In Sermon Illustrations: "Sin Bondage To"

I Have Always Held My Father In High Respect. I ...  PRO

Contributed by Timothy Smith on Dec 23, 2005

I have always held my Father in high respect. I always wanted to please him. But, when I was in 10th grade I lost interest in school. Grades had always been pretty easy and I thought I could just skate by. Besides, everybody knew, baseball and basketball was what was really important. Then I got ...read more

Tags: Cross

Denomination: Christian Church

What Does A Mountain Look Like From An Eagle's ...

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Mar 17, 2006

WHAT DOES A MOUNTAIN LOOK LIKE FROM AN EAGLE’S EYE? When I was a child my Dad pastored a country church in Clemont County, Ohio. Our garden was an important part of our life. We ate from the garden fresh food, and in the winter we had canned food. We were working in the garden, planting Hickory ...read more

Tags: Faith General

Denomination: Assembly Of God

What Child Has Not Watched With Wonder As Mother ...

Contributed by Manuel Amparo on May 10, 2006

What child has not watched with wonder as Mother wielded a needle and thread? But mothers not only make and mend clothes, they make and mend characters! To do this sometimes requires “needling.” The greatest heritage anyone can receive is the influence of a Christian home. But ...read more

Scripture: Acts 11:27-30

Tags: Parenting

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

Some May Think That Putting Boundaries On Sex ...

Contributed by John Shearhart on Sep 27, 2006

Some may think that putting boundaries on sex (something we were created to do) is harmful, but let me assert that boundaries actually prevent harm. Next month, we are going to have a church-wide bon-fire. But what if I told you that once everyone is seated and chatting, we will remove all the ...read more

A.j. Gordon Was The Great Baptist Pastor Of The ...  PRO

Contributed by Paul Fritz on Dec 3, 2006

A.J. Gordon was the great Baptist pastor of the Clarendon Church in Boston, Massachusetts. One day he met a young boy in front of the sanctuary carrying a rusty cage in which several birds fluttered nervously. Gordon inquired, "Son, where did you get those birds?" The boy replied, "I trapped them ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 1:18-19, 1 Peter 1:18-19

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Here's The Bad News

Contributed by Ovidiu Radulescu on Feb 23, 2007

Here’s the bad news It’s the fact that none of us can ever be worthy; it’s the truth that no one can ever earn or merit God’s grace or favor that is the bad news of the gospel. It has been a universal disease of humanity that we want to be worthy. When we have toiled through the heat of the day and ...read more

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

Let Me Relate Pastor Knute Larson's Parable About ...

Contributed by Bobby Scobey on Apr 16, 2007

Let me relate Pastor Knute Larson’s parable about life and mortality. There was a man who jumped from the top of the Empire State Building. That’s 97 floors up. (Or down, which is the way he was looking.) That reminds me of people who are always saying that Christians are funny and sin is ...read more

Denomination: Pentecostal

Every Time I Read This Story In Genesis I Recall ...

Contributed by Todd Stiles on May 2, 2007

Every time I read this story in Genesis I recall a scary situation that happened to me as a boy. I was in Jr. high (my exact age slips me, but I know I couldn’t drive yet), and I was riding my bike to the gym, which was about 30 minutes away in another part of Chattanooga. I had no sooner left the ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

We Never Know Who Will Respond To The Love Of ...

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Jun 17, 2007

We never know who will respond to the love of God and Good News of Jesus Christ, and it is not our job to figure it out, only to keep reaching out to others and sharing the Good News. Mark Early tells the story of Gracia Burnham’s ordeal. She and her husband Martin were missionaries in the ...read more

Denomination: Methodist

Jesus Didn't Just Sit Around The Synagogue All ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Jesus didn’t just sit around the synagogue all day. Jesus didn’t just hang around the temple courtyard all the time. Instead Jesus went out where the people were. He didn’t isolate himself alone on a mountain top. Although he certainly did retreat there from time to time for prayer and refreshment. ...read more

Tags: Call Of The Disciples

When I Was At The Ktis Pastor's Appreciation ...  PRO

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Oct 22, 2007

When I was at the KTIS pastor’s appreciation dinner last week – Dr. Gary Smalley shared how he was a recovering Hedon. He defined that hedonism is the old playboy philosophy of life. When I typed in the word Hedonism on a google search to attain its definition a website came up called “Hedonistic ...read more

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Salvation And Reprobation

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 17, 2009

SALVATION AND REPROBATION Someone may ask, "Of what use then is the doctrine of reprobation?" I am glad you asked! Let me suggest (from Dr. Boice) some useful aspects of the doctrine of reprobation. First, reprobation assures us that God’s purpose has not failed. God has determined the outcome ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 24:24-31

Tags: God's Judgment

Let The Lower Lights Be Burning  PRO

Contributed by Dwight L. Moody on Jun 11, 2009

LET THE LOWER LIGHTS BE BURNING A few years ago, at the mouth of Cleveland harbor, there were two lights, one at each side of the bay, called the upper and lower lights; and to enter the harbor safely by night, vessels must sight both of the lights. These western lakes are more dangerous ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:14-16

Tags: Evangelism How To

Denomination: *other

Mendelssohn And Rembrandt: Artists In Christ

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 10, 2009

MENDELSSOHN AND REMBRANDT: ARTISTS IN CHRIST This past Tuesday we noted the 200th anniversary of the birth of the composer Felix Mendelssohn. Mendelssohn was born into a family with deep spiritual roots. His grandfather Moses Mendelssohn was a rabbi and a philosopher. But Felix’s parents, ...read more

Tags: God Brings Hope

I Was Once Preaching In The Chapel Of A ...

Contributed by Chris Surber on Sep 10, 2009

I was once preaching in the chapel of a retirement village in Yuma, Arizona. After delivering the sermon I began chatting with an elderly woman who I later learned was very hard of hearing. We were standing just outside the chapel, near a very beautiful pool table which looked as though it was ...read more

Tags: Tongue

Denomination: Christian Church

Dependent On God

Contributed by Sidney Sumida on Oct 6, 2009

DEPENDENT ON GOD In the past few decades, there were some huge storms that hit our nation of which were Hurricane Pamela, and Hurricane Katrina, to name a few... (and, yes, not to bias about gender, there was big bad Hurricane Andrew, too). Here in the islands, we have had our share of storms as ...read more

Tags: Character

Denomination: Charismatic

Margaret Waage Wrote Of An Especially Important ...

Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on Dec 26, 2009

"Margaret Waage wrote of an especially important Christmas eve in her life. She got off her job at noon and stood dejectedly in the crowd waiting for the subway train. She had worked by herself all morning since her fellow workers had been given the day off. Now many people around her were talking ...read more

Tags: Christmas Eve

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

In The Film Version Of Ray Bradbury’s ...

Contributed by Johnny Wilson on May 29, 2010

In the film version of Ray Bradbury’s “Something Wicked This Way Comes,” the action starts with a cold October wind blowing through a Midwestern town. Let’s look at the theater film preview of this film and give you an idea of what I’m talking about. The “October People” had come with their ...read more

Tags: Change, Wind

Denomination: *other

Phantom Guilt

Contributed by Larry Wilson on Jul 9, 2010

PHANTOM GUILT Amputees often experience some sensation of a phantom limb. Somewhere, locked in their brains, a memory lingers of the nonexistent hand or leg. Invisible toes curl, imaginary hands grasp things, a "leg" feels so sturdy a patient may try to stand on it. For a few, the experience ...read more

Tags: Guilt

Denomination: Baptist

Salvation From The Rubble

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 28, 2011

SALVATION FROM THE RUBBLE The September 11, 2002 issues of TIME magazine has a touching article about 31-year old Genelle Guzman. Genelle was the last of just four people caught in the debris of the Twin Towers to be found alive. After the planes hit the World Trade Center, Genelle was ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:6-8

Tags: Salvation