In Sermon Illustrations: "Sacrificial Service"

300,000 Visits For Myself  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 26, 2002

300,000 VISITS FOR MYSELF Jimmy Carter, in his autobiography WHY NOT THE BEST? shared an incident that made him aware of his lack of evangelical fervor. Each year the congregation of Plains Baptist Church holds a one-week revival service. In preparation for the week, the leaders of the ...read more

Tags: Evangelism Urgency, Evangelism How To

Finally Christmas  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 16, 2002

FINALLY CHRISTMAS Senator John McCain of Arizona was a prisoner of war during the Vietnam conflict. He was shot down and held as a prisoner of war in Hanoi for 5 ½ years, 1967-1973, spending much of it in solitary confinement.John McCain said this, “When I was being mistreated by the North ...read more

Tags: Birth Of Jesus, Christmas

When I Was A Small Boy, I Attended Church Every ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 10, 2006

When I was a small boy, I attended church every Sunday at a big Gothic Presbyterian bastion in Chicago. The preaching was powerful and the music was great. But for me, the most awesome moment in the morning service was the offertory, when twelve solemn, frock-coated ushers marched in lock-step down ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:15-24

Tags: God's Provision

Boomer Marketing Rules: Treat Everyone ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 17, 2006

Boomer Marketing Rules: Treat Everyone Differently: Don’t incorrectly assume there’s one “Boomer” market. There are numerous segments within this cohort of 78 million. Put Some Feeling Into It: The older Boomers get, the more their decisions are driven by “gut feeling” than logic and reason. Be ...read more

Tags: What Is Evangelism?

Finally Christmas

Contributed by Steve Smith on Dec 4, 2006

ILL: FINALLY CHRISTMAS Senator John McCain of Arizona was a prisoner of war during the Vietnam conflict. He was shot down and held as a prisoner of war in Hanoi for 5 ½ years, 1967-1973, spending much of it in solitary confinement. John McCain said this, “When I was being mistreated by the North ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

One Day She Was Reading The Newspaper And Came ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

One day she was reading the newspaper and came across an article about the ministry of D.L. Moody and the Revival that was taking place in the United States. Even though she had never heard of him before, she began to pray and ask God to send Moody to her church in England. Some time later, Moody ...read more

Tags: Revival

Church Unity?  PRO

Contributed by Bob Joyce on Sep 17, 2007

Church Unity? I read about a church that split, and that split began over an argument at a potluck supper when a lady brought a congealed salad she made with Cool Whip instead of real whipping cream. There’s a book entitled War In The Pews that talks about real-life instances which are absolutely ...read more

Tags: E

Denomination: Baptist

The Colonel Sanders Story  PRO

Contributed by Lonnie Erwin on Oct 26, 2007

Illustration: The Colonel Sanders Story Here’s a man sitting on his porch in Kentucky. He’s only recently retired from the post office, and he’s sitting there when his first Social Security check is delivered. He’s very, very discouraged. He thinks to himself, "Is this what life is going to be ...read more

Tags: Discouragement

Denomination: Baptist

Well Noted Author And Marriage Counselor Dr. Gary ...

Contributed by Chad Bolfa on Apr 7, 2008

Well noted author and marriage counselor Dr. Gary Chapman is very famous for his Book the “Five Love Languages”. He wrote the book and developed this system of identifying what makes your mate feel loved, what is it that really makes him or her feel like you love them. The five love languages ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

The Opposite Of Faith Is Mistrust And Disbelief. ...

Contributed by Jim Kane on Sep 27, 2008

The opposite of faith is mistrust and disbelief. In its more extreme form it is paranoia in which a deep and overwhelming fear is present. The writer of our text speaks of 'confident assurance' and 'the evidence of things not seen.' We have faith in many such things, some of them abstract instead ...read more

Tags: America

Denomination: Church Of God

How Many Christians To Change A Light ...

Contributed by Michael Carbaugh on Jun 11, 2009

How Many Christians to Change a Light bulb? CHARISMATICS: Only 1 - Hands are already in the air. PENTECOSTALS: 10 - One to change the bulb, and nine to pray against the spirit of darkness. PRESBYTERIANS: None - Lights will go on and off at predestined times. ROMAN CATHOLICS: None, they only use ...read more

Tags: Change, Light And Dark

Denomination: Baptist

Andrew Jackson Needs To ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 12, 2009

ANDREW JACKSON NEEDS TO REPENT I heard about a famous preacher by the name of Peter Cartwright. He became one of the leaders of what we now refer to as the 2nd Great Awakening. Cartwright personally baptized over 12,000 people during his ministry. He was a Circuit rider and spent most of his ...read more

Scripture: Acts 2:38

Tags: Revival

It's Ok To Clap

Contributed by Tim Smith on Mar 17, 2011

IT'S OK TO CLAP In 1989, I was an intern pastor at Boston Avenue UMC, a 8,300 member church in downtown Tulsa, OK. Let me give you an image of our worship service. We wore full robes and vestments, we processed with a choir of more than 60 people with the the cross leading the way. We sang hymns ...read more

Tags: Worship General

Denomination: Methodist

The Orange Blessing

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Feb 2, 2013

THE ORANGE BLESSING In the late 1800’s while crossing the Atlantic on an ocean-liner, the English Baptist pastor and evangelist F.B. Meyer was asked to preach to the first class passengers. At the captain's request he spoke on "Answered Prayer." An agnostic who was present at the service was ...read more

Tags: Prayer Answered

Denomination: Brethren

The Funniest Easter Story Ever!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Mar 25, 2024

The Call to Worship had just been pronounced starting Easter Sunday Morning service in an East Texas church. The choir started its processional, singing "Up from the Grave He Arose" as they marched in perfect step down the center aisle to the front of the church. However, unfortunatley, ...read more

Tags: Church, Easter, Resurrection, Miracles, Choir  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Stand By Me

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Oct 13, 2024

STAND BY ME I played the video of the song, "Stand By Me" by Home Free in a recent worship service right before I came up to preach. Our people wondered: "Pastor Larry, why play a secular song for a Sunday morning service??" Maybe I need to share what I discovered about the ...read more

Tags: God's Promises, Hymns, Friends, Songs, Black Spirituals, Gospel Songs, Marriage, Support, Loyalty  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

And Just How Effective Is The Church Today At ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 24, 2002

And just how effective is the church today at halting this social decline? Not very, according to most sources. The sad reality is that on many fronts, the American Church is struggling just to exist. In the face of real life problems, our churches are anemic and turned in on themselves. C. ...read more

On January 20, 1953, Dwight Eisenhower, His Wife, ...  PRO

Contributed by Martin Wiles on May 9, 2002

On January 20, 1953, Dwight Eisenhower, his wife, family, and Cabinet members went to the National Presbyterian Church before his inauguration as 34th president. After the service, Ike went back to the hotel suite to write a prayer that he would read during the inauguration ceremonies. He wrote: ...read more

Tags: Leadership General, Prayer Adoration, Political Freedom

Denomination: Baptist

Las Vegas Now Has A Call-In "Connection ...  PRO

Contributed by Timothy Smith on Oct 12, 2002

Las Vegas now has a call-in “Connection Confession” line where people can call and confess their sins to a recording. America’s first confession line makes it possible, for a fee of $9 per three minutes, to record your sin and if you want to pay a little more you can listen to other people’s sins. ...read more

Tags: Confession Of Sin, Sin General

Denomination: Christian Church

D. Dave Thomas, Founder Of Wendy's Hamburgers, ...  PRO

Contributed by Davon Huss on Oct 15, 2002

D. Dave Thomas, Founder of Wendy’s Hamburgers, “I got my MBA long before my GED. I even have a photograph of me in my MBA graduation outfit; a snazzy kneelength work apron. I guarantee you that I’m the only founder among America’s big companies whose picture in the corporate annual report shows ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness General, Humility, Love Of The Disciples

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ