In Sermon Illustrations: "Self Justification"

Family Stages

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Oct 22, 2009

FAMILY STAGES Now you know why I say, "The family takes a lot of work!" A healthy family will go through several stages that require perseverance and a good work ethic. Stage One -- The family begins at the, "I do"s and a couple is birthed. Now comes the dying to self. Stage Two -- The couple's ...read more

Tags: Family

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

H.a. Ironside's Comment On H. D. Thoreau's

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 30, 2009

H.A. Ironside’s Comment on H. D. Thoreau’s "A Different Drummer" One of the most famous lines of the 19th century naturalist Henry David Thoreau was, "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer." Commenting on Thoreau’s defense of his ...read more

Scripture: James 4:1-5

Tags: Worldliness

A Lot Of Christians Have A Tendency To Think That ...

Contributed by K. Edward Skidmore on Dec 9, 2009

A lot of Christians have a tendency to think that --- even though it was God’s Grace and Mercy that saved us --- now that we are saved, it’s all up to us to get on with the business of struggling to “live the Christian life” on our own power. We rev up our own dedication, will power, grit, and ...read more

Tags: Growth In Christ

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

A Man Fell Into A Pit And Couldn't Get Himself ...

Contributed by Tony Abram on May 19, 2010

A man fell into a pit and couldn’t get himself out. A SUBJECTIVE person came along and said: "I FEEL for you, down there." An OBJECTIVE person came along and said: "It’s logical that someone would fall, down there." A CHRISTIAN SCIENTIST came along: "You only THINK ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness, Restoration

Memorizing Vs. Applying Scripture

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 23, 2010

MEMORIZING VS. APPLYING SCRIPTURE Dave Veerman, Campus Life, Wheaton, IL, related this story: A while ago our family began to memorize Scripture, one verse a week. Because my daughters were ages ten and six, I thought this was about the right speed. We keep the verses on cards in the middle of ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 119:11, James 1:22

Tags: Bible Influence

The Conversion Of George Whitefield

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 29, 2011

THE CONVERSION OF GEORGE WHITEFIELD In the 1730's in England, a young man named George Whitefield desperately wanted to be right before God. As a student at Oxford, he was part of the Holy Club, along with John and Charles Wesley. The members of that club rose early every day for lengthy ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:8-9

Tags: Salvation

Learned Helplessness

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 5, 2011

LEARNED HELPLESSNESS Learned Helplessness is a term I came across in my reading this week. It is a technical term originally used in reference to animal psychology but is also appropriately applied to human behavior as well. Learned helplessness describes an animal or a person who has learned to ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 29:10-14

Tags: Attitude General

The Reality Of Palm Sunday  PRO

Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Apr 19, 2011

THE REALITY OF PALM SUNDAY Pope Benedict himself in his homily last Sunday in St Peter’s Square said this about Palm Sunday: "But what are we really doing when we join this procession as part of the throng which went up with Jesus to Jerusalem and hailed him as King of Israel? Is this anything ...read more

Tags: Easter Palm Sunday

Denomination: Anglican

Philippi And Ebay

Contributed by Ronnie Miller on Jul 30, 2011

PHILIPPI AND EBAY How would you rate your self as a Christian on a scale from 1 to 10? Better yet how would your family and friends rate you on the same scale? People see you and I on a different perspective than we do ourselves. For the people who have Internet, I’m sure have encountered eBay at ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 1:27-30

Tags: Witness, Christian, Christian Values

Denomination: Baptist

Spiritual Consumerism

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 15, 2011

SPIRITUAL CONSUMERISM In February 27 2009 article from the website “Slate” titled, “Why American churchgoers like to shop around” also caught my attention. That article cited statistics from a Barna Group survey that revealed that one in seven adults changes churches each year, and another one in ...read more

Scripture: John 4:19-24

Tags: Church Practices

Coping With Complaining

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Feb 21, 2012

COPING WITH COMPLAINING How do you cope with complaining, nagging, whine-baby people? Internet discussion board posted this: Why do people complain so much? I know it's a natural thing but it has to be unhealthy. At my job people never stop complaining. Every day it's either too hot or too cold. ...read more

Tags: Complaining

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Humorous Definitions  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 2, 2012

HUMOROUS DEFINITIONS Definitions matter. Do you know what these words mean? ABDICATE: To give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach. ADULT: A person who has stopped growing at both ends and is now growing in the middle. ANTIQUE: An item your grandparents bought, your parents got rid of, and ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 17:22

Tags: Words

Ray Bradbury's Message

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 28, 2012

RAY BRADBURY’S MESSAGE Avid readers often will credit this or that writer for luring them into a lifelong love of a genre. For those who love science fiction, it offers grand, cosmic landscapes on which to project the boundless possibilities of life. Yet for one writer, Ray Bradbury (August 22, ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:12

Tags: Sin Fall Of Man

Bitter & Better - The Two 'b's

Contributed by Paddick Van Zyl on Jul 21, 2014

When the water at Marah was bitter, Moses had to cast a tree into the water stream to sweeten the water or make it drinkable. The words: Bitter and Better both start with a B and end with Tter. The only difference is: the letter I and E. Bitter has the focus on I, me, myself, flesh. Better has ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 15:22-27

Tags: Water, Sweet, Bitter

Denomination: Pentecostal

A Story On Complacency And Laziness Bought About By Submitting To Temptatio

Contributed by John Gullick on Feb 12, 2016

Complacency and self indulgence were having a chat the other day. Complacancy was saying. “ my those other Christians are far too serious. “ Eat drink and be merry I say and then explode into heaven Painless death though thank you very much.”.” Laziness said. “ Yes but get someone else to prepare ...read more

Scripture: Luke 4:1-13

Tags: Temptation, Laziness

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Listen To What Happened In Harlem In 1980. A Man ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 9, 2008

Listen to what happened in Harlem in 1980. A man by the name of Eugene Lang, a self-made multi-millionaire, stood before a group of 61 sixth graders graduating from elementary school. He had been asked to come and speak to them about how he had once sat in the same auditorium where they were ...read more

In One Of His Meetings, D.l. Moody Was Explaining ...

Contributed by Andy Grossman on Jun 18, 2008

In one of his meetings, D.L. Moody was explaining to his audience the truth that we cannot bring about spiritual changes in our lives by our own strength. He demonstrated the principal like this: "Tell me," he said to his audience, "how can I get the air out of the tumbler I have in my hand?" One ...read more

Tags: Holy Spirit Baptism

Denomination: Holiness

What Defines You?  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 30, 2008

WHAT DEFINES YOU? Alex Gibney's documentary on the life of "Gonzo" Hunter S. Thompson suggests that Thompson, "who committed suicide in 2005, survives to some degree in the popular imagination because of his self-burnished reputation for excess." (A.O. Scott, "Beyond Fear and Loathing", The New ...read more

Tags: Action

You Call This A Gas ...

Contributed by Eric Ferguson on Aug 13, 2008

YOU CALL THIS A GAS STATION! One day a lady pulled into a self serve gas station to fill up her car. She got out of her car, hurried over to the pump, lifted the nozzle to her gas tank, and tried to pump the gas. Nothing happened. Belatedly she realized that this was one of those gas stations ...read more

Tags: Mistakes

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

As Many Of You Know, We Vasiceks Temporarily ...

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Sep 29, 2008

As many of you know, we Vasiceks temporarily housed a pet pig for over 6 months. So when this Australian story hit the press on Friday, I noted it. CANBERRA (Reuters) - A pony-size pig who held an Australian woman hostage for 10 days inside her home will be removed on Wednesday to a piggery… ...read more

Tags: Sin Exposed

Denomination: Independent/Bible