In Sermon Illustrations: "Preconceived Ideas"

Tozer: Salvation Demands Obedience

Contributed by Derrick Tuper on Jun 16, 2011

TOZER: SALVATION DEMANDS OBEDIENCE A. W. Tozer was a man of God who was troubled with the idea that Christian profession does not demand obedience to Christ. He said: "[Years ago] no one would ever dare to rise in a meeting and say, 'I am a Christian' if he had not surrendered his whole being to ...read more

Tags: Lordship Of Christ

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Spiritual Consumerism

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 15, 2011

SPIRITUAL CONSUMERISM In February 27 2009 article from the website “Slate” titled, “Why American churchgoers like to shop around” also caught my attention. That article cited statistics from a Barna Group survey that revealed that one in seven adults changes churches each year, and another one in ...read more

Scripture: John 4:19-24

Tags: Church Practices

God Knows

Contributed by Brad Henry on Oct 7, 2011

GOD KNOWS The receiving line at the memorial was very long as Jim and Steph had many family members that came from Texas and Georgia. Halfway through the line, I was introduced to Jim's sister, brother and nephew. They said "Are you the Brad Henry that wrote the devotional about my brother?" I ...read more

Tags: Miracles General

First Phil And First Phyllis

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Feb 11, 2012

FIRST PHIL AND FIRST PHYLLIS Some years ago, I asked the leaders of our church to do a little exercise with me. I fabricated two imaginary people, one a man and the other a woman. Since this is First Presbyterian Church, I named the man "First Phil" and the woman "First Phyllis." I suggested that ...read more

Tags: Discipleship

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Touching The Untouchable

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 10, 2009

TOUCHING THE UNTOUCHABLE I have served as a volunteer Chaplain for the Havelock Police Dept for many years. Still, I will never forget my first night out with them. I was completely green and had no idea how to act. I was trying to follow the lead of the other officers. We were called to the ...read more

Scripture: Luke 10:25-37

Tags: Christian Love

The Teddy Bear Lady

Contributed by Davon Huss on Aug 11, 2009

THE TEDDY BEAR LADY Most of the people at Chicago’s Children’s Hospital did not know her name. They just knew her as the sweet elderly lady in the red suit who wanted to make sure that every sick child had a teddy bear to hug and caress. She kept bringing the stuffed animals, purchased with her ...read more

Tags: Giving General

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Planet Of The Year

Contributed by Tim Smith on Oct 19, 2009

PLANET OF THE YEAR Time Magazine in 1989 celebrated not the Person of the Year but the Planet of Year. It was a wakeup call for me and convicted me and my faith. "Through most of his 2 million years or so of existence, man has thrived in earth's environment -- perhaps too well.... The reason is ...read more

Tags: Creation

Denomination: Methodist

Faith Fights  PRO

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Oct 19, 2009

FAITH FIGHTS Habakkuk 2:4 Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith. I heard a story about a midwestern farmer 50 years ago. The farmer went to the bank to borrow money to buy seed to plant his whole farm in corn. He fired up the old tractor ...read more

Tags: Faith

Denomination: Assembly Of God

What Kind Of Heart Do You Have?  PRO

Contributed by Ken Henson on Sep 23, 2012

WHAT KIND OF HEART DO YOU HAVE? I was reading this week an article by Bryan Doyle. It talks about hummingbirds. Hummingbirds have race car hearts that eat oxygen at an eye-popping rate. Their hearts are built of thinner, leaner fibers than ours. Their arteries are stiffer and more taut. Their ...read more

Tags: Heart

Denomination: *other

Whitney Houston ...

Contributed by Bret Toman on Dec 10, 2012

Whitney Houston sang "Because the greatest love of all is happening to me I found the greatest love of all inside of me The greatest love of all Is easy to achieve learning to love yourself, it is the greatest love of all" Learning to love yourself, it is the greatest love of all. I’ll admit I’m ...read more

Tags: Love For God, Self Esteem

Denomination: Baptist

La Nueva Lavavajillas

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 26, 2013

LA NUEVA LAVAVAJILLAS En el cuarto año de su despido de su trabajo , papá le dio a mamá un lavaplatos para la Navidad. Usted tiene que entender la magnitud del don : Nuestra antigua casa tenía su cableado y la plomería original, y tampoco pudo manejar la necesidad de instalación. No había lugar ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:1-29

Tags: Christmas, Spanish, Espanol, Navidad

The Cookies

Contributed by Daniel King, D. Min. on Jul 25, 2018

Main Idea: Everyone has sinned and done things that are wrong. Verse: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8 NKJV). Illustration: When I was a child, my mother baked some cookies. The house smelled so good and I wanted one of the cookies. I ...read more

Tags: Sin, Salvation, Evangelism

Denomination: Charismatic

The Baby Chased Away The Darkness

Contributed by Daniel King, D. Min. on Jul 25, 2018

Main Idea: Jesus was a baby that changed the whole world. Verse: “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman…” (Galatians 4:4 NKJV). Illustration: Once upon a time there was a village. In the village there lived many men. They were always mad at each ...read more

Tags: Birth Of A Savior, Salvation, Baby Jesus

Denomination: Charismatic

The Great Need For A Savior

Contributed by Daniel King, D. Min. on Jul 25, 2018

Main Idea: Sin is a big problem and that is why we need a great Savior. Verse: “We all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath…” (Ephesians 2:3 NKJV). Illustration: How often do you sin in your ...read more

Tags: Savior, Sin, Salvation

Denomination: Charismatic

Who Needs Twitter!

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Aug 20, 2019

We all want our lives to matter, and we believe they only matter if they are noticed by someone. I wonder if this desire for a witness isn't what fuels a lot of blogs, Facebook, and especially Twitter. We want someone, anyone, to take notice … to care about us … to watch us and by their ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 139:1-12

Tags: Communication, Self Esteem, Relationship

Denomination: Pentecostal

Scheming And Tricky

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Aug 15, 2022

3 Greeks and 3 Turks are travelling by train to a conference. At the station, the 3 Turks each buy tickets and watch as the 3 Greeks buy only a single ticket. "How are 3 people going to travel on only one ticket?" asks one Turk. "Watch and you'll see," answers one Greek. ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 2:1-4, Isaiah 4:2-6, Genesis 3:13, Genesis 29:25, Joshua 9:22, 2 Samuel 3:25, 2 Corinthians 11:13, 2 Timothy 3:13, 2 John 1:7  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Trick, Scheme, Lying, Crafty, Scheming, Tricky, Abuse, Dishonesty, Deceive, Cheating, Deceptive, Advantage  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Metamorphosis

Contributed by Richard L. Brown on Mar 1, 2025

I thought of a book I read years ago in German class. We were assigned the task of reading the Famous Novel by Franz Kafka entitled “The Metamorphosis”. It was about a young man who woke up one day and realized he had been transformed into, of all things, a large Roach. The story line of the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 17:1-9

Tags: Transfiguration, God's Presence

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Don't Let The Sun Confuse You

Contributed by Tim White on Mar 10, 2025

When Laura and I were blessed with a gift of a cruise, we had a blast. On the way back from the western Caribbean, we opened the cabin curtains to watch another sunset. But, there was no sun. I checked the television station that had mapped our trek and displayed our current location. The cruise ...read more

Scripture: John 12:46

Tags: Confusion, Direction, Guidance

Denomination: Baptist

Mommy, I'm So Thirsty  PRO

Contributed by David Yarbrough on Jan 28, 2002

Mommy I’m so thirsty. I want a drink. Susanna Petroysan heard her daughter’s pleas, but there was nothing she could do. She and four-year-old Gayaney were trapped beneath tons of collapsed concrete and steel. Beside them in the darkness lay the body of Susanna’s sister-in-law, Karine, one of ...read more

Tags: Easter Good Friday, Assurance Of Salvation, Cross

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Last Week I Read In The Advice Column In The ...  PRO

Contributed by Larry Thompson on Jun 6, 2002

Last week I read in the advice column in the paper about a couple who was celebrating 50 years of marriage. The husband wrote that someone commented, ¡§Ken, 50 years is a long time.¡¨ He immediately responded: ¡§Not nearly as long as it would have been without her.¡¨ I couldn¡¦t get the man¡¦s ...read more

Tags: Unity

Denomination: Baptist