In Sermon Illustrations: "Prophets Words"

Select The Greatest Gift

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Dec 11, 2011

SELECT THE GREATEST GIFT Even people of this world know the value of a thoughtful gift. When Pastor John Bisagno was working as chaplain to the Houston Oilers, the players gave him an autographed football which every player had signed inscribed with a Scripture from the Bible. Whenever he looks ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16

Tags: Christmas

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Veto Power

Contributed by Tim Hinrichs on Feb 28, 2012

VETO POWER Before democracy arrived in Poland, the country was run by Lords and rich landowners – the nobility from all over the country. The senate filled with these noblemen would make decisions for the country but they always had a hard time getting much done – why? Because every member of the ...read more

Tags: Power

Denomination: Lutheran

You Gotta Look At It!  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 22, 2012

YOU GOTTA LOOK AT IT! A man was seated on a park bench when a little chap of about five sat down beside him and started winding what appeared to be a most prized possession--a watch. "My, what a pretty watch," remarked the man. "Does it tell you the time?" "No sir," replied the boy; "you gotta ...read more

Scripture: John 17:17

Tags: Hold, Bible Truth

God's Tnt

Contributed by Silas Eke on Feb 28, 2015

Once the great Evangelist Billy Graham sent his New Testament to a book-binder and instructed him to write on the edge of the book “The New Testament”; the book-binder after binding the New Testament felt that the edge was too little to contain the full words “The New Testament” so he wrote “TNT”. ...read more

Scripture: Romans 1:16-17

Tags: Bible, Power Of God, Gospel Power, Tnt

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Vacation For Seniors!

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Jul 22, 2019

A number of years ago I attended a pastors gathering in Toronto. A retired Pastor, now crippled by a stroke, sat along the wall on a chair, all alone. In his prime he was a highly esteemed professor, author and preacher. Now, he sat alone and unnoticed. I walked across the room and lamented this ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:12-20

Tags: Loneliness, Community, Aging

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Giving

Contributed by Steve Malone on Oct 2, 2019

“I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc, is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving ...read more

Scripture: 2 Samuel 24:24

Tags: Sacrifice, Giving

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Three Types Of People Spiritually

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Oct 15, 2019

(Joshua 1, I Corinth. 2:13-3:3) EGYPT (NATURAL) - unbelievers who are in bondage to sin. Christ is on the outside of their life. Those in Egypt were freed from their slavery by the blood of a sacrificial Lamb, a picture of Christ on the Cross, who sets us free from sin. WILDERNESS (CARNAL) – ...read more

Tags: Egypt, Canaan, The Wilderness

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Cruel Times Are Coming...

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Dec 2, 2020

In 1988, evangelical philosopher and theologian Carl Henry made a stunning prediction in his book, Twilight of a Great Civilization. He said that as America progressively loses its Christian heritage, paganism would grow bolder. What we saw in the last half of the 20th-century was a kind of benign ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:1-3, 2 Peter 3:1-9

Tags: Persecution, America, Prophecy, Last Days, Humanism, Cruelty  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Funeral Illustration

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jan 4, 2021

I love that scene in The Pilgrim's Progress where Christian and Hopeful come to the final river of death. They are fearful that the water will be over their heads. But Hopeful goes first and calls back to Christian, “Be of good cheer, my brother; I feel the bottom, and it is good.” For every ...read more

Tags: Death, Heaven, Promises Of God, Valley Of The Shadow Of Death

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Never Throw Away Your Freedom

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Oct 23, 2022

Sitting on top of the United States capitol building is a 20-foot statue known as the “Freedom Lady”. She was sculpted by Italian artists in the city of Rome and shipped across the Atlantic Ocean to her perch in Washington DC. During the delivery, the ship carrying the statue encountered a fierce ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:1-16

Tags: Patriotism, Freedom, America

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Free Indeed!

Contributed by Loyd C. Taylor on Sep 30, 2023

Once a pastor was speaking on the topic of Spiritual Freedom. He began to wax poetical in his delivery as he repeated over, and over this phrase… “I’m free! I’m free! Praise God I’m free indeed!” After service a little boy shook his hand and said, “Preacher, I’m free! I’m free! I’m free indeed!” ...read more

Scripture: John 8:32, John 8:36, John 8:21-36

Tags: Freedom, Sermons Of Jesus, Pastor Jokes, Laughter The Best Medicine

Denomination: Baptist

Unsung Heroes: Simeon Of Jerusalem

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Dec 27, 2020

Introduction: Mary and Joseph weren’t the only ones eagerly awaiting the birth of Jesus. Under the Law of Moses, every male child was to be circumcised. Joseph and Mary took Baby Jesus to the Temple where this surgery would be performed on the Baby. While they were in the Temple, they received ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:25-35

Tags: Unsung Heroes, Birth Of Christ, Simeon, Joseph And Mary

Denomination: Baptist

[037] A Message From A Poem – Calvary – Golgotha’s Skull

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Feb 26, 2025

[037] A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – CALVARY – GOLGOTHA’S SKULL What does Calvary mean to you? To most people it means nothing except a casual thought at Easter perhaps. May we ask what does Calvary mean to a Christian? Here the answers are many and most of them would be simplistic which is fine. ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:17-18, Luke 23:33

Tags: Calvary, The Cross, Golgotha, Sins, Place Of The Skull, Atonement, Easter, Crucifixion, Salvation, Redemption, Poetry  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[121]. A Message From A Poem – From Where Did God Originate?

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Jul 5, 2025

[121]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – FROM WHERE DID GOD ORIGINATE? The real title of this poem is HE IS BEFORE ALL THINGS, AND IN HIM ALL THINGS HOLD TOGETHER but the title is too long for SermonCentral to accept, so I changed the title. This is a dialogue poem. There are 4 speakers. Speaker 1 is a ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 1:16-17, Colossians 2:20-23

Tags: Existence Of God, Rationalist, Christian Poetry, Christian Poems, Jesus, Atheist, All Things, Agnostic, Gnostics, Gnosticism, Christian, Creation  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[237 C]. A Message From A Poem - Scenes From The Gospels - Part 3

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Nov 8, 2025

[237 C]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM - SCENES FROM THE GOSPELS - PART 3 They are here to enjoy! Scenes from the Gospels are very special to me. I love them. They have taken a lot of effort, and many, many months revision to get them as correct as possible with the difficult word limitations. ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 2:1-2, Matthew 2:9-12, Luke 24:13-32, Matthew 14:25-33, Matthew 15:21-28, Matthew 23:23-33, Luke 1:1-4, Matthew 13:10-13  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Parables, Poetry Reading, On The Emmaus Road, The Canaanite Woman, Pharisees, Peter Walks On Water, Stories, The Magi, Christian Poetry, Christian Poems  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Fight  PRO

Contributed by Bruce Goettsche on Oct 18, 2000

John White, Have you ever gone fishing in a polluted river and hauled out an old shoe, a tea kettle, or a rusty can? I get a similar sort of catch if I cast as a bait the word holiness into the murky depths of my mind. To my dismay I come up with such associations as: thinness hollow-eyed ...read more

Tags: Holiness, Disciplines General, Apologetics General

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Charles Spurgeon Once Told Of Sitting In A Nice ...  PRO

Contributed by Tim George on Mar 7, 2001

Charles Spurgeon once told of sitting in a nice restaurant. As he ate he kept noticing a rather angry looking man across the dining room who scowled at him every time he looked his way. Finally Spurgeon decided to go over and speak to the man to see what his problem was. However, as he stood he ...read more

Scripture: James 1:19-27, James 1:22-25

Tags: Bible Influence

Denomination: Baptist

The] Only Thing We Have To Fear Is ...  PRO

Contributed by Todd Schäve on Jun 27, 2001

“...[The] only thing we have to fear is fear itself...,” said Franklin D. Roosevelt, in his "First Inaugural Address," 4 March 1933. “So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself - nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes our ...read more

Tags: No Matter What, Perseverance, Persuade, Faith, Endurance, Fear And Worry  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

It's Reported That A Preacher In Redrock, ...  PRO

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Aug 14, 2001

It’s reported that a preacher in Redrock, Mississippi prayed this sermon: “Oh Lord, give Thy servant this mornin’ the eyes of the eagle and the wisdom of the owl; connect his soul with the gospel telephone in the central skies; ‘luminate his brow with the Sun of heaven; possess his mind with love ...read more

Tags: Prayer Supplication

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

You Can Live On Bland Food So As To Avoid An ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 19, 2001

"You can live on bland food so as to avoid an ulcer; drink no tea or coffee or other stimulants, in the name of health; go to bed early and stay away from night life; avoid all controversial subjects so as never to give offense; mind your own business and avoid involvement in other people’s ...read more