In Sermon Illustrations: "Puffed Up"

The Influence Of Mothers

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 5, 2011

THE INFLUENCE OF MOTHERS Don DeWelt was one of my college professors at Ozark Christian College. Don preached a sermon entitled, "The only commandment the virgin Mary ever gave." What was that commandment? DO WHATEVER HE TELLS YOU. God bless all mothers who have said to her children, "Do whatever ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 6:20-24

Tags: Mother's Day

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

An Unusual Baptism On The Mission Field  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 5, 2012

AN UNUSUAL BAPTISM ON THE MISSION FIELD Some time back, a retired missionary dropped by our church. She had served faithfully in Africa, and one day, she happened upon a small baptismal service. A fellow missionary took three new converts to the center of a shallow river, and dug a hole in the ...read more

Scripture: Romans 6:3-5, John 16:12-15

Tags: Baptism

The Idol Of Sexual ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 27, 2012

THE IDOL OF SEXUAL IMMORALITY -The next idol hasn’t just slipped in the door, it has kicked in the door. It is the Eros problem, our society has overdosed on immoral sexual behavior. Kids in my generation had to seek out things that had sexual overtones and it was usually pretty difficult to find ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 6:9-20

Tags: Immorality

Inescapable Judgment

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 28, 2012

INESCAPABLE JUDGMENT During the winter of 1951, a Montana café owner named Clarence Pellett pulled over to pick up a hitchhiker who appeared cold and frozen while walking during a snowstorm. Once in the car, the hitchhiker Frank Dryman pulled out a gun and ordered Pellett to get out of his ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 16:4-7

Tags: Judgment

Treat Each Other Like The Answer To A Prayer  PRO

Contributed by Dave Clark on Dec 11, 2012

TREAT EACH OTHER LIKE THE ANSWER TO A PRAYER I can still see one of the great provokers in my life. I met her on a work trip to Kentucky. Our youth group was working on a woman’s house, but it wasn’t very much fun. We hated where we were. Porches and front yards littered with old cars, sofas ...read more

Scripture: Luke 8:43-48, Acts 10:30-33

Tags: Prayer Of Faith

Denomination: Disciples Of Christ

The Mirror Of The Fundamentals  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 2, 2013

THE MIRROR OF THE FUNDAMENTALS Ravi Zacharias tells the story of a man who went to School in Wheaton with Billy Graham and later entered into politics. He was a popular man and rose to become the Prime Minister of Canada. In the process of going down that way, to fame, to popularity and power, he ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 3:12-15

Tags: Fundamentals, Basics Of Christianity, Sin Bondage To

Golfers Have A Change Of Heart

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 21, 2013

GOLFERS HAVE A CHANGE OF HEART When you willingly give Jesus all that you are and all that you have, you receive so much more in return. I heard a story once about a group of guys who were returning from playing golf in rural Georgia. As they drove down a two-lane road they came up on a ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 3:16-20, 1 Timothy 6:6-19

Tags: Compassion

Second Coming Of Jesus

Contributed by Tim Smith on Aug 13, 2017

In the 19th century, there was a wave of enthusiasm for prophecies predicting the actual date for the Second Coming of Christ. One such prophecy was an Adventist leader name William Miller. After studying Daniel 8, Miller predicted that Christ would return on March 21, 1842, but then revised the ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:1

Tags: Second Coming, Jesus Return

Denomination: Methodist

No Place To Hide

Contributed by Rick Palmer on Oct 14, 2018

In 1980 I was hired as a City Police Officer in a small Midwest town with a population of 2200. The first week on duty we closed an investigation of a local man who held a position in the School system. He had gained the confidence of the parents, students, and the community. After a traffic ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 23:24, Luke 12:2-3, Romans 14:12, 2 Corinthians 5:10, Hebrews 9:27, Revelation 20:11-13  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Judgement, Hidden Sin, Sin Revealed, Running From God, Judgement Seat Of Christ  (view more)  (view less)

The Plan To Destroy America From Within

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Mar 19, 2023

In the 1950s, the Communist Party was discovered to have an agenda to overthrow the U.S.A. This Communist agenda was entered into the 1963 U.S. Congressional Record and consisted of 45 goals to undermine and change American culture and politics. The plan of Communism has been to destroy our nation ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 33:12

Tags: Church, Freedom, Evil, America, Satan, Revival, End Times, Pastors, Communism, Return Of Christ  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

God Moved Christian Across Pond To Save Him From Drowning

Contributed by Rick Crandall on Sep 25, 2025

God Moved Christian across Pond to Save Him from Drowning One of my favorite miracle stories is from Jan Ramsey. My wife Mary used to work at Lakeshore School with Jan. She was a member of First Baptist in Swartz. Jan gave this prayer testimony about her dad, James, and I think he was 81 at the ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 139:1-24

Tags: Nathan The Prophet, Solomon's Temple, Mother's Womb, Omniscience, Omnipotence, Omnipresence, King David, Fearfully Made, Wonderfully Made, Creation, Light, Darkness, Presence  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Mercy In The Middle Of War

Contributed by Joshua Blackmon on May 2, 2026

Illustration: Mercy in the Middle of War There’s a remarkable true story from World War II that my late pastor loved to use when preaching about God’s mercy. It involves two men: Franz Stigler and Charlie Brown. Charlie Brown was flying a B-17 bomber over Germany when his plane was badly ...read more

Scripture: 2 Peter 3:8

Tags: Mercy, Longsuffering, Wwii

Denomination: Pentecostal

Travel Has Changed  PRO

Contributed by Harold White on Jan 5, 2001

Travel has changed: More than two hundred years ago George Washington traveled from Virginia to Washington D.C. by horseback. It could take him ten days traveling at a speed of twenty five miles per day. Today astronauts can enter a space shuttle and travel at twenty five thousand miles per hour. ...read more

Tags: Endurance, Fear And Worry, Apologetics General

Denomination: Baptist

A Friend Sent Me An Email That Teaches ...  PRO

Contributed by Victor Yap on Jan 25, 2001

A friend sent me an email that teaches thankfulness to its recipients: If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of this world. If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace, you ...read more

Tags: Money, Joy

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Intelligence Is Not The Same As Wisdom.  PRO

Contributed by Ted Sutherland on Feb 19, 2001

Intelligence is not the same as wisdom. A minister, a Boy Scout, and a computer expert were the only passengers on a small plane. The pilot came back to the cabin and said that the plane was going down but there were only three parachutes and four people. The pilot added, “I should have one of he ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:47-52, James 3:13-18

Tags: Parable General

Denomination: Baptist

A Dennis The Menace Cartoon Shows Dennis Speaking ...  PRO

Contributed by Melvin Newland on Feb 19, 2001

A Dennis the Menace cartoon shows Dennis speaking to his father, saying, "Dad, it’s raining outside." Mr. Mitchell was reading his paper & also watching the news on television. So he grunted, "Uh huh." Undeterred, Dennis went on, " Margaret is getting ready to go to camp this week." Mr. ...read more

Tags: Children, Parenting

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Tony Campolo Says That His Wife Is A Brilliant ...  PRO

Contributed by Melvin Newland on Feb 21, 2001

Tony Campolo says that his wife is a brilliant woman. She has a PHD & is capable of pursuing a very profitable career. But she elected to stay home with her children when they were young. Her decision didn’t bother her at all except when other women would ask, “What do you do?” She would ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 3:13-16, Ephesians 2:1

Tags: Conviction, Children, Mothers, Mother's Day, Motherhood, Parenting, Temptation, Sacrifice, Tithes  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

In 1992, A Los Angeles County Parking Control ...  PRO

Contributed by James Wilson on Mar 2, 2001

“In 1992, a Los Angeles County parking control officer came upon a brown El Dorado Cadillac illegally parked next to the curb on street-sweeping day. The officer dutifully wrote out a ticket. Ignoring the man seated at the driver’s wheel, the officer reached inside the open car window and placed ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 12:10-31

Tags: Sin Separates From God, Forgiveness In Jesus, Lordship Of Christ

Denomination: Baptist

A Small Boy Had Been Consistently Late For ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Hensley on Mar 15, 2001

A small boy had been consistently late for dinner. One particular day his parents had warned him to be on time, but he arrived later than ever. He found his parents already seated at the table, about to start eating. Quickly he sat at his place, and then noticed what was set before him--a slice of ...read more

Scripture: Luke 11:1-2, John 6:35-51, Isaiah 61:1-11

Tags: Trinity

Denomination: Baptist