In Sermon Illustrations: "Spending Time Wisely"

Prison Vs. Full-Time Work

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Oct 28, 2011

PRISON VS. FULL-TIME WORK In prison you spend the majority of your time in an 8' X 10' cell. At work you spend most of your time in a 6' X 8' cubicle. In prison you get three meals a day. At work you only get a break for one meal and you have to pay for that one. In prison you get time off for ...read more

Tags: Workplace

Denomination: Brethren

Thank You For Your Time  PRO

Contributed by Tony Abram on Apr 18, 2009

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME A young man learns what’s most important in life from the guy next door. It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, girls, career, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of his dreams. There, in the rush ...read more

Scripture: John 15:14-15, Psalm 126:1-6

Tags: Faith, Proverbs, Parents, Wisdom, Valuable, God's Creation, Letter, Unopened Letter, Friendship General, Jesus' Healing, Happy, God Cares, Integrity, Goals, Dreams, Fight, Belief, Trust, Happiness, Joy, Shepherd, Treasure  (view more)  (view less)

After Spending 3-1/2 Hours Enduring Long Lines, ...  PRO

Contributed by James Botts on Aug 29, 2002

After spending 3-1/2 hours enduring long lines, rude clerks and insane regulations at the Department of Motor Vehicles, Glenn Vaughan stopped at a toy store to pick up a gift for his son. “I brought my selection - a baseball bat - to the cash register,” he said. "Cash or charge?" the clerk asked. ...read more

Tags: Anger, Christian Disciplines

Denomination: Baptist

93% Of U.s. Adults Spend At Least One Hour A Day ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 10, 2008

93% of U.S. adults spend at least one hour a day on average watching ...read more

Tags: Television And Movies

The Most Crippling Time For The Church Is Summer ...

Contributed by Dale Pilgrim on May 17, 2008

The most crippling time for the church is summer time and vacations. People are traveling and spend their tithe, or drop it in a church they are visiting. Too many come home and having been away for weeks over the summer, have no sense of obligation to “make up” the shortfall in ...read more

Tags: Stewardship

Denomination: Salvation Army

Memorial Day, A Time For Healing  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 19, 2002

MEMORIAL DAY, A TIME FOR HEALING Memorial Day, perhaps more than any other holiday, was born of human necessity. Deep inside all of us lies a fundamental desire to make sense of life and our place in it and the world. What we have been given, what we will do with it and what we will pass to the ...read more

Scripture: 1 Chronicles 29:1-5

Tags: Holidays Civic, Finding Fulfillment, Amos, Prophet

The Fear Of The Lord Is The Foundation Of Wisdom

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on May 8, 2016

In a crazy move, a woman at the Toronto zoo who lost her hat at the tiger enclosure decided that she was going to retrieve it. She climbed the outer fence, dropped over the edge and scrambled around to find her hat. Fortunately for her there was a second fence between her and her hat. A ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 9:10

Tags: Wise Decisions, Fear, Foundation Of Wisdom

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Saving On Parking Shrewdly

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Feb 22, 2025

A woman goes to a bank in NYC and takes out a loan for $5,000. She leaves her Rolls Royce as collateral. They carefully park it in their garage, confused as to why a millionaire would take out a loan for only $5,000. Two weeks later, she returns. She pays off the loan plus $15.55 interest. The ...read more

Scripture: Mark 14:1-9, Luke 16:1-9, Matthew 10:16

Tags: Wise, Shrewd, Creative, Clever, Conniving  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Independent/Bible

When Things In Your Life Seem Almost Too Much To ...

Contributed by Fran Van Hoven on Jun 30, 2007

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar... and the wine...:A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:15-17

Tags: Busy, 24 Hours, Time, Not Enough Time

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Once Upon A Time, There Was A Man Who Lived With ...  PRO

Contributed by David Barsky on Feb 2, 2004

Once upon a time, there was a man who lived with his wife, two small children, and his elderly parents in a tiny hut. He tried to be patient and gracious, but the noise and crowded conditions wore him down. In desperation, he consulted the village wise man. “Do you have a rooster? asked the wise ...read more

Tags: Parenting, Children

Denomination: Independent/Bible

The Paradox Of Our Time In History Is That We ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 2, 2008

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less ...read more

The Second Richest Man In Rockefeller's Time Was ...

Contributed by Austin Mansfield on Sep 18, 2007

The second richest man in Rockefeller’s time was Andrew Carnegie (car-NEGG-ee). He spent the first 66 years of his life accumulating wealth, and then spent the last 18 giving as much of it away as he could. He said, “I resolved to stop accumulating and begin the infinitely more serious and ...read more

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

A Mother Noticed That It Was About Time For ...  PRO

Contributed by Brian Mccutchen on Jan 29, 2001

A mother noticed that it was about time for school to dismiss and since it looked like it would rain, she drove toward the school to pick up her eight-year-old daughter. She turned down the street to see her daughter running towards her down the sidewalk. A lightning bolt flashed and the little ...read more

Tags: Children, Parenting

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

During The Time Of The French Revolutution, A ...  PRO

Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Aug 11, 2001

During the time of the French Revolutution, a rich aristocrat was sentenced to death just for being an aristocrat. She was put in prison and was allowed to be served by her maid. While she slept, her maid out of a deep love for her mistress put on the mistress’ clothes. When the duchess’ name was ...read more

Tags: Lordship Of Christ, Cross Agony, Forgiveness In Jesus

Denomination: Anglican

Mickey Rivers, At The Time An Outfielder For The ...  PRO

Contributed by Steve Malone on Dec 1, 2001

Mickey Rivers, at the time an outfielder for the Texas Rangers, stated his philosophy of life: “Ain’t no sense worrying about things you got control over, because if you got control over them, ain’t no sense worrying. And there ain’t no sense worrying about things you ...read more

Tags: Peace, God Brings Hope, Guilt

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

In An Article In This Week's Issue Of Time ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 19, 2002

In an article in this week’s issue of TIME magazine, Nancy Gibbs ponders the paradoxical nature of Thanksgiving. She says: “It is an ordeal to travel and yet we do; family reunions can be wildly stressful and yet painful to miss…. This is the kind of holiday we need right now, an intrinsically ...read more

Tags: Joy, God's Provision, Thanksgiving Holiday

Michael Elliot, Writing For Time, Was Not ...

Contributed by Don Hawks on Apr 14, 2002

Michael Elliot, writing for Time, was not exaggerating when he wrote, "For Americans, September 11, 2001, will go down in history as a day the ...read more

Tags: God's Provision

Denomination: Methodist

One Young Life At A Time  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 9, 2002

ONE YOUNG LIFE AT A TIME Ken Canfield, Founder and President of the National Center for Fathering, once asked a stadium full of men: "Are fathers necessary or optional? Do dads have a unique and important contribution to make in the lives of their children?" The crowd grew quiet. He sensed ...read more

Tags: Parenting, Father's Day, Children

Next Time, Try Faxing It  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 26, 2002

NEXT TIME, TRY FAXING IT "When Russell Sealy was fired from his job after five years with Consignia, Britain’s postal service, he resolved to appeal on grounds that he had been treated unfairly. That was in in the fall of 2000. Now, it appears, he may lose because of a court’s ruling against ...read more

Tags: God's Provision, Discipleship, Workplace

Though Time May Be Tough  PRO

Contributed by Joel Vicente on Aug 17, 2002

THOUGH TIME MAY BE TOUGH AND THE ROAD REAL ROUGH JUST BELIEVE THOUGH YOU’VE CRIED MANY TEARS AND WAITED MANY YEARS JUST BELIEVE IF GOD SAID HE WILL THEN JUST BE STILL AND BELIEVE FOR GOD WILL TRULY DO WHAT HE PROMISED YOU IF YOU JUST BELIEVE JUST BELIEVE IN HIS WORD TRUST IN WHAT YOU’VE ...read more

Tags: God In The Hardships

Denomination: Baptist