In Sermon Illustrations: "Spirits Work"

The Master Of Religiosity

Contributed by Mark Schaeufele on Jun 29, 2009

THE MASTER OF RELIGIOSITY He made free use of Christian vocabulary. He talked about the blessing of the Almighty and the Christian confessions which would become the pillars of the new government. He assumed the earnestness of a man weighed down by historic responsibility. He handed out pious ...read more

Tags: Hypocrisy

Denomination: Methodist

Speak And Spell God

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 12, 2009

SPEAK AND SPELL GOD Mary Farwell of Green Castle, Missouri, told of the time she was listening to her 5-year-old son, Matthew, as he worked on his Speak and Spell™ computer. He was concentrating intensely, typing in words for the computer to say back to him. Matthew punched in the word "God." To ...read more

Scripture: John 8:19

Tags: Children

In Other Words, Over The Past Half-Century We ...

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Nov 14, 2009

In other words, over the past half-century we have gained a lot of knowledge about human beings and human community, but the secular world has not listened to the Church’s words, to the Incarnate Word, and their actions have been like the madman who thinks he can make a slow watch run better by ...read more

Tags: Birth Control

Denomination: Catholic

Who Shapes Who?  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 10, 2009

WHO SHAPES WHO? Written by Irenaeus from the 2nd Century. From God’s Hands: "It is not you who shape God; it is God that shapes you. If then you are the work of God, await the hand of the Artist who does all things in due season. Offer the Potter your heart, soft and tractable, and keep the form ...read more

Scripture: Romans 9:21

Tags: God's Sovereign Will

Listening Is So Important In Life And Crucial To ...

Contributed by Thomas Cash on Jan 2, 2010

Listening is so important in life and crucial to make relationships work. Let me give you a little brainteaser. If you have heard this before, please don’t ruin it for everyone else and just keep your thoughts to yourself. I’ll read the question and then you some time to think. You are driving a ...read more

Tags: Leadership Listening

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

British Sculptor Sir Jacob Epstein Was Once ...

Contributed by Bobby Mcdaniel on Feb 27, 2010

British sculptor Sir Jacob Epstein was once visited in his studio by the eminent author and fellow Briton, George Bernard Shaw. The visitor noticed a huge block of stone standing in one corner and asked what it was for. "I don't know yet. I'm still making plans." Shaw was astounded. "You mean you ...read more

Tags: Obedience

Dry Truth Or Dynamic Lies?

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Apr 26, 2010

DRY TRUTH OR DYNAMIC LIES? During my first year of ministry here, I asked a hypothetical question: If you had the choice of attending a church where the pastor believed and taught the Bible but was dry and not a very good speaker, or a church where the pastor believed that the Bible contained many ...read more

Tags: Doctrine

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Don't Just Hang On...hang In

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 26, 2010

DON'T JUST HANG ON...HANG IN Decades ago, Oswald Chambers wrote about spiritual perseverance, defining it as... not to hang on and do nothing, but to work deliberately, knowing with certainty that God will never be defeated. The Bible is full of examples of men and women who didn't "just-hang-on" ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 12:1-2

Tags: Endurance

Trials, Troubles, And Polished Gems

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2011

TRIALS, TROUBLES, AND POLISHED GEMS There is a Chinese proverb, "A gem is not polished without rubbing, nor a man made better without trials." Sure it doesn't feel good to go through abrasive moments of trials and problems. Sometimes they are recurring. Remember this, my Christian friend; life ...read more

Scripture: James 1:2-4

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Child Slaves

Contributed by Alison Bucklin on Jul 2, 2011

CHILD SLAVES Over two hundred million children around the world, some as young as four and five years old, are slaves. A majority of the children work in Asia, especially in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Indonesia--slaving away to make goods for us to buy in K-Mart and Wal-Mart... "Child slave ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 18:9-13

Tags: Greed

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

An Image Of Themselves

Contributed by David Parks on Feb 21, 2012

AN IMAGE OF THEMSELVES Have you heard of the controversial exhibit at the Detroit Institute of Art? It is the Rembrandt and the Face of Christ exhibit. Rembrandt’s depictions of Jesus were even more controversial in the 17th century. His familiarity with the Jewish community in his native ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 6:16

Tags: Jesus Christ

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Tough Teacher

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Feb 27, 2012

TOUGH TEACHER A school teacher injured his back and had to wear a plaster cast around the upper part of his body. It fit under his shirt and was not noticeable at all. On the first day of the term, still with the cast under his shirt, he found himself assigned to the toughest students in ...read more

Tags: Authority

Denomination: Independent/Bible

The Holy War By John ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 27, 2012

THE HOLY WAR BY JOHN BUNYAN John Bunyan wrote another classic besides Pilgrim’s Progress. It was a book called The Holy War. The focus of the story was the capture of a city called Mansoul. In it Diabolus (the devil) has taken it and the battle rages as the Prince Emmanuel works to recapture it. ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-18

Tags: Satan

Free To Be Your Slave

Contributed by Christian Cheong on Sep 5, 2012

FREE TO BE YOUR SLAVE Elisabeth Elliot wrote a beautiful prayer, in "A Lamp for My Feet": "Lord, break the chains that hold me to myself; free me to be Your happy slave – that is, to be the happy foot washer of anyone today who needs his feet washed, his supper cooked, his faults overlooked, his ...read more

Tags: Kindness

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Just Like Marriage

Contributed by Davon Huss on Apr 9, 2013

JUST LIKE MARRIAGE My 7-year-old daughter wanted to take violin lessons, so I took her to a music store to rent an instrument. Hoping she would understand the importance of practicing, I explained that violin lessons were expensive so she would have to work hard. "There may be times when you ...read more

Tags: Marriage Struggle

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Too Busy To Die

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Dec 13, 2022

Too busy to read the Bible, too busy to wait and pray; Too busy to speak out kindly, to someone who passes by the way! Too busy working and worrying, to think of the life to come; Too busy building earthly mansions, to plan for the Heaven above. Too busy to help a brother, who faces trials and ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 9:27

Tags: Hell, Death, Heaven, Salvation, Funerals  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

No Parts Left Over!" Psalm 37: 25-26 Key ...

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Dec 14, 2004

“No Parts Left Over!” Psalm 37: 25-26 Key verse(s): 25: “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.” When I was a boy I received one of those expensive model cars for Christmas. It was not your typical model with only about a hundred ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 37:25-26, Psalm 37:25-40, Psalm 37:1-2

Tags: Giving General

Denomination: Lutheran

The Durer Brothers: No One Makes It Alone

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 23, 2011

THE DURER BROTHERS: NO ONE MAKES IT ALONE Back in the fifteenth century, in a tiny village near Nuremberg, lived a family with eighteen children. Eighteen! In order merely to keep food on the table for this big family, the father and head of the household, a goldsmith by profession, worked almost ...read more

Scripture: John 15:12-13

Tags: Giving Yourself

Love Is The Pursuit Of Relationships.

Contributed by Andrew Moffatt on Oct 28, 2014

Love eh, the most excellent way, how do we sum this up. What is the main point I’d like to make about love? Well it’s this, “Love is the pursuit of relationships.” Well what would that look like? Let me tell you about a couple of young men who were born in the same town back early in the last ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 3:14-21

Tags: Gain, Relationships, Damage, Family Relationships

Denomination: Salvation Army

Unca Frank's Christmas!" Isaiah 9: 6-7 Key ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Dec 20, 2004

“Unca Frank’s Christmas!” Isaiah 9: 6-7 Key verse(s): 6a: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given.” Franklin Chaney was by all accounts what you would call a crank. For years he had lived alone in his upper flat, Vera having gone to be with the Lord many years past. He was pretty set in ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 9:6-7

Tags: Christmas Advent

Denomination: Lutheran