In Sermon Illustrations: "Serve"

George Müller Told Of A Wealthy German Whose Wife ...  PRO

Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Jun 25, 2007

George Müller told of a wealthy German whose wife was a devout believer. This man was a heavy drinker, spending late nights in the tavern. She would send the servants to bed, stay up till he returned, receive him kindly, and never scold him or complain. At times she would even have to undress him ...read more

Denomination: Other

Pastor And Author Stuart Briscoe Writes: I Was In ...

Contributed by Bruce Ritter on Feb 2, 2008

Pastor and author Stuart Briscoe writes: I was in Edinburgh about a year ago speaking at Charlotte Chapel, and a delightful young lady gave her testimony. She had come back from Kabul, Afghanistan, where she was a missionary nurse. She said how she was really enjoying the work she was doing there, ...read more

Denomination: Assembly Of God

The Power Of An Angry Attitude

Contributed by Eric Ferguson on May 27, 2008

THE POWER OF AN ANGRY ATTITUDE You may say, "I am allowed to do anything." But I reply, "Not everything is good for you." And even though 'I am allowed to do anything,' I must not become a slave to anything. -- 1 Corinthians 6:12 (NLT) An athletic young man stood before his peers. An ordinary ...read more

Tags: Attitude General

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Ever-Flowing Stream Of Grace  PRO

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

Ever-flowing Stream Of Grace "Empowerment for Service" Jesus taught, "Christians know His voice." Christians also know, [He] is the Lord [and] He is the everlasting God, the Creator of... the earth. He [does] not grow tired or weary..." (Isaiah 40:28) "Empowerment for Service: We serve the ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 40:8

Tags: Grace

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

How Much Is Enough?

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 11, 2008

HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH? Each week Kevin Tunell was required to mail a dollar to a family he'd rather forget. They sued him for $1.5 million but settled for just $936, to be paid a dollar at a time. The family expected the payment each Friday so Tunell would not forget what happened on the first Friday ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness For Others

War Is ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 2, 2008

WAR IS HELL War is defined as “a state of usually open and declared armed hostile conflict between states or nations,” or more generally, as “a state of hostility, conflict, or antagonism.” About 15 years ago a group of academics and historians compiled some startling information. Since 3600 BC, ...read more

Scripture: Mark 13:1-8

Tags: War

God Restores Banged-Up ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 10, 2009

GOD RESTORES BANGED-UP PEOPLE Gary Inrig’s story in his book, Quality Friendships: Years ago, one family had a son who was in the Korean War. They had not heard from him for 10 months and were very concerned. Time went on and the war ended. Finally their son called home. The mother was excited. ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:17

Tags: Restoration

I Am Reminded Of Herman Melville's Description Of ...

Contributed by Johnny Wilson on Feb 27, 2009

I am reminded of Herman Melville’s description of the pulpit in Moby Dick. It’s actually a description of a real pulpit in the Whaler’s Chapel that a Jewish friend went out of his way to show me in New Bedford, Massachusetts. It reads: Its paneled front was in the likeness of a ship’s bluff bows, ...read more

Tags: Preaching

Denomination: *other

I Was No Longer The Dirty American

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

I was no longer the Dirty American I read a story the other day on the Internet by a missionary to India named Doug Nichols. Nichols was serving as a missionary in India when a bout with tuberculosis landed him in a public hospital for a spell. It wasn’t like hospitals here. It was a big ward ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness General

Chaplains Give Their Lives To Save Sailors During ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 26, 2010

Chaplains Give Their Lives to Save Sailors during World War II On February 3, 1943, the USS Dorchester would become another casualty of World War II. But unlike others before it, what would take place on the upper deck of the Dorchester would become a testament of brotherly love and ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 20:28

Tags: Sacrifice, Heroism

If I Loved Him Better, I Would Paint Him ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 27, 2010

"If I loved him better, I would paint him better!”--Paul Gustave Doré Paul Gustave Doré was born in Strasburg, January 10, 1833. He was well-known for illustrating many works, including a version of the Bible. (You can download the set of pen and ink drawing from Project Gutenberg.) The story is ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 31:2-3

Tags: Jesus, Love For God

Who Says So?

Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on Jun 29, 2010

WHO SAYS SO? A previous church I served had a lot of acreage and had turned part of it into 3 softball diamonds. Monday - Thursday nights, all summer long, various church leagues played their slow-pitch games there. Three of the leagues ran everything for their evening but one league was run ...read more

Tags: Authority

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

History Of Spam  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 30, 2010

HISTORY OF SPAM In the 1930s, Jay Hormel noticed that there was some perfectly good, though not necessarily desirable, pork-shoulder meat going to waste in his meat-packing plant. So he, being the entrepreneur that he was, came up with the idea of processing that meat with a little ham and ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 17:1-24

Tags: God's Provision

Identity

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 1, 2011

IDENTITY Nicolas Sarkozy, President of France has proposed a decree that would ban anyone from wearing religious symbols of any kind. The decree is aimed particularly at forbidding Muslim women from wearing their traditional burqa with a full-faced veil. However the decree is broad enough that it ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 3:26-28

Tags: Religion

Would You Hire Him?

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 2, 2011

WOULD YOU HIRE HIM? A certain church found itself suddenly without a pastor, and a search committee was formed. In due course it received a letter from a man applying for the vacant position. The committee chairman read: "I am considered to be a good preacher, and I have been a leader in most of ...read more

Scripture: Acts 26:1-29

Tags: Paul

The Hypocrisy Of Robert Courtney  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 12, 2011

THE HYPOCRISY OF ROBERT COURTNEY Before his arrest, Robert Courtney served as a deacon at Northland Cathedral, an Assembly of God Church in Kansas City. In 1990, Courtney began purchasing pharmaceuticals on the gray market and using them to fill prescriptions at his pharmacy. In time, he began ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 23:23-28

Tags: Hypocrisy

Running The Race God's Way

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 16, 2011

RUNNING THE RACE GOD'S WAY Joni Eareckson Tada recently told a story commenting on Romans 15:1-2: "We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up." She writes, "My husband, Ken, serves ...read more

Scripture: Romans 15:1-2

Tags: Compassion

Heavenly Home

Contributed by Davon Huss on Nov 3, 2014

Daniel Overdorf- One Friday afternoon I struggled to prepare for the weekend. The week’s hectic pace, filled with activities, left me scrambling on Friday to finish my sermon. While I hunched over my desk, unable to develop anything that resembled a sermon, the office phone rang. From the ...read more

Scripture: 2 Peter 3:13

Tags: Heaven, Heavenly Home, Entering God's Rest

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Pastoral Ministry Crisis

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 30, 2015

2009 Statistics Of Why Pastors Leave the Ministry by Fuller Institute, George Barna and Pastoral Care Inc, Focus On The Family. 1,500 pastors leave the ministry permanently each month in America. 4,000 new churches start each year in America. 7,000 churches close each year in America. 25% of ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 11:28-29

Tags: Pastoral Leadership, Pastoral Ministry

The Height Of Hypocrisy

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Jan 14, 2018

Sanctity of Human Life Sunday The Height of Hypocrisy - Forgiveness Offered "Thirty six year old - Derek Paul Smyer pronounced guilty of two counts of murder for arranging the killing of Crystal Taylor and her 21 week old fetus because she would not have an abortion. Derek Paul Smyer was found ...read more

Tags: Abortion, Sanctity Of Life, Abortions

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational