In Sermon Illustrations: "Sermon Opener"

Two Sisters I Know, Joanne And Linda Who Have ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 22, 2004

Two sisters I know, Joanne and Linda who have since become lovely ladies with families of their own,while they still were young girls were playing one day. Joanne the older of the two sisters by three years became at one point very angry with her little sister and said to her in frustration and ...read more

Tags: Children

One Husband Said, "Every Time My Wife And I ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 24, 2004

. One husband said, “Every time my wife and I have an argument she gets historical.” “You mean hysterical?” his friend replied. “No, ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness For Others

J. One Rainy Afternoon I Was Driving Along One ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 24, 2004

J. One rainy afternoon I was driving along one of the main streets of town, taking those extra precautions necessary when the roads are wet and slick. Suddenly, my daughter, Aspen, spoke up from her relaxed position in her seat. "Dad, I’m thinking of something." This announcement usually meant she ...read more

Tags: God's Provision

Like Limbaugh And Clinton  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 26, 2004

LIKE LIMBAUGH AND CLINTON In the story of the “The Good Samaritan,” these men weren’t physical neighbor. The Jews & the Samaritans hated each other. Generations earlier, when the Jews were in Babylonian captivity, the Samaritans had taken over the land … and mixed their religion with the Jewish ...read more

Scripture: Luke 10:25-27

Tags: Parable Good Samaritan, Christian Love

Hero In Black  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 26, 2004

HERO IN BLACK Victor Yap tells this story: A few years ago I saw a truck in front of me roaring fiercely about to turn the corner into the freeway ramp. In the driver’s seat of the humongous truck was a man in his late 20s ramming his engine and blasting his stereo. The guy had dark glasses and ...read more

Scripture: Luke 10:25-37

Tags: Compassion, Forgiveness General, Parable Good Samaritan

Throwing A Life Away?  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 26, 2004

THROWING A LIFE AWAY? Lost behind the story of Seabiscuit, the most celebrated racehorse of the 20th century, and the jockey played by Spiderman’s Tobey Macguire was the story of its peculiar trainer, Tom Smith. When the rich man played by Jeff Bridges decided to turn to horse racing, he needed ...read more

Scripture: Luke 10:25-37

Tags: Parable Good Samaritan, Forgiveness General, Compassion

Defining A Neighbor  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 26, 2004

DEFINING A NEIGHBOR It’s been said, "One cannot define one’s neighbor; one can only be a neighbor." Haddon Robinson said, "Your neighbor is anyone whose need you see, whose need you are able to meet." A neighbor is someone who says, "What is mine is God’s and what is God’s belongs to my ...read more

Scripture: Luke 10:25-37

Tags: Compassion, Forgiveness General, Parable Good Samaritan

The Compassionate Catch  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 26, 2004

THE COMPASSIONATE CATCH On Aug. 8, 2004, the Vietnamese community of Westminster, California, celebrated one of the kindest and bravest acts performed by a stranger on them. On Nov. 13, 1985, ninety-six Vietnamese refugees despaired for their lives and their families' lives when the engine of the ...read more

Scripture: Luke 10:25-37

Tags: Parable Good Samaritan, Forgiveness General, Compassion

A Neighbor On The Other Side Of The World  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 26, 2004

A NEIGHBOR ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD Pastor David Jeremiah tells a story about Bob Pierce. Pierce had advanced leukemia. But he went to visit a friend in Indonesia before he died. As they were walking through a small village, they came upon a young girl lying on a bamboo mat next to a river. ...read more

Scripture: Luke 10:25-37

Tags: Parable Good Samaritan

Would That Get Me Into Heaven  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 27, 2004

WOULD THAT GET ME INTO HEAVEN "If I sold my house and my car, had a big garage sale and gave all my money to the church, would that get me into Heaven?" I asked the children in my Sunday School class. "NO!" the children all answered. "If I cleaned the church every day, mowed the yard, and kept ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:1-20

Tags: Heaven

16,743 Yards Of Persistence  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 1, 2004

16,743 YARDS OF PERSISTENCE God has always honored persistence. I have always appreciated Emmitt Smith. I was glad to see him set the NFL rushing record last Sunday. He isn’t as flashy as Walter Payton or Barry Sanders, and he never possessed true break-away speed. But his strength lies in his ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 12:1, Luke 20:27-38, Luke 18:1-8

Tags: Prayer General, Prayer Persistence, Parable Widow

The Quitters Club  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 1, 2004

THE QUITTERS CLUB One of the largest organizations in America is the Quitters Club. The reason you’ve never heard of the Quitters Club is because they never meet–the members quit coming. There are no dues–the members quit paying them. The Quitters Club is comprised of people who faced a tough ...read more

Scripture: Luke 18:1-8, Luke 18:1-8

Tags: Parable Widow, Prayer Persistence, Prayer General

Persistent, Tenacious Prayer  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 1, 2004

PERSISTENT, TENACIOUS PRAYER Our praying should be like the story of Jacob wrestling the angel in Genesis 32. They wrestled all night and toward morning, Jacob had the angel in a full Nelson grip. The angel said, “Jacob, let me go.” Now, I think it was like WWF, it was a fixed fight. The mighty ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 10:1, Luke 18:1-8

Tags: Prayer Persistence, Parable Widow

The Stats On Prayer  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 1, 2004

THE STATS ON PRAYER A Newsweek poll several years ago titled "Is God Listening?" indicated that 54% of those the magazine surveyed prayed on a daily basis - 25% said they pray to God once a day and 29% more than once a day. 87% believed that God answers their prayers at least some of the time. ...read more

Scripture: Luke 18:1-8

Tags: Parable Widow, Prayer Persistence, Prayer General

You Have Not, Because You Ask Not  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 1, 2004

YOU HAVE NOT, BECAUSE YOU ASK NOT The Associated Press carried an interesting story about a group of post office customers who succeeded in speeding up some slow-moving service. One man said, “It was like watching grass grow.” There were 26 patrons jammed into two lines. They realized they ...read more

Scripture: Luke 18:1-8

Tags: Parable Widow

Unanswered Prayer  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 1, 2004

UNANSWERED PRAYER Cable television tycoon Ted Turner has often been quoted as being critical of fundamentalist Christianity. Turner made some very revealing remarks at a banquet in Orlando, Fla., in 1990, where he was given an award by the American Humanist Association for his work on behalf of ...read more

Scripture: Luke 18:1-8

Tags: Parable Widow, Prayer Persistence

Praying 'til They Change

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 1, 2004

PRAYING TIL THEY CHANGE “George Mueller, the founder of a great Christian orphanage work in England in the 1800’s, was a powerful man of prayer. He knew the importance of keeping at prayer evne when the answer seemed delayed. When he was young he began praying that two of his friends might be ...read more

Scripture: Luke 18:1-8

Tags: Parable Widow

Being Heard By The Judge  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 1, 2004

BEING HEARD BY THE JUDGE To understand the story of the persistent widow, we need to understand its New Testament setting, Wiersbe describes it this way, “The courtroom was not a fine building but a tent that was moved from place to place as the judge covered his circuit. The judge, not the law, ...read more

Scripture: Luke 18:1-8

Tags: Parable Widow, Prayer Persistence

Begging The Governor

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 1, 2004

BEGGING THE GOVERNOR The story of a Danish noblewoman, Baroness Blixen, was made known in the movie "Out Of Africa." She lived in Kenya as the owner of a large Coffee plantation. There was a tribe known as the Kikuyu tribe that Blixen had grown to love. Some of the Kikuyu lived on a part of the ...read more

Scripture: Luke 18:1-8

Tags: Parable Widow, Prayer Persistence

A National Omnibus Survey Commissioned By ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 1, 2004

A national Omnibus survey commissioned by spirituality.com in September 2003 focused on gratitude. The random national sample of more than 1,000 adults gives details on how grateful America feels today, and how Americans express that gratitude. Through that survey here are some of the benefits that ...read more