In Sermon Illustrations: "Saying Grace"

A Priest Visited An Elderly Woman Who Was Dying ...

Contributed by Austin Mansfield on Jun 28, 2007

A priest visited an elderly woman who was dying at home. She was sure that God no longer loved her because of the sins she had committed in her life; things that she thought were too terrible for even God to forgive. The priest told her about God’s grace and mercy, and Christ’s atonement for our ...read more

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

I've Got Two Rings On My Hand Today. This One ...  PRO

Contributed by Kevin Malone on Aug 26, 2007

I’ve got two rings on my hand today. This one is my wedding ring- 24 karat gold, very pure. The other is one my daughter got out of a gumball machine. It looks kind of gold but it is tin at best. The stone is pretty but I’m sure it’s made of plastic. Now which one of these is going to stand up ...read more

Tags: Righteousness

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

In 1863 President Lincoln Designated April 30th ...  PRO

Contributed by Austin Mansfield on Sep 18, 2007

In 1863 President Lincoln designated April 30th as a day of national humiliation, fasting, and prayer. Let me read a portion of his proclamation on that occasion: "It is the duty of nations, as well as of men, who owe their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and ...read more

Tags: Hope

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

John Wesley, An Autobiographical Sketch  PRO

Contributed by Lonnie Erwin on Oct 12, 2007

Illustration:: John Wesley describes his pilgrimage in terms of his preaching rather vividly. It parallels closely his inward growth. (1) From the year 1725 to 1729 I preached much, but saw no fruit of my labor. (2) From the year 1729 to 1734, laying a deeper foundation of repentance, I saw ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Advent Is About The Coming Of Christ. Coming In ...

Contributed by Mark Eberly on Dec 3, 2007

Advent is about the coming of Christ. Coming in to your life so you can begin again and again. In order to symbolize as an act of worship, I want you to take the beach glass that you received early. Feel it. Feel it’s hardness. Feel it’s roughness. Let this be a symbol of your past. Your sins. Your ...read more

Denomination: Church Of God

Magic Mirror, On The Wall, Who's The Fairest Of ...

Contributed by Maurice Schaus on Feb 11, 2008

“Magic mirror, on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” These words are familiar to children of all ages. These are the words spoken by the queen in Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, as she gazes into her enchanted mirror. “Magic mirror, on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” The ...read more

Denomination: Lutheran

Do Not Be Ignorant

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Aug 20, 2008

Do Not Be Ignorant Paul opens Chapter 10 by telling the Corinthian Christians to not be ignorant to not be ag-no-eh-o which means the following: The Greek word for "ignorant" - ἀãíïέù, agnoeō, ag-no-eh'-o. Not to know (through lack of information or intelligence); by ...read more

Tags: Ignorance

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

I Have A Video Tape Of My Favorite Basketball ...

Contributed by Art Good on Nov 6, 2008

I have a video tape of my favorite basketball player of all time. His name is Larry Bird. The name of the tape is “Winning Basketball”. The tape is all about the various skills that are needed to be successful at the game of basketball. It’s sort of an instructional video to make the viewer ...read more

Tags: Christian Values

Denomination: Wesleyan

The "Yes" Face

Contributed by Jorge Acevedo on Feb 17, 2010

THE "YES" FACE I read a story about our 3rd president, Thomas Jefferson, him and his companions were traveling the countryside when they came upon a river that had overran its banks because of heavy rain. The bridge had been washed out and they had to cross the river on horseback fighting against ...read more

Tags: Communication General

Denomination: Baptist

Crooked On The Lot  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 28, 2010

CROOKED ON THE LOT The Jewish leaders had rejected salvation. The builders had rejected the very cornerstone of the temple, and stumbled over the rock. Growing up, there was a vacant lot next to our house. One day, a bunch of equipment and workers from Philyaw Construction showed up—and built a ...read more

Scripture: Acts 8:4-12

Tags: Jesus Christ

Philip Henry's ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 29, 2010

Philip Henry’s Romance D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones tells the story of Philip Henry, the father of Matthew Henry the commentator. He and a young lady had fallen in love with each other. She belonged to a “higher” level of society than he did, and although she had become a Christian and therefore regarded ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 1:1-23

Tags: Christian Values

Active Vs. Passive Hardening Of The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 13, 2010

ACTIVE VS. PASSIVE HARDENING OF THE HEART We have to distinguish between active hardening and passive hardening (of the heart). What we have in this verse is an example of God’s punitive judgment against a wicked man. Pharaoh was already wicked. Pharaoh already had an evil heart, out of which came ...read more

Scripture: Romans 1:24-28

Tags: Hard Heart, Sin General

Bearing Witness

Contributed by Sterling Franklin on Oct 12, 2010

BEARING WITNESS In court, bearing witness is telling the truth about what you've seen and heard. John the Baptizer was doing the same about Jesus. If we witness, we can tell others about something the Lord has done in our lives, whether relating to Salvation or some other matter of His ...read more

Tags: Evangelism The Lost

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Faith In The Colombian Jungle

Contributed by Alison Bucklin on Aug 10, 2011

FAITH IN THE COLOMBIAN JUNGLE A man named Bruce Olson went to Colombia many years ago as a missionary to the headhunters in the far southern jungle, near the border with Brazil. The book that tells his story is Bruchko, the name the Indians called him since they couldn't wrap their tongues around ...read more

Tags: Faith

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

We Need Help To Get Out

Contributed by Bret Toman on Mar 14, 2013

We Need Help to Get Out Follow the example of the Chilean miners. Trapped beneath two thousand feet of solid rock, the thirty-three men were desperate. The collapse of a main tunnel had sealed their exit and thrust them into survival mode. They ate two spoonfuls of tuna, a sip of milk, and a ...read more

Tags: Faith Vs. Works

Denomination: Baptist

Fallen

Contributed by Dr. Ronald Shultz on Sep 23, 2019

Fallen I wanted to be the best you ever had. Now, I am a lonesome, loathsome cad. I once drank in Your holy truth. Now, I drown myself in gin and vermouth. I told others of the sacrifice you gave. Now, it is my soul You need to save. I sang the power of the Blood Then dragged you Name ...read more

Tags: Repentance, Sorrow

Denomination: Baptist

Beginning And Ending

Contributed by Johnny Wilson on Aug 11, 2009

BEGINNING AND ENDING A Connecticut Baptist named A. Roger Williams (a modern pastor, not the one who founded Rhode Island) once preached, "It is true that if religion begins with the individual--it begins, but if it ends with the individual--it ends." [A. Roger Williams, "The Kingdom of God," in ...read more

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Denomination: *other

Seven Life Lessons From Samson

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Nov 13, 2022

Certainly the story of Samson and the prostitute of Gaza stands as a cautionary tale to all of us. Here are some of the obvious lessons: 1) Just because we think we have conquered a certain sin doesn’t mean it will stay conquered forever. 2) The price of long-term spiritual victory is continued ...read more

Tags: Sin, Temptation, Judgment, Samson, Brokenness, Backslidden  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

How A Pastor Loved His Enemy

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 2, 2023

In The Grace of Giving, Stephen Olford tells of a Baptist pastor during the American Revolution, Peter Miller, who lived in Ephrata, Pennsylvania, and enjoyed the friendship of George Washington. In Ephrata also lived Michael Wittman, an evil-minded sort who did all he could to oppose and ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:19-23

Tags: Love, Forgiveness, Hate, Pastors, Churches, Enemies, Division  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Redemption Through His Blood - Yellow Fever Story

Contributed by J Jeffrey Smead on Mar 3, 2023

There is a story...that may help Illustrate redemption...what Christ ...has done for us. In 1927, ...in West Africa... a blood specimen was taken from a native man named Asibi, ...who was sick ...with yellow fever. A vaccine ...was made ...from this original strain of the virus... obtained from ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 1:7, 1 Peter 1:18, Hebrews 9:22

Tags: Blood, Salvation, Redemption

Denomination: Anglican