In Sermon Illustrations: "Prayer Confession"

Live Like You Were Dying: The Bucket List

Contributed by Matthew Sickling on Jun 5, 2009

LIVE LIKE YOU WERE DYING: THE BUCKET LIST A couple of years ago my wife and I saw a movie entitled “The Bucket List” starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. Both men discovered that they had incurable diseases and wound up being roommates in the hospital. They became good friends and ended ...read more

Tags: Death

Denomination: Baptist

Little Things - Big Blessings  PRO

Contributed by Peter Loughman on Oct 5, 2009

LITTLE THINGS - BIG BLESSINGS When we lived in Houston, Texas, our oldest Spencer was born. Spencer was placed in one of the vast Texas-sized nurseries at this hospital. There in that nursery, I met a group of volunteers who were all from a nearby church. The job of these volunteers in the nursery ...read more

Tags: Sacrifice, Obedience, Security, Success

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Victor, Not The Victim

Contributed by Bruce Ball on May 24, 2011

VICTOR, NOT THE VICTIM I used to work for the Post Office and when I became serious about the Lord, it must have really shown in my actions and words, because people all of a sudden began making fun of me and giving me snide comments. At times it was difficult, but I remained steadfast in my ...read more

Tags: Persecution

Denomination: *other

Perfect Day For Evil

Contributed by Brad Henry on Sep 13, 2011

PERFECT DAY FOR EVIL As I gave the opening prayer at Charlotte Motor Speedway to Honor 9/11, I met this man in a Fireman’s’ uniform with a New York accent. The Speedway had flown in three men who had been First Responders that day 10 years ago. This man gave me a chilling account of his day. His ...read more

Tags: Holidays Civic

Jewish Blessings

Contributed by Perry Greene on Dec 19, 2011

JEWISH BLESSINGS David Stern relates in hid Jewish NT Commentary, pp.115-116 that there are many blessings given by the Hebrew people. There are blessings for wine (Matthew 26.27-29); for bread (14.19); The Talmud (circa 5th century CE) had specific formulas for dozens of blessings that the people ...read more

Tags: Blessing

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Sexual Sins

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Oct 15, 2019

Greek & Roman religions taught very little about personal holiness. A person could bring sacrifices to an idol, say a few prayers & go away from the altar and commit sin freely. No one would ever think he was inconsistent in his faith. This is not so with the life of a follower of ...read more

Tags: Lust, Uncleanness, Sexual Sins

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Gossip Test

Contributed by John Bright on Jun 1, 2021

Another basic concept – sin creates spiritual blindness. Let me illustrate with my favorite sin to talk about… GOSSIP. I’ll stop right here and make sure you know how I define gossip. Before you tell someone a story about another person (even disguised as a prayer request), it needs to pass all ...read more

Scripture: Luke 6:37-45

Tags: Sin, Gossip, Spiritual Blindness

Denomination: Methodist

Ted Turner Turned Away From God

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Nov 20, 2022

Cable television mogul Ted Turner criticized conservative Christianity and said, "Jesus probably would be sick at his stomach" over the way his ideas have been "twisted" by today's preachers, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Turner made his remarks at a ...read more

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

Tags: False Professors, Deception, Bitterness, Last Days, Unbelief, Apostasy, Denying The Truth  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Goliath Has To Fall

Contributed by Samuel M on Jul 6, 2024

Just as the Israelites have accepted that it was impossible to defeat Goliath, who kept on mocking and defying Israelites for 40 days, morning and evening, causing dismay and great fear. So many times we also have accepted that it’s difficult to defeat the Goliath-sized difficulties or prayer ...read more

Scripture: 1 Samuel 17:26

Tags: Faith, Hope

Together We Entered The Terrifying Building ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 16, 2005

Together we entered the terrifying building [Ravensbruck prison camp]. At a table were women who took away all our possessions. Everyone had to undress completely and then go to a room where her hair was checked. I asked a woman who was busy checking the possessions of the new arrivals if I ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 34:7

Tags: Trust God, Unknown

Walking In The Confidence Of God  PRO

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

Walking in the Confidence of God "Personal God" Christians can walk in confidence because the Lord is a personal God: Psalm 147:11 says, "the LORD delights in those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love." Song of Solomon 7:10 presents a wonderful truth in regard to our ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 7:10

Tags: Confidence

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

O In Peter Schaeffer's Play ...

Contributed by David Rumley on Oct 28, 2009

o In Peter Schaeffer’s Play Amadeus o Story of Salieri  Makes a prayer before God…  I would offer up secretly the proudest prayer a boy could think of. “Lord, make me a great composer! Let me celebrate your glory through music – and be celebrated myself! Make me famous through the ...read more

Tags: Salvation, Assurance Of Salvation

Denomination: Pentecostal

A Small Congregation In The Foothills Of The ...  PRO

Contributed by Paul Wallace on Mar 25, 2010

A small congregation in the foothills of the Great Smokies built a new sanctuary on a piece of land willed to them by a church member. Ten days before the new church was to open, the local building inspector informed the pastor that the parking lot was inadequate for the size of the building. Until ...read more

Scripture: Acts 2:1-10

Tags: Faith, Mountain Moving

Denomination: Wesleyan

Location, Location, Location

Contributed by Peter Loughman on Apr 15, 2010

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION Back in 1991, I did an internship as a hospital chaplain in Philadelphia. At that time, AIDS was a new thing, and honestly, the hospital wasn’t sure how to handle people with AIDS, they were not sure what precautions to take when treating AIDS patients, so they took ...read more

Tags: Affliction

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Minister The Word  PRO

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Nov 27, 2010

MINISTER THE WORD There are valid ministries which are pleasing to the Lord such as, missions, youth ministries, local church services and ministerial alliances. However, there are two ministries that are often set on the back burner. The ministry of truly preaching the whole council of God's ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 4:4

Tags: Bible Influence

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

God's Word Has Power

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 3, 2011

GOD'S WORD HAS POWER In an interview about his book The Folly of Prayer (IVP, 2009), author and pastor Matt Woodley shared a story about his friend Theresa. She had married the man of her dreams, but soon after that dropped into the pit of a deep depression. Everything went dark in her mind and ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:26-27

Tags: Bible Influence

But Before That...  PRO

Contributed by Gregg Strawbridge on Jul 7, 2002

BUT BEFORE THAT... In 1992, when our own Govenor, Kirk Fordice stated unreservedly “America is a Christian nation” the response bordered on hysteria. But before that -- Congress, declared 1983 to be the “Year of the Bible” — stating that the Bible, the Word of God, has made a unique contribution ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 29:18, Psalm 33:12

Tags: Kingdom Of God, July, History, Heritage, Independence, Independence Day, America, Freedom  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

A Man Was Charged Thursday (July 15) In The ...

Contributed by Davon Huss on Jul 19, 2004

A man was charged Thursday (July 15) in the murder of a West Bend (near Milwaukee) teenager. According to the charges, 18-year-old Katie Gensmer was killed so she wouldn’t talk about a past relationship. David Brace, 20, showed little emotion as he was led into court, 12 News Nick Bohr said. Now ...read more

Tags: Sin Exposed, Sin General

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Most Of Us Love Happy Endings! My Girls When They ...  PRO

Contributed by Peter Bines on Sep 22, 2005

Most of us love happy endings! My girls when they were little loved Disney’s, ‘Beauty and the Beast.’ In the closing scenes the beast lies dying from a wound inflicted during combat with Gaston his enemy. Belle the beauty finally confesses her love for the beast and just in time gives him the kiss ...read more

Tags: Jonah

Denomination: Independent/Bible

I Found A Great Article Which Addresses The ...  PRO

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Jun 8, 2007

I found a great article which addresses the question “Does God Play Favorites? On page 1562 in the Quest Study Bible: Listen to what it says: The whole Bible teaches that God is fair and just (Psalm 11:7). It also states that God does not take pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezek. 18:23), but ...read more

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational