In Sermon Illustrations: "Seize The Day"

A Few More Hours

Contributed by Jerry Cosper on Jan 23, 2013

A FEW MORE HOURS A young lady busied herself getting ready for a blind date. He had promised dinner at an exclusive downtown restaurant with live music and dancing. Wanting to make a good first impression she had taken the day off work. She cleaned her apartment; she went out that afternoon to ...read more

Tags: Second Coming

Denomination: Baptist

Light Of The ...

Contributed by Gordon Weatherby on May 2, 2013

LIGHT OF THE WORLD Jesus stated that we are to be the "Light of the World", and that a city set on a hill cannot be hidden. In the Canadian province of New Brunswick there is a church building on Deer Island that for many years has served as a physical light house to the fishermen of that ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:14-15

Tags: Witness, Light, Influence, Lighthouse, Christian Witness  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Abraham Lincoln And Criticism

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 2, 2013

ABRAHAM LINCOLN AND CRITICISM A practicing lawyer loved to attack his opponents through scathing letters printed in newspapers. In 1842, he ridiculed the wrong man. James Shields did not take kindly to the anonymous writer who lampooned him in the Springfield Journal. Mr. Shields tracked down ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:1-5

Tags: Criticism, Tongue

Abraham Lincoln: Merit Your Freedom  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 8, 2013

ABRAHAM LINCOLN: MERIT YOUR FREEDOM In the last days of the Civil War, the Confederate capital, Richmond, Virginia, fell to the Union army. Abraham Lincoln insisted on visiting the city. Even though no one knew he was coming, slaves recognized him immediately and thronged around him. He had ...read more

Scripture: John 21:3-14, Romans 6:1-23, Galatians 5:13-15

Tags: Christian Liberty

A Surprise Visit From Abraham Lincoln

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 9, 2013

A SURPRISE VISIT FROM ABRAHAM LINCOLN In the last days of the Civil War, the Confederate capital, Richmond, Virginia, fell to the Union army. Abraham Lincoln insisted on visiting the city. Even though no one knew he was coming, slaves recognized him immediately and thronged around him. He had ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:13-14

Tags: Freedom, Christian Liberty

Women And Proverbs

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on May 16, 2013

WOMEN AND PROVERBS From Chronological Life Application Bible: "Proverbs has a lot to say about women. How fitting that the book ends with a picture of a woman of strong character, great wisdom, many skills, and great compassion. Some people have the mistaken idea that the ideal woman in the ...read more

Tags: Women

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Busyness  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 3, 2013

BUSYNESS Busyness is no sign of spirituality or any kind of a full life. In fact, it’s more likely the sign of an empty life. Tim Kreider, in an article he wrote for The New York Times called The Busy Trap put it this way: “If you live in America in the 21st century, you’ve probably had to listen ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 11:28-30

Tags: Complaining

See You On The Other Side Of The River

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 2, 2014

SEE YOU ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE RIVER Kansas City, Missouri is separated from Kansas City, Kansas by the Missouri River. Years ago, there was an old farmer who lived on the Kansas side of the river. He had a farm, a wife and a beautiful daughter. The farmer and his family had never been across ...read more

Scripture: John 14:1-6

Tags: Death, Heaven, Funeral

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

When I Was A Kid  PRO

Contributed by Paul Steen on Jul 12, 2014

When I was a kid, we rode our bikes down the sidewalks and in the streets. We played baseball and football in the street. Summers were especially great because we could play ball until you couldn’t see. We rode in cars with no seat belts or car seats. Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:17

Tags: Protect, Helmet Of Salvation

Denomination: Calvary Chapel

Love  PRO

Contributed by Roger Whipp on Dec 31, 2014

Love is one of the most powerful emotions we have. The actress Joan Crawford once said “Love is a fire but whether it warms your heart or burns your house down, you can never tell!” Love can motivate, give pleasure, hurt even destroy. It can make us do bold, even stupid things. During the 17th ...read more

Scripture: John 14:15-31, Romans 5:8

Tags: Love, Holy Spirit, Love And Obedience

Denomination: *other

Is It Death Or Really Life?

Contributed by Tim Smith on Feb 11, 2015

Robin Norwood in her book, “Why Me? Why This? Why Now?” writes, “A very wise old fried of mine who has just celebrated his 100th birthday said to me about a recent news broadcast he recently heard about 73 people losing their lives in a plan crash: “Don’t they know we can’t lose our lives? We can ...read more

Scripture: Luke 23:32-43

Tags: Death, Eternal Life

Denomination: Methodist

Daddy, Let's Go!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Mar 1, 2016

DADDY LET’S GO! A little girl with shining eyes, Her little face aglow, Said, "Daddy, it is almost time For Church......let’s go!" They teach us there of Jesus’ love, Of how he died for all Those who on Him call.” Oh, no!” said Daddy, “Not today. I’ve worked hard all week; I’m going to the ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 10:25

Tags: Parenting, Church Attendance, Teenagers, Time Is Fleeting

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Being Crucified With Christ

Contributed by Glynda Lomax on Aug 11, 2016

As I was typing up the many pages of notes I would use for my weekly podcast sermon, I needed to replace some letters in a name in part of my document with "M-E," so it would read correctly as I recorded. I was trying to use the ’Find & Replace’ command, but it looked a little ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 2:20

Tags: Sin, Flesh, Self, Crucified With Christ, Crucify Flesh, Crucified  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Charismatic

Cross Is The Attraction

Contributed by Andrew Moffatt on Sep 8, 2016

The famous first national Salvationist here in Sri Lanka, Arnolis Weerasooriya whose picture we all walk past every day said something about the cross. Can you remember reading it, it is on his picture. That’s right he said, “Cross is the attraction.” He died from cholera some years later on the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 20:20-28

Tags: Suffering, Enduring Suffering, Proclaiming

Denomination: Salvation Army

Save My Boot!

Contributed by James Dorman on May 11, 2017

As an elementary age kid I received a present which made my life complete. I finally had my very own set of cowboy boots! I was so proud of them, I would have slept in them if my mom would have allowed it. I have 2 cousins who were born the same year as me. When our families got together, ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 1:6-7

Tags: Faith General, Humorous, Faith, Fear

Denomination: Baptist

Overcoming Evil With Good; David, Saul, And God

Contributed by Nickolas Kooi on Aug 30, 2017

King Saul tried to kill David numerous times. When Saul would be in David’s hand, David would refrain from showing him evil. Instead, he would spare Saul. He showed respect for his office of king, which led him to showing the mercy that Saul didn’t deserve. Sometimes, this led Saul to seeing ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:17-21

Tags: Mercy, Revenge, Good, Overcome Evil

Denomination: Lutheran

The Joy Of A Pb And J

Contributed by Nickolas Kooi on Sep 14, 2017

In the Christian congregations at Rome, some believers still kept these things. Others did not. The “weak,” those who don’t realize or understand their full freedom in Jesus, still continued to abide by these things. These believers were cautious with these food laws, and just ate vegetables to ...read more

Scripture: Romans 14:1-3

Tags: Jew, Jewish Feasts, Freedom In Jesus, Freedom, Ot Law  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Lutheran

Lesson In Giving

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Dec 27, 2017

Many years ago I took my wife to Walmart Christmas shopping. I can’t keep up with her. It was a beautiful, warm day so I went outside and sat on a bench and waited. There was a large wooden box and it had TOYS for TOTS painted on the side. A brand new large Lincoln Continental pulled up and a boy ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 6:7-8

Tags: Giving, Leftovers

Denomination: Assembly Of God

The Rotten Egg

Contributed by Daniel King, D. Min. on Jul 25, 2018

Main Idea: No matter how many good things you have done, one sin is enough to send you to hell. Verses: “There is none who does good, no, not one” (Romans 3:12 NKJV). “For the greatness of your iniquity Your skirts have been uncovered, Your heels made bare. Can the Ethiopian change his skin or ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 13:22-23

Tags: Sin, Good Works

Denomination: Charismatic

A Gift Of Kindness - You Never Know

Contributed by Roberta Karchner on Oct 20, 2018

A number of years ago, my husband and I went to Applebees on our Anniversary for a quiet dinner together. It was, indeed, very quiet, because my husband had just been ordered to undergo an MRI, and we knew that the results might change our future forever. Still, we did what old married couples ...read more

Scripture: Mark 12:31, Hebrews 13:2, Matthew 25:39-40

Tags: Do Unto Others, Love Your Neighbor, Loving Acts, Kind Acts

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed