In Sermon Illustrations: "Retired People"

[238]. A Message From A Poem – See Him Now

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Dec 17, 2025

[238]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – SEE HIM NOW This is a simple poem. It covers salvation and service. When Jesus was here people saw Him and heard Him as He spoke the eternal message but eyes were closed and ears were shut. The response to Jesus was the same response to Stephen – {{Acts 7:51 ...read more

Scripture: Acts 7:51, Acts 7:57, John 5:24

Tags: Hear, Serve, See, Christian Poems, Praise, Take  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

No Coasting

Contributed by John Bright on Jan 7, 2026

Whenever the price of gas goes up, people start thinking about saving gas by coasting their cars downhill. I have a vague memory of a news story from way back in the 1970s about a guy who was going downhill and decided to turn the car off to save gas. One little problem – that was when new cars ...read more

Scripture: 2 Peter 1:10-11

Tags: Assurance, Falling

Denomination: Methodist

Follower Or A Fan? - Humor

Contributed by J Jeffrey Smead on Feb 2, 2026

A man named Charlie Moore ... moved with his family ... into a new community. He wanted to make some new friends, ... so he decided ... to join the local softball league. For the opening game of the season ... Charlie brought along the whole family, ... so they all could meet some of the other ...read more

Scripture: John 6:35-64

Tags: Family, Fan, Follower

Denomination: Anglican

I Want To Tell You About A Practicing Christian, ...  PRO

Contributed by Bobby Scobey on May 22, 2007

I want to tell you about a practicing Christian, a public figure who lives out his faith in Jesus Christ. Here is a behind-the-scenes story. There was a lot of excitement in watching the Indianapolis Colts, led by Head Coach Tony Dungy, win their trip to the Super Bowl this past January. A TV ...read more

Scripture: Daniel 1:1

Tags: Peace, Heaven, Chance, Hope, Assurance, Forget, Expectancy, Renew  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Pentecostal

You Be The Judge?  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 10, 2002

YOU BE THE JUDGE? "A money belt is one thing you just can’t do without," my friend told me. ’Make sure you take travelers’ checks with you and maybe a few twenties, and tuck them in your money belt before you leave. And don’t ... DON’T go pawing through your money when you’re out on ...read more

Scripture: Luke 21:1-4

Tags: Character, Disease, Compassion, Faith, Leprosy, Obedience  (view more)  (view less)

The Emperor And The Seed  PRO

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Apr 18, 2002

THE EMPEROR AND THE SEED Once there was an emperor in the Far East who was growing old and knew it was coming time to choose his successor. Instead of choosing one of his assistants or one of his own children, he decided to do something different. He called all the young people in the kingdom ...read more

Scripture: Luke 16:10

Tags: Faith, Fear, Courage, Truth, Humility, Hypocrisy, Honesty, Leadership, Risk, Patience  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Yes, Virginia, There Is A Jesus  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 10, 2002

"YES VIRGINIA, THERE IS A JESUS." It is truly heartwarming to know that millions of people around the world believe in Santa. Sure, most are under four feet tall, but still it’s amazing that so many believe in the big guy in the red suit. Consider the following: Around the globe, today, live ...read more

Tags: Christmas, Birth Of Jesus

No Parts Left Over!" Psalm 37: 25-26 Key ...

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Dec 14, 2004

“No Parts Left Over!” Psalm 37: 25-26 Key verse(s): 25: “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.” When I was a boy I received one of those expensive model cars for Christmas. It was not your typical model with only about a hundred ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 37:25-26, Psalm 37:25-40, Psalm 37:1-2

Tags: Giving General

Denomination: Lutheran

Lost ...

Contributed by Peter Loughman on Jul 1, 2008

LOST IDENTITY --- Have you ever lost your driver’s license? --- Isn’t it a traumatic event? I have lost my driver’s license several times over the years and each time it made my life difficult. For all practical purposes I lost my identity. I couldn’t write a check – stores will not take a check ...read more

Tags: Restoration

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Complete Silence  PRO

Contributed by Peter Loughman on Dec 29, 2008

COMPLETE SILENCE In college, one of the jobs I had was working in a medical file warehouse. Talk about mundane, boring, monotonous. These were huge warehouses that contained millions of files from hospitals all over the San Francisco Bay Area. I did one of three things: I pulled a file for a ...read more

Tags: Disciplines Silence

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

No Use But Useful  PRO

Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Nov 10, 2007

ILLUSTRATION: “No Use but Useful” Elderly Sister Ann in China was born into quite an educated family. She had four brothers who all became doctors. She, however, was not even taught how to read and write. She began to train as a nurse, but her father fell ill and she was required to nurse him. ...read more

Denomination: Other

Barefoot Christians: A Parable  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 7, 2009

BAREFOOT CHRISTIANS: A PARABLE "I arrived in the city of EVERYWHERE early one morning. It was cold, and there were flurries of snow on the ground. As I stepped from the train to the platform, I noticed that the baggage man and the redcap were warmly attired in heavy coats and gloves, but oddly ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 4:10-12

Tags: Christian Love

World War Ii Prison Camp Inmates In Burma ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 6, 2010

World War II Prison Camp Inmates in Burma Transformed by God’s Love and Grace, the Case of Ernest Gordon Ernest Gordon was serving as a captain in the British army during the Second World War when he was captured by the Japanese, marched with other prisoners into the Southeast Asian jungles, and ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:43-48

Tags: Christian Love

Adultery And Ivan The Terrible

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 16, 2013

ADULTERY and IVAN THE TERRIBLE We need to look at adultery in the light of the manifestations of Ivan the Terrible in order to see how his rise to power, his government, his exploits and his fall closely compare with occurrences connected with adultery. Ivan the Terrible made an impact on Europe ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 7:6-27

Tags: Adultery

Serving Others

Contributed by Glynda Lomax on Dec 27, 2014

“True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever the cost”. - Arthur Ashe In a small, dusty town in western Oklahoma one November there lived a young single mother struggling to make ends meet. ...read more

Scripture: John 13:12-14

Tags: Humility, Christian Service

Denomination: Charismatic

Pioneer

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Feb 27, 2020

Time Magazine's obituary - Dr. Wilfred Thomason Grenfell's October 21, 1940. Oct. 21, 1940 - Wilfred Grenfell spent his boyhood on the Sands of Dee near Cheshire, England. He used to filch biscuits and wine from his school larder to give to fishermen as they left at dawn to catch the ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 4:6-8, Romans 12:1-8

Tags: Service, Sacrifice, Commitment

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Misapplied Scriptures: Genesis 6:3

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Sep 14, 2023

Introduction: There is any number of Scriptures that have been used out of context or simply misapplied over the years. A Christian magazine listed about a dozen of these back in the early 1980’s and, I must say, some of the author’s insights were something I had never thought of before. Maybe I ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 6:1-8

Tags: Flood, Noah, Misapplied Scripture

Denomination: Baptist

Called To Serve

Contributed by Dr John Singarayar Svd on Dec 1, 2023

In 1884, a devastating famine struck India, claiming over 50 lakh lives. In the midst of despair, Christian organizations from America, driven by compassion, sailed to India to provide medical aid and sustenance. Dr. John, accompanied by his daughter Ida Scudder, arrived in Ranipet. The dire ...read more

Scripture: Luke 10:25-37

Tags: Service, Called

Denomination: Other

Handel's Messiah-The Back Story

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Dec 9, 2023

George Frideric Handel's Messiah is one of the most beautiful musical renditions of Scripture ever created. What we don’t often hear about is the troubled back story during the writing of the Messiah. It was at this time that Handel was struggling financially because there was a shift in music, ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 9:1-7, Isaiah 53:3, 1 Timothy 6:15-16

Tags: Christmas, King Of Kings, Handel's Messiah, Rejected, Despised  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Unintentionally Humorous Texts: The "Cow”-Vangelists?

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Mar 29, 2024

Introduction: Who would have thought that the lowing of two cows would mean something wonderful for Israel? Something wonderful did happen! Text: 1 Samuel 6:7-12, KJV: 7 Now therefore make a new cart, and take two milch kine, on which there hath come no yoke, and tie the kine to the cart, and ...read more

Scripture: 1 Samuel 6:7-12

Tags: Philistines, Ark Of The Covenant, Coffers

Denomination: Baptist