In Sermon Illustrations: "Power In Preaching"

Christlikeness: A Painful Process  PRO

Contributed by Josh Hunt on May 9, 2012

CHRISTLIKENESS: A PAINFUL PROCESS The truth is that the Spirit of the living God is guaranteed to ask you to go somewhere or do something you wouldn’t normally want or choose to do. The Spirit will lead you to the way of the cross, as He led Jesus to the cross, and that is definitely not a safe or ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:18, Matthew 16:24-25, Revelation 12:1-2

Tags: Holy Spirit In Believers

Denomination: Baptist

Do You Fear What You Need Not Fear?

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 11, 2012

DO YOU FEAR WHAT YOU NEED NOT FEAR? A friend told me a story of some hunting dogs that he had. They were good hunting dogs that he used when he went to hunt pigs in the mountains. He shared however, that the dogs, as tough as they were, were deathly afraid of chickens. I couldn’t believe it, so I ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 2:14-18

Tags: Satan

A Woman, Her Attacker, And The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 5, 2012

A WOMAN, HER ATTACKER, AND THE BIBLE Earlier this year, a North Carolina woman read the Bible to her attacker for an hour and a half after he slashed her throat before the man apologized and left. Lindsay Wood, 32, of Shelby, N.C., had just arrived home from Bible study on Wednesday. Wood asked her ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:31-39

Tags: Bible Influence

Persuaded By The Mail

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 11, 2014

"I GIVE UP!" In the early 1960s, the publishers of Time Magazine were concerned about their declining circulation, so they designed a campaign to send out thousands of letters making an emotional appeal to potential subscribers. In the past, such mailings had been done manually, at a great cost in ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16-17

Tags: God's Love, Surrender, Persuasion

Gun Laws

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Mar 18, 2018

Gun Laws Laws - "are sent by Him to punish those who do wrong and commend those who do right." 2 Peter 2:14 - Keeping this truth in the context of guns. Nothing wrong with making sure there are laws which make it hard for wicked or mentally ill people from getting guns. Those (mentally ill or ...read more

Tags: Laws, Gun Laws, Guns

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

What Great Men Said About The Bible

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 4, 2021

List to what great men in the past have said about the Bible. Abraham Lincoln: "I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man. All the good from the Savior of the world is communicated to us through this book." W. E. Gladstone: "I have known ninety-five of the ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Timothy 4:1-3

Tags: Bible, Scripture, Truth, Word Of God

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Discerning Prophecy

Contributed by Richard Tow on Apr 26, 2021

I was once in charge of a meeting where I was confronted with this situation. A lady gave forth a powerful and anointed utterance in an unknown tongue. We all waited for the interpretation. Quite soon a man began to give forth what he obviously wanted us to accept as the interpretation. It was, in ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 3:6, 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, 1 Corinthians 14:29, 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21

Tags: False Prophet, Deception, Discernment, Prophecy, Charismatic, Tongues  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Charismatic

An Outline Of Joseph's Life

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Nov 13, 2022

The story of Joseph’s life can be outlined by several key events in Genesis:   1. REJECTION (37:1-36) – Jacob selected Joseph as the favored son and he was despised by his brothers. They threw him into a pit and left him for dead.   2. REFINEMENT (38:1 – 40:23) – Traders came by and ...read more

Tags: Faith, Temptation, Rejection, Joseph, Will Of God  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Calling Me Home

Contributed by Jerry Cosper on Feb 13, 2023

I want you all to go back in time with me for a moment when you were a child. We didn’t have xbox, or playstation, or video games. We actually went outside and played face to face with our friends. If you were like me, you'd gather with your friends in the neighborhood and would be out most ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 24:23-31

Tags: Expectant, Jesus' Voice

Denomination: Baptist

The Fear Nots Of The Christmas Story

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Nov 28, 2023

The "fear nots" used in the biblical narratives of the birth of Christ: The "fear not" of SALVATION: "And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings...which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a ...read more

Tags: Virgin Birth, Mary, Messiah, Christmas, Savior, Birth Of Christ  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Great Quotes On The Sovereignty Of God

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Nov 10, 2024

Great Quotes on the Sovereignty of God R.C. SPROUL: “If there is one single molecule in this universe running around loose, totally free of God’s sovereignty, then we have no guarantee that a single promise of God will ever be fulfilled.” MATT CHANDLER: “Trying to figure out God is like trying ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 21:1

Tags: Chosen, Election, Knowledge Of God, Calling, Sovereignty Of God, Attributes Of God  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Blood And Water  PRO

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Mar 24, 2013

THE BLOOD AND WATER Before I became a minister I attended a secular college for a couple of years. While I was there I took several classes I thought would help me when I went to Bible college, and some of those classes were in Philosophy. Now Philosophy and Christianity are somewhat at odds. ...read more

Tags: Blood Of Christ

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Evangelism Quotes And Illustrations  PRO

Contributed by Paul Fritz on Apr 19, 2004

Evangelism Quotes and Illustrations 1. Paul Harvey said, "Too many Christians are no longer fishers of men but keepers of the aquarium." 2. Paul Little in his book "How to Give Away Your Faith" defines witnessing: "Witnessing is that deep-seated conviction that the greatest favor I can do for ...read more

Scripture: Luke 5:1-11

Tags: Men, What Is Evangelism?, Wise

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Healing The Wounds Of War: The Kim Phuc Story

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 4, 2010

HEALING THE WOUNDS OF WAR: THE KIM PHUC STORY Probably one of the most well-known pictures to come out of the Vietnam War was Nick Ut’s Pulitzer Prize-winning photo (show picture) of Phan Thi Kim Phuc (pronounced "fuke"). On June 8, 1972, a napalm bomb was dropped on her village, and Kim, who was ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 18:21-35

Tags: Forgiveness For Others

Parallels Between The Serpent On The Pole And Christ On The Cross

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Apr 8, 2023

Parallels between the Serpent on the Pole and Christ on the Cross: 1. The bronze serpent was God’s means of salvation for the Israelites who were bitten by the serpents in the wilderness. Jesus Christ crucified is God’s means of salvation for everyone who has been bitten by the deadly venom of sin ...read more

Scripture: John 3:14-16

Tags: Redemption, Judgment, Christ, Forgiveness, Easter, Sin, Israel, Cross  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Valley Of the Shadow Of Death

Contributed by Rev Purvi Satvedi on Oct 27, 2023

An experience Peter Marshall, the great Scottish preacher, related during his ministry: On Sunday morning, December 7, 1941, Peter Marshall preached to the regiment of midshipmen in the Naval Academy at Annapolis. A strange feeling which he couldn’t shake off led him to change his announced topic ...read more

Tags: Death, Funeral, Valley

Denomination: Brethren

The Reason For Evangelism

Contributed by John Bright on May 15, 2025

The Reason for Evangelism The “WHY” might be the most important missing part for choosing to not share a personal testimony and the Good News with other folks. I recently read the book, “Five Little Words to Change a Life,” by Nick and Rozanne Savoca (2022). Nick shares an experience that uses a ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:18-20, Luke 15:11-32

Tags: Evangelism, Prodigal Son

Denomination: Methodist

The Music Pastor At Ben Franklin Middle School  PRO

Contributed by Jim Kane on Dec 13, 2001

THE MUSIC PASTOR AT BEN FRANKLIN MIDDLE SCHOOL Jack Martens is a fifty-six year old teacher who has spent 33 years teaching music at Ben Franklin Middle School in San Francisco. “Over 50 percent of Martens’ students are from broken homes. The same number are on welfare. Nearly that many come ...read more

Tags: Christian Love, Compassion, Giving General

Denomination: Church Of God

A Young Boy By The Name Of James Had A Desire To ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 16, 2001

A young boy by the name of James had a desire to be the most famous manufacturer and salesman of cheese in the world. He planned on becoming rich and famous by making and selling cheese and began with a little buggy pulled by a pony named Paddy. After making his cheese, he would load his wagon and ...read more

Tags: Call Of The Disciples, Finding Fulfillment, Focus, Priorities

Tara Cook Spent The First Part Of Her Life Being ...

Contributed by Tim Richards on Sep 23, 2004

Tara Cook spent the first part of her life being shifted from one house to another. When she was ten Tara went to live with her dad & his girl friend Rose. All went well for a short time and then Rose began to abuse her. After she had lived there for about 15 months Rose informed her that she would ...read more

Tags: Children

Denomination: Baptist