In Sermon Illustrations: "Shepherd"

Keeping The Lights Burning

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 28, 2008

KEEPING THE LIGHTS BURNING Robert Russell, pastor and author, tells a story of how about twenty years ago there was a house near the entrance of his subdivision that kept their Christmas lights burning long after the season was past. They burned through January. Even through the first of February ...read more

Tags: God Brings Hope

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

Does He Show?  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 17, 2009

DOES HE SHOW? One Sunday as they drove home from church, a little girl turned to her mother and said, "Mommy, there’s something about the preacher’s message this morning that I don’t understand." The mother said, "Oh? What is it?" The little girl replied, "Well, he said that God is bigger than ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 2:20

Tags: Christian Witness

Blackaby Shares From His Book "The Power Of ...

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Feb 26, 2010

Blackaby shares from his book “The Power of the Call” pages 10-14 on a clear picture of what one looks like who is called by God into pastoral ministry: i. The pastor is chosen ii. He is chosen by God iii. He is chosen by God to be His servant iv. He is chosen by God to shepherd His people v. He ...read more

Tags: Ordination, Pastoral Ministry

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Stop "Supposing"

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Nov 21, 2011

STOP "SUPPOSING" I remember reading the story of a faithful but fairly poor Christian woman. She was always cheerful and smiling and excited about life. But she was so cheerful that a friend of hers decided she was too cheerful. She needed a dose of "reality" and perspective. So the friend said ...read more

Tags: Fear And Worry

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Fear Of Flying?

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 4, 2012

FEAR OF FLYING? A man is sitting in the coach section of a flight from New York to Chicago, biting his fingernails and sweating profusely. Noticing his disturbed expression, a flight attendant walks over and says, "Sir, can I get you something from the bar to calm you down?" The man gives a nod ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 3:3

Tags: Alcohol

We Can See In Our National Headlines The Power ...  PRO

Contributed by D. Greg Ebie on Jun 8, 2002

We can see in our national headlines the power of unity to fulfill a common goal. Each of us will never forget what happened September 11, 2001. Out of that terrible day we saw our nation join together in unity. President George W. Bush had the support of the nation as he led the nation into ...read more

Scripture: Romans 15:5-15, Romans 15:5-6

Tags: Unity

Denomination: Assembly Of God

The Days Before Christmas  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 12, 2002

The Days Before Christmas Twas the days before Christmas, and all through the Church The pews are all filling, as everyone perched. The hands are all shaking, and greetings abound Soon I’ll go to the pulpit, prepared to expound. I spent the whole week trying to hear what God’s saying Studying, ...read more

Tags: Christmas

In 1990, There Were Only Three Known Christia...

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Aug 3, 2009

In 1990, there were only three known Christians in Kazakhstan and no Christians in Uzbekistan, but now more than 15,000 in Kazakhstan and 30, 000 in Uzbekistan. There were only 500 Christians in Iran in 1979, but more than one million Iranians believing Jesus Christ today, most of whom meet in ...read more

Tags: Missions, Islamic Extremism

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Tree Toppers  PRO

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Dec 19, 2011

TREE TOPPERS I visited a blog that was selling some of these tree toppers and the variety astounded me: Some were wintery decorations. Things like: * Snowmen * Ginger bread men * Spires that looked like the steeples of a Russian church buildings. Then, there were some peculiar decorations ...read more

Tags: Christmas

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

D.l. Moody On Grace

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 31, 2012

D.L. MOODY ON GRACE D.L. Moody was an American evangelist (February 5, 1837 - December 22, 1899 - 62 years). Moody said: "Grace isn't a little prayer you chant before receiving a meal. It's a way to live. The law tells me how crooked I am. Grace comes along and straightens me out." He also said: ...read more

Scripture: Luke 18:18-30

Tags: Grace

John Newton's Self-Assessment  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 4, 2012

JOHN NEWTON'S SELF-ASSESSMENT Two or three years before the death of John Newton (former slave ship captain and eventual author of the song, "Amazing Grace"), when his sight was so dim that he was no longer able to read, a friend and brother in the ministry called to have breakfast with him. ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 1:12-17

Tags: Grace

He's Back

Contributed by Paul Steen on Dec 24, 2018

A woman looked out of her window and saw her German shepherd shaking the life out of her neighbor's rabbit. Her family did not get along well with these neighbors so this was going to be a disaster. She grabbed a broom and pummeled the dog until he dropped the rabbit. Then she panicked. The ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:5, Hebrews 13:20

Tags: Confidence, Return, Dead, Expectations, Disappoint, Death, Glory, Hope  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Calvary Chapel

Lost Sheep

Contributed by Steve Kinnard on Aug 9, 2019

When the sheep strayed, the shepherd left the 99 and searched for the lost one. I was that lost sheep, I got saved at an early age, and loved the lord with all my heart. Everything was great in my life, I married the girl of my dreams, then my world fell apart. In 1968, I got a letter from ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:4

Tags: Loss, Recovery

Denomination: Pentecostal

[080]. A Message From A Poem – Faithfully He Is Watching

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Apr 12, 2025

[080]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – FAITHFULLY HE IS WATCHING The poem here you will read is one of my top favourites. It resonates so much with me. It just flowed and when it does that it is joyous. I truly hope you can relate to it. This poem was written on the day I received notification that ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 23:6, Job 1:21

Tags: Watching, God Hears, Forsake, Poem, Orphans, Cares, Abandoned, Faithful, Friendship, Deliverance, Merciful, Poetry  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

In The Book Of Revelation, Jesus Himself Speaks ...

Contributed by John Cuddeford on Nov 1, 2007

In the book of Revelation, Jesus himself speaks to them. He commends them for many things. But then he adds this sobering rebuke. “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. ” (Rev. 2:4) WHO is your FIRST LOVE? Over the years, have the pursuits, the distractions, the ...read more

Denomination: *other

When The Wise Men Come To Jesus, They Bring Three ...  PRO

Contributed by Hal Seed on Dec 4, 2007

When the wise men come to Jesus, they bring three gifts: Gold, which is the gift for royalty, a gift for a king. Incense, which was for divinity, a gift you give a God. And myrrh, which is a funeral gift, a gift used for burial. Their gifts show amazing insight. At first hearing, you might think ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 2:12-16, Matthew 2:1-12, Luke 2:1-12

Tags: Adoration, Antichrist, Magi, Six Foot Hole

Denomination: Baptist

We Need More Training  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 28, 2008

WE NEED MORE TRAINING I have decided to join the US Army. Depending on whether or not I could pass the physical.... Well, let's assume I did. In that case, I figure it should only take me about one week of training and I'll be ready to go to Iraq or Afghanistan. OH COME ON NOW! We all know better ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:24-27

Tags: Attendance, Church Body Of Christ

Shirley Maclaine On Self

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 28, 2008

SHIRLEY MACLAINE ON SELF Actress Shirley MacLaine said one time, "The most pleasurable journey you take is through yourself...the only sustaining love involvement is with yourself... When you look back on your life and try to figure out where you've been and where you're going, when you look at ...read more

Tags: Self

Don't Just Count Them, Look Them In The Eye

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 28, 2009

DON’T JUST COUNT THEM, LOOK THEM IN THE EYE An item in Leadership magazine illustrates the importance of giving attention to needs, not just to numbers. "During World War II, economist E.F. Schumacher, then a young statistician, worked on a farm. Each day he would count the 32 head of cattle, then ...read more

Tags: Church Body Of Christ