In Sermon Illustrations: "Sense Of Humor"

In June L955, Winston Churchill, Who Was Then ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 10, 2001

In June l955, Winston Churchill, who was then near the end of his life, was asked to give a commencement address at a British University. At this time he was physically infirm; he had to be helped to the podium. Then he held on to the podium for what seemed an interminable amount of time. He ...read more

Tags: Endurance, Peace

Everyone Put Your Hand Out. Imagine With Me That ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Hiehle on Jul 10, 2001

Everyone put your hand out. Imagine with me that you have a lemon in your hand. Feel how cold it is since you just took it out of the refrigerator. Feel the two knobs on the ends? Ok, now take a knife and cut the lemon in half. Careful! Don’t cut yourself. Oh, look at the juice run down over ...read more

Scripture: James 1:5-6

Tags: Temptation General, Holiness, Disciplines Meditation

Denomination: Nazarene

What About The Foundation?, Citation: Ravi ...  PRO

Contributed by A. Todd Coget on Sep 27, 2001

[What About the Foundation?, Citation: Ravi Zacharias, "If the Foundations Be Destroyed," Preaching Today, Tape No. 142.] A few weeks ago, I did a lectureship at Ohio State University. As I was being driven to the lecture, we passed the new Wexner Art Center. The driver said, "This is a new art ...read more

Tags: God's Omniscience, Truth Absolute, God Brings Purpose

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

A Funeral And The Burial Or Cremation That Goes ...  PRO

Contributed by Chris Appleby on May 21, 2002

A funeral and the burial or cremation that goes with it is a vital part in the process of mourning isn’t it? It provides a sense of finality that’s important in coming to terms with loss. You often hear about people who have been lost and assumed dead but their bodies are never found. And their ...read more

Denomination: Anglican

Years Ago, I Spent A Summer Working At Church ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Years ago, I spent a summer working at Church Camp in Prescott, Arizona. I took a wrong turn --- walking back to the camp from a trip into town ---and I got hopelessly lost. After I walked around a water tower in the dark, I completely lost my sense of direction. It was getting late. I was feeling ...read more

Tags: Promises Of God

Reverend Gregory Dawson Of The North ...

Contributed by Carl Benge on Jul 2, 2007

Reverend Gregory Dawson of the North Congregational Church in New Hartford, CT. In the mid-17th century, Oliver Cromwell sent his secretary to the continent on some important, state business. One night during his travels he found he was unable to sleep. According to an old custom a servant slept in ...read more

Denomination: Methodist

Jill Rigby Stated, "Respect For Ourselves Guides ...

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on May 13, 2008

Jill Rigby stated, “Respect for ourselves guides our morals; respect for others guides our manners” (Raising Respectful Children in a Disrespectful World, page 11). Rigby makes this observation about our society today: “When I was growing up, people weren’t perfect, but society was certainly more ...read more

Tags: Parenting

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Hannah More Once Said, "Prayer Is The Application ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 23, 2008

Hannah More once said, "Prayer is the application of want to Him who alone can relieve it, the voice of sin to Him who alone can pardon it. It is the urgency of poverty, the prostration of humility, the fervency of penitence, the confidence of trust. It is not eloquence, but earnestness; not ...read more

Tags: Prayer General

Teamwork: The Big Picture

Contributed by Bobby Scobey on Sep 17, 2008

Teamwork: The Big Picture We've got to get together and work together to solve the problem. In his book Wind and Fire, Bruce Larson tells of a friend of his who lives near Hoyt Park in Madison, Wisconsin and who happens to be a great bird lover. Invariably, his yard is full of all kinds of birds ...read more

Tags: Action

Denomination: Pentecostal

Fair-Weather Christians  PRO

Contributed by Robert Leroe on Dec 9, 2008

FAIR-WEATHER CHRISTIANS During the American Revolution, farmers who joined the Continental Army during the spring and summer went AWOL in the fall and winter. They were known as "summer soldiers". They signed up with the Army after their crops were planted, they fought the British over the ...read more

Tags: Discipleship

Denomination: Congregational

Mercy In Night ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 28, 2009

MERCY IN NIGHT COURT One night in 1935, Fiorello H. La Guardia, mayor of New York, showed up at a night court in the poorest ward of the city. He dismissed the judge for the evening and took over the bench. One case involved an elderly woman who was caught stealing bread to feed her grandchildren. ...read more

Tags: Mercy

How Will You Ever Learn?

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 15, 2009

HOW WILL YOU EVER LEARN? I heard the story of a nine-year-old girl who returned from Sunday School and as her father was sitting down with his newspaper after a delicious Sunday lunch, she asked him some questions. "Daddy, why did God make all the leaves green?" He thought a moment and replied, ...read more

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:21

Tags: Growth In Christ

God's Jealous Nature Illustrated

Contributed by Christopher Lanham on Jul 21, 2009

GOD'S JEALOUS NATURE ILLUSTRATED Let’s say you come home one day to find a stranger in your living room talking to your teenage daughter. He informs you that he has been chatting with your daughter online and says that he and your fourteen year-old are madly in love. He looks to be about forty. He ...read more

Tags: God's Love

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Ted Williams, Who Died In 2002 Was Arguably The ...

Contributed by Kevin Short on Oct 13, 2009

Ted Williams, who died in 2002 was arguably the best hitter baseball has ever known. He was the last baseball player to hit better than .400 in a season. Upon his death George Will said in his column "There is no joy in Red Sox nation, a.k.a. New England, or in any heart where baseball matters." ...read more

Tags: Truth

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Salt Enhances The Flavor Of African ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 8, 2009

Salt Enhances the Flavor of African Food Two thousand years ago salt was used primarily for two reasons, to preserve and to season. And while preservation was the most critical in a practical sense the flavouring benefits of NaCl or sodium chloride can never be underestimated. A number years ago ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:13-16

Tags: Christian Witness

Watch Out For The Weeds  PRO

Contributed by Christian Cheong on Feb 23, 2010

WATCH OUT FOR THE WEEDS Watch out for the weeds in your life – the things that come between you and God; between you and serving God. I like the way Rick Warren illustrates weeds. • You don’t have to plan for weeds to grow; it just grows. • The difference between a plant and a weed is this. ...read more

Tags: Parable Sower And Seed

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Picked From The Fire

Contributed by Dennis Davidson on Feb 25, 2010

PICKED FROM THE FIRE John Wesley never forgot a terrible night of his childhood. He was only six years old at the time, and he had awakened in the family's old rectory to find it ablaze from top to bottom. Everyone else had been dragged from the building, but by some extraordinary oversight he ...read more

Tags: Evangelism The Lost

Denomination: Baptist

When Does God Settle Accounts?

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 13, 2011

WHEN DOES GOD SETTLE ACCOUNTS? The story is told of a farmer in a Midwestern state who had a strong disdain for God. As he plowed his field on Sunday morning, he would shake his fist at the church people who passed by on their way to worship. October came and the farmer had his finest crop ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 75:1-10

Tags: God's Judgment

Flood In My Soul

Contributed by Brad Henry on Aug 3, 2011

FLOOD IN MY SOUL The night before my shoulder surgery last week I had what looked like the start of a kidney stone. My first thought was to cancel the surgery then Julie came in and settled me down. This happened from a medical procedure that went bad when I was 19. I still suffer some effects ...read more

Tags: Worry

The Style Of Indiana Jones In Discovering ...

Contributed by Suresh Manoharan on Dec 20, 2011

The style of Indiana Jones in discovering "Biblical treasures"!!! Yes, Indiana Jones stories are juicy and spicy, for they stoke the fires of inherent sense of discovery in all of us. Add to that breathtaking stunts and adventure, you have a heady mix guaranteed to give one some goose bumps. ...read more

Tags: Bible Study, Indiana Jones

Denomination: *other