In Sermon Illustrations: "Personal Story"

Don't Let Me Go Back To Hell.

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 5, 2009

"DON’T LET ME GO BACK TO HELL." Dr. Maurice Rawlings is a cardiologist and professor of medicine at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Chattanooga, and his colleagues are constantly treating emergency patients, many of whom have had near-death experiences. A study of these cases by ...read more

Tags: Hell

Redemptive Love Changes People

Contributed by Tim Smith on Mar 9, 2009

REDEMPTIVE LOVE CHANGES PEOPLE John Ed Mathison, former pastor of Frazier Memorial UMC, tells the story of Tommy Waite, an African-American man serving time in jail and converted through Frazier’s Prison Ministry. They didn’t stop there though. They discipled him and even helped him to get his ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness For Others

Denomination: Methodist

Phineas Could Not Sleep. He Was Up Before The ...

Contributed by Davon Huss on Mar 16, 2009

Phineas could not sleep. He was up before the sun. He had his bag packed, and he was downstairs, ready to begin the day. The year was 1820. Phineas was finally to see an island- his very own island. Phineas had received the island as a gift from his grandfather. As a baby, Phineas had been ...read more

Tags: Lies

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Because One Gave

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 17, 2009

BECAUSE ONE GAVE Former seminary and pastor, George Gaston tells the following story that speaks to the value of attitude in giving. Years ago, I pastored a church that decided to build a worship center. The old building had suffered a major fire. Even so, our decision to build a new facility ...read more

Tags: Giving General

Loving Without Agreeing  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 28, 2009

LOVING WITHOUT AGREEING We can love others without totally agreeing with them. Often love is worked out by agreeing to disagree. We can offer love and care for people who are different from us and people we don’t agree with. This fact is illustrated by a true story that took place in the state of ...read more

Scripture: John 13:34-35

Tags: Christian Love

Financial Wow Miracle

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Jun 10, 2009

FINANCIAL WOW MIRACLE Lake City Church - Madison -- God does a financial wow miracle. They were four days away from having to make their quarterly payment of $140,000 for their mortgage. Pastor John Ruck meets with all the finance wizards - bankers, Cpa's, business men. They asked him "How are you ...read more

Tags: God's Provision

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Cost Of Discipleship  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 19, 2009

COST OF DISCIPLESHIP I recently read the true story about a preacher who was standing at the door shaking hands as the congregation departed. He grabbed one man by the hand and pulled him aside. The preacher said to him, "You need to join the Army of the Lord!" The man replied, "I’m already in the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 16:24-25

Tags: Discipleship, Follow, Deny, Gross

Ignoring The Barriers Of The Past

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 19, 2009

IGNORING THE BARRIERS OF THE PAST Every four years, the world’s attention turns to the summer Olympic games. For a few days, men and women from around the globe gather to compete against the best. Amazing records are broken and new ones are set at these games. The Four-Minute-Mile: Just a few ...read more

Scripture: Deuteronomy 1:1-8, Deuteronomy 2:1-3, Ecclesiastes 9:10

Tags: Encouragement

Wwii Vet's Blood Saves Grandmother  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 26, 2009

WWII VET'S BLOOD SAVES GRANDMOTHER And I think it is also what Paul was talking about in Romans 8:28 when he says, "...in all things God works for the good of those who love Him..." Kim Huffman tells this story: World War II was over, and my father, along with thousands of others had been ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:28

Tags: God's Provision

A Lesson Of Grace From A Can Of Soda

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 29, 2009

A LESSON OF GRACE FROM A CAN OF SODA The Apostle Paul wrote these words to the Christians in Corinth. "For God made Jesus who had no sin to be sin for us so that in him we might be righteous, holy and forgiven in God's sight." In the world of psychology this is called "transference." God ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:21

Tags: Grace, Sinner, Saved

Please Notice That Paul Did Not Pray For These ...

Contributed by Rick Crandall on Nov 28, 2009

Please notice that Paul did not pray for these Christians to get the Lord’s resurrection power. They already had it! And Christian, so do you. So, how well do you know the power of His resurrection? Paul prayed for them to spiritually know and see the power they already had. *It actually reminds ...read more

Tags: Power, Riches

Denomination: Baptist

What Is The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 11, 2009

What is the Church? They tell me the story that long ago there was a small church, in a small town, in a small county, where a small congregation had tried for years to get the biggest “sinner” in town, Sam, to come to church. Sam the sinner would have nothing to do with the church. He wouldn’t ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 1:22-23

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Braveheart: "I Don't Want To Lose Heart"  PRO

Contributed by Bret Toman on Jan 2, 2010

BRAVEHEART: "I DON'T WANT TO LOSE HEART" Braveheart (2:12:34 - 2:14:30) is the story of Scotland’s pursuit of freedom from the tyranny of the English under the leadership of William Wallace, played by Mel Gibson. Leading up to this scene was a battle where Wallace and his men were fighting the ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 3:13

Tags: Idolatry

Denomination: Baptist

The Prison Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2010

The Prison of Bitterness Because we live in a world full of people that don’t know grace. It’s foreign to them. They don’t know it. And if they don’t hear about it and experience it from the body of Christ, they will never know it. I first learned of this story from Max Lucado. Each week Kevin ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:31-32

Tags: Bitterness

Who Has Your ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 4, 2010

Who Has Your Back? Pastor and author John Ortberg tells the story of an evening when he was walking with some friends in Newport Beach, California. As they walked they passed one of the local bars just as a fight spilled out onto the street, like a scene from the old west. As they watched, three ...read more

Scripture: Acts 1:1-8

Tags: Holy Spirit General

How Basketball Weighed In On Racial ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 30, 2010

How Basketball Weighed in on Racial Integration On Friday we watched the film, Glory Road, the 1966 story of how the integrated Texas Western basketball team defeated Adolph Rupp’s all-white Kentucky Wildcats. At a time when schools in the Southeastern Conference refused scholarships to black ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 3:26-29

Tags: Racism, New Years

Not Success But Faithfulness  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 12, 2010

NOT SUCCESS BUT FAITHFULNESS Jordan was a man of unusual abilities and commitment. He had two Ph.D.s, one in agriculture and the other in Greek and Hebrew. He was so gifted he could have chosen to do anything he wanted. He chose to serve the poor. In the 1940s, he founded a farm in Americus, ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 12:1-3

Tags: Endurance

Boat Builder Learns About ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 12, 2010

Boat Builder Learns about Humility Skip looked at the group of suspicious stockholders and wondered what he could do to convince them to follow his leadership. He was 35, looked 13 and was third generation rich. He could tell they thought they were headed for a disaster. He told them a story. His ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 16:18

Tags: Humility

Breaking The Heart Of The Father

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 30, 2010

BREAKING THE HEART OF THE FATHER D. J. Wilbur Chapman told a story related to him by R. A. Torrey of an old father and mother who determined to give their boy an education. They were as poor as they could be. They had a conference in their home, and decided to send their boy to the university. ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 23:22-26

Tags: God The Father

Doing The Job Alone

Contributed by Jim Mccutchen on Oct 10, 2010

FROM: Joe Smith, Bricklayer RE: My Accident Claim I am writing in response to your request concerning Block #11 on the insurance form which asks for "the cause of injuries" wherein I put "trying to do the job alone." You said you needed more information, so I trust the following will be ...read more

Tags: Disappointment

Denomination: Christian Church