In Sermon Illustrations: "Rich"

What Is Your Purpose?

Contributed by Rodelio Mallari on Apr 13, 2011

WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE? Many years before Abraham Lincoln was elected president, he was a store-keeper in Salem, Illinois. Abe had a rifle displayed in his store that was one of the most beautiful rifles ever made. The barrel was made from the finest steel, the stock from the best walnut wood; and a ...read more

Tags: God Brings Purpose

Denomination: *other

Pizarro's Critical Moment

Contributed by Dennis Davidson on May 19, 2011

PIZARRO'S CRITICAL MOMENT All great undertakings begin with a critical moment--a moment when a decision is made and someone launches himself into a never-to-be forgotten enterprise. FRANCISCO PIZARRO, the noted Spanish explorer, faced such a moment. He languished with his men on a small island ...read more

Tags: Action

Denomination: Baptist

Trees Don't Struggle To Grow

Contributed by Christopher Lanham on Jun 9, 2011

TREES DON'T STRUGGLE TO GROW Rich Ratts, former pastor of Grace Community Church here in Jackson and a now a church planter in Traverse City, once spoke at a pastor’s appreciation breakfast I attended. He began by talking about a cheery orchard outside his window. One night when he couldn’t go ...read more

Tags: Growth In Christ

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Working For Food

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 10, 2011

WORKING FOR FOOD I like the story of the rich executive who announced to his church one morning that he was going to give up all he owned so that he had to depend on his faith in God for everything he needed. He sold everything, gave it to the poor, and moved into a rented home down on the bad ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:19-34

Tags: Prayer Of Faith

Who Do You Say I Am—in England?

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 9, 2011

WHO DO YOU SAY I AM--IN ENGLAND? A teaching assistant accused of looting. An 11 year old girl appears in court and admits breaking windows in Nottingham. Teenagers appear before Magistrates with no parent in attendance. Magistrates ask, "Where are their parents?" Two girls interviewed by the BBC ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 3:4-10

Tags: Sin Exposed

Position Versus Discipleship

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 7, 2013

POSITION VERSUS DISCIPLESHIP C. Gene Wilkes, in his book Jesus on Leadership, says, "Confusion arises when you equate higher 'positions' with leadership . . . As long as 'position' is honored above discipleship -- being a follower -- church leaders will honor the ambitious over the obedient." We ...read more

Scripture: James 2:14-26

Tags: Faith Vs. Works

Offering Story

Contributed by Gerald Manning on Nov 23, 2015

Words of Offering: A rich, but cynical businessman said to one of his staff, "Show me a truly unselfish act and I will give you a $100 bill." The staffer, said, "OK, walk with me at the lunch hour." They went to that part of town where there were lots of street people. The staffer said, ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 9:7

Tags: Offering, Giving, Generosity

Denomination: Nazarene

Preaching Fluff Versus Quality

Contributed by I. Grant Spong on Jun 8, 2017

I once lived in a town where there were two preachers who were polar opposites. The one was very charismatic and enthusiastic. But, he did not preach the Bible. I asked him one day why he didn't preach the Bible. His answer was that the people could read their Bibles at home. He preached ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:16-20

Tags: Great Commission, Preach Christ, Teach Jesus

Denomination: Baptist

There Is A Story Told That Is Totally ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

There is a story told that is totally fictitious, but the point is true. The story is that when Jesus went back up into Heaven, the angel Gabriel had a conversation with Jesus. This is just an illustration. He asked Jesus, “What happened while you down on earth? Did they make you king?” Jesus said, ...read more

Tags: Evangelism How To

Possibilities

Contributed by Bobby Bodenhamer on Oct 17, 2008

Possibilities He was born into wealth and was raised in a mansion. Today he wears prison gray after being convicted of planting a car bomb that took the lives of two members of his family. His almost unbelievable reversal of circumstances came after he tried to get control of a $10-million family ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness In Jesus

Denomination: *other

Jesus The Rosetta Stone

Contributed by Stephen Collins on Dec 11, 2008

JESUS THE ROSETTA STONE Do remember the Rosetta Stone from history class in school? What was it? It was a tablet that was discovered that allowed archeologists to translate ancient, Egyptian hieroglyphics to modern-day languages. Without the discovery of the Rosetta Stone, all the ancient ...read more

Tags: Jesus Christ

Denomination: Church Of God

The Golf Club

Contributed by Michael West on Dec 20, 2008

The Golf Club There was a famous golfer who had been invited by the king of Saudi Arabia to play in a tournament. He accepted and was flown there by the King in his own private jet. They played golf, had a good time and the golfer went home. But before he left, the king offered the golfer anything ...read more

Tags: Faith

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Where Is Your ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 28, 2008

Where Is Your Treasure Intro: Long ago, in a kingdom far, far away, a rich king hired a “fool” to entertain him and make him laugh when he was sad. He gave the fool a golden scepter and told him that when he met a greater fool than he, to pass the golden scepter to that person. Years passed ...read more

Tags: Money

Christ's Return Is A Done ...

Contributed by Paul Carlson on Feb 17, 2009

Christ’s return is a done deal! In the May 1984 National Geographic color photos and drawings showed the swift and terrible destruction that wiped out the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in A.D. 79. The explosion of Mount Vesuvius was so sudden; the residents were killed while in their ...read more

Tags: Preparation

Denomination: Baptist

There Is A Story Told That Is Totally ...

Contributed by Jeffrey Dillinger on Apr 21, 2007

There is a story told that is totally fictitious, but the point is true. The story is that when Jesus went back up into Heaven, the angel Gabriel had a conversation with Jesus. This is just an illustration. He asked Jesus, “What happened while you down on earth? Did they make you king?” Jesus ...read more

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Solomon Lived The Life Under The Sun To Its ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Solomon lived the life under the sun to its fullest extent, He had everything; went anywhere; did anything he wanted to do. In Ecclesiastes 1:12-2:11… He was looking for peace and purpose in life, he had tried everything under the sun but nothing could satisfy… He poured himself into science, ...read more

Tags: Ot Kings

One Minute After You Die

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Apr 19, 2022

One day I received a call from a distraught family who wanted a minister to do a quick funeral. I say “quick” because they asked me to speak for only a few minutes. “We don’t want anything religious,” the son told me, “and nothing you do will be too short.” I asked him why it was so important for ...read more

Tags: Evangelism, Hell, Death, Salvation, Gospel, Truth, Judgment, Repentance, Lost  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Don't Monkey Around With Eternity!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on May 31, 2022

I once heard about how animal catchers used to catch wild monkeys for zoos. I was told that they would set an empty glass pop bottle in an open field with a peanut dropped into it. Then they'd hide in the bushes and wait. After a while, a monkey would sneak up to the pop bottle, squeeze its paw ...read more

Tags: Eternity, Commitment, Satan, Discipleship, Temptation, Possessions  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Republican, Democrat, And Libertarian Arrive At Heaven

Contributed by Gregory Artz on Aug 31, 2022

A Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, and an unassuming man all arrived at the gates of Heaven. First the Republican spoke to St Peter, “I am sure am glad I made it here, I was sure to give plenty of money to the poor.” St Peter replied, sorry sir, your name is not in the book. Then the Democrat ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 146:1-4, Revelation 20:11-15

Tags: Heaven, Politics, Book Of Life

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Love Of God

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jun 12, 2023

Several years ago, John MacArthur had the opportunity to spend several days traveling with the well-known gospel musicians, Bill and Gloria Gaither. At one point, he asked Bill what, in his estimation, were the greatest Christian lyrics ever written, aside from the inspired Psalms. Without ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 3:1, John 3:16, Romans 5:8

Tags: Jesus, Cross, God's Love, Hymns

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational