In Sermon Illustrations: "Riches"

In One Of Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman's Meetings A ...  PRO

Contributed by Charles R. Swindoll on Sep 29, 2004

• In one of Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman’s meetings a man arose to give the following testimony: "I got off at the Pennsylvania depot as a tramp, and for one year I begged on the streets for a living. One day I touched a man on the shoulder and said, "Mister, please give me a dime." As soon as I saw ...read more

Tags: God's Forgiveness, God's Provision

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Ransom

Contributed by Troy Borst on Jan 25, 2005

INTRODUCTION... Ransom Ransom, is an action packed drama thriller that came out in 1996 starring Mel Gibson and Rene Russo and directed by Ron Howard. The movie focuses on Mel Gibson’s character, Tom Mullen, a rich airline owner, is shocked when his son is kidnapped. He is willing to pay the two ...read more

Tags: Jesus Christ

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

God's Love

Contributed by David Ward on Jan 23, 2006

Frederick Buechner in "The Magnificent Defeat": ß “The love for equals is a human thing—of friend for friend, brother for brother. It is to love what is loving and lovely. The world smiles. ß The love for the less fortunate is a beautiful thing—the love for those who suffer, for those who are ...read more

Tags: Christian Love

Denomination: Baptist

The May 1984 National Geographic Showed, Through ...  PRO

Contributed by Tony Searles on Nov 24, 2006

The May 1984 National Geographic showed, through color photos and drawings, 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 normal routines of life: men ...read more

Denomination: Other

And Then There Is The Issue Of His Leaving The ...  PRO

Contributed by Bruce Howell on Dec 1, 2006

And then there is the issue of His leaving the rich communion that He enjoyed with His Father. C.S. Lewis addressed this when he wrote, "Lying at your feet is your dog. Imagine, for the moment, that your dog and every dog is in deep distress. Some of us love dogs very much. If it would help all the ...read more

Denomination: Wesleyan

America Is Great Because America Is Good

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 24, 2009

AMERICA IS GREAT BECAUSE AMERICA IS GOOD French writer Alexis de Tocqueville, after visiting America in 1831, said, "I sought for the greatness of the United States in her commodious harbors, her ample rivers, her fertile fields, and boundless forests -- and it was not there. I sought for it in ...read more

Scripture: Leviticus 18:28

Tags: America

Children Of The King

Contributed by Nigel Heath on Aug 17, 2009

CHILDREN OF THE KING Living as a child of the King will be noticeable in the way others experience us. Madonna has been in the headlines over the last couple of years for famously trying and succeeding to adopt African children from Malawi. Whatever we think of Madonna’s actions or motives on ...read more

Tags: Adoption

Denomination: Baptist

Accepting This Part Of The Plan

Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on Apr 14, 2010

ACCEPTING THIS PART OF THE PLAN Years ago, the church I was serving did a cantata, during which one of the choir members gave a brief testimony. He was a beloved man who had been battling cancer. After acknowledging that he had asked all the questions and experienced all the emotions he simply ...read more

Tags: God's Sovereign Will

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Americans: Flabby Faith  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 16, 2011

AMERICANS: FLABBY FAITH A dozen or so years ago, a Romanian pastor came to visit the church I belonged to. He had gotten to know my pastor, John Vawter, who had been involved in a Bible-smuggling ministry when the Iron Curtain was still up. John asked him what he thought of our country, and of the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:11-16, Romans 12:1-6

Tags: Discipleship

The Bible Treasure

Contributed by Robert Leroe on Sep 26, 2011

THE BIBLE TREASURE Kathleen Norris tells the story of a South Dakota rancher and his bride who received a leather-bound Bible as a wedding gift from the groom's grandfather. They wrote a thank-you note and stowed the Bible away on a closet shelf, out of the way. As time passed, the grandfather ...read more

Tags: Bible Influence

Denomination: Congregational

Why Jesus Was Born In A Stable

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Jan 5, 2012

WHY JESUS WAS BORN IN A STABLE According to the ancient historical writer Jerome, he feels Jesus was born in a stable because "...it would have been fitting for Christ to come into the Holy of Holies in the Temple, but he came into this world in a stinking stable, for us... "Christ found no room ...read more

Tags: Christmas

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Plenty Of Time

Contributed by Perry Greene on Feb 13, 2013

PLENTY OF TIME William Sangster was a hard-driving 19th Century preacher. He wrote about his life, "A busy life, no time to think. No time for rich, rewarding meditation and prayer. No interior life. No quietness and poise. Hence, rush invades restlessness. Repetition. No new thoughts of ...read more

Tags: Affliction, Time, Abiding In Christ

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

I Saw A Sea Of Faces In A Dream I Had One Day And ...

Contributed by Stephen Funderburk on Feb 7, 2008

I saw a sea of faces in a dream I had one day and millions stood before the throne whose sins were washed away From every tribe and every land they all had heard the call the rich, the poor, the black, the white, and Jesus loved them all He loved them with their many faults He loved them with ...read more

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Mere Human Reason

Contributed by Aubrey Vaughan on Sep 17, 2008

Martin Luther said to Erasmus: "Mere human reason can never comprehend how God is good and merciful; and therefore you make yourself a god of your own fancy, who hardens nobody, condemns nobody, pities everybody. You cannot comprehend how a just God can condemn those who are born in sin, and ...read more

Tags: God's Sovereign Will

Denomination: Baptist

Two Old Friends Met One Day After Many Years. ...

Contributed by Anne Benefield on Jan 19, 2009

Two old friends met one day after many years. One attended college, and now was very successful. The other had not attended college and never had much ambition. The successful one said, “How has everything been going for you?” “Well, one day I opened the Bible at random, and dropped my finger ...read more

Tags: Worldliness

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Your Face Gives It Away  PRO

Contributed by Guy Mcgraw on Mar 12, 2009

YOUR FACE GIVES IT AWAY There's a story of three prospectors who found a rich vein of gold in California during the gold rush days. They realized what a great discovery they had, and they decided, "We’ve a really good thing going here, as long as no one else finds out about it." So they each took ...read more

Tags: Christian Witness

I've Been Set Afire By Ed Stetzer's Book, ...

Contributed by Bobby Scobey on Oct 31, 2007

I’ve been set afire by Ed Stetzer’s book, Comeback Churches. He did a study that examined 324 churches from 10 denominations that recently experienced renewed growth by conversion after a significant period of plateau and/or decline. Not all comeback churches were contemporary. Many were blended. ...read more

Denomination: Pentecostal

What Really Matters

Contributed by Ronnie Miller on Jul 28, 2011

WHAT REALLY MATTERS It was two weeks before Christmas and it began to start. Everyone was scrambling and rushing to get to Wal-Mart. Their credit cards were in the orange and checking account in the red in hopes that their rich uncle would soon be dead. Old Saint Nick sitting high on a mountain ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 9:6

Tags: Christmas, Season, Gift, Santa, Xmas, Clause  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Glory To God First

Contributed by Ken Henson on Jun 25, 2012

GLORY TO GOD FIRST A man came to Pastor Chuck, the church that I went to for several years while in California, and he said to the pastor that he wanted to make a large donation - about one million dollar donation. The pastor said to that, "Wow -- that is a lot of money. Let me go first and pray ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 15:21-39

Tags: Principles

Denomination: *other

Intelligence Is Not The Same As Wisdom.  PRO

Contributed by Ted Sutherland on Feb 19, 2001

Intelligence is not the same as wisdom. A minister, a Boy Scout, and a computer expert were the only passengers on a small plane. The pilot came back to the cabin and said that the plane was going down but there were only three parachutes and four people. The pilot added, “I should have one of he ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:47-52, James 3:13-18

Tags: Parable General

Denomination: Baptist