In Sermon Illustrations: "Preaching"

Authentic Worship  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 12, 2002

AUTHENTIC WORSHIP In his article ’Celebrating God in Authentic Worship’, pastor Glenn Wagner (Calvary Church, Charlotte, NC) points out: "I believe that one of the most evangelistic tools the church possesses, one desperately needed in today’s society, is authentic worship. People want to know, ...read more

Scripture: John 4:24

Tags: Church Practices, Worship Purpose

No Place For Pain  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 3, 2002

NO PLACE FOR PAIN In his sermon on dealing with trials, Nashville pastor Byron Yawn points out: "For most, especially American Christians, even the remotest suggestion that there could be value in our suffering is viewed as uncaring and insensitive. We have been conditioned by our culture to ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 3:1-11

Tags: Human Body, Knowing God's Will, Struggles, Trial, Disciplines, Conflict, Apologetics General  (view more)  (view less)

Culture Has Moral Confusion About Families  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 3, 2002

Culture Has Moral Confusion about Families In a recent column, commentator Dennis Prager observes that he was recently asked to write an article defending the traditional two-parent family. He wonders what has happened to our society that such a concept even needs to be defended? He notes: "In ...read more

Tags: Parenting

No Excuse Sunday." Cots Will Be Placed In The ...  PRO

Contributed by Sheila Crowe on Oct 11, 2002

"No Excuse Sunday." Cots will be placed in the foyer for those who say, "Sunday is my only day to sleep in." Murine will be available for those with tired eyes... from watching television too late on Saturday night. We will have steel helmets for those who say, "The roof would cave in if I ever ...read more

Scripture: Luke 14:15-24

Tags: Excuses, Church General

Denomination: United Methodist

The Journey From Heaven To Dump  PRO

Contributed by A. Todd Coget on Nov 29, 2002

THE JOURNEY FROM HEAVEN TO DUMP Author and pastor Leith Anderson writes: Several years ago I was visiting Manila and was taken, of all places, to the Manila garbage dump and saw something beyond belief. Tens of thousands of people make their homes on that dump site. They’ve constructed shacks out ...read more

Scripture: John 1:1-18

Tags: Christmas Advent

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Hope  PRO

Contributed by Tim Zingale on Dec 9, 2002

Hope Carolyn Self tells how she and her husband Bill and son Bryan took advantage of a school holiday and went to a secluded spot in the North Georgia mountains. It started out as a beautiful weekend. Bill returned to Atlanta on Saturday night to preach in his church on Sunday. He would return on ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 5:1-7

Tags: Faith, Endurance

Denomination: Lutheran

Funeral Home Visiting Hours  PRO

Contributed by Erick Riddle on Sep 3, 2004

2 Corinthians 1:1-11 One of the ways to share the comfort you have received from God is to go to the visiting hours and the funeral. In the late ‘80’s I was preaching full time for a small church in Michigan and worked part time in the local funeral home. I frequently saw people from the church ...read more

Tags: Death

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Powerhouse

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

“The memory of Charles Haddon Spurgeon has been cherished among evangelical Christians for over the past 100 years. Many Christian leaders consider him to be the greatest preacher England ever produced. He is commonly hailed as the "Prince of Preachers". Over 63 volumes of published sermons still ...read more

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Most Of Us Have Had A Peter Moment, A Moment Of ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Most of us have had a Peter moment, a moment of spiritual strength followed by a moment of spiritual defeat. I remember returning from Texas after being baptized for the remission of my sins. I was on fire for God. I remember going down to Bridgewater to the County fair for a few days to stay with ...read more

Tags: Easter Resurrection

Offer Up Your Gift — Antonio Stradivarius  PRO

Contributed by Christian Cheong on Aug 30, 2007

Offer up Your Gift - Antonio Stradivarius A young boy Antonio loves music, but his voice was high and squeaky, and so he did not make the tryouts for the Cremona Boy’s Choir. When he took violin lessons, the neighbours persuaded his parents to make him stop. Yet Antonio still wanted to make ...read more

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Dr. Pierce Harris Was The Long Time Pastor Of ...

Contributed by Bob Joyce on Oct 10, 2007

Dr. Pierce Harris was the long time pastor of First United Methodist Church in Atlanta, GA. Dr. Harris spoke one day at the state penitentiary. He was introduced to the prisoners by one of the inmates. In his introduction, the inmate said, “I want to tell you a story about two boys. • They ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Writing In Leadership Magazine, Bernabe Spivey ...

Contributed by R. David Reynolds on Mar 30, 2008

Writing in LEADERSHIP MAGAZINE, Bernabe Spivey relates this incident: “Going down some old cement steps, I noticed an ant carrying a leaf on its back. The leave was many times bigger than the ant. Then the ant came to a big crack in the cement that it couldn’t cross. The ant stopped a moment. ...read more

Tags: Attitude General

Denomination: Methodist

Grace Or Permission?

Contributed by Norman Lawrence on Oct 12, 2008

Grace or Permission? You're worried about permissiveness—about the way the preaching of grace seems to say it's okay to do all kinds of terrible things as long as you just walk in afterward and take the free gift of God's forgiveness. While you and I may be worried about seeming to give ...read more

Tags: Grace

Denomination: Assembly Of God

We Need More Training  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 28, 2008

WE NEED MORE TRAINING I have decided to join the US Army. Depending on whether or not I could pass the physical.... Well, let's assume I did. In that case, I figure it should only take me about one week of training and I'll be ready to go to Iraq or Afghanistan. OH COME ON NOW! We all know better ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:24-27

Tags: Attendance, Church Body Of Christ

John Wesley: Desired Personal Holiness, But Felt ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 28, 2008

John Wesley: Desired personal holiness, but felt like a failure. A serious man speaking to John Wesley, "Sir, you wish to serve God and to heaven? Remember that you cannot serve him alone. You must therefore find companions or make them; the Bible knows nothing of solitary religion." Wesley's ...read more

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Moving The Fence

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 13, 2009

MOVING THE FENCE Millard Erickson wrote, "The church is the repository of grace...it possesses the gospel, the good news of salvation" During World War II, some American soldiers took the body of their buddy to a local cemetery. The priest stopped them saying, "You can't bury your friend here if ...read more

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

George Barna Wrote The State Of The Church In ...

Contributed by Paul Carlson on Feb 17, 2009

George Barna wrote The State of the Church in 2002. Barna conducted a survey of self-pronounced Christians and here’s what he found about their knowledge of the Bible. These are Christians. • 48% could not name the four Gospels. • 52% cannot identify more than two or three of Jesus’ ...read more

Tags: Learning

Denomination: Baptist

Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman Told Of A Distinguished ...

Contributed by Ajai Prakash on Feb 25, 2009

Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman told of a distinguished minister, Dr. Howard, from Australia who preached very strongly on the subject of SIN. After the service, one of the church deacons came to counsel with him in the study. "Dr. Howard," he said, "we don’t want you to talk as openly as you do about man’s ...read more

Tags: Sin General

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

several Workplace-Related Studies In 2008 Su...

Contributed by Anne Benefield on Mar 4, 2009

Several workplace-related studies in 2008 suggest that the majority of working Americans aren’t all that fond of whom they work with. • When asked if a colleague has ever tried to make them look bad, 50 percent of respondents said yes; 48 percent said no; 2 percent said they didn’t know. • When ...read more

Tags: Workplace

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Community Stores Refuse Kind Acts Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 9, 2009

Community Stores Refuse Kind Acts of Service The story is told of a minister who was organizing opportunities for people in his church to do small acts of kindness as a demonstration of Christ’s love in the community. 1. He phoned several neighborhood grocery stores and Laundromats and asked for ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:13-14

Tags: Servanthood