In Sermon Illustrations: "Signs Of The Times"

Who Is This Guy?

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Aug 29, 2011

WHO IS THIS GUY? Chuck Colson relates this interesting story in his book How Then Should We Live?: "In William Steig's Yellow & Pink, a delightfully whimsical picture book for children, two wooden figures wake up to find themselves lying on an old newspaper in the hot sun. One figure is painted ...read more

Tags: Creation

Denomination: Methodist

Making Service A Joy

Contributed by David Parks on Sep 2, 2011

MAKING SERVICE A JOY An amusing story was told to me by the manager of a New York hotel. The great Paderewski occupied a suite there a number of years ago during one of his seasons at Carnegie Hall. It was the master’s custom to practice for a couple of hours every morning on the magnificent ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 4:9-11

Tags: Servanthood

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Honey All The Way Down  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 8, 2011

HONEY ALL THE WAY DOWN In one of his famous escapades, Winnie the Pooh, this lovable toy bear, tries to trap an elephant--or, as he pronounces it, a heffalump. So Pooh digs a hole to catch the heffalump, and decides to bait the trap with some of his own favorite food: honey. But of course, it is ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 15:1-28

Tags: Hypocrisy, Prejudice

Are You Doing What You Are Called To Do?  PRO

Contributed by Brad Henry on Sep 19, 2011

ARE YOU DOING WHAT YOU ARE CALLED TO DO? Last week was a very interesting week. About a year ago, when our finances started to dwindle, I sent my resume out to an Executive Search Group (Headhunter). Now that’s a unique name! Last week, I got a call that there was a possibility of an awesome ...read more

Tags: God's Sovereign Will

We Need Models

Contributed by Greg Nance on Dec 15, 2011

WE NEED MODELS Peter tells us not only that Jesus Christ is the model but what are the tools and pieces to put together so that this model is complete and working for God's glory and our security in our lives. I remember getting a model car for a birthday present when I was about 12. It was a ...read more

Tags: Discipleship

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Know The True From The False

Contributed by Mark Stepherson on Feb 23, 2012

KNOW THE TRUE FROM THE FALSE I have heard and read several variations of this story. Some relate it to training bank tellers, some to treasury agents, and some to FBI agents. I don’t know which, if any, is true. The story makes a good point even if none of the stories are true. It is important ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 1:1-14

Tags: Bible Truth

Denomination: Baptist

The Unending Wish

Contributed by Tim White on Mar 5, 2012

THE UNENDING WISH When I was a boy, my dad asked me if I could have one wish be granted, what would it be? We played that game as a family, and every time my brother or one of my sisters thought of a better wish than I thought about, I would change my wish. Then my dad unplugged all the fun by ...read more

Tags: Wisdom

Denomination: Baptist

Lottery's Biggest Losers

Contributed by Aaron Mishoe on Apr 3, 2012

LOTTERY'S BIGGEST LOSERS Winning the lottery isn’t a guaranteed ticket to the good life, as these previous winners can attest: --Jack Whittaker: This West Virginia businessman won $315 million in the Powerball lottery in 2002, the largest jackpot ever from a single ticket in American history at ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 13:11

Tags: Money

Denomination: Holiness

You Could All Have One If You Wanted  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 26, 2012

YOU COULD ALL HAVE ONE IF YOU WANTED In Gipsy Smith's book The Beauty of Jesus, Gipsy Smith told about Peter Apples, a man (during the Civil War) who went into the enemy's territory. Peter Apples did not know much about being a good soldier. He just knew that when his superior officer said, ...read more

Scripture: John 4:34-38

Tags: Evangelism How To

Glory To God First

Contributed by Ken Henson on Jun 25, 2012

GLORY TO GOD FIRST A man came to Pastor Chuck, the church that I went to for several years while in California, and he said to the pastor that he wanted to make a large donation - about one million dollar donation. The pastor said to that, "Wow -- that is a lot of money. Let me go first and pray ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 15:21-39

Tags: Principles

Denomination: *other

The Story Of George Beverly Shea

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 17, 2012

THE STORY OF GEORGE BEVERLY SHEA George Beverly Shea was a young man in the late 1920s aspiring to become a well-known singer. He entered Houghton College in New York in 1928 to get some good music training, but family financial problems caused him to leave after only one year. He found a job as a ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 2:15-17

Tags: Commitment To Christ

Tractor Pulls And Yokes

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 13, 2013

TRACTOR PULLS AND YOKES Some people like going to events called Tractor Pulls. This is when they cover the floor of an arena with dirt and guys in souped-up tractors compete to see who can pull the heaviest loads. That’s nothing new because long before the internal combustion engine, farmers were ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 11:28-30

Tags: Discipleship

The Gold Wrapping Paper

Contributed by Roy Fowler on Dec 19, 2014

The Gold Wrapping Paper - An Inspirational Short Christmas Story Once upon a time, there was a man who worked very hard just to keep food on the table for his family. This particular year a few days before Christmas, he was upset with his little five-year-old daughter after learning that she had ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:1-19

Tags: Christmas Gift, Anger, Patience, Child Rearing

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Beholding The Night Sky

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Jan 2, 2015

When our daughter was in Junior High School, she made friends with a group of girls from Olney, Texas, a community about forty minutes to the south of us. And they invited her to a function their school was having on a certain Friday night. So, I drove her over, and, when the time came, I went ...read more

Scripture: Romans 1:18-23

Tags: Creation, Doctrine Of God

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Leave You Nickel On The Table

Contributed by Larry Turner on Jan 9, 2015

Everyone who has met my little 4 year old grand-daughter Ava knows she is very witty at times. The things this child says and does often blow me away. Last Sunday she found a nickel on the floor after church. I told her she could keep it. What she did with it was precious and a life lesson. We ...read more

Scripture: Mark 12:41-44

Tags: Trusting God, Assurance, Tithes And Offering

Denomination: Foursquare

Its Over, Elijah Came!

Contributed by Coz Von on Mar 7, 2016

”Elijah was physically taken up into heaven in a flaming chariot of fire. God said: Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their father. Malachi 4:5-6 ...read more

Scripture: Malachi 4:5-6

Tags: Elijah, Love, Happiness, Future, Prophecy, Elijah And Elisha, Miracles Of Elijah, Elijah And Jezebel  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

In The 1971 Film Willy Wonka And The Chocolat...

Contributed by Davon Huss on Aug 25, 2016

In the 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, chocolateer Willy Wonka (played by Gene Wilder) launches a worldwide frenzy when he inserts five golden tickets into his famous Wonka Bars. Each ticket gives the owner a chance to tour the chocolate factory and win a lifetime’s supply of ...read more

Scripture: Mark 10:13-16

Tags: Childlike Faith

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Don't Quit

Contributed by Richard Tow on Jul 18, 2017

Ignace Jan Paderewski, the famous pianist, was scheduled to perform at a great concert hall in America. It was a high-society extravaganza. Present in the audience that evening was a mother and her fidgety nine-year old. She had brought him in the hopes that when he heard the great composer play, ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 18:9-15, 1 Peter 4:12, Hebrews 11:11

Tags: Perseverance, Discouragement, Disappointment

Denomination: Charismatic

The Word Was Being Made Real In The Back Of His Church

Contributed by Tim Smith on Aug 13, 2017

Pastor Thomas Tewell tells the story of getting ready for their 11 p.m. Christmas Eve service. As the people were gathering, a man named Jim came in. Jim was a recovering alcoholic, sober just 6 months, but his disease had cost him his family, his job, just about everything. He went in to the ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:1-10

Tags: Christmas, Grace, Ministry, The Word Made Flesh

Denomination: Methodist

The Titanic And The Importance Preparing Ourselves For Growth

Contributed by David Simpson on Apr 17, 2018

Growth is a natural part of growing up! The Lord wants us to grow up…to feed on Him and get growing! Ephesians 4:15 "Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ." Col. 1:10 "And we pray this in order that you may live a life ...read more

Tags: Immaturity, Be Prepared, Growth, Preparation, Maturity, Selfishness, Disaster  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian Church