In Sermon Illustrations: "Responsibilities"

I'm No Moses!

Contributed by Anne Benefield on Sep 4, 2008

"I'm No Moses!" When I received my call to go into ministry, I was praying. Immediately, I rejected the call, telling God that I was a business person, not really minister material. I knew how to speak about marketing. I knew a bit about managing people. I could talk about that. On and on I ...read more

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Actions Speak Louder  PRO

Contributed by Tim Smith on Dec 10, 2008

ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER Andy Stanley tells the story of when he was 13 and learning the meaning of the phrase, "Actions speak louder than words." His dad was the Associate Pastor of First Baptist in Atlanta when the senior pastor was asked to resign. Charles Stanley was asked to preach on Sundays ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 4:12-23

Tags: Character

Denomination: Methodist

Seeing In The Glory Of God

Contributed by Sheila Crowe on Aug 23, 2009

SEEING IN THE GLORY OF GOD Tom Long, professor of Homiletics at Candler School of Theology, tells the story of striking up a conversation with a man on a plane. He said they shared the normal kind of nice chit chat, sharing what they each did for a living and sharing pictures of their families. ...read more

Tags: Faith General

Denomination: United Methodist

How To Evangelize Jehovah's ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 7, 2010

How to Evangelize Jehovah’s Witnesses David Reed has much experience to draw from when teaching Christians to evangelize Jehovah’s Witnesses. He was a preacher and elder there for many years. Now his book, Jehovah’s Witnesses Answered Verse by Verse is in its 32nd printing and has sold more than ...read more

Scripture: John 20:19-31

Tags: Divinity Of Christ

Church Asks Non-Participants To Leave

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 21, 2011

CHURCH ASKS NON-PARTICIPANTS TO LEAVE Just a few years ago, Larknews.com carried the following fictional piece of satire on its website. In the form of a news release, it reported: Julie and Bob Clark were stunned to receive a letter from their church in July asking them to "participate in the ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:15-16

Tags: Church Growth

Three Views On Civil Disobedience By Believers

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Aug 29, 2023

There are at least three general positions on the matter of civil disobedience. The anarchist view says that a person can choose to disobey the government whenever he likes and whenever he feels he is personally justified in doing so. Such a stance has no biblical support whatsoever, as evidenced ...read more

Tags: Authority, Leaders, Civil Disobedience, Patriotism, Persecution, America, Submission, Government  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Solomon's Insightful Judgment: Looking For The Reaction Of Hearts

Contributed by Jung Lee on Jan 16, 2024

King Solomon, known for his God-given wisdom, faced a challenging situation recorded in 1 Kings 3:16-28. Two women, both claiming to be the mother of the same baby, brought their case before him. Solomon's response was both shocking and insightful. He suggested dividing the baby in two, giving ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 3:16-28

Tags: Discernment, Prolife, Biblical Wisdom, True Motherhood, Love, Morality, Wisdom  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

A Study In Compassion

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Feb 10, 2012

A STUDY IN COMPASSION John Darley and Daniel Batson decided to replicate the story of the Good Samaritan with seminary students. A few variables were introduced. The seminarians were interviewed and asked why they wanted to go into ministry. There were a variety of responses, but the vast majority ...read more

Scripture: Luke 10:25-37

Tags: Compassion

Denomination: Baptist

An Unusual Baptism On The Mission Field  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 5, 2012

AN UNUSUAL BAPTISM ON THE MISSION FIELD Some time back, a retired missionary dropped by our church. She had served faithfully in Africa, and one day, she happened upon a small baptismal service. A fellow missionary took three new converts to the center of a shallow river, and dug a hole in the ...read more

Scripture: Romans 6:3-5, John 16:12-15

Tags: Baptism

Inescapable Judgment

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 28, 2012

INESCAPABLE JUDGMENT During the winter of 1951, a Montana café owner named Clarence Pellett pulled over to pick up a hitchhiker who appeared cold and frozen while walking during a snowstorm. Once in the car, the hitchhiker Frank Dryman pulled out a gun and ordered Pellett to get out of his ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 16:4-7

Tags: Judgment

Sacrifice

Contributed by David Simpson on Jan 15, 2013

I will never forget being at church one Sunday playing "king of the hill" with my buddies, before church started. But our play stopped when a car pulled up to the sidewalk and, with help, out came a soldier, who had returned from Vietnam a few weeks earlier. But he came on crutches and he ...read more

Scripture: John 15:13-18

Tags: Sacrifices, Wounded, Soldier Of The Cross

Denomination: Christian Church

Recently Reviewing The New Book By Dr. Tim Kimmel ...

Contributed by Rodney Bowen on Feb 7, 2013

Recently reviewing the new book by Dr. Tim Kimmel title, CONNECTING CHURCH & HOME, I found my mind and hear really pierced with the current state of our in-church parenting. Churches and families need each other. And no, I am not referring to our family’s use of the free child care that the ...read more

Tags: Family

Denomination: Baptist

Recently Reviewing The New Book By Dr. Tim Kimmel ...

Contributed by Rodney Bowen on Feb 7, 2013

Recently reviewing the new book by Dr. Tim Kimmel title, CONNECTING CHURCH & HOME, I found my mind and hear really pierced with the current state of our in-church parenting. Churches and families need each other. And no, I am not referring to our family’s use of the free child care that the ...read more

Tags: Parenting

Denomination: Baptist

The Church's Role In Parenting

Contributed by Rodney Bowen on Feb 7, 2013

THE CHURCH'S ROLE IN PARENTING Recently reviewing the new book by Dr. Tim Kimmel title, CONNECTING CHURCH & HOME, I found my mind and heart really pierced with the current state of our in-church parenting. Churches and families need each other. And no, I am not referring to our family’s use of ...read more

Tags: Children, Family, Parenting, Christian Life, Family Ministry  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Good Pilots Do What It Takes To Get Their Passengers Home.

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Jul 9, 2018

A good pilot does what it takes to get his passengers home. A good example of this, is the story of a flight when the attendant told everyone to take their seats because of impending turbulence. It was a rowdy flight; the folks weren’t quick to respond; so she warned them again. “The flight is ...read more

Scripture: Acts 9:3-11

Tags: Listening To God, Hearing From God, Gods Voice

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Leadership Principles Of Jesus

Contributed by Garris Hudson on May 11, 2020

The Leadership Principles of Jesus. • Jesus was willing to invest in people others would have dismissed. (Consider the disciples. They were not the “religious” elite, yet Jesus used them to start His church). • Jesus released responsibility and ownership in a ministry. (Jesus sent the disciples ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:1-12, Luke 9:23

Tags: Discipleship, Leadership, Ministry Of Jesus, Business Management

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Not Just Another Offering

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 12, 2009

NOT JUST ANOTHER OFFERING I had been praying regularly with the deacons for one of our members. His wife, Pat, attended our small congregation faithfully, but John hadn’t been to church in years. So every Sunday afternoon before the evening service, we prayed for ways to communicate our commitment ...read more

Tags: Evangelism How To

It’s Too Late To Hide

Contributed by Mark Beaird on Dec 31, 2015

It’s Too Late to Hide I first noticed him as he shuffled past me while making his way through the crowd of excited children swarming around the room at the school for deaf and blind children outside Saigon, Vietnam. He moved slow, but steady. His arms and legs were twisted and drawn in such a ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 4:15-16

Tags: Blessings In Christ, Accepted By Grace, Acceptance In Christ

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Full Steam Ahead

Contributed by Paul Davidson on Jan 27, 2021

I used to work for a railroad. The engineer on a train has a huge responsibility to safely operate and move that train over sometimes difficult terrain and in all kinds of weather. When you have a train roughly a mile (or more) in length, hauling over 10,000 tons of freight, running in excess of ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 3:5-6

Tags: Fear, Trust, Trains

Denomination: Baptist

When I Was A Boy We Had An Elderly Lady That ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 23, 2002

When I was a boy we had an elderly lady that lived near us named Julie Mae Brown. She was up in years and had become almos deaf and couldn’t hardly see. Despite these issues, Julie Mae wanted to be in church on Sunday Morning but she couldn’t get there on her own. It became the responsibility of ...read more

Tags: Apologetics General, Holiness