In Sermon Illustrations: "Ransom From Sin"

Dennis The Menace Was Caught Causing Trouble ...

Contributed by Dave Kinney on Mar 29, 2009

Dennis the Menace was caught causing trouble around the house and his mother had all she could take from him and said to him, "Dennis the way you’re behaving, how do you expect to get into heaven?" To that Dennis said, "Well, I’ll just keep slamming the door ...read more

Tags: Heaven

Denomination: Baptist

The Blessed Future

Contributed by Bill Butsko on Jun 11, 2009

The Blessed Future The doctor did not think the dying daughter would hear when he said to the mother, "Poor child; she has seen her best days." But she heard him and said, "No, Doctor, I haven’t seen my best days; my best days are still to come when ...read more

Tags: Heaven

Denomination: Christian Church

Doormat For ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 10, 2009

DOORMAT FOR GOD Oswald Chambers confessed, "If I work for God because I know it brings me the good opinion of those whose good opinion I wish to have, I am a Pharisee. If I love Jesus Christ, I will serve humanity, though men and women treat me like a ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:38-48

Tags: Servanthood

Family—the Bottom Line Of Life

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 22, 2009

Family--The Bottom Line of Life Chuck Swindoll said of the family, "Whatever else may be said about the home, it is the bottom line of life, the anvil upon which attitudes and convictions are hammered out. It is the place where life’s bills come due, the single most influential force in our ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:1-33, Ephesians 3:1-8

Tags: Family

Lord, I'm So ...

Contributed by Donnie Martin on Nov 2, 2009

"Lord, I’m so discouraged I don’t know what to do. I have so many burdens, And I gave them all to you. But you didn’t take them, Jesus. Will you tell me why that’s so?" "The answer’s simply, Little ...read more

Tags: Disappointment

Denomination: Baptist

Attitude Pattern: Jonah

Contributed by Timothy Gardner on Nov 7, 2009

ATTITUDE PATTERN: JONAH The pattern of attitude toward God: We bailed when God says go. A storm brews. Our shipmates are scared. We admit it’s our fault. We are thrown from the boat. We sink. Something big swallows us. We repent. We pray ...read more

Tags: Jonah

Denomination: Salvation Army

How To Make Someone A Soul-Winner  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 16, 2009

HOW TO MAKE SOMEONE A SOUL-WINNER General William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, once told his students, "If I had my choice, I wouldn’t send you to school, I’d send you to Hell for five minutes, and you’d come back real soul ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:19-20

Tags: Evangelism How To

Satan Says In Effect To Jesus In Matthew 4

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Jan 2, 2010

Satan says in effect to Jesus in Matthew 4 "JUST COMPROMISE AND YOU’LL GET WHAT YOU WANT", But the AUTHORITY OF RULE doesn’t come with a CROWN OF POWER from the enemy. It comes with a CROSS OF SUFFERING and humility. Satan says "I’ll give you POWER WITHOUT THE PAIN, A CROWN WITHOUT THE ...read more

Tags: Temptation General

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Under The Old Order It Was Simply Impossible To ...

Contributed by Jesse Roncales on Mar 5, 2010

"Under the Old order it was simply impossible to do the will of God, and if that old order still dominates men’s lives, to do his will remains an impossibility. But those whose life is controlled by the Spirit, those who follow His promptings, do the will of God from the heart. Their own spirit, ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 2:1-4

Tags: Doing God's Will

Denomination: Assembly Of God

J.c. Ryle On What Makes A True ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 10, 2010

J.C. Ryle on what makes a true Christian J. C. Ryle: “Knowledge, orthodoxy, correct forms in worship, a respectable and moral life – these do not make a true Christian” (497). Do we love Jesus? That is the issue; it is the question Jesus asks Peter in John 21; we must ...read more

Scripture: John 21:15-19

Tags: Love For God

Linus On Love For People

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 3, 2010

LINUS ON LOVE FOR PEOPLE Perhaps you've seen this Peanuts cartoon: Linus announces to his cranky sister, Lucy, that he's going to be a doctor. "You, a doctor?" she asks. "How can you be a doctor? You don't love mankind." Linus replies, "I do too love mankind. It's ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:4-6

Tags: Christian Love

Sell Your Soul?

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Oct 11, 2010

A bored student at the University of Washington used an Internet auction site to sell his soul to the highest bidder. As it turned out, the top offer was only $400. Since the soul is immaterial, it can’t be extracted from a body like a physical organ such as a heart. The student had to admit, “I ...read more

Tags: Soul

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Three Bones In Church

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 23, 2011

THREE BONES IN CHURCH Church members may be divided into three classes in a mere skeleton outline: wishbones, jawbones, and backbones. The wishbones are always languidly hoping that their church will somehow grow without their effort. The jawbones talk their way out of doing things, and the ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:15-16

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

There Would Be No Islam

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 25, 2011

THERE WOULD BE NO ISLAM A Hindu professor once found out that a man in his class was a Christian. The professor said to this student, "If you Christians were like Jesus Christ, India would be at your feet tomorrow." A learned Muslim who recently became a Christian said, "If Christians were truly ...read more

Scripture: John 13:34-35

Tags: Christian Witness

Prayer Of The Persecuted

Contributed by Alison Bucklin on Jun 25, 2011

PRAYER OF THE PERSECUTED Author Eugene Peterson says in Reversed Thunder, "While conflicts raged between good and evil, prayers went up from devout bands of 1st c. Christians all over the Roman empire. Massive engines of persecution and scorn were ranged against them. They had neither weapons ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 8:1-13

Tags: Warning, Prayer General

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

No Entrance And No Exit  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 3, 2011

NO ENTRANCE AND NO EXIT Peter Larson: "Despite our efforts to keep him out, God intrudes. The life of Jesus is bracketed by two impossibilities: a virgin's womb and an empty tomb. Jesus entered our world through a door marked 'No Entrance' and left through a door marked 'No Exit.'" ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:1-7

Tags: Easter Resurrection

Gift Giving Should Be Personal And Relational

Contributed by Ken Pell on Dec 11, 2011

GIFT GIVING SHOULD BE PERSONAL AND RELATIONAL Have you ever seen the episode of "Friends" where Joey and Chandler wait too long to buy Christmas gifts? They end up having to buy gifts from a gas station. They give Rachael wiper blades and an air freshener. When Rachel ...read more

Tags: Gifts Giving

Denomination: Nazarene

Salt In The Shaker

Contributed by Guy Mcgraw on Jan 23, 2012

SALT IN THE SHAKER A strange sign greets visitors to Vienna, Austria. Translated from the German, it says, "Welcome to Vienna, where the salt is in the saltshaker." What they mean is that they "don't put salt on the streets in the winter"! The church is the salt of the earth, but we do no good ...read more

Tags: Evangelism Urgency

What Is Man's Life Made Up Of?  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 1, 2012

WHAT IS MAN'S LIFE MADE UP OF? One person said: Man's life is made up of 20 years of his mother asking him where he is going, 50 years of his wife asking him where he has been, and one hour at his funeral when everyone wonders where ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 9:27

Tags: Death

Character And Witness

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 15, 2012

CHARACTER AND WITNESS John Bunyan said of Christians: "When all their garments are white the world will count them His," and the skeptical German poet Heinrich Heine said to Christians, "You show me your redeemed life and I might be inclined to believe in your Redeemer." The authentic life that ...read more

Scripture: John 17:20-23

Tags: Christian Witness