In Sermon Illustrations: "Puffed Up"

Travelers Vs. Tourists

Contributed by Tim Hinrichs on Mar 29, 2012

TRAVELERS VS. TOURISTS Canadian Pastor Mark Buchanan in his book "Your Church is Too Safe" points out the radical difference between a traveler and a tourist. "A traveler literally means 'one who travails.' He labors, he suffers, endures. A traveler -- travailer - ...immerses himself in a culture, ...read more

Tags: Discipleship

Denomination: Lutheran

So Yesterday I Went Across The Road To Jumbos Takeaways!

Contributed by Andrew Moffatt on Apr 29, 2012

So yesterday I went across the road to Jumbos Takeaways. Just as an aside have you ever noticed that just about every town in New Zealand has a ‘Jumbo’s Takeaway’s’ it’s like the franchise that you have when you’re not having a franchise. There was one in Stoke where I grew up, it wasn’t painted ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16

Tags: Commitment, Food, Commitment To Christ, Commitment To God, Commitment To Church  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Salvation Army

Are You Ready To Rescue The Perishing?

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 5, 2012

ARE YOU READY TO RESCUE THE PERISHING? I read a story of a man that got saved as a young, adult. He was so excited about Christ for the first couple of weeks, he told everybody the difference Jesus had made in his life. One Sunday night he was at his church and they sang this song, "Rescue the ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 4:2-6

Tags: Evangelism Urgency

God, You're In My Way.  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 28, 2012

"GOD, YOU'RE IN MY WAY." A California pastor, Kyle Idleman, talks about his last move in his book, Not a Fan. In that move, he saved the heaviest piece of furniture for last -- the desk from his office. And as he was pushing and pulling the desk with all his might, his four-year-old son came over ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:6-8, Philippians 4:4-7

Tags: Anxiety

Responding To Opposition

Contributed by Ken Henson on Jul 25, 2012

RESPONDING TO OPPOSITION Several months ago, a pastor sent some of his associate pastors into a village. They evangelized by knocking on doors and as God brought in healing and deliverance into these families, they would come to Christ. They once knocked on the door of a policeman, a very ...read more

Tags: Persecution

Denomination: *other

All Moms Know This Stuff  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 7, 2012

ALL MOMS KNOW THIS STUFF One mom was out walking with her 4-year-old daughter when her girl picked up something from the ground and started to put it in her mouth. The mother tells what happens in her own words: "I took the item away from her and I asked her not to do that." My daughter quickly ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 31:10-31

Tags: Mother's Day

Making The Wrong Right

Contributed by Bret Toman on Oct 31, 2012

MAKING THE WRONG RIGHT Many years ago, Christian professor Stuart Blackie of the University of Edinburgh was listening to his students as they presented oral readings. When one young man rose to begin his recitation, he held his book in the wrong hand. The professor thundered, "Take your book in ...read more

Tags: Humility

Denomination: Baptist

Dmv

Contributed by Perry Greene on Dec 26, 2012

When my wife and I attended Freed-Hardeman College (now University), one of our teachers gave a chapel talk about the importance of names. In so doing, he told us HIS story of the difficulties he had growing up with the name, “RC” Oliver. As a child entering school, his teacher and principal did ...read more

Tags: Humor, Commandments God's Name

Denomination: Independent/Bible

A Story To Tell

Contributed by Bobby Jenkins on Feb 2, 2013

A STORY TO TELL (A poem to honor our military veterans ) By Pastor Bobby W. Jenkins Jr. A story to tell, one we can’t fully understand One of sacrifice and bravery of so many men A story to tell of a perilous fight That cost so many their lives and gathered such might A story to tell of the ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 33:12

Tags: Military, America, Soldier, Veterans, Holidays Civic  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Martyrdom Of John ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 1, 2013

MARTYRDOM OF JOHN DENLEY One day, on the way to visit some friends, John Denley was stopped and searched by the authorities, who found his written confession of faith. Denley believed the Church was built upon the apostles and prophets, with Christ as its head, and that the present state church, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:10-12

Tags: Faith, Persecution, Martyr

A Teacher With Morals

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 8, 2013

A TEACHER WITH MORALS It's a true story; only the names have been changed to protect the embarrassed. Little Tommy attended first grade Sunday School faithfully. He loved his teacher, Mrs. Smith. Mrs. Smith told great Bible stories, and she would always end the story by saying, "And, boys and ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:1-23

Tags: Morality, Parable Sower And Seed

4 Spiritual Crises

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jan 19, 2014

FOUR SPIRITUAL CRISES The spiritual experience of Abraham was marked by four great crises, each of which involved a surrender of something dear. These were: (1) LEAVE YOUR COUNTRY AND FAMILY (Gen 12:1 Mt 10:34-39 2Cor 6:14-18) - Is God asking you to go somewhere away from home, family and ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 22:1-14

Tags: Faith, Abraham, Trial, Crisis

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Daddy, What Does It Feel Like To Die?  PRO

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Feb 19, 2014

Years ago I heard the compelling story of a young pastor whose son was very sick and not expected to live long. Night after night the pastor and his wife would put their boy to bed and say a prayer hoping for a miracle. One evening, the boy looked at his father and said, "Daddy, what does it feel ...read more

Scripture: John 14:1-6, 2 Timothy 3:1-9

Tags: Death, Children, Heaven, Grief

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Robes Of Righteousness

Contributed by Suresh Manoharan on Feb 28, 2015

Dr Ravi Zacharias came up with a true witty story of a New Zealand Shepherd who was happy on a Christmas morning, sad in the afternoon but once again happy in the evening. What exactly contributed to his mood swings? Here goes…in the morning two of his ewes’ “A” and “B” gave birth to two lambs “a” ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 61:10

Tags: Grace, Gratitude, God's Righteousness, Grimy

Denomination: *other

One Of The Greatest Theologians That Ever Liv...

Contributed by Lalachan Abraham on Dec 24, 2015

One of the greatest theologians that ever lived, Karl Barth, was asked to be a guest lecturer at the University of Chicago Divinity School. At the end of a captivating closing lecture, the president of the seminary announced that Dr. Barth was not well and was quite tired, and though he thought ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16-17

Tags: Christmas Love, God's Love For Us

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

A Lesson In Hope

Contributed by Thomas Clawser on Apr 1, 2017

They still tell the story at William and Mary College of daffy, magnificent President Ewell. For a century and a half, this prestigious Virginia school had been a leader among American universities. Then came the Civil War. In the hard days of reconstruction that followed, William and Mary went ...read more

Scripture: John 11:38-44

Tags: Hope, New Life, Lent

Denomination: Other

Out Of Tune

Contributed by Daniel King, D. Min. on Aug 1, 2018

Main Idea: God is perfect and He cannot tolerate any sin in His presence. Verse: “As for God, His way is perfect” (Psalms 18:30 NKJV). Illustration: Once there was a famous conductor who was asked to direct a world class orchestra. He chose a famous piece of music and the orchestra gathered ...read more

Tags: Sin, Salvation, Perfection, Need For Christ

Denomination: Charismatic

Before The Water

Contributed by Jim Butcher on Nov 15, 2018

Scott Harrison, founder of charity:water, shares this story: "I recently had the chance to visit charity:water's very first project. It was a well that we had funded on my thirty-first birthday and then built in the IDP camp of Bobi, Uganda. "The sprawling camp of 31,000 people had cleared out, ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:1-7

Tags: Easter, Crucifixion, Birth Of Christ, Christmas, Jesus  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Change?

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Jan 23, 2019

I had a friend go to the doctor, after the examination the doctor came into the room and say: SIR, WOULD YOU PLEASE SPELL DIET? My friend started: D-I-E… THEN THE DOCTOR TOLD MY FRIEND STOP RIGHT THERE … YOU ARE GOING TO DIE IF YOU DON’T START WATCHING WHAT YOU EAT AND CHANGE YOUR EXERCISE ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 14:24

Tags: Change, Journey

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Foot Of The Cross

Contributed by Steve Kinnard on Feb 15, 2019

AT THE CROSS Many years ago, I got a job at a paper mill. There was an older man working there who was a very dedicate Christian. My first few weeks there they had me working with him, He was the greatest guy I’d ever known. He asks me if I was a Christian, I replied that I was. One day I let words ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:18-25

Tags: Commitment, Shame

Denomination: Pentecostal