In Sermon Illustrations: "Positive Thinking"

Your Attitude Toward Attitude

Contributed by Scott Sharpes on Jan 28, 2013

YOUR ATTITUDE TOWARD ATTITUDE It was February 20, 1962, when a man by the name of John Glenn circled the earth in outer space three times; and we thought it was tremendous. We followed. We listened. We saw him on television. And if you listened carefully, you would have heard from a man in ...read more

Tags: Attitude General

Denomination: Nazarene

Winston Churchill Designed His Own Funeral, ...  PRO

Contributed by Robert Leroe on Mar 19, 2006

Winston Churchill designed his own funeral, which took place at St Paul’s Cathedral in London. The dome was the model for our US Capitol building in DC. I was privileged to visit St Paul’s several years ago. At Churchill’s direction, at the close of the service, a bugler positioned high up in ...read more

Tags: Death

Denomination: Congregational

Silver Shoe Kid

Contributed by Peter Loughman on Oct 27, 2006

Story – Silver shoe kid. I worked for years in a department store. There was this kid that worked in the China Department. A place of high value products. This kid was offered a much better position – turned it down! Why? Because he walk out each day with a set of silverware I each shoe. Big ...read more

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Motivated Typist  PRO

Contributed by Bruce Howell on Jan 9, 2002

“The Motivated Typist” One day an eager young man from Stanford University applied for a part time position at the school. The man who was doing the hiring said, “All I need now is a typist.” “I’ll take the job, said the applicant. “but I can’t start until next Tuesday.” On Tuesday he ...read more

Tags: Leadership General, Workplace, Workplace Unemployment

Denomination: Wesleyan

Zig Ziglar Says He Looked Into A Mirror One Day ...  PRO

Contributed by Charles R. Swindoll on Oct 13, 2004

Zig Ziglar says he looked into a mirror one day & realized he needed to lose a lot of weight. He really wanted to get in shape. As an incentive, he put a picture of a thin man on the refrigerator door. There are all kinds of gimmicks offered as motivators to dieting. You can purchase sound tracks ...read more

Tags: Christian Disciplines

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Adoption Is The Process By Which A Person Who ...  PRO

Contributed by Lou Nicholes on Dec 28, 2004

Adoption is the process by which a person who does not belong to a given family is formally brought into it and made a full, legal family member with the rights and responsibilities of that position. The practice of adoption was not common among the Jews, but was more widespread in the Greek and ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:12-17

Tags: Descriptions Of God

Denomination: Baptist

Active Father Figures

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 30, 2008

ACTIVE FATHER FIGURES Active fathers and father figures play a key role in reducing behavior problems in boys and psychological problems in young women, according to the peer-reviewed journal Acta Paediatrica. Swedish researchers found regular positive contact reduces criminal behavior among ...read more

Tags: Father's Day

Opinions ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 9, 2008

OPINIONS VARY In 1858 a scientific expedition passed through a vast area in the Southwestern United States. A young lieutenant by the name of Ives made this entry in his report: The region we explored is completely without value. It can be approached only from the south and after entering it, ...read more

Tags: Possibilities

Some Years Back, The Company With The Brown ...

Contributed by John Herrmann on Nov 14, 2008

Some years back, the company with the brown trucks and brown uniforms - UPS, went public on the stock market for the first time in its 92 year history. The Chairman and CEO then, Jim Kelly said, “We’ve discussed the benefits of private ownership for a long time, but this is something we had to do ...read more

Tags: Evangelism Urgency

Denomination: Lutheran

Forgiveness Vs. Tolerance: Church Discipline  PRO

Contributed by Sean Harder on Jun 19, 2009

FORGIVENESS VS. TOLERANCE: CHURCH DISCIPLINE If we look closer at Jesus words, he tells us that we do not have to tolerate sinful behaviour in order to forgive a person. He says in verse 17 that if the person doesn't listen after going through all the steps, to treat that person as a tax collector ...read more

Tags: Church Discipline

Creche And The Second Coming

Contributed by Tim Smith on Aug 13, 2017

Marques Silva writes, “In college I was surprised when a close friend explained her family crèche. It wasn’t the style or the model that caused me to pause. It was the addition of a figurine that I had neither seen nor considered before. This particular set included not only the baby Jesus but an ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:1

Tags: Second Coming, Creche

Denomination: Methodist

Modern Day Idols

Contributed by John Bright on Apr 6, 2025

Iniquities are on the inside. They are driving forces that manifest as sins and transgressions. In the Old Testament, idolatry was connected to the gods of those folks around Israel. Those gods had names like Baal and Asherah. These gods were worshiped by temple prostitutes and through the ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 44:9-20, Jeremiah 10:1-16

Tags: Football, Idols, Ji Packer

Denomination: Methodist

Michael Is The Kind Of Guy You Love To Hate. He ...  PRO

Contributed by Dennis Selfridge on Jan 16, 2003

Michael is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!" He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Michael was ...read more

Tags: Learning, Finding Fulfillment

Denomination: Wesleyan

How Many Of You Have Heard About The Book And ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

How many of you have heard about the book and movie called “The Secret”? 1. Here is some of the verbiage being used to advertise “The Secret”: “The Secret is released to the world This ground-breaking feature length movie presentation reveals The Great Secret of the universe. It has been passed ...read more

Tags: God's Provision

Victory Hill

Contributed by Johnny Wilson on Mar 30, 2009

VICTORY HILL Remember, our plotting is unfinished, but God’s training and strength-conditioning is already there for us. I want to talk about this chastising, sometimes translated as punishing, and which I have translated as "training." I have something in mind. The Hebrew verb means to provide ...read more

Tags: God's Judgment

Denomination: *other

Just Let Go !

Contributed by Bruce Simpkins on Mar 11, 2015

In my younger years I thought it would be an exciting adventure to try sky diving. After checking into it, I found I could get a big discount if I brought 5 friends to jump with me . . . so I did. It was a beautiful sunny day in California when we arrived for a half day training and then an ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:8-9

Tags: He Is Strong, I Am Weak

Denomination: Baptist

Lincoln: Keep Trying

Contributed by Warner Pidgeon on Sep 13, 2009

LINCOLN: KEEP TRYING Let me tell you about a man who made a disastrous first attempt in the world of business. He switched to politics but within only one year that did not work out either. He tried his hand for a second time at business, but failed again. That meant 3 failures in 3 years, (time ...read more

Tags: Endurance

Denomination: Anglican

The Story Is Told Of Soldier In The Time Of ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 26, 2007

The story is told of soldier in the time of Napoleon Bonaparte. He was looking at his pocketbook where he had written all his debts. In exasperation he wrote, “Who will pay my debts.” Napoleon was passing during the night checking on his soldiers. He saw within the tent of this soldier, and he had ...read more

A Lady Joined Her Navy Husband On His Tour Of ...  PRO

Contributed by Russell Brownworth on Dec 21, 2000

A lady joined her Navy husband on his tour of duty in Japan. To supplement their income, she got a job as a secretary for the Commanding Officer at the base. She was certain her office skills had gotten her the position. A few weeks later, her boss called her into his office and told her she was ...read more

Tags: Call Of The Disciples, Humanity Of Christ

Denomination: United Methodist

Buddha Is Sleeping  PRO

Contributed by Bruce Howell on Jul 10, 2001

Illus.: “Buddah Is Sleeping” In a large city in Sri Lanka there is a huge statue of Buddah in a reclining position. The chiseled face is calm, the eyes are closed and the head rests upon one hand. A full 50 feet long, the image is impressive except for one thing: Buddah is sleeping while the ...read more

Tags: Promises Of God, Uncertainty, World Religions, God's Provision

Denomination: Wesleyan