In Sermon Illustrations: "Reply"

Qualifications For Ministry  PRO

Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Mar 15, 2009

QUALIFICATIONS FOR MINISTRY What qualifies someone for a task? There is a story of the testing of a candidate for missions work: One snowy morning at 5:00 A.M., a missionary candidate rang the bell at a missionary examiner’s home. Ushered into the office, he sat three hours past his appointment ...read more

Tags: Humility, Fruit Of The Spirit

Denomination: Other

To Be Had For The Asking

Contributed by Bill Butsko on Jul 28, 2009

TO BE HAD FOR THE ASKING A few days after the Civil War had been officially ended a man was riding along a road in West Virginia. Suddenly a soldier, clad in a dirty and tattered Confederate uniform, sprang out of a thicket, seized the horses’ bridle, and with twitching face demanded, "Give me ...read more

Tags: God's Provision

Denomination: Christian Church

Learn To Speak The Language

Contributed by Neil Olcott on Sep 10, 2009

LEARN TO SPEAK THE LANGUAGE A new missionary recruit went to Venezuela for the first time. He was struggling with the language and didn’t understand a whole lot of what was going on. Intending to visit one of the local churches, he got lost, but he eventually got back on track and found the place. ...read more

Tags: Communication General

Denomination: Baptist

Knowing Scripture To Save Your Life

Contributed by Davon Huss on Oct 19, 2009

KNOWING SCRIPTURE TO SAVE YOUR LIFE Several years ago in Guatemala, a young Christian named Paulos had been arrested with a gang of robbers. In that place and in those days, anyone suspected of a crime, was immediately taken to an open field, ordered to dig a hole, and then toppled into the hole ...read more

Tags: Bible Study

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Keep The Lower Lights Burning

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 27, 2009

KEEP THE LOWER LIGHTS BURNING We must live as children of the light, not as children of the darkness. If we are dark and sorrowful, how is the world to know that we are children of peace, and joy, and gladness? Our determination must be to keep our lights burning. A few years ago, at the mouth of ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:16

Tags: Christian Witness

War Stories About Not Giving Up The Fight: ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 12, 2009

War Stories About Not Giving Up the Fight: Battles of Shiloh and Waterloo You and I live in a very complex world. Pressures from every direction. And at times we feel like we cannot take it any more. We just want to be rescued from our problems. We pray to be rescued. We get others to pray for our ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 12:1-3

Tags: Endurance

First Grader Learns That More Is Expected Of Him ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 14, 2009

First Grader Learns That More Is Expected of Him Than When He Was in Kindergarten When they came in the house, Jesus asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. Sitting down, Jesus said, “If anyone wants ...read more

Scripture: Mark 9:33-35

Tags: Discipleship

Roy Riegels: Don't Give Up

Contributed by Jim Kane on Mar 21, 2010

ROY RIEGELS: DON'T GIVE UP On New Year’s Day, 1929, Georgia Tech played the University of California in the Rose Bowl. A UC player named Roy Riegels, who was their center, recovered a fumble for California and in the confusion of evading some of the Georgia Tech tacklers, started running ...read more

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Denomination: Church Of God

Who Says So?

Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on Jun 29, 2010

WHO SAYS SO? A previous church I served had a lot of acreage and had turned part of it into 3 softball diamonds. Monday - Thursday nights, all summer long, various church leagues played their slow-pitch games there. Three of the leagues ran everything for their evening but one league was run ...read more

Tags: Authority

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

John Harper's Last Convert  PRO

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Nov 10, 2010

JOHN HARPER'S LAST CONVERT John Harper was born into a Christian family May 29, 1872. He became a Christian 13 years later and had already started preaching by age 17. He received training at the Baptist Pioneer Mission in London, and in 1896 he founded a church, now known as Harper Memorial ...read more

Tags: Evangelism, Witness, Conversion, Evangelism Urgency

Denomination: Brethren

Good For Goodness' Sake

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Dec 26, 2010

GOOD FOR GOODNESS' SAKE “You better watch out, you better not cry Better not pout I'm telling you why - Santa Claus is coming to town He's making a list and checking it twice; Gonna find out Who's naughty and nice Santa Claus is coming to town He sees you when you're sleeping - He knows when ...read more

Tags: Christmas

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

When Muller Prayed

Contributed by Dennis Davidson on Jul 10, 2011

WHEN MULLER PRAYED During GEORGE MULLER'S life, he received more than 1,000,000 pounds from the Lord, without advertising - every penny came as an answered prayer. The following story is told by the captain of a ship on which he was traveling. "We had George Muller of Bristol, England on board," ...read more

Tags: Prayer Of Faith

Denomination: Baptist

Who Is This Guy?

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Aug 29, 2011

WHO IS THIS GUY? Chuck Colson relates this interesting story in his book How Then Should We Live?: "In William Steig's Yellow & Pink, a delightfully whimsical picture book for children, two wooden figures wake up to find themselves lying on an old newspaper in the hot sun. One figure is painted ...read more

Tags: Creation

Denomination: Methodist

A Cub Scout's Father

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 9, 2011

A CUB SCOUT'S FATHER Gilbert was an eight year old in Cub Scouts. Each member of the club had to build a wooden car. It could only be 20cm long. Everyone was given a block of wood, some wheels and some instructions. Gilbert didn't have a dad to help him. So mum read the instructions and Gilbert ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 68:5

Tags: God The Father

Prayer And The Motorcycle  PRO

Contributed by Bruce Ball on Nov 13, 2012

PRAYER AND THE MOTORCYCLE There was a woman at work when she received a phone call that her daughter was very sick with a fever. She left work and stopped by the pharmacy to get some medication for her daughter. She returned to her car to find that she had locked the keys inside the car when ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:28, John 13:31-38, Proverbs 28:9, 1 Thessalonians 5:17

Tags: Renewal, Alive, Rededication, Prayer Hardship

Denomination: *other

The Word Was Being Made Real In The Back Of His Church

Contributed by Tim Smith on Aug 13, 2017

Pastor Thomas Tewell tells the story of getting ready for their 11 p.m. Christmas Eve service. As the people were gathering, a man named Jim came in. Jim was a recovering alcoholic, sober just 6 months, but his disease had cost him his family, his job, just about everything. He went in to the ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:1-10

Tags: Christmas, Grace, Ministry, The Word Made Flesh

Denomination: Methodist

Grief

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on May 17, 2022

On Death and Loss… He was 50 years old. The cancer was aggressive and relentless. The pain was unmanageable and agonizing. In two months he was gone. I didn't have the opportunity to say good-bye and if I did, what would I say? Could I get the words out? Our last communication, me in Port ...read more

Scripture: John 11:25, Psalm 90:1-12, 2 Corinthians 1:1-7

Tags: Death, Grief, Sickness

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Am I An Enabler?

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Feb 7, 2023

Text, Galatians 6:6, KIV: 6 Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things. Not long ago I had lunch with a pastor friend. We talked about several different things but when I mentioned something I had seen on Sermon Central, he was alarmed! He asked me, ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 6:6

Tags: Communication, Humor, Pastors

Denomination: Baptist

The Last Supper By Leonardo Da Vinci

Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Oct 21, 2025

Story: Leonardo da Vinci took seven years to paint his famous picture the "Last Supper". He used living people to depict the figures representing the Twelve Apostles and Christ. He started the fresco with Jesus Christ himself. It is reputed that he viewed hundreds and hundreds of ...read more

Scripture: Luke 18:9-14

Tags: Last Supper, Leonardo Da Vinci

Denomination: Anglican

There Once Was A Fellow Who, With His Dad, ...  PRO

Contributed by Philip Harrelson on Dec 28, 2006

There once was a fellow who, with his dad, farmed a little piece of land. Several times a year they would load up the old ox-drawn cart with vegetables and go into the nearest city to sell their produce. Except for their name and the patch of ground, father and son had little in common. The old ...read more

Denomination: Pentecostal