of WWJD Wikipedia encyclopedia states this about the common abbreviation WWJD: The phrase "What would Jesus do?" (often abbreviated to WWJD) became popular in the United States in the 1890s and again in 1990s as a personal motto for thousands of Christians who used the phrase as a ...read more

Tags: Jesus Teachings

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

My Stripes

Contributed by Scott Jensen on Oct 8, 2008

My Stripes Many years ago I was enlisted in the Air Force and competed for promotion to Technical Sergeant. I was a Staff Sergeant that had been recognized as one of the best. I had fire wall 5 performance reports and had been Group NCO of the Year for two consecutive years. I had all the right ...read more

Tags: Disappointment

Denomination: Lutheran

Keep Away From Sin!

Contributed by Paul Clemente on Oct 24, 2022

Genesis 4 Devotional Part 2 The first children from Adam and Eve grew up having 2 different interests: Abel took care of animals while Cain took care of plants. When it was time to worship God (how did they learn and why did they worship God?), Cain offered firstfruits from the field and Abel ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 4:6-15

Tags: Love, Sin, Heart, Cain, Relationship  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Ben Hooper

Contributed by David Swanger on Jan 19, 2024

In Rising Above the Crowd, Brian Habour tells the story of Ben Hooper. When Ben was born in the foothills of East Tennessee, little boys and girls like Ben who were born to unwed mothers were ostracized and treated terribly. By the time he was three years old, the other children would scarcely play ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 2:9

Tags: Christian, Encouragement

Monk Story  PRO

Contributed by Andrew Hamilton on Sep 29, 2002

Monk Story There is a story told of an old monastery that had fallen upon hard times. It was once a great order, but as a result of waves of anti-monastic persecution in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and the rise of secularism in the nineteenth, all its branch houses were lost and it ...read more

Tags: Christian Love, Romantic Love

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Remission

Contributed by Lou Butterfield on Sep 5, 2011

REMISSION While a graduate student at Indiana University and also serving as youth minister at the North Central church in Bloomington, I had an experience I will never forget. I woke up early on this particular Sunday morning to get to the building in time to drive one of the church buses to ...read more

Tags: Born Again

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ