In Sermon Illustrations: "Psalm 31 1 4 15 16"

William Wilberforce

Contributed by John Bright on Feb 16, 2025

One example of living for Christ in the midst of suffering is William Wilberforce (1759 – 1833). There is a wonderful movie about him that came out in 2006 – “Amazing Grace.” You can watch is for free on Youtube. The movie opens in the year 1797 with Wilberforce suffering and feeling very ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 2:21-25

Tags: Slavery, Amazing Grace, William Wilberforce, Abolition

Denomination: Methodist

God Wants To Live In Your House

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 9, 2011

GOD WANTS TO LIVE IN YOUR HOUSE C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity: "Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 2:4-5

Tags: Sanctification

A Drop Or Two Of Bluing?

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Dec 25, 2019

How many of you remember bluing solution? Way back in the early to mid ‘60’s, Mom and Grandma would never finish a load of wash (laundry, if you prefer!) without adding some bluing when they did the whites. Now, I never understood why they did this but one of the two explained it kind of like this: ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 1:18, Isaiah 64:6, Psalm 51:7, 1 John 1:7

Tags: Forgiveness, Cleansing From Sin

Denomination: Baptist

Discerning God's ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 13, 2009

DISCERNING GOD’S WILL George Mueller’s recommended method for discerning God’s will: 1. Have no will of your own in the matter. (Mark 14:36) 2. Seek the will of God in direct connection with the Word of God (Psalm 119:33-35) 3. Circumstances will agree with the Word of God (Judges 6:36-40) 4. Ask ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:2

Tags: Prayer Answered

Reuben Gonzales Was In The Final Match Of A Pro ...  PRO

Contributed by Ed Doss on Oct 24, 2000

Reuben Gonzales was in the final match of a pro racquetball tournament. In the 4th and final game, at match point, Gonzales made a super kill shot into the front wall to win the game. The referee called it good. Two linesman affirmed that the shot was in. But Gonzales, after a moments hesitation, ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 26:1-12, Job 31:6, Acts 5:1-11

Tags: Integrity, Leadership General, Honesty, Faith, Value, Truth  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

T ...

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

Thanksgiving First Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” On Thanksgiving Day, families gather around their televisions to watch football games ...read more

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Tags: Thanksgiving Holiday

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Slavery Today

Contributed by John Bright on Feb 16, 2025

“Of the 27.6 million people trapped in forced labor, 17.3 million are exploited in the private economy, 6.3 million are in commercial sexual exploitation, and nearly 4 million are in forced labor imposed by state authorities” (Global ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 2:18-25

Tags: Slavery, Forced Labor

Denomination: Methodist

How's Your Faith?  PRO

Contributed by Clarence Clough on Jan 29, 2005

"How’s Your Faith?" by Victor Knowles-- Paul was concerned about their faith. Five times in ten verses he mentions their faith. How is yours? Notice the different degrees of faith. Which is yours? I. Dead Faith (James 2:17,20,26), II. Little Faith (Matthew 6:30), III. Weak Faith (Rom. ...read more

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 3:1-10

Tags: Faith General

Denomination: Church Of God

Not Encouraging

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 12, 2011

NOT ENCOURAGING A young couple, very much in love, were getting married in church. However, the bride was very nervous about the big occasion and so the preacher chose one verse that he felt would be a great encouragement to them. The verse was 1 John 4:18 which says: "There is no fear in love. ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 4:18

Tags: Weddings

The Fleas Or God?  PRO

Contributed by Paul Fritz on May 20, 2002

Title: The fleas or God? Corrie Ten Boom in The Hiding Place relates an incident which taught her this principle. She and her sister, Betsy, had just been transferred to the worst German prison camp they had seen yet, Ravensbruck. Upon entering the barracks, they found them extremely ...read more

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Tags: Joy, Doing God's Will, God's Provision

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[062a]. A Message From A Poem – Does Suffering Cancel Out A God Of Love?

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Mar 14, 2025

[062A]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – DOES SUFFERING CANCEL OUT A GOD OF LOVE? THE POEM AS IT IS WILL NOT FIT IN THE ILLUSTRATION SPACE AVAILABLE. I HAVE HAD TO SPLIT IT INTO THREE PARTS. THIS IS THE FIRST PART PART 1 INTRODUCTION TO THIS POEM This is my most serious poem because it addresses ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 45:6-7, John 3:16, Exodus 34:6-7

Tags: Comfort, Suffering, Tragedy, God Of Comfort, God Of Love, Hurt, Pain, Love, Compassion  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

God's Judgement

Contributed by John Bright on Sep 23, 2025

I don’t believe that God’s Judgement should be our main focus, but I also believe it’s wrong to never mention the Judgement of God. Remember, God must judge humanity because “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) Our God is a Holy God who also wants us to be holy. (1 ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 4:5, Romans 3:23, 1 Peter 1:16

Tags: Grace, Holy Spirit, Judgment, Holiness

Denomination: Methodist

They Paid The Price  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 24, 2002

THEY PAID THE PRICE Americans, you know the 56 men who signed our Declaration of Independence that first 4th of July--you know they were risking everything, don’t you? Because if they won the war with the British, there would be years of hardship as a struggling nation. If they lost they would ...read more

Scripture: Mark 10:29-30, Psalm 119:81-176, Matthew 5:10-12

Tags: Political Freedom, Martyr, Independence, Independence Day, History, July, Sacrifice, Christian Disciplines, America, Freedom  (view more)  (view less)

More Cars: There Are Now More Cars In American ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 3, 2006

More Cars: There are now more cars in American house-holds than drivers, according to a Transportation Dept. report. The average household now has 1.75 drivers but 1.90 “personal vehicles.” By comparison, the average household has 0.86 adult-size bicycles. When people, not just drivers are counted, ...read more

Tags: Finding Fulfillment

25 Words Or ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 27, 2009

25 WORDS OR LESS A teacher in an adult education creative writing class told her students to write "I love you" in 25 words or less, without using the words, "I love you." They had 15 minutes to complete this assignment. A woman in the class spent about 10 minutes looking at the ceiling and ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Tags: Romantic Love

Ruth Bell Graham Tells Childhood Story Of Son, ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 30, 2010

Ruth Bell Graham Tells Childhood Story of son, Franklin with His Toy Gun Ruth Bell Graham tells this story about her son Franklin: Franklin was sleeping on the front porch with his cowboy boots and toy gun. We were having problems with some polecats (skunks), and Franklin told me not to worry ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 1:18-19

Tags: Children

Unsung Heroes: An Egyptian Slave Who Helped David

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Jun 20, 2024

Introduction: He had been taken as a slave and now was far from his homeland. He was so sick he almost died but David and his men found him. When this slave had recovered, he gave David some very vital information which helped David a great deal! Text: 1 Samuel 30:13-19, KJV: 11 And they found an ...read more

Scripture: 1 Samuel 30:13-19

Tags: David, Amalekites, Ziklag

Denomination: Baptist

Grow As You Go.' The First Sermon In This Series ...  PRO

Contributed by Jim Kane on Jan 7, 2008

‘Grow as You Go.’ The first sermon in this series took us to Moses and his encounter with God. We were told that God had a role, an important one at that, for Moses and it was in line with God’s plan and story and not Moses’ plan and story. In other words, we ‘grow’ in our Christian faith and ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 95:1-11, Matthew 12:33-37, Acts 4:1-37

Tags: Outreach, Worship, Faithfulness, Practice, Examine, Education  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Church Of God

[142]. A Message From A Poem – In Our Weakness He Gives Strength

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Jul 25, 2025

[142]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – IN OUR WEAKNESS HE GIVES STRENGTH Creatures of dust we are and weak and frail in human strength. Many are the battles we can have and many are the storms that assail us. I do think Christians have a greater measure of these that people in the world because it is ...read more

Scripture: Daniel 12:2, Genesis 2:7, Genesis 3:19, Psalm 34:4, Psalm 27:3, 2 Corinthians 12:10  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: A Christian Poem, Weakness, I Am Weak, Dust Of The Ground, Christian Poetry, Dust Made From Dust, We Are Frail, Strength  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

A Christmas Parable

Contributed by Tony Abram on Dec 2, 2007

A Christmas Parable A man is climbing a mountain, at the top of which he hopes to find God. By ascending the heights, the seeker expects to leave all the cares and miseries of life behind in the valley. But while he climbs, God is coming down the mountain into the toil and grief. In the mists ...read more