In Sermon Illustrations: "Show Off"

Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman Told Of A Distinguished ...

Contributed by Ajai Prakash on Feb 25, 2009

Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman told of a distinguished minister, Dr. Howard, from Australia who preached very strongly on the subject of SIN. After the service, one of the church deacons came to counsel with him in the study. "Dr. Howard," he said, "we don’t want you to talk as openly as you do about man’s ...read more

Tags: Sin General

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Max Lucado And God's Grace

Contributed by Guy Mcgraw on Mar 12, 2009

MAX LUCADO AND GOD'S GRACE Max Lucado - Despite having sold 15 million books, a one-minute radio show in 900 markets, and a church of over 3,000 in weekly attendance, Lucado has not always been so "angelic." From his sophomore to senior year in high school, in his words, he "walked the path of the ...read more

Tags: Grace

Kent Hughes Told An Old Middle Eastern Story ...

Contributed by Davon Huss on Mar 23, 2009

Kent Hughes told an old Middle Eastern story that shows the futility of salvation by works. A man was traveling on his donkey when he came upon a small fuzzy object lying in the road. He dismounted to look more closely and found a sparrow lying on its back with its scrawny legs thrust skyward. ...read more

Tags: Salvation

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

What Must I ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 24, 2009

WHAT MUST I DO? Harvey Penick’s Little Red Book on golf has sold more than a million copies. It is one of the biggest things in the history of sports books. In the 1920s, Penick bought a red spiral notebook and began jotting down observations about golf. He never showed the book to anyone except ...read more

Scripture: Acts 16:29-31

Tags: Salvation

Patience In Waiting

Contributed by Sean Harder on Dec 4, 2009

PATIENCE IN WAITING Here’s one I am sure you can relate to. You’re in a hurry to get somewhere and your wife or girlfriend, or kids don’t share your sense of urgency. There you are waiting at the door or in the car for them to get ready to go. Now what are you experiencing inside? Are you ...read more

Anthropology And Jesus' Appearance

Contributed by Jim Kane on Feb 27, 2010

ANTHROPOLOGY AND JESUS' APPEARANCE This past week I attended a series of lectures at Anderson University in which the presenter, Dr Rodney Sadler, Jr from Union Seminary in Charlotte, North Carolina showed this picture. (Slide 2) Source: ...read more

Tags: Jesus Christ

Denomination: Church Of God

A Bug's Life: Small Steps Of Faith

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Mar 15, 2010

A BUG'S LIFE: SMALL STEPS OF FAITH A Bug’s Life, Start time 6:30 Overview from Belknapp: Dot complains to Flik about her underdeveloped wings. She wants to fly now! Flik encourages her, showing her that a seed that starts out small eventually grows into a towering tree-it only takes time and ...read more

Tags: Faith

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

I Just Want The Site

Contributed by Bobby Scobey on Apr 28, 2010

"I JUST WANT THE SITE" London businessman Lindsay Clegg told the story of a warehouse property he was selling. The building had been empty for months and needed repairs. Vandals had damaged the doors, smashed the windows, and strewn trash all over the place. As he showed a prospective buyer ...read more

Tags: Becoming A Christian

Denomination: Pentecostal

The Key To The Spiritual Life

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 17, 2011

THE KEY TO THE SPIRITUAL LIFE At age 16, Madame Jeanne Guyon (1648-1717) was forced into an arranged marriage with an invalid 22 years older. She found her marriage to be one of utter humiliation. Her husband was often angry and melancholy. Her mother-in-law was a merciless critic. Even the maid ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 1:3-11

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Light In The Darkness

Contributed by David Simpson on Jan 15, 2013

LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS Have you ever been in on one of those guided tours of any of a number of caves around our country ... like Ruby Falls, or Carlsbad Caverns or another one. Our family went to the Carlsbad Caves in New Mexico years ago. And as they do in so many places, they’ll turn out the ...read more

Tags: Light, Outreach, Darkness

Denomination: Christian Church

Martyrdom Of John ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 1, 2013

MARTYRDOM OF JOHN DENLEY One day, on the way to visit some friends, John Denley was stopped and searched by the authorities, who found his written confession of faith. Denley believed the Church was built upon the apostles and prophets, with Christ as its head, and that the present state church, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:10-12

Tags: Faith, Persecution, Martyr

Daddy, What Does It Feel Like To Die?  PRO

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 19, 2014

Years ago I heard the compelling story of a young pastor whose son was very sick and not expected to live long. Night after night the pastor and his wife would put their boy to bed and say a prayer hoping for a miracle. One evening, the boy looked at his father and said, "Daddy, what does it feel ...read more

Scripture: John 14:1-6, 2 Timothy 3:1-9

Tags: Death, Children, Heaven, Grief

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Clean Pigeon

Contributed by Davon Huss on Oct 9, 2015

Lester Roloff told about visiting a friend in Massillon, Ohio who had a number of pigeons. During the visit his friend showed him one of the birds and said, “See this bird. She just flew 500 miles from St. Louis to Massillon non stop.” Roloff interrupted his host: Come on, non stop! How do you ...read more

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:23

Tags: Clean, Holiness, Sanctify

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Frank’s Combat Trauma

Contributed by Jim Butcher on Apr 10, 2018

Frank Bernadone bore the emotional wounds of his time in the military. His unit had already been through four years of battles when they came to Perugia. The town was heavily fortified, leading his unit’s assault against it to be disastrous. A bloody day of fighting culminated in what was almost ...read more

Tags: Pain, Military, Suffering, Ptsd, Scars  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

The Priest And The Levite (Parable Of The Good Samaritan)

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Mar 20, 2022

Keathley makes several interesting points that the Priest and Levite mentioned in the Parable of the Prodigal Son were leaving Jerusalem and could not use the excuse that they did not want to touch the man and be unclean for worship. Why? They had already accomplished their duties and were heading ...read more

Tags: Priest, Parables, Hypocrisy, Pharisees, Kindness, Levite, Good Samaritan  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

His Rightful Place

Contributed by Glynda Lomax on Apr 11, 2022

I have a dog named Simba. I named him Simba because he is the color of a lion and he has the personality of a lion even though he is a chihuahua. One afternoon, we were really tired and I decided to take a quick nap with Simba. Simba has a certain place on the bed beside me where he always lays. ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:33, Luke 10:41

Tags: Putting God First, Resting, Making Room For God, Making Time For God

Denomination: Charismatic

Children Need To Be Loved

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jul 17, 2023

No more convincing evidence of the absence of parental affection exists than that compiled by Rene Spitz. In a South American orphanage, Spitz observed and recorded what happened to 97 children who were deprived of emotional and physical contact with others. Because of a lack of funds, there was ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:1-5

Tags: Nurture, Touching, Love, Children, Marriage, Parents, Family, Home  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Do You Want To Play Beethoven's Piano?

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Aug 5, 2023

J Vernon McGee offers the following illustration of humility of mind and adds a practical application. The story is told of a group of people who went in to see Beethoven’s home in Germany. After the tour guide had showed them Beethoven’s piano and had finished his lecture, he asked if any of them ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-11, Philippians 2:1-11

Tags: Lowliness Of Mind, Service, Honor, Humility, Spiritual Gifts, Position, Servants  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Was The Church Chosen To Replace The Fallen Angels?

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Aug 24, 2024

Augustine believed that God created the order of angels to exist in a perfect harmonic balance with one another which was subsequently lost due to the fall of Satan (and those who followed Satan in his rebellion). This showed the tragedy which developed as a result of Satan’s rebellion. Not only ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 12:1-4

Tags: Spirits, Sovereignty Of God, Devils, Worship, Heaven, Satan, Angels, Demons, Rebellion, Church  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Do Not Love The World

Contributed by Ken Mckinley on Jan 7, 2025

Now imagine this with me for a second. Let’s say you have a pillow and let’s say the family dog got ahold of that pillow and used it for a litter box… so you took it out and put it in the dumpster, and a family of rats moved into it and used it for a bed. And just before the day the trash truck ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 2:15

Tags: Love Of Jesus, Desire, Love Of The World

Denomination: Independent/Bible