In Sermon Illustrations: "Real Estate"

Pointed Sticks! (10.31.05--Faith That ...

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Oct 27, 2005

Pointed Sticks! (10.31.05--Faith That Flies!--Judges 6:25-30) “If you walk around with a pointed stick you are liable to hurt yourself.” There was something about a pointed stick that just put mothers on edge. Pointed sticks weren’t risky from our perspective at all. As boys we were willing to ...read more

Scripture: Judges 6:25-30

Tags: Faith General

Denomination: Lutheran

Insurgency! (11.08.05--Christian ...

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Nov 6, 2005

Insurgency! (11.08.05--Christian Soldiers!--Revelations 12:7) What war? That was the response that I got from a friend recently when I referred to Operation Iraqi Freedom as a war. I looked at him and asked: “How would you define a war?” His response? “A war is when freedom is at stake and our ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 12:7, Revelation 12:7-9

Tags: Satan

Denomination: Lutheran

Tomorrow's Trivia! (02.24.06--Do Not Worry!--Luke ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Feb 22, 2006

Tomorrow’s Trivia! (02.24.06--Do Not Worry!--Luke 22:24) An average person’s anxiety is focused on: 40% -- things that will never happen, 30% -- things about the past that can’t be changed, 12% -- things about criticism by others, mostly untrue, 10% -- about health, which gets worse with ...read more

Scripture: Luke 22:24

Tags: Fear And Worry

Denomination: Lutheran

When I Was In The Military Ministry I Knew A ...  PRO

Contributed by Edward Williamson on Nov 6, 2006

When I was in the military ministry I knew a retiree friend that worked at a local antique shop. I ran into him at a local furniture store one day and he proceeded to tell me the secrets to separating the true antiques from the clever reproductions. He showed me a four drawer dresser and he ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 25:31

Tags: Authenticity

Denomination: Baptist

There's A Guy By The Name Of Harley Whom A Bible ...

Contributed by Bruce Willis on Dec 20, 2006

There’s a guy by the name of Harley whom a Bible teacher had met in a Sunday School class. He realized that what the teacher was sharing was not real for him. He wasn’t experiencing Christ as his life. The reason he realized it was he was an unhappy camper when Lee met him. Harley’s married to ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

The Good Ship Commerce Under Captain Riley And ...

Contributed by Peter Loughman on Jan 13, 2007

The good ship Commerce under Captain Riley and his 11-man crew Wrecked on the north coast of Africa in 1815. They were alone on the edge of the largest desert in the world – the Sahara. They were men without hope. Desert nomads came upon them and they thought they were saved, But they turned ...read more

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Why Is It Important That We Let God Be First In ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 26, 2007

Why is it important that we let God be first in out life? Because we may touch others when God is leading. Miss Thompson taught Teddy Stallard in the fourth grade. He was a slow, unkempt student, a loner shunned by his classmates. The previous year his mother died, and what little motivation for ...read more

What Would It Mean To Obey This Command? Jerry ...

Contributed by Rickey Bennett on Aug 17, 2009

What would it mean to obey this command? Jerry Bridges helps us think through what that looks like in his book, The Gospel for Real Life. Here are just a few points he lists. To love the Lord your God with all your heart … soul and… mind means… • Your love for God transcends all other desires ...read more

Tags: Righteousness

Denomination: *other

Charlie Brown Learns The Hard Way That Lucy ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 24, 2009

Charlie Brown Learns The Hard Way that Lucy Didn’t Repent Repenting means changing our minds about who God is. Secondly: repenting means changing our minds about the way we live our lives. If God is all powerful and all caring and all loving, then it’s in my best interests to live a life that’s ...read more

Scripture: Mark 1:15

Tags: Repentance

Dr. Meier Refuses Materialism And God Blesses His ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 30, 2009

Dr. Meier Refuses Materialism and God Blesses his Ministry In the mid – 1970’s, while Dr. Meier was a professor of pastoral counseling at Trinity Seminary near Chicago, he was offered a high-paying opportunity to leave his seminary position and become the administrator of a psychiatric clinic. “I ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:3-10

Tags: Materialism

Feeling Insignificant?

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Feb 9, 2010

Feeling Insignificant? Last night I attended Hillsong's Church's Vision Night for leaders with my daughter and son-in-law. We were in the first 3 rows and the music was awesome. I somehow ended up sitting between them and felt a little conspicuous. Completely inspiring listening to Joel Houston ...read more

Tags: Encouragement

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

There Is Something Convenient About Being A ...

Contributed by Thomas Cash on Mar 9, 2010

There is something convenient about being a fence-straddler. We think we can have the best of both worlds. But in order to make a real commitment to Jesus Christ, we have to weigh our options. Anyone who has ever struggled with their faith will come out stronger. One of my biggest personal ...read more

Tags: Prayer Of Faith

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Missionary Paralyzed Learns How To Thrive In ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 1, 2010

Missionary Paralyzed Learns How To Thrive in Suffering Scott Larson shared a personal encounter. “Annette and her husband were missionaries in Western Europe when she began to have pain in her back. When the pain became so unbearable that she could no longer function, even with muscle relaxants, ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 23:1-6

Tags: Suffering Joy In, Joy In Trials

Big Ed

Contributed by Christopher Lanham on Jul 19, 2010

BIG ED When I was in high school, there was this girl -- let's call her "Edith". Everyone called her Big "Ed" because she was on the heavy side. She was the youngest of four sisters, the three older ones being very attractive. Edith accepted the nickname, showed no real signs of being injured ...read more

Tags: Friendship General, Misfit

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Empty Gift

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 26, 2011

THE EMPTY GIFT God offers us more than this world does, but most of us never take the time to see it. There was a 15-year old boy named Joey, whose mother died at birth. She was a severe alcoholic, and that had affected his pre-natal development. The result was that he was slightly ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:1-20

Tags: Christmas

Can't Miss

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 20, 2011

CAN'T MISS Every so often, in the world of high school boys' basketball, there comes a player with incredible talent and skill. He and his team become the focus of a lot of media attention. That player becomes one of the most talked about high school athletes in the nation. Recruiters from the ...read more

Scripture: Haggai 1:9

Tags: Humility

Mama's Prayers  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 9, 2011

MAMA'S PRAYERS E. V. (Ed) Hill, who pastored Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles, tells the story of how "Mama’s" love and prayers changed his life. During the height of the Depression, Hill’s real mother, who had five children of her own, didn’t have enough food to go around, so ...read more

Scripture: Luke 11:1-13

Tags: Mother's Day

Don't Give Up—the Case Of Mrs. Ruth Ertel

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 8, 2012

DON’T GIVE UP--THE CASE OF MRS. RUTH ERTEL In 1965 a divorced mother of two, found a classified ad offering a restaurant for sale. She mortgaged her house to purchase the restaurant, the original Chris’s steakhouse. In 1976 a fire forced her to relocate. Under the original purchase agreement, the ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:3-5

Tags: Endurance

Hybels' Evangelism Formula For Maximum Impact  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 21, 2012

HYBELS' EVANGELISM FORMULA FOR MAXIMUM IMPACT We call this relational evangelism, and I have spoken of this many times before. It is showing people that we care, it is about building relationships with people who may not know Jesus and in that relationship, bringing them to a place where they can ...read more

Scripture: Luke 5:27-32

Tags: Evangelism How To

Growth Takes Time

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Jul 18, 2018

GROWTH IS RARELY AN ACCIDENT, GROWTH HAS A PLAN… GROWTH REQUIRES EFFORT… THE MORE EFFORT THE MORE THE GROWTH WILL THRIVE… Blessed is he who expects nothing for he shall get exactly what he expected. Les Brown tells a wonderful illustration that we need to consider… There is a tree that grows in ...read more

Tags: Plan, Growth

Denomination: Assembly Of God