In Sermon Illustrations: "Shepherd"

Boice On The Virgin Birth  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 28, 2009

BOICE ON THE VIRGIN BIRTH One well-known Christian author, James Montgomery Boice, eloquently documents amazing things Jesus’ virgin birth, sinless life and sacrificial death accomplished for mankind as an amazing sign of His love. Jesus endured a human birth to give us a new spiritual birth. ...read more

Scripture: John 1:14

Tags: Birth Of Jesus

Vance Havner On How To Reach The Masses  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 28, 2010

VANCE HAVNER ON HOW TO REACH THE MASSES Preacher Vance Havner used to tell this story: Years ago a convention met in Indianapolis to discuss "How to Reach the Masses." One day during that convention a young man stood on a box on a corner and began to preach. A crowd gathered, mostly workingmen ...read more

Scripture: Romans 10:14-15

Tags: Evangelism How To

Losing Jesus

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Dec 13, 2010

LOSING JESUS For about 14 years, I have been teaching AWANA. I teach each of our three division, beginning with a puppet skit and then a flannel graph lesson with felt figures. I taught the Christmas Story to the Sparks, K-2nd grade, then I moved everything into the auditorium to teach the Flames ...read more

Tags: Birth Of Jesus

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Running With A Stopwatch

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 15, 2012

RUNNING WITH A STOPWATCH Long-distance runner Paavo Nurmi of Finland was an Olympic champion, winning twelve medals (nine of them gold) in the 1920, 1924, and 1928 Games. Nurmi was famous not only for his achievements, but also for running with a stopwatch in his hand to check his performance. ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 12:1-13

Tags: Disciplines General

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

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

[203]. A Message From A Poem - On The Eve Of Trial

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Sep 17, 2025

[203]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM - ON THE EVE OF TRIAL This poem was written at the airport when I had to go away for a very unjust hearing before a wicked, unjust Commissioner/Judge, and the whole setup was so evil. If you ever feel the dragon’s breath then you will know what I mean. I don’t wish ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:13, John 16:33

Tags: Unjust, Trials, Trepidation, Peace, Overcome, Tribulation, Control, Trial, Injustice, World, Fear, Christ  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

I Received The Following Story As One Of Those ...  PRO

Contributed by David Brockhouse on Apr 3, 2008

I received the following story as one of those “dreaded” forwarded emails. I think it’s a fitting way to end a Wednesday Lenten message on Obedience ----from the eyes of a child. Story of God lives under the Bed. I envy Kevin. He thinks God lives under his bed. One night he was praying out loud ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 85:7-8

Tags: Fear, Doubt, Outreach, Man, Support, Obedience, Wish, Bottle, Genie, Love Others, Shepherd, Help, Trusting God, Goodness, Restoration, Finish  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Lutheran

[048]. A Message From A Poem – Christmas Travesty – Pseudo Christmas

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Mar 6, 2025

[048]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – CHRISTMAS TRAVESTY – PSEUDO CHRISTMAS Walking through a shopping centre at Christmas time was a depressing trip. All around were merchants parading their wares with full commercialisation; fake Santa Claus(es) everywhere and the occasional songs being played – ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:6-7, Luke 2:8-14

Tags: Travesty, Infant Jesus, Pseudo Christmas, False Christmas, Christmas, False, Poetry, Poem, Santa Claus, Commercialism  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Why So ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 15, 2009

“Why so Cheerful?” On a train to Liverpool a Christian worker found himself in a crowded compartment seated near two soldiers, one a private, and the other a sergeant in his middle thirties. The private was a young lad, ruddy and open of countenance. The Christian worker’s heart went out to the ...read more

Scripture: Habakkuk 3:18

Tags: Joy

The Church's Identity And Purpose

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 15, 2009

THE CHURCH'S IDENTITY AND PURPOSE In his book, The Family of God, Batsell Barrett Baxter says the following: "There are some who think of the church as an organization like other organizations. It is true that the church is an organization, but it is not primarily an organization. Rather, it is ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 1:22-23, Ephesians 1:21-23

Tags: Church Purpose Of

Putting The Dog In Dogma

Contributed by Christopher Lanham on Jul 22, 2010

PUTTING THE DOG IN DOGMA The pit bull, as you may know, is bred to be a fighter. But what you may not know is what they were originally bred to fight with. The pit bull is a actually a mutt that made good -- having terrier and mastiff breeds in its line. From the mastiff side of the tree, they ...read more

Tags: Doctrine

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Unity Of The Bible

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 4, 2021

Notice the UNITY of the Bible. it is miraculous! * The Bible was written over a period of 1,500 years. • The Bible was written by over 40 different authors (Among them were kings, military leaders, peasants, philosophers, fishermen, tax collectors, poets, statesmen, musicians, ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Timothy 4:1-3

Tags: Bible, Scripture, Christ, Plan Of Salvation, Unity Of The Bible  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Work Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 9, 2008

Work of Love Aleida Huissen, 78, of Rotterdam, Netherlands, has been smoking for 50 years. And for 50 years she has been trying to give up her harmful habit. But she has not been successful—that is, until recently. She has now given up cigarettes, cigars, and pipes. GOODNESS GRACIOUS! The secret? ...read more

Tags: Sacrifices

Scientists Hypothesize That If Time Travel Were ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 23, 2002

Scientists hypothesize that if time travel were possible and we could go back 1000 years, one of the things that would shock us most would be the silence. Think about it. All the background noise of our modern world: television, telephones, radios, cars, planes, refrigerators...none of which ...read more

I Never Will Forget Hearing The Testimony Of A ...  PRO

Contributed by John Williams Iii on Feb 10, 2003

I never will forget hearing the testimony of a pastor whose experience I heard on tape one day in class, when I was in seminary. I do not remember the pastor’s name. But, I can recall most of what he said when he gave the testimony that I am about to share with you. He said, "When I first started ...read more

Tags: Compassion, Church Purpose Of

Denomination: United Methodist

Those Who Don't Understand The Food That God ...  PRO

Contributed by Eric Stefanski on Aug 3, 2003

Those who don’t understand the food that God gives, those who don’t see how deep their need is for it, also consider the Gospel and Sacrament as ’fleeting’, and they seek some new ’rush’ in worship, desiring an emotional high, no matter how lacking in nutrition such a meal is. It’s like the ...read more

Tags: Lord's Supper

Denomination: Lutheran