In Sermon Illustrations: "Spiritually Dead"

Leaning Over A ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 28, 2012

LEANING OVER A CLIFF Writer Parker Palmer tells of his first experience on an Outward Bound course in his book, The Active Life. He says, "I took the course in my early forties, and in the middle of that course I was asked to confront the thing I had fears about since I had first heard about ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 1:8-11

Tags: Trust

Sidewalk Flowers

Contributed by Glynda Lomax on Dec 27, 2014

"There is no failure except in no longer trying. There is no defeat except from within, no really insurmountable barrier save our own inherent weakness of purpose." - Hubbard, Kin American Journalist (1868-1930) I once knew a woman who grew up in Oklahoma in a very poor family. She ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 3:5-6

Tags: Persevere, Adversity, Disability, Trials And Difficulties

Denomination: Charismatic

Getting Help From Above.

Contributed by Eduardo Quintana on Oct 4, 2015

I’ll never forget the day I became a dad. My wife and I had registered to adopt a child with our state’s Division of Youth and Family Services through BCFS. Then one day we got a call from them saying there was someone special they’d like us to meet. A baby still at the hospital was needing a ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 43:4, Isaiah 43:1-7

Tags: Fatherhood, Dads

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[028] A Message From A Poem – Be Not Conformed To The World

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Feb 15, 2025

[028] A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – BE NOT CONFORMED TO THE WORLD “If you don’t agree with us, you are not included.” “We will finance your new building but only if you add a night club.” This world is absolutely full of compromise. It happens in relationships (sexual pressure on a woman), in ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 3:10, 1 Peter 1:14, Romans 12:1-2, Romans 10:17

Tags: Compromise, Poetry, Conform, Conformity, Conformed To His Death, Conformed To The World  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[077]. A Message From A Poem – Eyes And Ears - Blind And Deaf

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Apr 11, 2025

[077]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – EYES AND EARS - BLIND AND DEAF Stubbornness is so bound up in most people that it will not release them, particularly when the things of God are presented. Stubbornness refuses to see reason and to see the light, and to hear and obey. The prophets were frustrated ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 42:20, Isaiah 6:10, Isaiah 43:8, Isaiah 35:5

Tags: Blind Eyes, Poetry, Stubbornness, Poem, Deaf Ears  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

An Anonymous Story Which I Have Read Several ...  PRO

Contributed by Bo Dunford on Jan 25, 2006

An anonymous story which I have read several times is a supreme example of sacrifice! * It has challenged me and blessed my life and I’d like to pass it on to you to close this message. B) In a very large city there was a little newspaper boy, whose name was Johnny! * Early one chilly spring ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness In Jesus

Denomination: Baptist

Mastering Fatherhood

Contributed by Eduardo Quintana on Jun 12, 2017

In 2001, I was serving as the youth pastor of Destiny Church and sitting at my office desk when I received a phone call from my mother. She called with sad news! My grandmother’s health had declined significantly and she was near death. She’d been suffering with Alzheimer’s for over seven years up ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:2

Tags: Parenting, Legacy, Fatherhood

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

I Love My Dentist?" Luke 1:26-37 Key Verse(S): ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Mar 7, 2005

“I Love My Dentist?” Luke 1:26-37 Key verse(s): 31:“You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.” I love my dentist? Do you love yours? Unfortunately dentists have really gotten a bad rap over time. Many see them as the evil pain-giver, the one who ...read more

Scripture: Luke 1:26-37

Tags: Peace, Joy

Denomination: Lutheran

I Surrender All – Judson W. Van Deventer, 1896

Contributed by Richard Goble on Mar 19, 2008

I Surrender All – Judson W. Van DeVenter, 1896 Van DeVenter beautifully describes the process of absolute surrender in his timeless hymn I Surrender All. If I may impose my perception of this hymn, I would suggest that He reveals the struggle involved in surrendering all that he is to the Lord. ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Lisa Beamer: Faith In Tragedy

Contributed by Paul Carlson on Feb 16, 2009

LISA BEAMER: FAITH IN TRAGEDY In her book, "Let’s Roll" she explains how she was reared in a loving home where the Lord was honored. She goes on to record: "On October 25, 1984, pain seared through his chest and everyone thought he was having a heart attack. The next morning at 5:00 a.m. the ...read more

Tags: Hardship Of Life

Denomination: Baptist

Tipos Y Figuras De La Palabra De Dios ...

Contributed by Major Gerardo Balmori on Mar 23, 2010

TIPOS Y FIGURAS DE LA PALABRA DE DIOS (translation follows) ESPADA. La palabra de Dios es capas de llegar hasta los lugares mas escondidos y profundos del corazón como una espada o bisturí que penetra y opera dejado al descubierto el problema que nadie ve. Porque la palabra de Dios es viva y ...read more

Tags: Bible Truth

Denomination: Salvation Army

World War Ii Prison Camp Inmates In Burma ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 6, 2010

World War II Prison Camp Inmates in Burma Transformed by God’s Love and Grace, the Case of Ernest Gordon Ernest Gordon was serving as a captain in the British army during the Second World War when he was captured by the Japanese, marched with other prisoners into the Southeast Asian jungles, and ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:43-48

Tags: Christian Love

Hudson Taylor Learns About ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 10, 2010

Hudson Taylor Learns About Giving One wonderful testimony of faith from church history is that of Hudson Taylor, the first missionary to the interior of China (in the mid-1800s). He was a great evangelist because he learn “to move man, through God, by prayer alone.” To prepare for the loneliness ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:16

Tags: Giving Yourself

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

Charles Finney And Daniel Nash--Evangelism And ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 5, 2012

CHARLES FINNEY AND DANIEL NASH--EVANGELISM AND PRAYER Charles Finney is a name known to everyone who has studied the mighty movements of God in country. A former lawyer turned preacher by the call of God, Charles Finney was one of the key figures during the Second Great Awakening in 19th Century ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 4:2-6

Tags: Evangelism How To

What God Told Me At 4 A.m. In Guangzhou, China

Contributed by Jim Butcher on Apr 13, 2018

Note: this story is told by me - Jim Butcher of Madison WV. I want to tell you a story about an insight that God gave me into John 14:1-4, the passage where Jesus speaks of going to prepare a place for us. This is the story of something that happened to me several years ago while I was in ...read more

Tags: China, Adoption, New Jerusalem, Eternity, Father, Family, Heaven  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Fresh ...

Contributed by Shawn Kelly on Oct 19, 2008

FRESH START Colossians 3:12 - 17 12Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ...read more

Tags: Faith General

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

A Little Girl's Prayer  PRO

Contributed by Tim Zingale on Oct 15, 2001

A LITTLE GIRL’S PRAYER One night I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward; but in spite of all we could do she died, leaving us with a tiny premature baby and a crying two-year-old daughter. We would have difficulty keeping the baby alive, as we had no incubator (we had no electricity ...read more

Scripture: James 5:17, Hosea 6:2

Tags: Faith, Prayer Answered, Prayer, Prayer General

Denomination: Lutheran

The Village That Lives By The Bible  PRO

Contributed by Rick Stacy on Mar 9, 2003

The Village that lives by the Bible by Clarence W. Hall It was early in 1945 when, as a war correspondent on Okinawa, I first came upon Shimabuku, the strangest and most inspiring community I ever saw. Huddled beneath its groves of banyan and twisted pine trees, this remote village of some 1000 ...read more

Tags: Bible Influence

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

No Rusty Promises In Heaven!" Leviticus 26: ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Jan 20, 2005

“No Rusty Promises in Heaven!” Leviticus 26: 40-45 Key verse(s): 45:“But for their sake I will remember the covenant with their ancestors whom I brought out of Egypt in the sight of the nations to be their God. I am the Lord.” If you are interested in learning about hope, take a walk sometime ...read more

Scripture: Leviticus 26:40-45

Tags: God Brings Hope

Denomination: Lutheran