In Sermon Illustrations: "Prayer How To"

The Locust Plague Described

Contributed by Thomas Cash on Jan 29, 2013

THE LOCUST PLAGUE DESCRIBED The judgment in the book of Joel centers on the warning of a plague of locusts. Now you may think, "Ah, little grasshoppers. Not much of a problem, eh." History records a similar event. Let me read to you: In 1915 a plague of locusts covered Palestine and Syria from ...read more

Scripture: Joel 1:4

Tags: God's Judgment

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Does God Calls Everybody To Sacrifice Greatly To ...

Contributed by Mark Eberly on Jun 8, 2009

Does God calls everybody to sacrifice greatly to follow Jesus? I believe that God does and that we often rationalize in order to justify our choices. You might not see it that way. But I can share with you our experience and I do this not to boast because if I boast it is in the Lord and what Jesus ...read more

Tags: Sacrifices

Denomination: Church Of God

Hero

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Jun 24, 2009

Dear Dad, Heroes are men who first of all are heroes for God and then heroes to their families. To be a hero for God, you need to yield your life 100% to Him. What's in this name "hero"? Josh McDowell shares, "A few years ago, a radio jockey polled almost two hundred teenagers in a shopping ...read more

Tags: Father's Day

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Secret Of Happiness

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 25, 2009

THE SECRET OF HAPPINESS Christopher Parkening is regarded as the world’s greatest classical guitarist, and he’s played guitar with orchestras the world over, even for several presidents in the White House. He’s also a world-class fly-fishing champion. By his own testimony, he writes, "By age 30, ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:31

Tags: Joy

Trapeze Faith

Contributed by Bobby Scobey on Jul 8, 2009

TRAPEZE FAITH Church growth writer Dr. Win Arn told of an experience he had: "’Jump . . . go ahead . . . jump!’ The words flew upward from boys and girls some sixty feet below. High above, I clutched the bar of a trapeze swinging back and forth in great arcs. At the apex of each swing, an ...read more

Tags: Security

Denomination: Pentecostal

Saved From Sharks

Contributed by Bobby Scobey on Jul 22, 2009

Peter Michelmore reported this story in the Oct. 1987 Reader’s Digest: Normally the flight from Nassau to Miami took Walter Wyatt, Jr., only 65 minutes. But on Dec. 5, 1986, he attempted it after thieves had looted the navigational equipment in his Beechcraft. With only a compass and a hand-held ...read more

Tags: Salvation

Denomination: Pentecostal

Buying Them Back

Contributed by Johnny Wilson on Aug 11, 2009

BUYING THEM BACK We're told about a gift of grace (singular) and informed that it will help us to build up the church in LOVE. Do you see a pattern, here? Whatever we have to use in God's service comes directly from God. It's a lot like a former colleague experienced at Ziff-Davis Publishing. He ...read more

Tags: Grace

Denomination: *other

Antwone Fisher: "Who Will Cry For The Little ...

Contributed by Rickey Bennett on Aug 15, 2009

Antwone Fisher: "Who Will Cry for the Little Boy" Based on a true story, the film Antwone Fisher tells of a young man who grew up in an abusive foster home. Over the years, Antwone grew bitter towards his natural family for giving him up. By the time he enlisted in the Navy, his anger got him into ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness For Others

Denomination: *other

As The Parents Of Three Young Children, My Wife ...

Contributed by Ricki Lee Brooks on Oct 24, 2009

As the parents of three young children, my wife and I often took advantage of many helps in order to be good nurturers. However, sometimes even our best efforts resulted in the unexpected. With hopes of teaching our oldest son the necessity of depending upon God, we began reading to him from the ...read more

Scripture: John 15:9-14

Tags: Obedience

Wrong Priorities Illustrated In The Book, In The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 12, 2009

Wrong Priorities Illustrated in the Book, In the Time Bind: When Work Becomes Home and Home Becomes Work Ancient church father Augustine of Hippo once said, “Christ is not valued at all, unless he is valued above all.” Until those folks in Jerusalem moved God from the bottom of their list of ...read more

Scripture: Haggai 1:1-15

Tags: Workplace

Man Learns To Forgive His ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 14, 2009

Man Learns to Forgive His Enemy The apostle Paul said, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). We don’t serve in order to merit God’s forgiveness. We serve because we have already received God’s forgiveness. And our service is ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:32

Tags: Forgiveness, Forgiveness For Others

College President Stoops To Child's ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2010

College President Stoops to Child’s Level Our world places little value on children, but Jesus says they are the most important people of all. Why? Because to be little is to be great in God’s eyes, and to receive a child is like receiving Christ. It’s a lesson Jesus wanted His disciples to ...read more

Scripture: John 1:14

Tags: Christmas, Incarnation

God Is Absolute

Contributed by Tim White on Apr 4, 2013

GOD IS ABSOLUTE If we bought a new piano or a new organ and moved it into the sanctuary, we would need to tune it, or everything else, typically. The impression is that there are differences in how the instruments are tuned. If the new piano is tuned a little higher than the old equipment, then ...read more

Tags: Truth

Denomination: Baptist

Division In The Church

Contributed by Davon Huss on Sep 6, 2014

Daniel Overdorf- A few years ago I visited a couple in their home. Both husband and wife had lived most of their lives apart from Christ and His church. Their marriage- a second marriage for both- had grown rocky. The 50 year old husband faced a frightening battle with cancer, and neither ...read more

Scripture: John 17:20-23

Tags: Argue, Church Unity, Disunity

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

In His Book, "Leadership Pain: God’s Classroo...

Contributed by Tim Smith on Sep 25, 2016

In his book, “Leadership Pain: God’s Classroom for Growth,” Sam Chand writes, “Pain isn’t the enemy. The inability or unwillingness to face pain is a far greater danger.” He then tells the story of Dr. Paul Brand who was treating a four year old named Tanya at the national leprosy hospital in ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:25-32

Tags: Pain, Thankful For Pain

Denomination: Methodist

The Gift Of Grace And Forgiveness In Our Time Of Greatest Need

Contributed by Tim Smith on Aug 13, 2017

Julian Silva tells the story of working in a Volunteer Corp’s Chaplain Office in Frankfurt, Germany where he met a German named, Carl Scholtz. During WW II, Carl served as a Nazi soldier but not believing in what he was doing, he tried to desert. He failed in his attempt, was captured and thrown ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:1-10

Tags: Grace, Forgiveness

Denomination: Methodist

Growth Takes Time

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Jul 18, 2018

GROWTH IS RARELY AN ACCIDENT, GROWTH HAS A PLAN… GROWTH REQUIRES EFFORT… THE MORE EFFORT THE MORE THE GROWTH WILL THRIVE… Blessed is he who expects nothing for he shall get exactly what he expected. Les Brown tells a wonderful illustration that we need to consider… There is a tree that grows in ...read more

Tags: Plan, Growth

Denomination: Assembly Of God

A Drop Or Two Of Bluing?

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Dec 25, 2019

How many of you remember bluing solution? Way back in the early to mid ‘60’s, Mom and Grandma would never finish a load of wash (laundry, if you prefer!) without adding some bluing when they did the whites. Now, I never understood why they did this but one of the two explained it kind of like this: ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 1:18, Isaiah 64:6, Psalm 51:7, 1 John 1:7

Tags: Forgiveness, Cleansing From Sin

Denomination: Baptist

A Little Thing Caused A Big Problem!

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Mar 7, 2020

My car was due for an oil change so I drove it to the same place where I had gone for several years. After all, they knew me and I trusted them and I’ve never had a problem. A few minutes later, the car was tasting some fresh oil and I was good to go for a while! Except—something happened in the ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 5:8, Hebrews 12:1

Tags: Alertness, Consequences, Sins

Denomination: Baptist

Any Believer Can Be A "Man Of God”

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Jul 7, 2020

Any believer can be a “man of God” Text: 2 Tim 3:17 That the man of God (any believer in Jesus!) may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. Thoughts: Only a few people were ever called a “man of God” in the Bible. Some were never known; at least four were never named, and one, ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:14-17

Tags: Paul, Man Of God, Timothy

Denomination: Baptist