In Sermon Illustrations: "Profitable Old Testament"

Kids Mirror ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 13, 2009

KIDS MIRROR PARENTS An American Bible Society study conducted by Weekly Reader Research found children do mirror their parents’ behavior. Parents who attend church weekly tend to have teens that worship weekly, while 78% of parents who never attend worship services have teens who never attend, ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:4

Tags: Parenting

Around The Corner I Have A Friend, In This ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"Around the corner I have a friend, In this great city that has no end; Yet days go by, and weeks rush on, And before I know it a year is gone, And I never see my old friend's face, For life is a short and terrible race... Tomorrow, I say, I will call on Jim, Just to show that I'm thinking of him. ...read more

Tags: Compassion

Allure Of Lust And Greed

Contributed by David Baeder on Jun 10, 2009

ALLURE OF LUST AND GREED Last night they had another one of those Dateline stings. In the sting, an undercover agent poses as a 13-15 year old on the internet, in one of those on-line chat rooms. Almost every man who came to a house to meet an underage girl for immoral purposes had seen previous ...read more

Tags: Sin Bondage To

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Renoir: Pain Passes

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 24, 2009

RENOIR: PAIN PASSES In old age, Pierre Auguste Renoir, the great French painter, suffered from arthritis, which twisted and cramped his hand. Henri Matisse, his artist friend, watched sadly while Renoir, grasping a brush with only his fingertips, continued to paint, even though each movement ...read more

Scripture: John 16:33

Tags: Hardship Of Life

Benjamin Franklin's Epitaph

Contributed by Gerald Steffy on Aug 28, 2009

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN'S EPITAPH In one of his lighter moments, Benjamin Franklin penned his own epitaph. He didn’t profess to be a born-again Christian, but it seems he must have been influenced by Paul’s teaching of the resurrection of the body. Here’s what he wrote: "The body of Benjamin Franklin, ...read more

Tags: Death

Denomination: Baptist

From Exaggeration To Lies. Illicit Cola Says ...

Contributed by Andrew Moffatt on Nov 8, 2009

From exaggeration to lies. Illicit Cola says this. Life wouldn’t be much fun without a bit of entertainment and mischief. Don’t grow old and boring – live life on the edge. Take a dirty big gulp of illicit and get amongst it! Illicit cola – it’s good to be bad. Well the times I’ve been bad weren’t ...read more

Tags: Lies

Denomination: Salvation Army

Ghost

Contributed by Allan Quak on Jan 8, 2010

Ghost Perhaps you have seen the movie "Ghost". Admittedly it came out in 1990 so maybe it is a bit old for some of you. It stars Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore. Early in the movie Patrick dies and becomes a "ghost". Near the end of the movie Demi has to let him go as he walks to a group of ...read more

Tags: Heaven

Denomination: Baptist

Buddy Wasisname And The Other Fellers ...

Contributed by Dale Pilgrim on May 16, 2010

Buddy Wasisname and the Other Fellers (Newfoundland comedy group) feature a song on one of their albums called “Only 19”. It is the story of a young man who married what he thought was his young bride until they got ready for their first night together. She removed her cork leg, make-up that’s ...read more

Tags: Deception, Change

Denomination: Salvation Army

Targums

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Dec 13, 2010

TARGUMS More than 500 years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the Jews returned to Judea from their long time of captivity Babylon. About that time, Jewish religious leaders began to write commentaries on various Bible books that they called "Targums." One of these Targums dealt with the ...read more

Tags: Christmas

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

What We Can Learn From Noah

Contributed by Johnny A. Palmer Jr. on Dec 9, 2011

WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM NOAH God has much too teach us, one person observed a few things they learned from Noah: 1. Don't miss the boat! 2. Plan ahead. It wasnt raining when Noah built the ark. 3. Stay ready. It was not until Noah was 600 years old that God asked him to do ...read more

Tags: Opportunity

Denomination: Baptist

Supporting The Poor  PRO

Contributed by Davon Huss on Oct 8, 2013

SUPPORTING THE POOR In a 1998 article in Christian History magazine, Rodney Stark said: "In a world lacking social services, Christians were their brothers' keepers. At the end of the second century AD, Tertullian wrote that while pagan temples spend their donations "on feasts and drinking ...read more

Scripture: Romans 15:26, Galatians 2:10

Tags: Charitable, Poor, Benevolence, Helping Poor

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

"I Love You, Daddy. Amen."

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 14, 2014

James Dobson tells of the time he was away on a business trip. While he was away, and his wife and 2 children were sitting down to eat, his wife turned to their two year old son Ryan and asked if he would like to pray before he and sister ate. The invitation startled the little boy, but he folded ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 4:4-5

Tags: Thanksgiving, Children, Fathers Day, Prayer Before Meals

Fail In Order To Succeed

Contributed by I. Grant Spong on Jul 15, 2017

An old axiom says that failure is the stepping stone to success. Are we afraid of failure? The road to success is paved with failures. Before the farmer in the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13) had a successful crop he failed in three areas. We fail in these same areas. We allow the devil to snatch ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:1-23

Tags: Sower, Success, Failure, Parable Of Sower, Quitting  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Success Is Often Earned On Hard Rough Roads

Contributed by Tim Baker on Dec 21, 2017

I don't always agree with positive thinking ideals. I don't think a person has to believe in themselves, believe that they will be successful before attempting something. I think a person achieves more things then they ever thought they could simply because they attempted them. Sorry Yoda and Star ...read more

Tags: Try Again, Success In Life, Perseverance, Success, Failure  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Why Doesn't God Answer?

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 13, 2022

The preacher's 5 year-old daughter noticed that her preacher father always paused and bowed his head for a moment before starting his sermon. One day she asked him why. The Pastor was so proud that his daughter was so observant of his mesages. He smiled and answered, "Well, honey, ...read more

Tags: Jokes, Fathers, Sermons, Preachers, Children, Prayer, Pastors  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Pretty Good Preaching For A Dollar!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Nov 20, 2022

A man and his ten year-old son were on a fishing trip miles from home. At the boy’s insistence, they decided to attend the Sunday worship service at a small rural church. The father forgot to bring any cash, so he reached in his pocket and gave his son a dollar to drop into the offering plate as ...read more

Tags: Tithing, Stewardship, Complaining, Critical Spirit, Cheating God, Giving  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Understanding Strongholds

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 2, 2023

A "stronghold" is a mind-set that holds you hostage. It makes you believe that you are hopelessly locked in a situation, that you are powerless to change. That’s when you hear people saying, “I can’t, I can’t, I can’t.” The only reason you say, “I can’t,” when God says, “You can” is ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 10:1-5

Tags: Demons, Mind, Prayer, Strongholds, Spirits, Spiritual Warfare, Satan, Victory  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Tweeners

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 23, 2023

"Too many Christians are “’tweeners”: they live between Egypt and Canaan, saved but never satisfied; they live between Good Friday and Easter, believing in the Cross but not entering into the power and glory of the Resurrection. It is clear, then, that the believer cannot deliberately be ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:16-21

Tags: Lazarus, Spirit Filled Life, Canaan, Easter, Egypt, Identification With Christ, World, Victory  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Positive Attitude

Contributed by David Swanger on Jan 24, 2024

A beginning driver for an interstate trucking company, made several long tiring trips with an older driver. Though twice his age, this older man seemed to thrive on these long trips. After one such trip, as they sat drinking coffee, the younger man commented on how his partner looked as if he had ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 118:24

Tags: Choice, Attitude

Sports Widow Gets Even

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Jan 22, 2025

"'Cash, check or charge?' I asked, after folding items the woman wished to purchase.  As she fumbled for her wallet, I noticed a remote control for a television set in her purse. 'So, do you always carry your TV remote?' I asked. 'No,' she replied, 'but my ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:19

Tags: Marriage, Sports, Revenge, Getting Even, Sports Widow  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Independent/Bible