In Sermon Illustrations: "Peter Had A Sword"

Go Back! You're Too Young

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 21, 2011

GO BACK! YOU'RE TOO YOUNG Wilbur E. Nelson told the story of his father who was the senior elder in his church for many years. He said: "When I was a boy, eleven years of age, an evangelist held a series of meetings in our church. One night he asked every Christian to come forward and also asked ...read more

Scripture: Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Tags: Children

Giving Brings Hope And Purpose

Contributed by Brad Henry on Sep 29, 2011

GIVING BRINGS HOPE AND PURPOSE I have a friend that called me last night. I have known him for many years and he has been struggling with uncertainty like most folks in his business. He was also questioning, "Is this what the Lord wants me to do?" Well, he just came back from a trip where he was ...read more

Tags: God Brings Purpose

Prevailing Prayer  PRO

Contributed by Scott Spencer on Oct 7, 2011

PREVAILING PRAYER Daniel Nash and Charles Finney were great evangelists in the early 1800s. On one occasion, when meetings had begun in a particular city, a group of young men confronted Charles Finney, openly announcing that they were going to break up the meetings. Finney and Nash decided this ...read more

Tags: Prayer General

Denomination: Calvary Chapel

What Is Not God's Will

Contributed by Mark Stepherson on Oct 7, 2011

WHAT IS NOT GOD'S WILL Sometimes we want things we know is not God's will. Jay Kesler wrote of a time when he caused an auto accident. He prayed that it did not happen, but it did. I know how the young Jay Kesler felt. I've done things that I wanted to undo and said things that I wanted to ...read more

Tags: Prayer How To

Denomination: Baptist

Arthur's Envy

Contributed by Tim Smith on Oct 8, 2011

ARTHUR'S ENVY When I served on staff at Rayne Memorial UMC on St. Charles Avenue, a young man named Arthur began attending. Arthur was a nice guy but was different, both in appearance and in personality. Arthur got involved in the young adult ministry I had started at the church and was accepted ...read more

Tags: Envy

Denomination: Methodist

God And The Rabbit

Contributed by Tim Smith on Oct 8, 2011

GOD AND THE RABBIT When I was a 4th grader, I went on a spiritual retreat. We had worship one night and the counselor sent us to go find a private spot where we could pray individually. I went by a large tree away from everyone else. As I began to pray and pour my heart out to God, I heard a ...read more

Tags: Holy Spirit General

Denomination: Methodist

Earnest Heed  PRO

Contributed by Charles Dupree on Oct 25, 2011

Earnest Heed Hebrews 2:1 There was a man named Earnest Heed Who simply refused listen But when his wife cooked apple pie His eyes would always glisten. Earnest had a few close friends Named Apathy and Lazy They like Earnest refused to hear And drove other people crazy. One day, ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 2:1-2

Tags: Obedience, Listen, Accountability, Laziness, Hearing  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Expectations And Reality

Contributed by Tim Hinrichs on Nov 29, 2011

EXPECTATIONS AND REALITY I had arrived only a couple weeks before in the Czech Republic and was living with a retired Czech couple in a small village. Being the only American in the area I was somewhat a celebrity. One day a couple elders from a local church visited me to ask if I would preach in ...read more

Tags: Disappointment

Denomination: Lutheran

Visit Of Some Of Our Church Members To A ...

Contributed by Suresh Manoharan on Nov 30, 2011

Visit of some of our Church members to a Departmental store to buy gifts for orphans/widows during Christmas season... Last Christmas, the womenfolk of our Church went to a reasonably distant Departmental store to buy gifts for the widows/orphans/Sunday school children of our Church. When, they ...read more

Tags: Christmas

Denomination: *other

Of A Sister In Faith Losing Her Valuable Purse ...

Contributed by Suresh Manoharan on Dec 22, 2011

Of a Sister in faith losing her valuable purse and then miraculously recovering it. Two years ago, the ladies of our Church went to buy some gifts in a busy market for Church widows and orphans during Christmas time. Mission accomplished, when they returned to the Church, one Sister in faith found ...read more

Tags: Miracles Of Jesus

Denomination: *other

Who Influences Whom?

Contributed by Perry Greene on Feb 15, 2012

WHO INFLUENCES WHOM? I heard a joke about Bill and Hillary Clinton recently. It seems they were on vacation one weekend, and decided to go for a drive to see the beautiful countryside. After a while, they needed to stop for gas. They pulled into a tiny gas station, and out walked a man to help ...read more

Tags: Worldliness

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Spurgeon's Poor Sermon

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Mar 14, 2012

SPURGEON'S POOR SERMON Mr. Spurgeon once preached what in his judgment was one of his poorest sermons. He stammered and floundered, and when he got through felt that it had been a complete failure. He was greatly humiliated, and when he got home he fell on his knees and said, "Lord, God, thou ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:26

Tags: Holy Spirit General

Denomination: Baptist

Edison Couldn't Make Life

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Mar 15, 2012

EDISON COULDN'T MAKE LIFE Are you extremely proud of your lifetime accomplishments? It was on November 21 of 1877 that Thomas Edison announced to the world that he had invented the phonograph. Edison's accomplishments are often forgotten. In his Menlo Park, New Jersey fix-it shop he designed the ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 9:23-24

Tags: Pride

Denomination: Baptist

God, Send Us Bigger Rattlesnakes  PRO

Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on Mar 26, 2012

GOD, SEND US BIGGER RATTLESNAKES There was a farmer who had three sons: Jim, John, and Sam. No one in the family ever attended church or had time for God. The pastor and church members tried for years to interest the family in the things of God, but to no avail. Then one day, a rattlesnake bit ...read more

Tags: Prayer Supplication

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Inner Need For Excellence

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Apr 3, 2012

THE INNER NEED FOR EXCELLENCE Years ago during a speaking engagement, I stayed in a hotel in Dallas. It was late at night, and after flipping channels for a while, I landed on ESPN, which is how I learned that tennis legend Martina Navratilova had just won a grueling match in Florida earlier that ...read more

Scripture: Malachi 1:7-8

Tags: Attitude General

Denomination: Baptist

The Straightest Path  PRO

Contributed by Perry Greene on Apr 12, 2012

THE STRAIGHTEST PATH Two boys were playing in the snow one day, when one said to the other, "Let us see who can make the straightest path in the snow." His companion readily accepted the proposition, and they started. One boy fixed his eyes on a tree, and walked along without taking his eyes off ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:13-15

Tags: Jesus Christ

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Faith Connection  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 18, 2012

FAITH CONNECTION Spurgeon use to tell a story about two men in a boat. They were caught in a very, very severe rapids and they were going to a place where there was a waterfall and even worse rapids and there was really no way, if they ever hit those rapids, that they would ever live. And they ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 1:3-8

Tags: Faith

Ornamentals

Contributed by K. Edward Skidmore on May 5, 2012

ORNAMENTALS Back in 1960, my family moved from Ohio to Arizona. The first time we went to the Phoenix Airport, I was impressed by the beautiful orange trees that lined the drive. It was the first time this Ohio boy had ever seen citrus trees. The oranges were big as grapefruits. They looked so ...read more

Tags: Jesus Teachings

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

God Is For Us

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 11, 2012

GOD IS FOR US Keith Hartsell of Wheaton, Illinois, was driving around with a friend of his in California, when he noticed that his friend's cell phone was locked with an unusual password -- pro nobis. Keith asked him what pro nobis meant and why he chose that for a password. Keith's friend told ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:28-39

Tags: God's Love

Self-Control Was Lacking

Contributed by Christian Cheong on Oct 8, 2012

In the book, The Three Edwards, Thomas Costain described the life of Raynald III, a 14th century duke in what is now Belgium. Grossly overweight, Raynald was commonly called by his Latin nickname, Crassus, which means "fat." After a violent quarrel, Raynald's younger brother Edward led a ...read more

Tags: Self, Self Control

Denomination: Independent/Bible