In Sermon Illustrations: "Prison Ministry"

Actions Speak Louder  PRO

Contributed by Tim Smith on Dec 10, 2008

ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER Andy Stanley tells the story of when he was 13 and learning the meaning of the phrase, "Actions speak louder than words." His dad was the Associate Pastor of First Baptist in Atlanta when the senior pastor was asked to resign. Charles Stanley was asked to preach on Sundays ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 4:12-23

Tags: Character

Denomination: Methodist

Different Views Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 2, 2009

Different Views of Time You may not realize it, but your appreciation of time this morning goes well beyond the challenges of adjusting to daylight-savings time. There was a time when time was a relatively simple thing. People were born, grew up, grew old and died. Days, seasons and years past. ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:15-16

Tags: Time

I Remember Something That Happened Just After I ...

Contributed by K. Edward Skidmore on Sep 4, 2010

I remember something that happened just after I moved to Texas from New Mexico in 1974. I was driving down a street in Alvin and was pulled over by a city policeman. He asked me if I was aware that I was driving over the speed limit in a school zone. Having just moved to Texas, I didn’t know ...read more

Tags: Law

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Motley, Cross-Breed, Half-Baked Sheep  PRO

Contributed by Andrew Moffatt on Nov 12, 2010

MOTLEY, CROSS-BREED, HALF-BAKED SHEEP Before I went off to train for ministry, I used to live in an old house in Oamaru with an acre and a half of land. I had the usual garden and lawn, but I also had about an acre and a quarter of pretty rough hillside that was planted in a variety of trees and ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 1:3, Numbers 6:22-27

Tags: Parable Lost Sheep

Denomination: Salvation Army

Church Asks Non-Participants To Leave

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 21, 2011

CHURCH ASKS NON-PARTICIPANTS TO LEAVE Just a few years ago, Larknews.com carried the following fictional piece of satire on its website. In the form of a news release, it reported: Julie and Bob Clark were stunned to receive a letter from their church in July asking them to "participate in the ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:15-16

Tags: Church Growth

Sin Is Like Quicksand  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 5, 2011

SIN IS LIKE QUICKSAND In his book, Homesick for God, Joel Gregory described a horrible pit from which Tony Chain was rescued. Tony and J. R. Hounchell went hunting the first day of duck season in 1981. They were in an area called Duck Flats, northeast of Anchorage, Alaska. Hours before, 10 feet ...read more

Tags: Sin Wages Of

God's Whispers Are Ours To Hear

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Aug 31, 2011

GOD'S WHISPERS ARE OURS TO HEAR Bill Hybels' book: The Power of the Whisper: "Throughout history God has spoken. For millennia, he has forged his children’s faith by promising parted waters, empowering unlikely leaders, declaring world-changing prophecies-and imparting last-minute sermons to ...read more

Tags: God Brings Purpose

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Nothing But The Blood  PRO

Contributed by Vernon Price on Apr 10, 2012

NOTHING BUT THE BLOOD One night in a church service a young woman felt the tug of God at her heart. She responded to God's call and accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior. The young woman had a very rough past, involving alcohol, drugs, and prostitution. But, the change in her was evident. As ...read more

Tags: Revival

Denomination: Adventist

Moody And The Filling Of The Spirit  PRO

Contributed by Ken Pell on May 27, 2012

MOODY AND THE FILLING OF THE SPIRIT One of the great preachers in U.S. history is D. L. Moody. He pastored in Chicago and there is still a wonderful Bible College there that bears his name and values. Mr. Moody was a successful minister, but by his own admission, he lacked the power in his ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 33:1-22

Tags: Pentecost, Blessing, Esau, Isaac, Curse, Spoken Word  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Nazarene

Symbols Of The Bible In Scripture

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jan 4, 2021

The Bible identifies itself through several clear metaphors and similes. These symbols serve the purpose of helping us understand what the Bible is and what it can do in our lives. Let’s examine of a few of those symbols today. 1. A Mirror - James 1:23-25 - As a mirror the Word of God perfectly ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Timothy 4:1-3, 2 Peter 1:21

Tags: Bible, Scripture, Word Of God, Sword Of The Spirit, Symbols  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Unsung Heroes: Nebuzaradan Of Babylon

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Sep 7, 2024

Introduction: Many unsung heroes in the Bible were Hebrews or Israelites. That wasn’t always the case, though. There were some people who were not even Jewish or from Israel, but they did some very noble things indeed. Here’s the story of one such unsung hero: 1 His kindness towards the people of ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 39:8-14, Jeremiah 40:1-6

Tags: Jeremiah, Unsung Heroes, Nebuzaradan

Denomination: Baptist

Excerpts From Saturday Evening Post Magazine ...  PRO

Contributed by Davon Huss on Feb 19, 2001

Excerpts From Saturday Evening Post Magazine article on Jack La Lanne: Fit for Life. At 86, Jack La Lanne has dipped, chinned, pushed, pulled, and lifted more often than anyone in recorded history. His present training regimen is tailor-made for only superheroes. While many of his contemporaries ...read more

Tags: Leadership General, Christian Disciplines, Church Body Of Christ

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

When Our Two Oldest Girls, Shannon And Sandi, ...  PRO

Contributed by Rick Stacy on Apr 2, 2002

When our two oldest girls, Shannon and Sandi, were in High School I was pretty certain that neither would live past their eighteenth birthday. If they didn’t kill each other there was a very good possibility I would. When they were little they were cute but in their teens they were always ...read more

Tags: Friendship General, Unity

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Bible Readers Change The World  PRO

Contributed by Hal Seed on Nov 9, 2012

BIBLE READERS CHANGE THE WORLD If you’ve read anything by Charles Dickens, you know how terrible conditions were in 18th century England. There were no child labor laws, so children as young as age four were put to work up to 12 hours a day in dangerous factories and sent into the corners of coal ...read more

Scripture: Joshua 1:8

Tags: Bible Influence

Denomination: Baptist

What Will Follow You When You're Gone?

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Aug 17, 2020

You make a choice of which will one you leave behind to others - Blessings or Curses. Jonathan Edwards, was a Puritan Preacher in the 1700s. He was one of the most respected preachers in his day. He attended Yale at the age of thirteen and later went on to become the president of Princeton ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 23:1-6

Tags: Blessings, Curses, Generational Sins

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

A Young Pastor Learns About Rural ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 8, 2010

A Young Pastor Learns About Rural Ministry How I learned about the heartbeat of a good shepherd and how difficult it is to lead and herd sheep. This personal story is drawn from my ministry time in Grygla, Mn. It was my first pastorate – I had just recently graduated from North Central Bible ...read more

Scripture: John 10:1-21

Tags: Pastors

Bill Wilson Pastors An Inner City Church In New ...  PRO

Contributed by Andrew Chan on Mar 22, 2002

Bill Wilson pastors an inner city church in New York City. His mission field is a very violent place. He himself has been stabbed twice as he ministered to the people of the community surrounding the church. Once a Puerto Rican woman became involved in the church and was led to Christ. After her ...read more

Tags: Gifts General, Servanthood

Denomination: Evangelical Free

This Week I Was Reading The Story Of An ...  PRO

Contributed by Andrew Hamilton on Oct 26, 2002

This week I was reading the story of an Australian couple who went to Bangladesh as missionaries. When Stuart and Margaret arrived in the country they were informed, by the Baptist missionaries already there that the Muslim people were impossible to reach with the Gospel message. For the six years ...read more

Tags: Church Practices, Culture, Family, Sharing My Testimony

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Some Years Ago Two Princeton University ...  PRO

Contributed by Ed Sasnett on Jan 30, 2006

Some years ago two Princeton University psychologists, John Darley and Daniel Batson, decided to conduct a study inspired by the biblical story of the Good Samaritan. They met with a group of seminarians, individually, and asked each one to prepare a short, extemporaneous talk on a given biblical ...read more

Tags: Fulfillment

Denomination: Baptist

A Candy Maker In Indiana Wanted To Make A Candy ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 17, 2006

A candy maker in Indiana wanted to make a candy that would be a witness, so he made the Christmas Candy Cane. He incorporated several symbols for the birth, ministry, and death of Jesus Christ. He began with a stick of pure white hard candy: white to symbolize the Virgin Birth and the sinless ...read more

Tags: Christmas