In Sermon Illustrations: "Purpose"

The Story Is Told Of A Family Living In The ...  PRO

Contributed by David Haun on Jan 8, 2004

The story is told of a family living in the northern United States. As happens in many families, the wife was an active church member. She would take the children to church services. Her husband didn’t feel it necessary or important to go. It just wasn’t his thing. One Christmas eve, his ...read more

Tags: Christmas

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Salvation And Reprobation

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 17, 2009

SALVATION AND REPROBATION Someone may ask, "Of what use then is the doctrine of reprobation?" I am glad you asked! Let me suggest (from Dr. Boice) some useful aspects of the doctrine of reprobation. First, reprobation assures us that God’s purpose has not failed. God has determined the outcome ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 24:24-31

Tags: God's Judgment

Our Need For Pain  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 4, 2011

OUR NEED FOR PAIN There is no tougher dilemma in the Christian life than the problem of pain. It could be the pain of broken relationship, the pain of rejection, or the pain of insults. Or it could just be plain old physical pain. Nothing tests the faith like pain. It was physical pain that ...read more

Scripture: James 1:2-4

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

What's Most Important To You?

Contributed by Ed Sasnett on Mar 27, 2018

Next to Billy Graham, Rick Warren and Joel Osteen are probably to most recognizable ministers in America. Warren is the author of the top selling hardcover book of all time, The Purpose Driven Life. It sold 30 million copies. Speaking about his "purpose driven" success, in 2005 Warren told U.S. ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Tags: Evangelism, Priority

Denomination: Baptist

[124]. A Message From A Poem – He’s Leading As My Head

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Jul 8, 2025

[124]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – HE’S LEADING AS MY HEAD How many are lost in this world? I don’t mean unsaved, but I mean who don’t know where they are going or what lies ahead, or what life is about; those who feel life is meaningless and has no purpose? I know it is a lot of people. The ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 1:15, John 10:10, John 12:46

Tags: Christian Poetry, Christian Poem, Direction, Leader, Guide, Life, Meaningless, Leading, Jesus  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

With The Winter Olympics Hosted Again By Japan In ...

Contributed by John Wheeler on Mar 3, 2004

With the Winter Olympics hosted again by Japan in 1998, a U.S. figure skater who took the bronze medal in Sapporo in 1972 comes to mind--Janet Lynn. The 44-year-old mother of five boys (three of them in college) remains a cult figure among the Japanese for an unforgettable moment of seeming failure ...read more

Tags: Hardship Of Life

Denomination: Baptist

Why Was He Crying?  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 18, 2005

WHY WAS HE CRYING? Do you suppose it could have been a little like rush hour traffic on the big city expressway? One car stops, then all the other cars stop, like a chain reaction. I can just hear the people way back in the crowd that day saying, "What’s the holdup? What is going on? Why don’t ...read more

Scripture: Luke 19:28-44

Tags: Easter Palm Sunday

Religious Practice Varies By Race: A New Barna ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 20, 2006

Religious Practice Varies By Race: A new Barna survey examined 8 elements of religious behavior (reading the Bible, praying to God, giving money to churches and watching Christian television) and discovered that blacks are the most religiously active racial group. Blacks were also notably less ...read more

Tags: Disciplines General

Recently I Heard An Amazing Story Of Human ...  PRO

Contributed by Timothy Smith on Jan 29, 2005

Recently I heard an amazing story of human strength. Four soldiers in Afghanistan were riding in a jeep when suddenly they were ambushed. They were on a narrow mountain road and the only way out was to go in the opposite direction, but there wasn’t room to turn the jeep around without going over ...read more

Tags: Holy Spirit In Believers

Denomination: Christian Church

As For Me — "Henry"

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 9, 2009

AS FOR ME -- "Henry" Dangling over eternity are many unlearned souls, Gripping the bands of God’s mercy, Stretching them all they can go, Living the most deceptive nightmare, As it is written, they are living a lie, They can’t even allow themselves the luxury of breaking down to cry, Unable to ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 14:12

Tags: Endurance

The Bible Changes Lives

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 13, 2009

THE BIBLE CHANGES LIVES Research consistently shows what a person believes translates into behavior. A major survey of more than 3,700 teens involved in evangelical churches reveals that, compared to teens who possess a solid, biblical belief system, young people who lack such basic biblical ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 4:3-13

Tags: Bible Influence

Beginning And Ending

Contributed by Johnny Wilson on Aug 11, 2009

BEGINNING AND ENDING A Connecticut Baptist named A. Roger Williams (a modern pastor, not the one who founded Rhode Island) once preached, "It is true that if religion begins with the individual--it begins, but if it ends with the individual--it ends." [A. Roger Williams, "The Kingdom of God," in ...read more

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Denomination: *other

Sin Separates Us From God And From Each Other. I ...

Contributed by Johnny Wilson on Aug 24, 2009

Sin separates us from God and from each other. I recently read about an interesting scientific phenomenon with fluorophores. Fluorophores are molecules that glow when they are excited by the right kind of light source. They’re usually found in amino acids and proteins. (There is an illustration at: ...read more

Tags: Sin, Sin Separates From God

Denomination: *other

Search And Rescue

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 21, 2009

SEARCH AND RESCUE There is a group of people I hope we never have to meet. They’re job is hard, exciting, frightening and important all at the same time. They do SAR; Search and Rescue. They work near Reno, Nevada and work ski resorts and desert rescue. They pull people off of Mt. Hood, find lost ...read more

Scripture: Luke 19:10

Tags: Evangelism The Lost

A Child's Sincere Worship Heard In A Man's ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 6, 2010

A Child’s Sincere Worship Heard in a Man’s Dream A man was carried in a dream to a church. In his vision he saw the organist vigorously playing the organ, but no sound was heard. The choir and congregation began to sing, but their voices were not heard. Then the minister began, energetically, to ...read more

Scripture: John 4:23-24

Tags: Worship General

I'm Now Just Another Number In The System Of

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Feb 22, 2010

I'm now just another number in the system of "New Start". I made a phone call for Unemployment Benefits yesterday, while I am looking for a ministry opportunity. It took me a long time to get through and I was asked by a computer a series of questions before speaking personally to someone. Then the ...read more

Tags: Unconditional Love

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Philip Henry's ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 29, 2010

Philip Henry’s Romance D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones tells the story of Philip Henry, the father of Matthew Henry the commentator. He and a young lady had fallen in love with each other. She belonged to a “higher” level of society than he did, and although she had become a Christian and therefore regarded ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 1:1-23

Tags: Christian Values

Commitment And Loyalty To Christ Likened To A ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 7, 2010

Commitment and Loyalty to Christ Likened to a Trapeze Artist John Ortberg (Faith & Doubt, p. 169-170) says the word trapeze describes the bar between the ropes of a trapeze artist in the circus. It’s a Greek word, meaning table. It’s used in the New Testament when Jesus gathers his friends around ...read more

Scripture: Luke 14:26-27

Tags: Discipleship

Sir William Ramsey And The Accuracy Of Luke

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 6, 2011

SIR WILLIAM RAMSEY AND THE ACCURACY OF LUKE Late 1800's/early 1900's Sir William Ramsey was a well-known archaeologist and historian. He was professor of humanities at Aberdeen University. He was considered to be the world's most imminent scholar on Asia-Minor, and it's geography and history. He ...read more

Scripture: Luke 1:1-4

Tags: Bible Truth

Commissioning Oath

Contributed by Jason Bonnicksen on Jun 20, 2011

COMMISSIONING OATH When I hear the word "commission," the first thing that comes to my mind is the commission military officers receive when they enter into service. Commissioned officers derive their authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the ...read more

Tags: Great Commission

Denomination: Lutheran