In Sermon Illustrations: "Reach"

U.s. News And World Report In Dec. Of 2004 Did A ...

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Feb 12, 2010

U.S. News and World Report in Dec. of 2004 did a magazine focusing on the power of prayer: Jeffrey L. Shelter wrote in his article, "The Power of Prayer, on pages 52, 53) "A pierced and tattooed man quietly bows his head at a noisy lunch counter. A child in pink pajamas kneels at her bedside and ...read more

Tags: Prayer General

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Longer I Walk With Christ The Uglier My Sin ...

Contributed by Chris Surber on May 9, 2010

The longer I walk with Christ the uglier my sin seems to me. The closer into communion with God I am the more desperately thankful to God I am for having forgiven this broken, brazen, bold, sinner’s heart. It is only when we have been in the light that darkness is well defined. Interestingly ...read more

Tags: Sin Hurtful To God

Denomination: Christian Church

I Want To Close By Sharing Something Gary Gunn ...

Contributed by K. Edward Skidmore on Jun 11, 2010

I want to close by sharing something Gary Gunn told us about at our last Men’s Prayer Breakfast. Several years back, Steven, a young man with AIDS started attending our church. (This was back in the time when AIDS was scary to most people and we didn’t know a lot about it.) The sickness slowly ...read more

Tags: Action

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Forrest Gump: Sometimes There Aren't Enough ...  PRO

Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on Dec 9, 2010

FORREST GUMP: SOMETIMES THERE AREN'T ENOUGH ROCKS In the movie Forrest Gump, Forrest has a lifetime friendship with Jenny. In one scene, when both of them are grown and Jenny is just beginning to retreat from her lifestyle of sex and drugs, they are walking down a dirt road. Soon they come to the ...read more

Tags: Bitterness

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Smoke Alarms

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Apr 11, 2011

SMOKE ALARMS This is one of my smoke alarms. (HIT BUZZER) Annoying, isn’t it? Now a smoke alarm is supposed to go off if the house is on fire. But mine goes off more often than that. Generally my smoke alarm goes off when I’m cooking (yes I’ve burnt my food). And when the smoke from burnt ...read more

Tags: Hell

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Quotations On Hope

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 13, 2011

QUOTATIONS ON HOPE Malcolm Muggeridge was a very famous and highly respected British journalist who for many years was an ardent atheist. His opinions and thoughts were coveted by American publishers and he occasionally wrote the editorial page for Time magazine. Toward the end of his illustrious ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 62:5-8

Tags: God Brings Hope

Do You Have The Nerve Of A Squirrel?

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 12, 2011

DO YOU HAVE THE NERVE OF A SQUIRREL? A young writer with a very uncertain income went into a quiet park to contemplate a serious problem. For four years he had been engaged, but felt he did not have enough money to get married. He wanted to live and write in Paris, Rome, Vienna, ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 3:5-6

Tags: Trust

In Philadelphia

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Jul 2, 2011

IN PHILADELPHIA My father died in a Philadelphia hospital in 1999. Some weeks before his death, I was able to spend a few days with him. I stayed at the home of some friends in Washington Crossing, just a few miles north of Philadelphia, and each day I would drive into the city. The first morning ...read more

Tags: Patriotism

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Bible Is A Compass

Contributed by Perry Greene on Nov 18, 2011

THE BIBLE IS A COMPASS Just before the outbreak of the First World War, a small ship named the Endurance set sail from Briton with a crew intent on being the first to cross the South Pole. The ship reached Antarctica, but became ice bound in the Weddle Sea. Soon they had to abandon their ship and ...read more

Tags: Bible Influence

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Hold Fast

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 1, 2012

HOLD FAST A ships crew can be suddenly obligated to ABANDON SHIP and take to the life boats. Such was the case of an American whaling ship in the South Seas. A huge leviathan of the deep, wounded by his pursuits, ran out the mile long line then returned again and struck the ship with incredible ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 4:10-19

Tags: Truth Of Christ

Architectural Design By Touch

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 8, 2012

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN BY TOUCH Three years ago (2008), Chris Downey had just started a promising architectural job at a successful design firm. A few weeks after he took the job, he noticed that there was something wrong with his vision. The doctors told him he had a tumor wrapped around his optic ...read more

Scripture: James 1:2-4

Tags: God In The Hardships

Rockefeller's Giving  PRO

Contributed by Davon Huss on Sep 17, 2013

ROCKEFELLER'S GIVING The very first person to reach the status of billionaire was a man who knew how to set goals and follow through. At the age of 23, Rockefeller had become a millionaire, by the age of 50 a billionaire. Every decision, attitude, and relationship was tailored to create his ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:8

Tags: Giving, Missions Giving, Giving General, Principles Of Giving

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

A Handful Of Suckers

Contributed by Jim Butcher on Apr 10, 2018

The woman in the red skirt walked up to the counter and laid down two bags of flour. There beside the register were the rest of her groceries. "That everything?" asked the man behind the counter. He owned the general store, waited on her every Thursday as she came to town to do her shopping. He ...read more

Tags: Generosity, Abundance, Asking, Prayer

Denomination: Baptist

Work Completed In Due ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 28, 2009

WORK COMPLETED IN DUE SEASON Adoniram Judson clearly was appointed by the Holy Spirit to minister the Word of God to the heathen. He reached Calcutta in the summer of 1812, ready to preach the Gospel, however was given orders to get out. He was saddened and could not understand how an effectual ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 6:9

Tags: Knowing God's Will

Thank You, Daddy!  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 13, 2009

"THANK YOU, DADDY!" To illustrate how we often fail to give God the thanks he deserves, Chuck Swindoll told the following story of a man he visited in a dismal veterans hospital: The day I arrived to visit, I saw a touching scene. This man had a young son, and during his confinement in the ...read more

Scripture: Luke 17:11-19

Tags: Gratitude

His Last Word

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 2, 2009

"His Last Word" After Being Shipwrecked--Being Justified by Faith We Have Peace with God Through Our Lord Jesus Christ A young man working on the Limehouse Docks once heard a clergyman named Henderson preach from the text: “Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:1

Tags: Peace

You Have To Love Him Into It

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 1, 2010

"You Have To Love Him Into It"--A Stock Assistant Learns a Big Lesson A stock assistant was working at a grocery store on Christmas Eve. One of the things he was responsible for was the display in one of the aisles which was a pyramid of canned products. He had to rebuild this display many times ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:8-20

Tags: Unconditional Love

Whenever Our Family Moved To A New Town Or City, ...

Contributed by Dale Pilgrim on Apr 21, 2007

Whenever our family moved to a new town or city, the first few evenings were used to drive around and explore our new surroundings. We didn’t use a map or give much attention to where we were going. We had no particular destination in mind so a map held no value. We would come to an intersection ...read more

Denomination: Salvation Army

The Following Song By "Casting Crowns" ...

Contributed by Gary Miller on May 11, 2007

The following song by "Casting Crowns" illustrates the importance of praising God: Praise You in This Storm words by Mark Hall/music by Mark Hall and Bernie Herms I was sure by now, God You would have reached down and wiped our tears away, stepped in and saved the day. But once again, I say ...read more

Denomination: Brethren

While Attending Ministerial School (Seminary) In ...

Contributed by Fred Sigle on May 22, 2007

While attending MINISTERIAL SCHOOL (SEMINARY) in Lubbock, Texas, I had a CLASS MATE, Lloyd, who shared a STORY about an incident that HAPPENED to him while in Vietnam. I can’t remember all the DETAILS, but this is what I recall. Lloyd was a HELICOPTER MACHINE GUNNER. While on a MISSION flying ...read more

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ