In Sermon Illustrations: "Real People"

Our Will Is Who We Are

Contributed by Bobby Scobey on Jun 16, 2009

OUR WILL IS WHO WE ARE Watchman Nee: "A man’s will is his organ for decision-making. To want or not to want, to choose or not to choose are the typical operations of the will. "Our emotions merely express how we feel. Our mind simply tells us what we think, but our will communicates what we ...read more

Tags: Discipleship

Denomination: Pentecostal

The Definition Of A Bbq

Contributed by Sean Harder on Jul 8, 2009

THE DEFINITION OF A BBQ It’s the only type of cooking a "real man" will do. When a man volunteers to do the ’BBQ’ the following chain of events is put into motion: 1) The woman goes to the store. 2) The woman fixes the salad, vegetables, and dessert. 3) The woman prepares the meat for cooking, ...read more

Tags: Father's Day

Prayer For ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 22, 2009

Prayer for Compassion Then we can pray a prayer like David Mains prayed years ago. He was once pastor of the Circle Urban Church, an inner city church in Chicago, and one day, in the course of his ministry among such great need, he prayed, “Lord, let me see the world as you see it, and break my ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 9:36-38

Tags: Compassion

Bruce Longenecker's Book,

Contributed by Ken Pell on Nov 2, 2009

Bruce Longenecker’s book, “The Lost Letters of Pergamum” (pp. 165-166) illustrates their teaching in a story about a Nicolaitan (Kalandion) that attended the Pergamum church. Kalandion is visiting a Christian who has been imprisoned for his faith. “Kalandion had already visited him on several ...read more

Tags: Persecution

Denomination: Nazarene

Cost Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 31, 2010

Cost of Freedom At Hebron Baptist Church several years ago a speaker named Clebe McClary spoke. There was a patch where his left eye had once been. A hook extended from the artificial limb where a strong arm had once helped make him an outstanding athlete. He had been through countless surgeries to ...read more

Scripture: John 15:12-13

Tags: Heroism

Reunited

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Jan 23, 2011

REUNITED This week (1-11) an interesting story hit the presses: A woman who was kidnapped as a newborn 23 years ago says finding her real mother "felt like a dream." Carlina White was just 19 days old when she disappeared from Harlem Hospital in New York. She tells the New York Post that when ...read more

Tags: Salvation

Denomination: Independent/Bible

A Mother's Embrace

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on May 6, 2011

A MOTHER'S EMBRACE My own mother was a remarkable embodiment of both beauty and duty. She was lovely in appearance, and I think early in her life she turned many a head. But her real beauty was her embrace of duty. She worked hard from the time she was a child until, in her final years, she could ...read more

Tags: Mothers

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Getting To Know Man

Contributed by Brad Henry on Aug 18, 2011

GETTING TO KNOW MAN Julie and I have the wonderful privilege to raise Bryce and Chase. But that is a privilege given to us by God. God created our children and is allowing Julie and I to raise them. We get to keep them in our home for a time and then they are off into the world. But God created ...read more

Tags: Worldliness

Fear Restrains

Contributed by Shine Thomas on Aug 28, 2017

Janez Rus lived in Germany during the days of the Nazi ruler Adolf Hitler. During that time he was a young shoemaker, looking to make his name prominent. Because of the power of the German government, he participated in public supports of the Nazi regime in hopes of gaining recognition. But after ...read more

Tags: Fear, Fear Restrains

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Jim Burns Tells A Story Of A Friend Of His Named ...

Contributed by Roy Probus on May 17, 2008

Jim burns tells a story of a friend of his named Norman. Some of you know someone like him. Norman was the type of person to change fads and friends very quickly. During his high school years, Norman was a: i. Surfer ii. Punk rocker iii. Football team manager iv. Cross country runner v. Drummer ...read more

Tags: Self

Denomination: United Methodist

C.s. Lewis, In His Essay "The Law Of Human ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 27, 2008

C.S. Lewis, in his essay "The Law of Human Nature," said, "Whenever you find a man who says he does not believe in a real Right and Wrong, you will find the same man going back on this a moment later. He may break his promise to you, but if you try breaking one to him he will be complaining "It's ...read more

Tags: Basics Of Christianity

When The Judaizers Told The Galatians That They ...

Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Jan 26, 2009

When the Judaizers told the Galatians that they had to get circumcised to become good Christians, they were adding the law to the gospel. They were saying that Moses had to finish what Christ could only begin. To illustrate the problem with this kind of theology, consider the man who had an old ...read more

Tags: Salvation

Denomination: Other

Faith Becomes Love In Action

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Apr 5, 2023

FAITH IS AN ACTION WORD… Is this real? I place a metal chair in front of the crowd. I talk about how strong the chair appears to be? Then I ask the crowd do you think this chair is strong enough to hold one of us? We discuss why we think this chair could possibly hold a human’s weight. What would ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 4:7-9, John 15:13-16, Luke 24:7

Tags: Faith, Love, Action

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Experts Can't Agree If The Following Is A True ...

Contributed by Jonathan Twitchell on Dec 7, 2006

Experts can’t agree if the following is a true story or if it should be written down next to the tale of George Washington and the Cherry Tree. While there is no concrete evidence of its truth, there is enough anecdotal evidence that the story has been in existence long enough to quite possibly be ...read more

Tags: Mercy

Denomination: Nazarene

George Thomas Was A Pastor In A Small New England ...

Contributed by Arley Ellingson on Apr 11, 2007

George Thomas was a pastor in a small New England town. One Easter Sunday morning, he came to the Church carrying a rusty, bent, old bird cage, and set it by the pulpit. Several eyebrows were raised and, as if in response, Pastor Thomas began to speak. "I was walking through town yesterday when I ...read more

Denomination: Methodist

Staring Down The Critic's Barrel!" Proverbs 9: ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Jan 17, 2005

“Staring Down the Critic’s Barrel!” Proverbs 9: 7-10 Key verse(s): 8b:“. . . rebuke a wise man and he will love you.” The Bible tells us that “rebuke a wise man and he will love you.” Love? What happened to getting the emotional revenge that is so satisfying? There doesn’t seem to be a lot of ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 9:7-10, Psalm 82:3-4, Philippians 2:13-14

Tags: Grace, Leadership General

Denomination: Lutheran

George Thomas Was A Pastor In A Small New ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

George Thomas was a pastor in a small New England town. One Easter Sunday morning, he came to the Church carrying a rusty, bent, old bird cage, and set it by the pulpit. Several eyebrows were raised and, as if in response, Pastor Thomas began to speak. "I was walking through town yesterday when I ...read more

Tags: Jesus Christ

New Year's ...

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

New Year’s Resolutions The Christmas celebrations are over. Now comes that time of the year when many people make New Year’s resolutions. With fixed determination they try to achieve what they have announced at some party. However, they seldom keep those New Year’s resolutions. Why not? There ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 2:20

Tags: New Year's Day

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The World Wide Web Is Amazing All That ...

Contributed by Aubrey Vaughan on Jun 24, 2007

The world wide web is amazing all that information being passed down phone lines coming down onto our screens from all over the world right into our homes, I don’t really know how it works, its mind boggling, But I know it does work and I enjoy it. Over the last few months in our house the ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

I've Been Reading A Very Powerful Book, Tortured ...

Contributed by Mark Eberly on Jun 2, 2009

I’ve been reading a very powerful book, Tortured for Christ, which is a testimony from a follower of Jesus who suffered immensely in Romania after the communist takeover. Originally published 30 years ago, it is still very powerful. Richard Wurmbrand was a faithful servant of Christ in the ...read more

Tags: Persecution

Denomination: Church Of God