In Sermon Illustrations: "Spiritual Death"

Rain Man Doesn't Understand Inheritance

Contributed by David Ward on Feb 25, 2016

"Rain Man" was the top moneymaking film of 1988, and also won the Oscar for Best Picture. It tells the story of an abrasive and selfish wheeler-dealer named Charlie (Tom Cruise), who discovers that his estranged father has died and bequeathed all of his multimillion-dollar estate to his other son, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:19-34

Tags: Eternal Inheritance, Treasures In Heaven, Priorities, Wealth And Riches

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

No Tents In Heaven!

Contributed by Dr. David Hallum on Jun 24, 2016

I am not a camper. I spent one miserable weekend as a kid in an old, smelly canvas tent. It was designed to sleep 10, but 2 adults and 2 kids kicked, punched and threw sand all over one another all night. And that was while we were asleep. As I said, it was a miserable weekend. When I became ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 9:1-7

Tags: Camp, Tabernacle

Denomination: Baptist

Don't Come Home?

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Feb 26, 2021

We have hope. We walk in blessed assurance that Jesus died for us. The 7 years coming on this world will be THE GREAT TRIBULATION. Current, prayed up and ready Christians have nothing to fear. God is in control. We have hope. As the world goes into a paradigm or pattern change the dead in Christ ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 24:21-22

Tags: Second Coming, Be Ready

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Our Weakness

Contributed by Jerry Cosper on Apr 13, 2021

When I was in my early 20s and a student at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, I was, believe it or not, in pretty good shape. I jogged regularly. I was a karate student. I went to the gym 4-5 times a week. I truly was in good shape. Now that I’m older, I’m realizing that I’m not what I used to ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 40:29-31

Tags: Weakness, God's Strength, God Sustains

Denomination: Baptist

Ten Rules For Improving The Church

Contributed by David Parks on Jun 3, 2022

TEN RULES FOR IMPROVING THE CHURCH 1. Tell yourself over and over that since you are not perfect you would not fit into a perfect congregation, if one existed. 2. Instead of picking out the worldly members to point to, pick out the sincere, dedicated, spiritual members and thank God for them. You ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 6:1-2, 1 Peter 4:8, Matthew 7:1-5

Tags: Church, Encouragement, Judgementalism

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Power To Be The Light

Contributed by Joshua Blackmon on Jun 3, 2024

Smartphones are amazing pieces of technology. Everything my generation went to RadioShack to purchase is now all together in the palm of our hand, including our flashlights. My grandfather loved flashlights. It was okay to get him a new one each year for Christmas or his birthday. He would take a ...read more

Scripture: Acts 1:8, John 15:5

Tags: Light, Holy Spirit, Power

Denomination: Pentecostal

Seeing The Light, Reflecting The Light.

Contributed by Andrew Moffatt on Jan 24, 2025

Did anyone else see the comet during the week, Comet Atlas 3G? Janaki and I went out to Titahi Bay to see it, thankfully we had another dad and daughter park near us who could point it out, otherwise we might not have seen it. The power of their witness was in instructing us where to look. ...read more

Scripture: John 8:12, Matthew 5:14-16

Tags: Witness, Testimony, Salt, Salt And Light, The Light Of God, The Light Of The World, Reflecting Jesus  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Salvation Army

Is He Welcome

Contributed by Dr. Ronald Shultz on Feb 21, 2025

John 1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not. Sadly, there are many buildings with church on the sign that Jesus is knocking on the door to get in. Some He has never been in and others He had been in but they turned Him by denying the Scriptures. Many people in those buildings ...read more

Scripture: John 1:11

Tags: Service, Wash, Salvation, Confession, Presence, Apostasy  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

O God, Don't Let That Be All There Is?" John 1: ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Dec 22, 2004

“O God, Don’t Let That Be All There Is?” John 1: 14-18 Key verse(s): 14-18: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” The recent news story of the pregnant Missouri woman who was ...read more

Scripture: Ezekiel 16:1-14, John 1:14-18

Tags: Christmas Eve

Denomination: Lutheran

How To Be A Saint

Contributed by Jeff Strite on May 16, 2011

HOW TO BE A SAINT One of the most basic requirements for a candidate to Catholic sainthood is to be dead. You can't be a Catholic Saint if you're not dead (usually 5 years). In the same way, you can't be a saint for God without dying. Romans 6:3-7 tells us as much: "...don't you know that all of ...read more

Tags: Sanctification

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

[268]. A Message From A Poem – The Great White Throne

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Jan 20, 2026

[268]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – THE GREAT WHITE THRONE This poem came about through a series I did in middle to late 2025 on The Great White Throne, and The Judgement seat of Christ. For each of those studies I wrote a matching poem. That study for the Great White Throne is here on ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 20:11-15, John 3:36, Matthew 25:41

Tags: Gehenna, Judgment, Great White Throne, The Lake Of Fire, Christian Poetry, Christian Poems  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

If We Could Shrink The Earth's Population To A ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 18, 2006

’If we could shrink the Earth’s population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look something like the following. There would be: ’57 Asians 21 Europeans 14 from the Western Hemisphere, both North and South 8 Africans 52 would be ...read more

Tags: Finding Fulfillment

John Todd Was A Preacher Back In The Late ...  PRO

Contributed by Melvin Newland on Aug 14, 2001

ILL. John Todd was a preacher back in the late 1800’s. When he was 6 years old, both of his parents died. So a kind-hearted aunt raised him until he left home to study for the ministry. Years later, this aunt became seriously ill, & even though she was a Christian, she wrote him a letter ...read more

Tags: Government

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Know What You Believe  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 23, 2002

KNOW WHAT YOU BELIEVE The contention of the atheist is logically unsustainable and realistically unlivable. English journalist Steve Turner, in a work entitled, “Creed” sums it up pretty well: We believe in Marxfreudanddarwin. We believe everything is OK as long as you don’t hurt ...read more

Make A Friend, Find A Friend!" Proverbs 18: 24 ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Nov 11, 2004

“Make a Friend, Find a Friend!” Proverbs 18: 24 Key verse(s): 24: “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” I am reminded of the story of the great patriot John Randolph of Virginia. Known for his intelligence and generosity, ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 18:24

Tags: Friendship New Friends

Denomination: Lutheran

At The Time Of This Writing, The Story ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

At the time of this writing, the story dominating the national news involves the execution of former Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein. On December 30, 2006 the gun-toting dictator, who ruled Iraq with an iron fist for 24 years, was taken to the gallows. This 69-year-old despot, who ruled in ...read more

Tags: Guilt

Charisma" Magazine Had An Article On Martyrs In ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

"Charisma" magazine had an article on martyrs in the 1990s. For many contemporary Christians, the word "martyr" evokes images of ancient saints being torn apart by lions in a Roman coliseum. Yet martyrdom did not end with the fall of the Roman Empire, or with the collapse of Soviet Communism. The ...read more

Tags: Prayer How To

The Following Is A True Easter Story By Roger ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

The following is a true Easter story by Roger Hawthorne One of the first Easters of my ministerial career began with a blizzard. I was still a student pastor, and we had arranged to have an ordained pastor come to serve communion. There was a question if he would be able to make it through the ...read more

Tags: Doing God's Will

In A Movie Classic - National Lampoon's Vacation ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 31, 2008

In a movie classic - National Lampoon’s Vacation - Chevy Chase - otherwise known as Clark Griswold - leads his family across the country to their dream vacation at Wally World. Along the way, Clark gets lost several times. One time happened to be in St. Louis. After several wrong turns, the houses ...read more

Tags: Lordship Of Christ

You Must Have The Spirit Of Christ  PRO

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

You Must Have the Spirit of Christ Jesus said; "If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever - the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept Him. But you know Him for He lives with you and will be in you. ...read more

Scripture: John 14:16-17

Tags: Holy Spirit In Believers

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational