In Sermon Illustrations: "Spiritual Power"

Nearly All Men Can Stand Adversity, But If You ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 10, 2002

Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give ...read more

Tags: Humility, Temptation Power, Finding Fulfillment

The Wealthy, Unhealthy Church

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Feb 9, 2014

THE WEALTHY, UNHEALTHY CHURCH Many writers have told the traditional story of the thirteenth century Catholic theologian, Thomas Aquinas, who visited the Vatican in Rome. He was escorted through the fine buildings housing the vast Papal treasury. The Pope, referring to himself as Peter’s ...read more

Scripture: Acts 5:1-10

Tags: Church, Holy Spirit, Healing, Power

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Absentees In The Upper Room

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Feb 9, 2014

ABSENTEES IN THE UPPER ROOM Written by Dr. Larry Petton One of the curious questions I have always had concerns the people who actually saw Christ after His resurrection. I would love to have been part of that group to see Jesus in His glorified, resurrected body! But, for some reason, that ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:1-15

Tags: Church, Holy Spirit, Resurrection, Power

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Impact Of One

Contributed by David Simpson on Jan 30, 2018

Dr. John Geddie, a Presbyterian missionary, went to Aneityum, an island in the South Pacific in 1848 and worked there for God for 24 years. On a tablet erected to his memory in the church where he preached, these words are inscribed: When he landed, in 1848, there were no Christians. When he ...read more

Tags: Evangelism, Devotion, Influence, Power Of One

Denomination: Christian Church

Healing

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Aug 19, 2019

Frederick Buechner, from Wishful Thinking The Gospels depict Jesus as having spent a surprising amount of time healing people. Although, like the author of Job before him, he specifically rejected the theory that sickness was God's way of getting even with sinners (John 9:1-3), he nonetheless ...read more

Scripture: James 5:14, Mark 2:1-12, Mark 1:33-34

Tags: Healing, Salvation, Power, Prayer, Faith  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Of Herods And Kings

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Jun 4, 2024

"Every Herod dies and comes alone to stand before the Lamb upon the Throne." ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 2:19-20, Revelation 5:1-8

Tags: Power, Politics, Sovereignty, Kingdom Of God

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Donkey That Won A Battle

Contributed by David Dunn on Oct 24, 2025

My name? Well… I don’t have one anymore. I used to be a donkey—strong, steady, built for long walks and heavy loads. But my part in God’s story began after my last bray. One hot afternoon, I was resting in a field when trouble came. The Philistines had captured a man named Samson—big, strong, and ...read more

Scripture: Judges 15:15-17, 1 Corinthians 1:27, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Zechariah 4:6

Tags: Power, Strength, Victory, Purpose, Surrender  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

Going Beyond Our Teachers  PRO

Contributed by Davon Huss on Jul 9, 2013

A well-known Bible teacher gives this insight: "Someone on our staff informed me several months ago that a woman had called the ministry office to find out what my 'official position' was on a biblically gray area. When she was told that it's not my policy to make 'official' public statements ...read more

Scripture: Mark 7:1-23

Tags: Legalism, Opinion, Spiritual Growth, Debatable

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Hunting Mice

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jan 28, 2014

HUNTING MICE It is amazing how we can focus on things that don’t matter and neglect the most important things in life. We need to learn how to choose our battles better. Leonard Ravenhill said it ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:32-33

Tags: Spiritual Warfare, Priorities, Little Things

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Mammon

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Oct 2, 2014

The Blessed Life is a book written Robert Morris. He talks about a crucial weed that chokes out the truth of God, the teachings of God, the Word in our life – that weed or thorny vine is called mammon – greed – the love of money which supersedes the love of the Lord Jesus. It’s a real weed and it’s ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:24

Tags: Money, Greed, Riches, Spiritual Attack

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Commitment

Contributed by Tim Smith on May 28, 2015

Dave Hood tells the story of training to run a 5K run. Every time his wife and he would go running on their favorite trail, they’d walk a little faster, and with a little more gusto. One day, a half mile in and a young lady came at them sprinting towards them. They jumped out of the way so she ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:13-14

Tags: Commitment, Spiritual Growth, Running The Race

Denomination: Methodist

Augmented Reality Device Guides The Blind

Contributed by Matt Neace on Jun 19, 2018

In World magazine, Michael Cochrane shares about a new technology called “augmented reality” (AR). Using this “augmented reality” a group of researchers from Cal Tech developed an app for Microsoft’s HoloLens. This app enables blind people to navigate through buildings. According to the MIT ...read more

Tags: Direction, Call, Discipleship, Spiritual Blindness

Denomination: Baptist

Yuri Gagarin Did Not See God.

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Feb 9, 2020

Do you know the name of Yuri Gagarin?? The year was 1961 and this Russian cosmonaut was the first human to travel into space. After circling the earth, the atheistic astronaut came back and declared that he looked outside his capsule and didn’t see God anywhere. To which Dr. W. A. Criswell ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:1-12

Tags: Faith, Beatitudes, Atheism, Spiritual Vision

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

If Ii Were Satan...

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Nov 14, 2021

IF I WERE SATAN… I would delude their minds into thinking that they had come from man's effort, instead of God's blessings; I would promote an attitude of loving things and using people, instead of the other way around; I would convince people that character is not an issue when it comes ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 5:7-9

Tags: America, Satan, Spiritual Warfare, The Devil

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Fooled By Our Emotions

Contributed by Alison Bucklin on Jun 17, 2023

One of the most difficult things, all Christians must surely admit, is to differentiate between a truly spiritual fervor and a carnal, animal zeal and enthusiasm. Natural animal spirits and temperament may very well make one fervent and zealous.... There is nothing of which a preacher needs to be ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:21, Jeremiah 17:9

Tags: Spirituality, Enthusiasm, Martin Lloyd Jones

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

My Six-Eyed Mother

Contributed by Austin W. Duncan on Apr 17, 2026

I grew up in Amarillo, Texas. And I remember watching my mom navigate the wonderful world of vision changes as I got older. First she started holding the newspaper at arm's length, squinting like she was trying to read smoke signals. Then came the reading glasses. Those little drugstore ...read more

Scripture: Mark 8:22-25

Tags: Faith, Spiritual Blindness, Seeking Jesus

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

B2b Ad Power 57% Of Executives Who Read B2b ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 17, 2006

B2B Ad Power 57% of executives who read B2B magazines have acted on an ad they saw in one of these publications, finds a new Harris ...read more

Tags: What Is Evangelism?

Swimming With The Sharks

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jan 4, 2024

A millionaire decides to throw a massive party for his fiftieth birthday. During the party he grabs the mic and he announces to his guests that down in the garden of his mansion he has a swimming pool with two great white sharks in it. “The man who dares to swim across that pool gets 1 MILLION ...read more

Scripture: James 1:1-8

Tags: Spiritual Battles, Abraham, Spiritual Maturity, Trials, Problems, Temptations, Tests Of Faith, Faith, Discipleship  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Smart Phone Theology

Contributed by Todd Catteau on Oct 29, 2024

Smart phones are really smart. Even smarter than I know. I use my phone for so much more than calling and texting but it’s not uncommon for me to learn new features and abilities my phone has that I previously had never known. Over the years I’ve learned that my phone is a compass, can take video ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:13, 1 Corinthians 10:13

Tags: Service, Holy Spirit, Power, Temptation, Gifts, Giftedness  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Another Movie I Saw Recently Was The Fellowship ...  PRO

Contributed by Amanda Wilson on May 3, 2004

Another movie I saw recently was the Fellowship of the Ring. It too is about the use of power, in particular a magic ring that gives its wearer the power to control all living things. “One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them, one ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.” ...read more

Tags: Temptation General, Temptation Power, Temptation Resisting

Denomination: Independent/Bible