In Sermon Illustrations: "Preach The Word"

The Spirit Makes The Call

Contributed by John Boquist on Jul 18, 2008

THE SPIRIT MAKES THE CALL In Colossians 3:15 we're told to let the peace of God rule in our hearts. Incidentally, the Greek word for rule is the same one used in other writings for referee. In other words, it says to let Christ make the call. Now we know what a referee is and what he does. In ...read more

Tags: Holy Spirit In Believers

Denomination: Baptist

He Knows What Can't Be Seen

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 11, 2008

HE KNOWS WHAT CAN’T BE SEEN There is no way to grasp, even remotely, what God knows about me, my life, and anything to do with me. There is a story of a photographer who went to the docks to take a picture of the "The Great Eastern". Its hull was black, having been coated with tar. That same day ...read more

Tags: God's Omniscience

Church History Is Replete Of Individuals Who Saw ...

Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Sep 21, 2008

Church history is replete of individuals who saw the importance of fearing God and not other individuals. Following in the footsteps of Paul, John Chrysostom had a period of isolation in the mountains near Antioch in A.D. 373. Although his time of isolation was cut short by illness, he learned that ...read more

Tags: Persecution

Denomination: Other

Baptism Seems Like Such A Small Thing. Water And ...

Contributed by Christopher Kennedy on Jan 22, 2009

Baptism seems like such a small thing. Water and a few words. Yet it’s a big thing. It unites us to Christ and makes His story our story. It’s a big deal. That’s why families travel from long distances to see a baby being baptized. That’s why pastors hurry to the hospital to baptize a baby who may ...read more

Tags: Baptism

Denomination: Lutheran

Did You Know That Every Second People Take 591 ...

Contributed by Rodney Fry on Oct 22, 2009

Did you know that every second people take 591 photographs? That’s 51.1 million every day. Why do we do that? We take 3 billion photographs just during the November December holiday season. That’s a lot of photos.! They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, so that would be a big book, ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 10:7

Tags: Lord's Supper

Denomination: Baptist

Pulling On Both Oars  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 26, 2009

PULLING ON BOTH OARS An old Scotsman operated a little rowboat for transporting passengers. One day a passenger noticed that the good old man had carved on one oar the word "Faith" and on the other oar the word "Works." Curiosity led him to ask the meaning of these oars. The old man, being a ...read more

Scripture: James 2:14-26, James 5:1-7

Tags: Faith Vs. Works

Switching Off The Message  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 9, 2010

SWITCHING OFF THE MESSAGE The Word will protect us. No soldier is going to go to battle without his armor and his weapons. Yet many Christians today rarely even pick up their bible. A former park ranger at Yellowstone National Park tells the story of a ranger leading a group of hikers to a fire ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:17

Tags: Bible Influence

Commitment And Loyalty To Christ Likened To A ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 7, 2010

Commitment and Loyalty to Christ Likened to a Trapeze Artist John Ortberg (Faith & Doubt, p. 169-170) says the word trapeze describes the bar between the ropes of a trapeze artist in the circus. It’s a Greek word, meaning table. It’s used in the New Testament when Jesus gathers his friends around ...read more

Scripture: Luke 14:26-27

Tags: Discipleship

Sir William Ramsey And The Accuracy Of Luke

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 6, 2011

SIR WILLIAM RAMSEY AND THE ACCURACY OF LUKE Late 1800's/early 1900's Sir William Ramsey was a well-known archaeologist and historian. He was professor of humanities at Aberdeen University. He was considered to be the world's most imminent scholar on Asia-Minor, and it's geography and history. He ...read more

Scripture: Luke 1:1-4

Tags: Bible Truth

Faith In The Colombian Jungle

Contributed by Alison Bucklin on Aug 10, 2011

FAITH IN THE COLOMBIAN JUNGLE A man named Bruce Olson went to Colombia many years ago as a missionary to the headhunters in the far southern jungle, near the border with Brazil. The book that tells his story is Bruchko, the name the Indians called him since they couldn't wrap their tongues around ...read more

Tags: Faith

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Orphans

Contributed by Davon Huss on Oct 24, 2014

Rubel Shelly tells of his friends Rich and Patty White, who traveled to a 3rd world country to adopt a little girl named Olona. After 2 years of effort and paperwork, the Whites stood before a judge who read words from an official document: “Inasmuch as Olona Morgan is orphaned and unwanted by ...read more

Scripture: John 14:18

Tags: Chosen By God, Orphan, Unwanted

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Father, Forgive Them

Contributed by Tim Smith on Feb 11, 2015

The word ‘forgive’ in this passage is in the imperfect tense. We tend to think it is in the present tense and that Jesus prayed this prayer once and then moved on. The imperfect tense in Greek means that the prayer is not said once but continuously, through the scourging and the crucifixion as he ...read more

Scripture: Luke 23:33-38

Tags: Forgive, Forgiveness For Others

Denomination: Methodist

Rejected On Earth

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 23, 2016

REJECTED ON EARTH... Campbell Morgan was one of 150 young men who sought entrance to the Wesleyan ministry in 1888. He passed the doctrinal examinations, but then faced the trial sermon. In a cavernous auditorium that could seat more than 1,000 sat three ministers and 75 others who came to listen. ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 3:1-10

Tags: Moses, Acceptance, Rejection, Calling

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

All Things Work Together

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Jun 15, 2020

My wife makes an amazing pot roast dinner. She takes raw meat, along with raw sliced white and sweet potatoes, celery, mushrooms, carrots, and onions and throws them into the slow cooker. Six or seven hours later the aroma fills the house, and the first taste is a delight. It is always to my ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:28

Tags: Suffering, Purpose, Conformity, Trials

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Why Are You Weeping?

Contributed by Samuel M on Feb 29, 2024

Note: – This a small dialogue between God and you. Why are you weeping? Dear ______, Is my grace not sufficient for you? Is my hand is not strong enough to lift you out of your valleys? Is my blanket of love not large enough to envelop you and your family? Are my feathers not enough to keep ...read more

Scripture: John 1:1

Tags: Sorrow, Weeping

Struggling With God?

Contributed by Andrew Moffatt on Jun 17, 2024

Here is a wee question, is struggling with God a bad thing? Where is a person's character developed? Did the saints of God become saints before or without struggling with God, without responding to those things in the scriptures or the words of Jesus that offended them, before they repented of ...read more

Tags: Faith, Jacob, Isaac, Struggling, The Upper Room, Character Development, Becoming The Church, Fear, Holy Spirit, Pentecost, Abraham, Disciples, Journey  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Salvation Army

A.w. Tozar: Contemplating The Fact That More ...  PRO

Contributed by Guy Mcgraw on Mar 21, 2001

A.W. TOZAR: Contemplating the fact that more than 10,000 thoughts a day pass between our ears, ’Our thoughts not only reveal what we are, they predict what we will become. We will soon be the sum total of our thoughts’. The Holy Spirit ...read more

Tags: Disciplines Meditation, Disciplines Scripture, Bible Influence

The Antonym Of Joy  PRO

Contributed by Paul Fritz on Jun 9, 2001

THE ANTONYM OF JOY Discouragement is dissatisfaction with the past, distaste for the present, and distrust of the future. It is ingratitude for the blessings of yesterday, indifference to the opportunities of today, and insecurity regarding strength for tomorrow. It is unawareness of the presence ...read more

Tags: Discouragement, Doubt, Disappointment, Faith

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Billy Graham Once Wrote An Article In The ...  PRO

Contributed by John Williams Iii on Aug 29, 2002

Billy Graham once wrote an article in the newspaper giving advice on how to be the ideal father. He said in the following order: First, Love your children and let them know that you love them. Secondly, Spend time with your children, listening to them, playing with, ...read more

Tags: Parenting

Denomination: United Methodist

Long Ago Demosthenes Had Written: "We Keep ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 8, 2005

Long ago Demosthenes had written: “We keep prostitutes for pleasure; we keep mistresses for the day to day needs of the body; we keep wives for the begetting of children and for the faithful guardianship of our homes. So long as a man supported his wife and family there was no ...read more

Tags: Sin Separates From God