In Sermon Illustrations: "Player"

Arturo Toscanini Demanded Excellence From The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 2, 2010

Arturo Toscanini Demanded Excellence From the Symphony Orchestra One of history’s greatest musical conductors was Arturo Toscanini. Born in Parma, Italy, in 1867, Toscanini died in his sleep in New York City in 1957. For years he conducted the National Broadcasting Company’s Symphony Orchestra in ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:58

Tags: Music

Chris Paul: Forgiving The Murderers

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 23, 2011

CHRIS PAUL: FORGIVING THE MURDERERS In April, 2011, Rick Reilly wrote a moving story about forgiveness from the life of Chris Paul, the all-star basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets. Reilly writes: On the moonless night of November 15, 2002, five boys ran across a park, jumped a ...read more

Scripture: Luke 11:4

Tags: Forgiveness For Others, Ask Seek Knock

I Wish I Had Known Then What I Know Now

Contributed by Mark Stepherson on Mar 15, 2012

I WISH I HAD KNOWN THEN WHAT I KNOW NOW Mickey Mantle’s father was right handed and his grandfather was left handed. Between them, they taught him to switch hit. He is widely regarded to be the greatest switch hitter of all time, and one of the greatest players ever. He was inducted into the ...read more

Tags: Prayer General

Denomination: Baptist

Friends And Acquaintances?

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Jan 26, 2020

Junior high/middle school basketball is always fun to play, and more fun to watch. These youngsters have acquired some skill—more or less—and it’s still more for fun than for competition. Oh, sure, we wanted to win, and few athletes that don’t want to win will ever get very far in any kind of ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:3

Tags: Youth, Book Of Life, Athletics, Friends, Relationship  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Baseball And Golf

Contributed by Peter Loughman on May 15, 2008

BASEBALL AND GOLF One of my tasks as an associate pastor was to go through the list of people who were on the rolls, but didn't come to church anymore. My task was to visit these people, find out why they chose not to attend the church anymore, and then try to convince them to give it another try. ...read more

Tags: Arrogance

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Suffering Boy Given An Extravagant ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 28, 2009

SUFFERING BOY GIVEN AN EXTRAVAGANT GIFT In his book Everybody’s Normal Till You Get to Know Them, John Ortberg tells of a young man named John Gilbert. At age five, John was diagnosed with Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy, a genetic, progressive, debilitating disease. At age 25, the disease finally ...read more

Tags: Sacrifices

Practice Makes Perfect Tjbts

Contributed by Blake Henson on Jun 6, 2023

Practice makes perfect shows that without good practice you can't expect to succeed in sports, but the same is true in your Christian life also. You can't just half prepare and expect to be a successful Christian. URL: https://youtu.be/eI92sWLcDIo SUMMARY In this video we see two teams. ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 5:14

Tags: Christian Walk, How To Get Stronger

He Can See Me Now  PRO

Contributed by Matthew Sickling on Jun 5, 2009

HE CAN SEE ME NOW I want to share a story with you in closing. It’s a story I heard several years ago about a high school football player. I don’t know his name, or what number he wore on his uniform or anything like that. All I know is that this kid wasn’t really that great of an athlete. He ...read more

Tags: Heaven

Denomination: Baptist

The Substitute  PRO

Contributed by Paul Steen on Oct 8, 2016

The Moose was in the game to score. He took the handoff at the five-yard line from the quarterback and stunted to the right. The right guard and tackle had split the defenders and there was a slight hole in the line for him. Moose instantly was in the hole. He put his head down and fought through ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:3

Tags: Substitute, Substitute Sacrifice, Our Substitute

Denomination: Calvary Chapel

There Is A Book By Michael Lewis Entitled The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 8, 2008

There is a book by Michael Lewis entitled The Blind Side. It is a true story based in Memphis which is my hometown. The central character is a black athlete named Michael Oher (pronounced ’oar’). Oher now plays left tackle for the University of Mississippi and is a pre-season All American and ...read more

The Difference Maker

Contributed by Ed Sasnett on Sep 16, 2020

My pastor, Wana Archer, tells about a time when he was a teenager and worked at a restaurant for .25 cents/hour. In this restaurant, there was a gambling machine that looked like a pinball machine. A player would deposit a nickel and get one shot to hit the jackpot or win some money. He noticed ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:1-11

Tags: Holy Spirit, Obedience

Denomination: Baptist

A Religion Professor Named Dr. Christianson ...  PRO

Contributed by West Garner on May 8, 2006

A Religion Professor named Dr. Christianson taught a required survey of Christianity course at small college. Every freshman was required to take the course regardless of his or her major. Although he tried hard to communicate the gospel, students viewed the class as nothing more than a waste of ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 9:11-22

Tags: Quicksand, Shoulder, Stand, Brother, Evangelism How To  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Sin Separates. Sin Divides. Sin Brings Death To ...  PRO

Contributed by Clark Tanner on Sep 23, 2004

Sin separates. Sin divides. Sin brings death to relationships and destroys fellowship. God unites. God brings oneness and unity. On the day of Pentecost, God reversed the Babel process, and with one language from heaven, He demonstrated that all in Him will be sharers of one divine ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:11

Tags: Gifts Tongues

Denomination: Orthodox

Game's Only Half Over! (10.04.05--Beginning ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Oct 3, 2005

Game’s Only Half Over! (10.04.05--Beginning Again!--2 Samuel 12:20-24) Is there anyone who hasn’t felt the sting of regret and discovered just how bitter it is to live with the thought that if only we hadn’t done this or said that we’d be a whole lot happier at the moment? Beginning again is one ...read more

Scripture: 2 Samuel 12:20-24

Tags: God's Provision, Regret, Remorse, God's Forgiveness, Face Your Fears, Embarrassment  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Lutheran

16 Year Old] Nathan Johnson Dreamed Of Starting ...  PRO

Contributed by John Shearhart on Sep 10, 2006

“[16 year old] Nathan Johnson dreamed of starting a revolution for Christ. [He wrote in his diary, “God’s] will for me is to radically impact my school for Him." But before he could see the revolution become a reality, Johnson’s life was cut short by an automobile accident [after] striking a ...read more

Scripture: Luke 5:1-13, Colossians 3:1-7

Tags: All Things

You're Going To Play Baseball This Summer  PRO

Contributed by Paul Steen on May 19, 2013

YOU’RE GOING TO PLAY BASEBALL THIS SUMMER Joshua 14:12, James 2:26 A little boy named Jimmy was about 13 years old. He grew up with his brother in a very poor family not too far from downtown. Their dad was very sick and could not work. They had food to eat every morning and evening, but he and ...read more

Scripture: Joshua 14:12, James 2:26

Tags: Faith, Believe, Trust, Work, Bible Truth, Allegory, Commandments General, Faith Vs. Works, Action, Encouragement, Desire, Zeal, Fulfillment, Promises Of God  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Calvary Chapel

Pastor Bob Schmidgall Said Of Super Bowl Sunday, ...  PRO

Contributed by Bobby Scobey on Mar 27, 2007

Pastor Bob Schmidgall said of Super Bowl Sunday, "That’s a pastor’s nightmare. What do you do on Super Bowl Sunday night? Go watch the game? I’m not worried about watching it. I’m worried about all those people don’t come to church." Then he quoted this, written by a minister: "As a minister ...read more

Denomination: Pentecostal

The Gift Of The Skates

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 19, 2009

THE GIFT OF THE SKATES So how do we recognize His authority in our lives? How do we express our faith and our love to Him? By committing ourselves to His mission. Jesus doesn’t say anything about saving sinners and getting them into heaven. The primary priority of his mission is to preach good ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 61:1-6

Tags: Christmas

The Word Of God—the Owner's Manual

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 21, 2009

THE WORD OF GOD--THE OWNER'S MANUAL As a kid, I remember a very popular game. Simon Says. Usually played at school or parties, several of us would do whatever "Simon" told us to do, as long as it was preceded by the phrase: "Simon Says". It seems to me that we have become a society of "Simon ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Tags: Bible Truth

Doing Your Duty With A Little Faith

Contributed by Richard L. Brown on Sep 16, 2023

Don Gullett was the greatest athlete eastern Kentucky has ever seen. He excelled in all sports. He was so good that he was recruited by the University of Kentucky in all three sports….Basketball, Football, and Baseball. In Basketball he averaged 20 points and 12 rebounds a game; I personally ...read more

Scripture: Luke 17:5-10, 2 Timothy 1:3-12

Tags: Faith, Trust

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed