In Sermon Illustrations: "Personal"

In Seminary, Every Student Was Asked This ...

Contributed by Mark Eberly on Feb 19, 2009

In seminary, every student was asked this question and it was sort of a psychological test that with the other tests could reveal some possible issues of the student and point to the fitness of the student for pastoral ministry. For example, I said, “Jesus.” Because as a potential pastor, I thought ...read more

Tags: David

Denomination: Church Of God

Results Were Not As We Hoped

Contributed by Warner Pidgeon on Apr 4, 2009

RESULTS WERE NOT AS WE HOPED On 16 January 2008 Newcastle United FC celebrated the return of former manager Kevin Keegan, known as 'King Kev.' A BBC sport website said: "He is back at Newcastle, much to the delight of the majority of the club's fans." A sign of how highly regarded Keegan was on ...read more

Tags: Easter Palm Sunday

Denomination: Anglican

What The Flock Needs From Their Pastor

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 25, 2009

WHAT THE FLOCK NEEDS FROM THEIR PASTOR The breadth of my ministry is determined by the depth of my relationship with Jesus, "the most important thing that your people need from you is your personal holiness" --Dr. Bill Bennett, SEBTS Pastoral Ministry class "Take heed to yourselves, lest you ...read more

Scripture: Romans 6:15-23

Tags: Holiness

Bride-To-Be Hosts A Banquet For ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 10, 2009

Bride-to-Be Hosts a Banquet for Homeless Philip Yancey told the story of the woman who was getting married and planned a huge wedding banquet. It was going to held at the Hyatt Hotel and cost $13,000. After everything had been planned and paid for the groom dumped her. When she tried to cancel she ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Tags: Compassion

Sullenburger: What Makes A Hero?

Contributed by Sean Lester on Jan 27, 2010

SULLENBURGER: WHAT MAKES A HERO? What makes a person a hero? A year ago, Chesley Sullenberger ditched his airplane into the Hudson River and saved the lives of all 150 of his passengers when both engines were knocked out by a flock of geese. It was the first time that a major airliner was ...read more

Tags: Heroism

Denomination: Pentecostal

I Simply Came To Give...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 21, 2010

"I SIMPLY CAME TO GIVE..." In the middle of President Lincoln’s Presidency, an elderly lady made an appointment to see him. As she entered his office, he inquired, "How can I be of service to you, Madam?" The lady answered, "Mr. President, I know you are a very busy man, and I have not come to ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:6-7

Tags: Gratitude

Charles Stanley On The Difference Between ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 26, 2010

Charles Stanley on the Difference Between Decision and Commitment Charles Stanley says in his book, Confronting Casual Christianity, in answer to that question, “because these couples made a decision but did not make a commitment. Every person who married made a decision! They stood before the ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 13:4

Tags: Commitment, Marriage Commitment

Christian Caste System

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 26, 2011

CHRISTIAN CASTE SYSTEM Division is the opposite of unity. When we exclude or separate others based on race, socioeconomic status, age, appearance or personal hygiene we are dividing. In his autobiography, Mahatma Gandhi wrote that during his student days he read the Gospels seriously and ...read more

Scripture: Mark 11:17

Tags: Racism, Self Cleansing

How To Testify

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 18, 2011

HOW TO TESTIFY In the court of law before a person testifies they place their hand into the air and swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help me God. And it is assumed that fallen man by saying that oath will tell the truth when they stand before the judge. But day in and day ...read more

Scripture: John 18:33-38

Tags: World, Truth, Kingdom

How To Be A Servant  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 6, 2011

HOW TO BE A SERVANT You need to answer a very important question this morning. Are you more interested in being served or being a servant? A first grade teacher asked her students, "What do you do to help at home?" One little girl said, "I dry the dishes." One of the boys said, "I sweep the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 20:20-28

Tags: Servanthood

Dr. R. G. Lee On The Bible  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 24, 2011

DR. R. G. LEE ON THE BIBLE The late Dr. R. G. Lee, former pastor of the Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis TN expressed the value of God’s Word in this way: "The Bible is a book beyond all books as a river is above and beyond a rivulet. The Bible is a book beyond all books as the sun is above and ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 119:1-176

Tags: Bible Influence

Downward Trends In U.s. Christianity

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 15, 2012

DOWNWARD TRENDS IN U.S. CHRISTIANITY In George Barna's new book on U.S. Christians called Futurecast, he tracks annual changes from 1991 to 2011 and shows that all the major trend lines of religious belief and behavior ran downward except two: More people claim they have accepted Jesus as their ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:11-16

Tags: Church Practices

Grits And Grace

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 10, 2012

GRITS AND GRACE How blessed is the person whose sin God does not take into account. Even if you don’t deserve it; God provides for you. True story. Two pastors were on their way to Atlanta, Georgia for a large Christian men’s gathering. One of them had never been in the south before. After ...read more

Scripture: Acts 15:6-11

Tags: Grace

Your Sins Have Been Your Downfall, Is Where The ...

Contributed by Andrew Moffatt on Aug 18, 2012

"Your sins have been your downfall", is where the tar starts sticking to the tyres. Most people generally don’t like the whole “s” word thing. For some reason there is an issue with the human brain that tells us to kick up stink when we are having a good time, a pleasurable time and someone, some ...read more

Scripture: Romans 6:23

Tags: Repentance, Sin Bondage To, Sin And Grace

Denomination: Salvation Army

What God Will Do, Not What You Will Do For God  PRO

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Oct 23, 2012

WHAT GOD WILL DO, NOT WHAT YOU WILL DO FOR GOD Henry Blackaby said, "You never find God asking persons to dream up what they want to do for Him...Without doubt, the most important factor in each (Biblical) situation was not what the individual wanted to do for God. The most important factor was ...read more

Tags: God's Sovereign Will

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Awesome Achievement (Moffatt's Law)

Contributed by Andrew Moffatt on Jan 31, 2018

Awesome achievement And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. - Paul. (1 Corinthians 13:13) Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians writes about love in chapter thirteen, but he finishes the chapter by mentioning two other powerful things, ...read more

Tags: Achievement, Confident Belief, Faith, Love, Law, Hope, Action  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Salvation Army

An Order Of Worship Spelling Mistake

Contributed by Jim Butcher on Apr 10, 2018

I was looking at the order of worship in a bulletin for another church recently when I noticed a spelling mistake. After the sermon, they had listed that they would have an “Alter Call.” That’s a mistake because the front of a church is referred to as an “altar.” Then I thought for a moment ...read more

Tags: Worship, Change, Transformation, Spelling

Denomination: Baptist

The New Never Gets Old

Contributed by Charlie Roberts on May 5, 2019

Saw a guy with his new car the other day, or at least it sure seemed new the way he admired it walking away backwards from it almost to the point of stumbling over the curb. You know one thing we like to do, is show off the new. I could relate with the man, he couldn’t stop looking at the shiny ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:17, 2 Chronicles 7:14

Tags: Relationship, New, Salvation

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Romans Road To Salvation

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Jun 24, 2019

The Romans Road to Salvation 1. I consider myself a good person. All have sinned & fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23 2. Is sin that big of a deal? The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 3. Why would Jesus die in my ...read more

Scripture: Romans 3:23, Romans 10:9

Tags: Salvation, Gospel, The Cross

Denomination: Pentecostal

The Boat

Contributed by Dr Fr John Singarayar Svd on May 13, 2021

A seeker decides to meditate alone, away from his place. He takes his boat out to the middle of the lake, moors it there, closes his eyes and begins his meditation. After a few hours of undisturbed silence, he suddenly feels the bump of another boat colliding with his own. With his eyes still ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 8:23-27

Tags: Anger, Boat

Denomination: Other