In Sermon Illustrations: "Savings"

Mentoring As A Church Practice  PRO

Contributed by Matthew Kratz on May 18, 2008

MENTORING AS A CHURCH PRACTICE "...In most churches, the congregation pays the pastor to preach, win the lost, and build up the saved—-while the church members function as cheerleaders (if they are enthusiastic) or spectators. The "converts" are won, baptized, and given the right hand of ...read more

Tags: Church Practices

Denomination: Other

Romans 8:28 We Know That In All Things God Works ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 18, 2008

Romans 8:28 We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him... Sometimes we just want things to turn out well – especially in a bad situation. Before Tom left for deployment to Iraq – he prayed that God will guide him in doing good in a land full of violence. Recently, his ...read more

Tags: Christian Love

The Baby And The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 9, 2008

The Baby and the Window It was a really hot day in September in San Antonio, when a woman accidentally locked her 10-month-old baby niece inside a parked car. Frantically, the mother and aunt ran around the car in near hysteria while a neighbor attempted to unlock the car with a clothes hanger. ...read more

Tags: Principles

Never Said Thanks  PRO

Contributed by Et Tapper on Feb 9, 2009

NEVER SAID THANKS Edward Spencer was a ministerial student in Evanston, Illinois, and also a member of a life-saving squad during his school years. In 1860, a ship went aground on the shore of Lake Michigan near Evanston, and Spencer waded again and again into the frigid waters to rescue seventeen ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16-18

Tags: Gratitude

Denomination: Pentecostal

Henry Blackaby Said, "You Never Find God Asking ...  PRO

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Feb 26, 2009

Henry Blackaby said, "You never find God asking persons to dream up what they want to do for Him...Without doubt, the most important factor in each (Biblical) situation was not what the individual wanted to do for God. The most important factor was what God was about to do." (Experiencing God, page ...read more

Scripture: Luke 1:68-79, Matthew 21:1-6

Tags: Finding Fulfillment

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Temptation And Sin: Steve's ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 8, 2009

TEMPTATION AND SIN: STEVE’S STORY A young man was in a parking lot just shortly after being saved and he found a pack of cigarettes lying unopened on the ground near his car. His first thought was to keep them and smoke them as he had always done, but he felt prompted to do something different. He ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 25:21

Tags: Temptation Resisting

Smoke Signal

Contributed by Charles Wallis on Aug 18, 2009

SMOKE SIGNAL The only survivor of a shipwreck came upon a small, uninhabited island. He prayed repeatedly for God to save him and everyday scanned the horizon for his answer. Even though he was exhausted and in despair, he eventually managed to build a little hut to keep him out of the weather ...read more

Tags: Hardship Of Life

Denomination: Pentecostal

Zacchaeus And The Dragon's Den  PRO

Contributed by Aubrey Vaughan on Aug 21, 2009

ZACCHAEUS AND THE DRAGON'S DEN Imagine Zacchaeus before The Dragons Den, (TV show where businessmen invest their millions). Imagine the corrupt entrepreneur Zack making his pitch. Duncan Bannatyne and the other dragons are not going to invest there millions into such a dubious character (rip him ...read more

Tags: Grace

Denomination: Baptist

A.w. Tozer And Andrew Murray On ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 22, 2009

A.W. Tozer and Andrew Murray on Humility Humility and dying to myself are inseparable. A.W. Tozer nailed the nail on the head, saying, “In every Christians heart there is a cross and a throne and the Christian is on the throne till he puts himself on the cross; if he refuses the cross he remains on ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 2:5-11

Tags: Humility

Crushed For Our Iniquities

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Mar 22, 2010

CRUSHED FOR OUR INIQUITIES Think about the Lord's instructions for worship in the Old Testament tabernacle. Some of the ingredients of the holy anointing oil had to be crushed before they were used, because until they were crushed their fragrance could not be released. The crushing of the incense ...read more

Tags: Atonement

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Did You Hear About The Israeli Woman That Wanted ...

Contributed by Ed Sasnett on Jun 23, 2010

Did you hear about the Israeli woman that wanted to do something very nice for her mother? She bought her mother a brand new mattress and threw out the old one. The problem was her mother had hidden her entire life savings in the old mattress. It was approximately $1million! When the daughter ...read more

Tags: Mistakes

Denomination: Baptist

Running From Sin

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 5, 2011

RUNNING FROM SIN The story is told of a young girl who accepted Christ as her Savior and applied for membership in a local church. "Were you a sinner before you received the Lord Jesus into your life?" inquired an old deacon. "Yes, sir," she replied. "Well, are you still a sinner?" "To tell ...read more

Scripture: John 16:8-11

Tags: Sin General

Elements Of A Seder

Contributed by Thomas Cash on Apr 15, 2011

ELEMENTS OF A SEDER Jesus was Jewish. He celebrated the Passover every year that He was on this earth. He is also clearly pictured in all the symbols of Passover and in the message of Passover itself. Wine: used various times during the meal (Cup of blessing, Cup of Plagues, Cup of Redemption, ...read more

Tags: Sacrifices

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Jesus Loves Me

Contributed by Michael Walther on Aug 8, 2011

JESUS LOVES ME "Jesus Loves Me" is one of the most well-known Christian hymns. This hymn was originally a poem that was included in a novel. The poem was spoken to a dying child to bring them comfort. A musician later added the music, and since 1860 it has become one of the most well-known ...read more

Tags: God's Love

Denomination: Lutheran

The Cost Of Christmas

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Dec 4, 2011

THE COST OF CHRISTMAS One person observed that the message of Christmas was not one of convenience but "cost": * It cost Mary and Joseph the comforts of home to take a long journey to Bethlehem while she was "very" pregnant with her new child. * It cost the shepherds their comfort by the campfire ...read more

Tags: Christmas, Overcoming Fear

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Terrible Grip

Contributed by Johnny A. Palmer Jr. on Dec 8, 2011

THE TERRIBLE GRIP Lucas Sibanda, a South African was walking along a remote path, was minding his own business when a python slithered out from behind some shrubs. Sibanda froze. Within a few seconds the snake had wrapped itself around him and began constricting. Pythons are large snakes that ...read more

Tags: Satan

Denomination: Baptist

Time To A Pig

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 19, 2012

TIME TO A PIG There’s the story of a man walking past a farm and noticed a farmer feeding pigs in a most unusual manner. The farmer would lift a pig up to a nearby apple tree, and the pig would eat the apples off the tree directly. The farmer would move the pig from one apple to another until the ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:1-22

Tags: Decision, Time

Richard Eye On Divorce

Contributed by Davon Huss on Apr 16, 2013

RICHARD EYRE ON DIVORCE "We now have over 40 years worth of very conclusive statistics that show that children from two parent homes (a mother and a father) are at substantially less risk for drug abuse, teen pregnancy, school dropout, suicide, and a whole host of other problems. Statistically ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 19:6

Tags: Children

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Faith When Faced With Death?  PRO

Contributed by Michael Sechler on Jan 25, 2014

My son, Micah died in 2012 from kidney disease and complications. As he lay dying I wrote this in my journal: "Sitting at the bedside of my dying son at 3:48 in the morning. Weeping like crazy. Bertrand Russell once said that 'no one can sit at the bedside of dying child and believe in God.' Well ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 46:1

Tags: Faith, Trial, Child Death, Belief In God

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

During The Great Depression A Good Man Lost H...

Contributed by Davon Huss on Oct 9, 2015

During the Great Depression a good man lost his job, exhausted his savings, and forfeited his home. His grief was multiplied by the sudden death of his young wife. The only thing he had left was his faith. One day as he combed the neighborhood looking for work he stopped to watch as men did ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 3:12-15

Tags: Faith, Suffering, Pruning, Works Tested By Fire

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ