In Sermon Illustrations: "Read The Signs"

Many Years Ago A Painter By The Name Of Stenburg ...

Contributed by W F on Apr 6, 2007

Many years ago a painter by the name of Stenburg lived in Dusseldorf Germany. He was searching for a model to portrait. He chose a gypsy girl from the street, her name was Pepita. It was the first time for her to be invited to an artist’s studio. Her amazed eyes rounded here and there and suddenly ...read more

Denomination: *other

There's Always Hope  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 25, 2009

THERE'S ALWAYS HOPE Ever felt like your life was the most unlucky of all? No matter what, the human spirit can be an amazing thing. Take for example the case of Larry Hanratty, who was named by the Los Angeles Times in 2007 the most unlucky man in California. This poor man was nearly executed to ...read more

Scripture: Lamentations 3:19-30

Tags: God Brings Hope

Luther On Salvation By Good ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 25, 2009

LUTHER ON SALVATION BY GOOD WORKS If anyone could ever have achieved salvation by his own effort, it was Martin Luther. In 1505, when he was twenty-one years old, Luther abandoned a promising career in law and entered the monastery of the Augustinian hermits at Erfurt. As he later said, this was ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:8-9

Tags: Salvation

Wwii Vet's Blood Saves Grandmother  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 26, 2009

WWII VET'S BLOOD SAVES GRANDMOTHER And I think it is also what Paul was talking about in Romans 8:28 when he says, "...in all things God works for the good of those who love Him..." Kim Huffman tells this story: World War II was over, and my father, along with thousands of others had been ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:28

Tags: God's Provision

When Life Is Hard… Never Give ...

Contributed by David Rumley on Oct 28, 2009

When life is hard… never give up… • Henry Ford failed and went broke five times before he finally succeeded. • Beethoven handled the violin awkwardly and preferred playing his own compositions instead of improving his technique. His teacher called him hopeless as a composer. • Colonel Sanders had ...read more

Tags: Endurance, Strength

Denomination: Pentecostal

Loving The Outcasts  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 7, 2009

LOVING THE OUTCASTS One of the more remarkable movements of modern times is Alcoholics Anonymous or AA, a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they might solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism. Although it is ...read more

Scripture: John 4:9

Tags: Action, Thirst, Common Ground, Christian Love

Wycliffe Bible Translator Chet Bitterman's Death ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 30, 2009

Wycliffe Bible Translator Chet Bitterman’s Death Motivated Others for Missionary Service Jesus Himself said that the end would come only after the “gospel of the Kingdom” is “preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations” (Matthew 24:14). As His coming approaches, Jesus wants the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 24:14

Tags: Missions, Bible Translation

Homeless Man Comes Home To His ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 1, 2010

Homeless Man Comes Home to His Mother In 1988 there was a story in the LA Times entitled “A Mother’s Search for Russell Love.” It told of a woman in Houston named Beverly Elliott. She had not seen her son, Russell Love, for four years and had not heard from him in two years; but she knew he was ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:11-32

Tags: Parable Prodigal Son

More Like ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2010

More Like Jesus What then is it to be more like Jesus in righteousness and faithfulness. Consider the story of: William Howard Doane (who) was a wealthy nineteenth-century industrialist who entered the business world at age sixteen and was president of his own manufacturing company by age ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 10:24-25

Tags: Music

Everywhere I Look People Offer Me Rewards If I ...

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Jan 29, 2010

Everywhere I look people offer me rewards if I buy this or shop at their store, or buy petrol at certain petrol stations. I am rewarded on my credit card if I buy a certain amount using their card. People at the Super Market ask me “Do you have a rewards Card?” Buy one get one free. We bought a ...read more

Tags: Servanthood

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Music To Raise The Dead

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on May 10, 2010

"MUSIC TO RAISE THE DEAD", an album from a Christian Rock group called Resurrection startled the Christian world with it's intensity in the 1970's. They did this in a day when many conservative pastors and evangelists actively thundered their warnings from the pulpit against the evils of rock music ...read more

Tags: Gifts Healing

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

In The Film Version Of Ray Bradbury’s ...

Contributed by Johnny Wilson on May 29, 2010

In the film version of Ray Bradbury’s “Something Wicked This Way Comes,” the action starts with a cold October wind blowing through a Midwestern town. Let’s look at the theater film preview of this film and give you an idea of what I’m talking about. The “October People” had come with their ...read more

Tags: Change, Wind

Denomination: *other

Why Be Buried With A Fork In Your ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 4, 2010

Why Be Buried With a Fork in Your Hand There was a woman who had been told she only had 3 months to live. Her doctor recommended that she start making preparations to die. And so, she contacted her Pastor to talk about her final wishes. She told him which songs she wanted sung at her funeral, what ...read more

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Tags: Heaven

Who Has Your ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 4, 2010

Who Has Your Back? Pastor and author John Ortberg tells the story of an evening when he was walking with some friends in Newport Beach, California. As they walked they passed one of the local bars just as a fight spilled out onto the street, like a scene from the old west. As they watched, three ...read more

Scripture: Acts 1:1-8

Tags: Holy Spirit General

Anna's Stories

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 7, 2011

ANNA'S STORIES A thirty-four-year-old German woman named Anna Rosmus recently told the tragic story of what happened in her hometown in Germany during World War II. Speaking at Carson-Newman College in Tennessee, she told of growing up in Passau, Germany, years after the war. As a teenager, she ...read more

Scripture: Romans 13:1-7

Tags: Church Purpose Of

Thankful People Are Happy People  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 19, 2011

THANKFUL PEOPLE ARE HAPPY PEOPLE I read a news story once of a woman who was getting ready to jump off a 44 story building in New York City. Witnesses said that she did not look like the type of person who would do such a thing. She was very distinguished and well dressed. All the attempts ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 103:1-5

Tags: Family, Gratitude, Share

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

Unsung Heroines

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 6, 2011

UNSUNG HEROINES In Tom Brokaw’s book "The Greatest Generation Speaks," Veronica Mackey Hulick tells of her service during World War II. Veronica was 20 when she joined the Navy WAVES [Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service]. She and about 1500 other bright young women worked for hours at ...read more

Scripture: Mark 9:35, Mark 9:33-35

Tags: Servanthood

The Wizard Of Oz: Getting Home

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Jul 10, 2011

THE WIZARD OF OZ: GETTING HOME I remember watching the Wizard of Oz. Dorothy is trying to find her way home, and along the way she runs into a scarecrow with no brain, a tin man with no heart, and a lion with no courage. But they learn that there is a wizard in the land of Oz who can help them ...read more

Tags: Growth In Christ

Denomination: Methodist

Holiness And Red Buttons  PRO

Contributed by Mark Stepherson on Aug 6, 2011

HOLINESS AND RED BUTTONS In studying holiness as a prayer key, I got bogged down with trying to understand it. I had an even harder time trying to explain it. I felt like the Red Buttons character in the movie, "Hatari." In that movie, John Wayne led a team of hunters in Africa capturing wild ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 2:8, Matthew 22:15-22

Tags: Holy, Prayer, Holiness

Denomination: Baptist