In Sermon Illustrations: "Rich"

Pastor Doug Forsberg, An Associate At Bethany ...  PRO

Contributed by John Knight on May 2, 2002

Pastor Doug Forsberg, an associate at Bethany First Church of the Nazarene recently spoke of an experience he had while pastoring a small church in Florida. It involved a member of his church, an older gentleman by the name of Benny. Now Benny was about ninety-nine to one hundred years old and he ...read more

Tags: Marriage Struggle, Romantic Love

Denomination: Holiness

Living Unaware Of Our Vast Fortune  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 26, 2002

Living Unaware of Our Vast Fortune Come with me into West Texas during the Depression. Mr. Ira Yates was like many other ranchers and farmers. He had a lot of land, and a lot of debt. Mr. Yates wasn’t able to make enough on his ranching operation to pay the principal and interest on the mortgage, ...read more

Tags: Kingdom Of God

This Is The Beginning Of Lent. Most People Are ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 24, 2004

This is the beginning of Lent. Most people are looking for things to give up for Lent. It you haven’t made up your mind maybe these will help. GIVE UP grumbling! Instead, "In everything give thanks." Constructive criticism is OK, but "moaning, groaning, and complaining" are not ...read more

Tags: Criticism

Speaking About The Topic Dealt With In This ...

Contributed by Donnie Martin on Jun 19, 2004

Speaking about the topic dealt with in this psalm, Bro. J. Vernon McGee tells the story of how he and his wife lost their first child in the hospital. He gives the following account: I only heard the cry of that little one. All she ever did in her life was cry. I shall never forget the day ...read more

Tags: God In The Hardships, Death, Endurance

Denomination: Baptist

The Value Of A Pearl  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 4, 2004

THE VALUE OF A PEARL Pearls were perceived in the first century in much the same way we view diamonds today. They were the most valuable gem in the world at that time. If you owned a pearl, you owned a fortune. And there was a good reason for it. Pearl hunting involved immense danger. The fine ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:45-46, Matthew 13:44-46

Tags: Parable General, Kingdom Of God

Throwing A Life Away?  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 26, 2004

THROWING A LIFE AWAY? Lost behind the story of Seabiscuit, the most celebrated racehorse of the 20th century, and the jockey played by Spiderman’s Tobey Macguire was the story of its peculiar trainer, Tom Smith. When the rich man played by Jeff Bridges decided to turn to horse racing, he needed ...read more

Scripture: Luke 10:25-37

Tags: Parable Good Samaritan, Forgiveness General, Compassion

When I Think Of The Promises Of God, I'm Reminded ...  PRO

Contributed by John Montgomery on Jun 9, 2007

When I think of the promises of God, I’m reminded of the story of the young man who had a dream to go to America. He scrimped and saved, and did everything in his power to save enough money to buy a ticket on a boat bound for America. The day came when he had precisely the amount of money ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 5:13

Tags: Journey

Denomination: Baptist

Contractor

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Contractor There was once a contractor who built homes in a small town somewhere in Europe. He built most of the homes for the people who lived in the village and was a gifted carpenter. Unfortunately, he was never able to afford a home of his own. One day, the wealthiest man in town came to the ...read more

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

What Is A Signet ...

Contributed by Timothy Darling on Dec 12, 2008

What is a Signet Ring? For us, in these days of DNA and fingerprints, signatures, endorsements and notaries, the idea of a signet ring is kind of odd. Different cultures have done different things to set official approval on documents. In China, today, they still use a chop. A chop is a rubber ...read more

Tags: Trust

Denomination: Mennonite

John Newton: Infidel Restored  PRO

Contributed by Owen Bourgaize on Jan 18, 2009

John Newton: Infidel Restored John Newton continued his ministry into his old age, turning a deaf ear to friends who urged him to accept retirement, as by the time he reached 80 he was almost blind and partially deaf. "I cannot stop" he replied. "What! Shall the old African blasphemer stop while ...read more

Tags: Christian Witness

Denomination: Baptist

Messiah Fed The Hungry  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 28, 2009

"MESSIAH" FED THE HUNGRY When Handel wrote "Messiah" he had gone from riches to rags. For 30 years he had entertained Lords and Ladies with his operas. But those days seemed long past. Creditors were at his door. He was depressed. He could not sleep and he was plagued by rheumatism. He feared he ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 58:6-8

Tags: Christmas Advent

George Washington's Prayer

Contributed by Jeffrey Powell on May 25, 2009

GEORGE WASHINGTON'S PRAYER We have a rich history of how God miraculously intervened in the creation of this nation. You won’t read this in the public school history books because anti-Christian writers take great pains to remove God’s handiwork in the building of America. In 1776, British ...read more

Tags: God's Omnipotence

Denomination: Baptist

I Would Like To Share With You Something That I ...

Contributed by Kent Mishleau on Apr 5, 2010

I would like to share with you something that I have been learning. It is a bit of an imagination bible story game. We pick a face part such as nose eyes ears and mouth. Lest say nose. We close our eyes and imagine a bible story. Let’s think about Esther as she has Haman and the King for a meal. ...read more

Tags: Imagination, Knowing God's Will

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

All The Land You Can Cover

Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Mar 12, 2011

ALL THE LAND YOU CAN COVER Leo Tolstoy tells this story: A young Russian inherits his father’s small farm. He immediately starts dreaming of how to expand his property when one morning a well-dressed stranger visits him and makes him an offer that is too good to be true. He could have free of ...read more

Tags: Greed

Denomination: Anglican

God Made Himself Understandable  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 15, 2011

GOD MADE HIMSELF UNDERSTANDABLE I read of a story from the famous Danish philosopher from the mid 1800s, a Christian theologian named Soren Kierkegaard. It is a familiar story, a story rewritten by many over the ages in many different forms, yet it is still relevant today. Here’s what he wrote: A ...read more

Scripture: John 1:1-14, Habakkuk 1:1-5

Tags: Christmas, Understandable

The Story Of The Nobel Prize

Contributed by Suresh Manoharan on Jan 10, 2012

THE STORY OF THE NOBEL PRIZE Quiz time, folks--who invented dynamite? Do I hear the answer: Alfred Nobel! In fact in 1867, Nobel received U.S. patent number 78317 for his dynamic invention. That this explosive instead of being used peacefully for blasting the rocks during mining operations (as was ...read more

Tags: Parable Talents

Denomination: *other

A Worry Satire  PRO

Contributed by Troy Borst on May 31, 2012

A WORRY SATIRE Luke 12:22-34 (New Revised Updated Modernization Version for the E-Pad with notes) (NRUMVEPwN) Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, about evil people hurting you your family, or random biological terrorist attacks, or how the stock ...read more

Tags: Worry

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

A Christmas Carol

Contributed by Davon Huss on Dec 22, 2014

Not that it is in the Bible but a story familiar around this time of the year is Ebenezer Scrooge. Ebenezer is a man incapable of joy. Scrooge is rich, but he lives alone in squalor. He takes pleasure in nothing and is indifferent to human suffering. On Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by a ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 1:15

Tags: Christmas, Joy, Scrooge, Joy And Gospel

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

A Boost For Not Boasting!!!

Contributed by Suresh Manoharan on Oct 21, 2016

A Boost for not Boasting!!! Probably you have heard this story before but here it goes again...a tale involving a frog prone to self-boasting and his two crane friends who planned to “live happily together ever after” inhabiting as they were a pond overflowing with rich flora and fauna but that ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 9:23-24

Tags: Power, Prudence, Boasting In Christ

Denomination: *other

Isaiah's Prophecies And The Dead Sea Scrolls

Contributed by Mark Stepherson on Jan 14, 2017

There was a time when skeptics claimed that the prophecies in Isaiah 53 were too detailed, too specific, too accurate to be mere coincidence. I agreed. But then the skeptics argued that the ONLY logical explanation was that Isaiah was written after the gospels and patterned the suffering Servant ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 53:1-12

Tags: Reliability Of Bible, Fulfilled Prophecy, Dead Sea Scrolls, Prophecy

Denomination: Baptist