In Sermon Illustrations: "Source"

A Winning Team  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 8, 2008

A WINNING TEAM Lee Iacocca once asked legendary football coach Vince Lombardi what it took to make a winning team. In the book Iacocca records Lombardi’s answer: "There are a lot of coaches with good ball clubs who know the fundamentals and have plenty of discipline but still don’t win the game. ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 6:9-10, John 13:34-35, Romans 12:10, Ephesians 4:2

Tags: Success, Church Body, Teamwork, Church Health, Church Body Of Christ  (view more)  (view less)

P ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 11, 2008

PROMISES A Wall Street clerk went for a tuna sandwich one snowy noon and returned to work and found $37.1 million in negotiable certificates of deposit in a pouch dropped by a courier. The clerk turned them over to his supervisor, who notified the securities company. The man received a $250 reward ...read more

Tags: Promises Of God

All ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 11, 2008

ALL ALIKE? The pilot was Jewish, and the co-pilot was Taiwanese. It was the first time they had flown together, and it was obvious by the silence that they didn’t get along. After 30 minutes, the Captain finally spoke. He said, "I don’t like Chinese." The co-pilot replied, "Why is that?" The ...read more

Tags: Racism

A Man Called A Pastor's Office At A Church One ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 2, 2008

A man called a pastor’s office at a church one day to inquire into membership in the church. He stated that he would not be able to get involved or anything, but he felt it was important to have some religious affiliation. The pastor advised this man that the church he pastored might not be the ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:11-16

Tags: Service, Commitment, Church Body, Membership, Church Body Of Christ  (view more)  (view less)

I'm Fine, Sir!

Contributed by Donnie Martin on Sep 19, 2008

"I'm Fine, Sir!" During the most intense fighting of the war with Iraq, I was listening to one of the embedded reporters who was traveling with a column of Marine tanks. He was sitting on top of one of the tanks when the enemy opened fire. He said it was a frightening moment, but he emerged ...read more

Tags: Bible Influence

Denomination: Baptist

There Is A Story About A Traveler Who Fell In...

Contributed by Aubrey Vaughan on Oct 6, 2008

THERE IS A STORY ABOUT A TRAVELER WHO FELL INTO A DEEP PIT AND COULDN’T GET OUT. SEVERAL PERSONS CAME ALONG AND SAW HIM STRUGGLING IN THE PIT. THE SENSITIVE PERSON SAID, "I FEEL FOR YOU DOWN THERE." THE REFLECTIVE PERSON SAID, "IT’S LOGICAL THAT SOMEONE WOULD FALL INTO THE PIT." THE AESTHETIC ...read more

Tags: Servanthood

Denomination: Baptist

Grace Or Permission?

Contributed by Norman Lawrence on Oct 12, 2008

Grace or Permission? You're worried about permissiveness—about the way the preaching of grace seems to say it's okay to do all kinds of terrible things as long as you just walk in afterward and take the free gift of God's forgiveness. While you and I may be worried about seeming to give ...read more

Tags: Grace

Denomination: Assembly Of God

several Workplace-Related Studies In 2008 Su...

Contributed by Anne Benefield on Mar 4, 2009

Several workplace-related studies in 2008 suggest that the majority of working Americans aren’t all that fond of whom they work with. • When asked if a colleague has ever tried to make them look bad, 50 percent of respondents said yes; 48 percent said no; 2 percent said they didn’t know. • When ...read more

Tags: Workplace

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

One Would Think That Selling One's Soul, As ...

Contributed by Ajai Prakash on Jun 3, 2009

One would think that selling one’s soul, as Faust offered his to the devil in Goethe’s Dr. Faustus, is only a figment of literary fiction. Medieval as it seems, however, several cases of soul-selling have occurred. Wired magazine reported that a 29-year-old university instructor succeeded in ...read more

Tags: Soul

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Joanie Yoder Wrote,

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Jun 8, 2009

Joanie Yoder wrote, " When my husband and I first went out as missionaries, I recall being concerned about the growth of materialism in our society. It never crossed my mind that I myself could be materialistic. After all, hadn’t we gone overseas with almost nothing? Weren’t we choosing to live in ...read more

Tags: Materialism

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Betty Crocker ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 10, 2009

BETTY CROCKER SALVATION In 1952, when the Betty Crocker company first began selling cake mixes, they offered a product which only needed water, and you would get a perfectly moist cake every time. But it bombed, and they couldn’t understand why! So they commissioned a study and found that people ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 16:25

Tags: Salvation

Because Dad ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 10, 2009

BECAUSE DAD CRIED The great author Walter Wangerin has a wonderful story, called "Matthew, Seven, Eight, and Nine" where he writes: "I tried to stop my son Matthew from stealing comic books. I even took him to the police station and reported his actions to a detective who I thought scared the ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 13:24

Tags: Parenting

Drink Deeply  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 10, 2009

DRINK DEEPLY Picture this: You have just finished a ten-mile hike on a 95 degree day, and on the entire journey you haven’t had a thing to drink. Stumbling with thirst, you come to your father’s house and plea for water. With love and concern, he brings you a cold pitcher of water and a glass and ...read more

Scripture: John 4:1-26

Tags: Faith

Ray Of Light, Ray Of Hope

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 10, 2009

RAY OF LIGHT, RAY OF HOPE There is a story about how the caverns north of Yellowstone National Park were discovered. As the story goes, one of the original explorers was walking along the top of that mountain and fell through a hole, and he dropped down several hundred feet into this cavern and ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:14

Tags: God Brings Hope

The Bridge ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 10, 2009

THE BRIDGE BUILDER An old man, going down a lonely highway, Came at the evening cold and gray, To a chasm vast and wide, Through which was flowing a swollen tide, The old man crossed in the twilight dim, The swollen stream had no fear for him. But he turned when safe on the other side, And built a ...read more

Scripture: John 17:20-26

Tags: Unity, Christian Unity

The Key To ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 14, 2009

THE KEY TO FREEDOM The great "prince of preachers," Charles Haddon Spurgeon, used to tell the story of a duke who boarded a galley ship and went below to talk with the criminals manning the oars. He asked several of them what their offenses were. Almost every man claimed he was innocent, blaming ...read more

Scripture: Acts 2:38-40

Tags: Salvation

The Noahide Commands

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Aug 31, 2009

THE NOAHIDE COMMANDS A Pagan could become > An Alien Believer > A God-fearer > A Jew (proselyte) A pagan would be an idolater or worship many gods, or one not serving the true God. An alien believer would be a gentile who wanted to be saved, repented from his sins and turned to the God of ...read more

Tags: Israel

Denomination: Independent/Bible

All Roads Lead To Heaven, Travel ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 21, 2009

All Roads Lead to Heaven, Travel Agent Max Lucado in a video program based on his book 3:16 Stories of Hope, has a wonderful lesson on the oft heard statement, "All roads lead to heaven". He then gives us an imaginary discussion with a travel agent. " You tell him you need a flight to Rome, Italy. ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:21-23

Tags: Universalism

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

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