In Sermon Illustrations: "Small Gifts"

Legendary Baseball Player Jackie Robinson's ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 30, 2009

Legendary Baseball Player Jackie Robinson’s Humble Act of Kindness to a Boy As a 7-year-old, Richard Bernstein admired Jackie Robinson’s athletic ability and courage as the first African-American man to play Major League baseball in the modern era. A few years later, while working at a small-town ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 20:26-28

Tags: Humility

David Yarborough Tells The Story From One Of Max ...

Contributed by Bobby Mcdaniel on Feb 6, 2010

David Yarborough tells the story from one of Max Lucado’s books of a lady who had a small house on the seashore of Ireland at the turn of the century was quite wealthy but also quite frugal. The people were surprised, then, when she decided to be among the first to have electricity in her home. ...read more

Tags: David

Cast A Line For Yourself

Contributed by Bobby Scobey on Feb 23, 2010

CAST A LINE FOR YOURSELF A poor, hungry man stood idly on a bridge watching some fishermen. Seeing one of them with a basket full of fish by his side, he said, "If I had a catch like that, I'd be happy. I'd sell it and buy some food and clothes." "I'll give you that many fish if you do a small ...read more

Tags: Action

Denomination: Pentecostal

Pastor Learns To Trust God When Displaced By ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 28, 2010

Pastor Learns to Trust God When Displaced by War During the Thirty Years’ War in the 17th century, German pastor Paul Gerhardt and his family were forced to flee from their home. One night as they stayed in a small village inn, homeless and afraid, his wife broke down and cried openly in despair. ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:3-5

Tags: Taxes, Trials

A Call To Die

Contributed by Christian Cheong on Jun 28, 2010

A CALL TO DIE The story is told of the military legend Alexander the Great, King of Macedonia (336-323) and conqueror of Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt, Babylonia, and Persia, almost all of the known world. One day on the warpath, Alexander and small company of soldiers approached a strongly fortified ...read more

Tags: Commitment To Christ

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Deal With Habits Early On

Contributed by Rodelio Mallari on Apr 13, 2011

DEAL WITH HABITS EARLY ON An elderly teacher, with a pupil by his side, took a walk through a forest. Suddenly he stopped and pointed to four plants close at hand. The first was just beginning to peep above the ground, the second had rooted itself pretty well into the earth, the third was a small ...read more

Tags: Christian Disciplines

Denomination: *other

God's Only 'forgotten' Son

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 24, 2011

GOD'S ONLY 'FORGOTTEN' SON There's a true story told about a revival that was held in a small town. The crowd had dispersed, when a woman came down front and asked to speak with the preacher. She cried uncontrollably as she explained to the minister that she wanted to become a Christian, but she ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16

Tags: God's Love

Get Busy And Cast A Line

Contributed by Keith Peters on Jul 5, 2011

GET BUSY AND CAST A LINE A poor, hungry man stood idly on a bridge watching some fishermen. Seeing one of them with a basket full of fish by his side, he said, "If I had a catch like that, I'd be happy. I'd sell it and buy some food and clothes." "I'll give you that many fish if you do a small ...read more

Tags: Workplace Unemployment

Denomination: Baptist

We Live In A Culture That Is Redefining What Is ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 12, 2011

We live in a culture that is redefining what is sexually permissible. Earlier this year in the United Kingdom, Peter and Hazelmary Bull were found guilty of discrimination because they allowed only married couples to share a bed at their small hotel. A homosexual couple sued the Bulls because they ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Tags: Government

Prayed Into The Kingdom

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 14, 2011

PRAYED INTO THE KINGDOM Chuck Sackett did not grow up in a Christian home. But he joined the Boy Scouts and wanted to complete the "God and Country" merit badge. So he walked a few blocks to a small church for several weeks. He filled out his papers and did what he had to do get that badge. ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:18-20

Tags: Prayer Persistence

On Shepherds  PRO

Contributed by Tim Smith on May 11, 2014

What do we know about the shepherd's life? It's a full time commitment. Sheep are helpless to defend themselves against attack from their natural enemies: lions, bears, wolves, hyenas and foxes which can come in both the day and night so there is never a moment a shepherd can relax. Sheep must be ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:1-10

Tags: Shepherd, Shepherd's Life

Denomination: Methodist

It's In Your Hands

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Apr 18, 2017

A young student in China decided to play a trick on his elderly teacher one day. He caught a small bird and cupped it in his hands behind his back. He then approached the sage with this plan in mind. He would ask the old man what he had in his hand. If he answered correctly, he would then ask ...read more

Scripture: Joshua 24:15

Tags: Eternity, Decision, Commitment, Salvation

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Ten Word Sermon

Contributed by Kevin Barron on Aug 31, 2018

The shortest sermon I know is only ten words. It was preached by my grandfather to a small, country congregation on the story of the Good Samaritan (Mark 10:35-45). He read the account of an outsider who demonstrates true neighbor love by stopping on the road to care for a bleeding and badly ...read more

Scripture: Mark 10:35-45

Tags: Compassion, Good Samaritan

Denomination: Methodist

Before The Water

Contributed by Jim Butcher on Nov 15, 2018

Scott Harrison, founder of charity:water, shares this story: "I recently had the chance to visit charity:water's very first project. It was a well that we had funded on my thirty-first birthday and then built in the IDP camp of Bobi, Uganda. "The sprawling camp of 31,000 people had cleared out, ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:1-7

Tags: Easter, Crucifixion, Birth Of Christ, Christmas, Jesus  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Boat In The Storm

Contributed by Steve Kinnard on Oct 27, 2019

ILLUS: BOAT THRU THE STORM Imagine you’re in a small boat and a sudden storm comes up. The sky is dark the wind is howling; the waves are raging. All of a sudden there are 20-foot swells and your boat is being tossed like a twig in a stream, one minute you are at the bottom of the swell the next ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:12

Tags: Good Fruit, Bad Fruit

Denomination: Pentecostal

Room At The Cross For You

Contributed by Davon Huss on Sep 1, 2020

On the deck of a sinking ship stood an African slave- the last man on board. He was to be the last person to get on the last lifeboat. The life boat was loaded to the water line. The slave had something in his arms and the sailors refused to take him until he let that go. He pressed to his ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:12, John 3:16, John 15:13

Tags: Salvation, Cross, Eternal Life, Perish

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Anchor That Holds

Contributed by Samuel Shamaun on Jan 20, 2026

A pastor once visited a small fishing village and noticed many boats tied securely at the shore. During a storm, the waves were strong, and the wind was fierce. Some boats drifted dangerously, but others remained steady and unmoved. Curious, the pastor asked a fisherman why some boats stayed safe ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 6:19

Tags: Faith, Hope

Denomination: Pentecostal

To Say The Least, I Was At First Shocked To Read ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 26, 2001

To say the least, I was at first shocked to read the headline, Baby Ate Cocaine Dad Left Nearby. According to the Associated Press a father from Ravenna, Ohio was sentenced to one year in prison for endangering his daughter, who was six-months-old at the time of the incident. He evidently stashed ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 127:1

Tags: Father's Day, Children, Parenting

A Path We Feared To See!" Philippians 2:5-11 ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Feb 10, 2005

“A Path We Feared to See!” Philippians 2:5-11 Key verse(s): 8:“‘And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death--even the death of the cross.” We love so many things in this life! Yet, there is one thing so worth loving that is seldom afforded even the ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 2:5-11

Tags: Jesus' Ministry

Denomination: Lutheran

16 Year Old] Nathan Johnson Dreamed Of Starting ...  PRO

Contributed by John Shearhart on Sep 10, 2006

“[16 year old] Nathan Johnson dreamed of starting a revolution for Christ. [He wrote in his diary, “God’s] will for me is to radically impact my school for Him." But before he could see the revolution become a reality, Johnson’s life was cut short by an automobile accident [after] striking a ...read more

Scripture: Luke 5:1-13, Colossians 3:1-7

Tags: All Things