In Sermon Illustrations: "Spiritual Pride"

In 1980, Mt St. Helens In Washington State ...

Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Mar 2, 2004

In 1980, Mt St. Helens in Washington State erupted - spewing lava out for miles around. 83 year-old Harry Truman (not to be confused with the former US President) was the owner of Mt. St. Helens Lodge. He had been a resident there for nearly 50 years and became nationally famous for his refusal to ...read more

Tags: Temptation General, Temptation Pride

Denomination: Anglican

In 1820, Charles Caleb Colton Coined The Phrase ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

In 1820, Charles Caleb Colton coined the phrase that states: “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” The phrase is often used, ironically, when someone tries to ...read more

Tags: Grace, Pride, Creativity, Original

He's Shaving You!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 9, 2014

HE'S SHAVING YOU! An influential man in town was sitting in the barber's chair having a shave and a haircut. He saw a pretty woman who was working in the office there and started flirting with her. "You're cute! How about a date tonight?" he said to her. The pretty woman smiled and said, ...read more

Scripture: James 3:1-10

Tags: Pride, Words, Tongue, Flirting

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

C.s. Lewis On Church And Worship

Contributed by Davon Huss on Nov 16, 2014

C.S. Lewis said that when he first became a Christian, he had trouble with church gatherings. “I thought that I could do it on my own by retiring to my rooms and reading theology, and I wouldn’t go to churches anymore.” He found the sermons often dull, and he disliked organ music, which he ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 21:24

Tags: Pride, Ego, The Organ, Hymns

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Humility

Contributed by Glynda Lomax on Dec 27, 2014

“None are as empty as those who are full of themselves.” - Benjamin Whichcote Have you ever met a prideful, arrogant person? Prideful people are always telling you about themselves, their accomplishments, and how smart and wonderful they are. Then they look at you to continue the conversation ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 22:4, Proverbs 3:34

Tags: Honor, Humility, Pride, Reverence

Denomination: Charismatic

Humility

Contributed by Shine Thomas on Nov 9, 2018

William Carey, often referred to as the father of the modern missionary movement. He was a brilliant man but came from a very humble beginning. In his early manhood, he worked as a cobbler, a shoe repairman. At a dinner party one evening a man said to Carey, “I understand, Mister Carey that you ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 5:5-6

Tags: Humble, Humility, Humility And Pride

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Humble And Proud Of It!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Dec 8, 2020

Paul W. Powell once observed, “Pride is so subtle that if we aren’t careful we’ll be proud of our humility. When this happens our goodness becomes badness. Our virtues become vices. We can easily become like the Sunday School teacher who, having told the story of the Pharisee and ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:1-3

Tags: Pharisees, Religion, Humility, Pride

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

How The Mighty Fall

Contributed by Tim Smith on May 12, 2013

HOW THE MIGHTY FALL Jim Collins has written a book called "How the Mighty Fall" about businesses who at one time were strong and effective and yet went from hero to zero during the last decade. Motorola was number one in cell phones in the world in 2004 and today they are on the edge of ...read more

Tags: Pride, Attitude General, Temptation General

Denomination: Methodist

When I Was In Bible College I Meet An ...  PRO

Contributed by David Yarbrough on Jul 23, 2001

When I was in Bible College I meet an interesting young man by the name of Shannon. What made him interesting were his looks. His hair was a different color each week, his ears were loaded with earrings, and he wore the big loose grunge style clothing. But the most interesting point of style was ...read more

Scripture: James 2:1-15

Tags: Dealing With Conflicts, Disciples, Temptation Pride

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

A Game Of Redemption And Unity

Contributed by Jung Lee on Jan 16, 2024

In Korea, there's a popular game called "Ice or Free." The rules are simple: one person is 'it' and chases others. Players can freeze themselves if cornered by shouting "Ice," becoming immune to being tagged. They remain frozen until a teammate tags them, setting ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 6:1-2

Tags: Spiritual Support, Christian, Responsibility, Redemption, Unity, Cycle, Spiritual Growth, Community  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Proud People Vs Broken People

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Nov 20, 2022

Proud people focus on the failures of others. Broken people are overwhelmed with a sense of their own spiritual need. Proud people have a critical, fault-finding spirit; they look at everyone else’s faults with a microscope but their own with a telescope. Broken people are compassionate; they can ...read more

Scripture: Luke 9:23, Galatians 2:20

Tags: Brokenness, Humility, Revival, Repentance, Pride  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

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 Dr. Larry Petton 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 Dr. Larry Petton 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 Dr. Larry Petton 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

A Recent Survey Of Discipleship Journal Readers ...  PRO

Contributed by Lynn Floyd on Nov 10, 2001

A recent survey of Discipleship Journal readers ranked areas of greatest spiritual challenge to them: 1. Materialism. 2. Pride. 3. Self-centeredness. 4. Laziness. 5. (Tie) Anger/Bitterness. 5. (Tie) Sexual lust. 7. Envy. 8. Gluttony. 9. Lying. Survey respondents noted temptations were more potent ...read more

Tags: Temptation Resisting, Temptation General, Temptation Pride

Denomination: Baptist