In Sermon Illustrations: "Serving Others"

Simon Birch: A Purpose In Life

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 26, 2011

SIMON BIRCH: A PURPOSE IN LIFE How many of you remember a movie by the name of Simon Birch that came out in 1998? It tells the story of a twelve-year-old boy named Simon Birch who, despite his physical disabilities, believes that God has a plan for his life. "Simon was born tiny and with an ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 138:8

Tags: Examples Of Faith

Parable Of An Old Farmer And His Massey ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 27, 2012

PARABLE OF AN OLD FARMER AND HIS MASSEY FERGUSON “One cool spring morning a old man got up and opened the back door to his little farm house. It’s early in the morning and there are still a couple stars out; the grass is covered in dew. He walks over to the barn and pulls the large doors open to ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 13:1-30

Tags: Parable Sower And Seed

Power And Discipline  PRO

Contributed by Jeff Strite on May 5, 2013

POWER AND DISCIPLINE Over here is a wall socket. There is power in that socket. Because of that power, I can plug lamps, fans, microwaves and phone chargers into it and magically empower those devises. I can even plug a car charger into a wall socket and revive a dead car battery (like I’ve had to ...read more

Tags: Experience

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Revealing The Spectrum Of God’s Love

Contributed by Fred Parker on Oct 23, 2014

Written by Pastor Fred Parker Sat, 4th June, 2011 Matthew 5:16 “…let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” NIV Early one morning not long ago, I was reminded that the aura of God is revealed in the beauty of His light. The clouds were ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:16

Tags: Love, Light Of Truth, Spectrum, Jesus Loves

Denomination: Pentecostal

Conversion Of A Communist

Contributed by Tim Smith on Sep 25, 2016

Leonard Ravenhill tells the story of preaching an 8-day crusade in a large church in Glasgow, Scotland starting the first day of World War II. That shattered his meetings and no more than 50 people showed, so they started to meet in a side room instead. Despite this, he preached his heart out every ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:1-10

Tags: Resurrection, Power

Denomination: Methodist

Are We Forever Trapped?

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Feb 17, 2017

METAL BARS OR MENTAL BARS... There is a story that comes from Russia of the BEAR THAT WAS FOREVER TRAPPED. There had been a great fire that burned miles of forest in Russia. Much of the wild life had been destroyed. There was a truck traveling along the edges of the destruction and a ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 3:7

Tags: Opportunity, Open Door

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Best Christmas Illustration Ever!  PRO

Contributed by Tim Smith on Aug 13, 2017

The brand new pastor and his wife were assigned to their first church in Brooklyn and were to reopen it. They arrived in early October excited about their opportunities. When they saw the church, it was run down and needed a lot of work. They set a goal to have everything done in time to have their ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 3:1

Tags: Christmas, Advent, Christmas Reunion

Denomination: Methodist

The Bible – For Mature Audiences Only

Contributed by Todd Catteau on Nov 5, 2019

Recently I have been preaching sermons on topics submitted by the members of the church. I thought that was a good idea until someone requested I preach from Genesis 38. It’s not your typical children’s bedtime Bible story. It’s more on the lines of a scandalous storyline for a daytime soap ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 1:5-10

Tags: Sin, Rahab, Samson, Judah, Tamar, Grace, Forgiveness  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

So If The Kingdom Of Heaven Is So Valuable, Why ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

So if the kingdom of heaven is so valuable, why doesn’t everybody do everything they can to be a part of it? I think it’s because value is often in the eye of the beholder. What has value and what doesn’t is really up to personal interpretation. What some people think are valuable have no value at ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 3:1-12

Tags: Fig Tree, Parable General

All The Credit Goes To Dr. Sam Luke For This ...  PRO

Contributed by Rich Wyatt on Sep 27, 2007

All the credit goes to Dr. Sam Luke for this illustration. Dr. Luke tells this story: I was taking the church through Evangelism Explosion in an effort to go out and witness for Christ. But there is an added dimension to witnessing, the Holy Spirit. I was going to teach everyone how to witness ...read more

Denomination: Church Of God

What Is More Alarming That An Outbreak Of ...

Contributed by Brian Harvison on Sep 30, 2008

What is more alarming that an outbreak of fire? The fire of sin broke out in Eden And has spread over the whole world The only way of escape is to be pulled out There is a ladder of escape like the ladder Jacob dreamed of, that reaches to heaven it is John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, ...read more

Tags: Sin Deceptive

Denomination: Baptist

Love Beyond Sight

Contributed by Jm Raja Lawrence on Sep 23, 2023

Love Beyond Sight In a quaint village nestled amidst rolling hills, there lived a man whose love story would be told for generations to come. His name was Samuel, and he was known far and wide for his kindness and his love for his wife, Sarah. Samuel had met Sarah on a sunny day at the village ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:4, John 13:34, 1 Peter 4:8, Matthew 19:6

Tags: Love, Kindness

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Monkey Business

Contributed by David Dunn on Jan 15, 2026

I want to tell you a story about monkeys. This story takes place in a country called India. When I was about your age, I lived with my parents and my brothers and sisters in India. In that country they have monkeys. The monkeys don’t live in zoos like they do here. They live in the trees—right ...read more

Scripture: James 1:5, Proverbs 15:1

Tags: Mercy, Wisdom

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

[320]. A Message From A Poem - Ungrateful Wretches – The Lepers

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Mar 24, 2026

[320]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM - UNGRATEFUL WRETCHES – THE LEPERS Ingratitude is a sign of the times. People are becoming more selfish and self-centred and demanding as the Church age draws to a close. This is also in line with 2 Timothy 3:1-4. So many today are just not thankful, and I suppose ...read more

Scripture: Luke 17:12-18, Luke 6:35

Tags: Jesus, Thankfulness, Leprosy, Thankful, Cleansing, Ungrateful, Unthankful, Lepers, Giving Thanks, Wretch, Ungratefulness, Christian Poems  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

A Little Girl's Prayer  PRO

Contributed by Tim Zingale on Oct 15, 2001

A LITTLE GIRL’S PRAYER One night I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward; but in spite of all we could do she died, leaving us with a tiny premature baby and a crying two-year-old daughter. We would have difficulty keeping the baby alive, as we had no incubator (we had no electricity ...read more

Scripture: James 5:17, Hosea 6:2

Tags: Faith, Prayer General, Prayer Answered, Prayer

Denomination: Lutheran

A Supernatural Event!" Matthew 5:43-48 Key ...

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Jan 31, 2005

“A Supernatural Event!” Matthew 5:43-48 Key verse(s): 44:“‘But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.’” Pray for them who hate you! We know that this is what Jesus taught. And there are examples from Scripture of those who have dealt with their enemies in this manner. ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:43-48

Tags: Prayer Persistence

Denomination: Lutheran

April 18, 2005 "Good Name Above Good Gain!" ...

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Apr 14, 2005

April 18, 2005 “Good Name Above Good Gain!” Genesis 43:1-12 Key verse(s) 12:“Take double the amount of silver with you, for you must return the silver that was put back in the mouths of your sacks.” In a world so caught up in rules and regulations it is not surprising that in that regulating ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 26:31-35, Genesis 43:1-12

Tags: Leadership General

Denomination: Lutheran

I Love The Picture Of Sweet Baby Jesus, But We ...

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Dec 15, 2009

I Love the Picture of Sweet Baby Jesus, but we don’t seem to like to think of God destroying mankind like He did in Genesis 6. We prefer the tamed version of God. The sanitized, warm, cuddly kind of God who does everything for us but tuck us in at night. The sweet baby Jesus rather than the Jesus ...read more

Tags: Judgment

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

I Wish I Had Torn It To Pieces  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

“I WISH I HAD TORN IT TO PIECES” On December 26, 2002, Jack Whittaker’s life changed forever Jack had grown up in West Virginia and he knew that it was like to be poor. At the age of 55 all of that had changed. It had changed with a lot of hard work and perseverance. He had managed to scrape ...read more

Tags: Parable Prodigal Son

My Oh My What A Nice Slice Of Pie

Contributed by James Snyder on Aug 13, 2022

Whenever things go better than you can imagine, it is always a red flag to pay attention because something is wrong. I don’t always catch it, and I have paid the price. One day this past week, The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage and our daughters and granddaughters planned a girl’s day. I ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 37:4

Tags: Together, Sharing

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance