In Sermon Illustrations: "Start Right"

We Used To Live In This Small Farming Town North ...  PRO

Contributed by Bruce Emmert on Sep 22, 2008

We used to live in this small farming town north of Manhattan. Down the street from our house was a sweet-natured and friendly family with a strange habit. They never seemed to throw anything away. They had completely filled their front porch with bags of trash and it wasn't long before their yard ...read more

Scripture: Luke 5:37-38, Matthew 9:17, Mark 2:22

Tags: Change, Transformation, New Life, Born Again, Wineskin  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: United Methodist

My Dad Had To Be The Worse Driver I've Ever Met. ...

Contributed by Hugh W. Davidson on Mar 13, 2009

My dad had to be the worse driver I’ve ever met. When I was a kid he had wrecked 9 cars in 8 years. I think he saw life as a demolition derby and his only goal was to get through it alive. The funny thing was; as he got older he became extremely nervous and he started blowing the horn whenever he ...read more

Tags: Youth

Denomination: Baptist

Stand By Your ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 13, 2009

STAND BY YOUR SIGN When an individual or a congregation has the attitude of compromise in regard to spiritual values and truths, dark days are ahead. All who strive to be Christians feel a certain amount of pressure from the world. Through the strength that Christ gives, we can overcome the world ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:2

Tags: Truth

Examples Of Famous People Who Tithed Before They ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 30, 2009

Examples of Famous People Who Tithed Before They Became Rich A young man accepted the call to become an African missionary but found on further examination that his wife could not stand the climate of Africa. It made her very sick. He was heartbroken, but he prayerfully returned to his home and ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 9:6-15

Tags: Tithes

Colossian Philosophy: "Borrowed" Features

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 6, 2011

COLOSSIAN PHILOSOPHY: "BORROWED" FEATURES I used to collect basketball cards. This was way back in the early 90s, though I still have held on to them. Basketball cards took off well after baseball cards, and each brand over time had its own unique features. Some were UV coated, others had gold ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 1:15-23

Tags: False Teaching

Authority Vs. Power  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 12, 2014

AUTHORITY VS. POWER There's a difference between power and authority. If you have authority, but no power, your authority is useless. A government man was taking geological readings for the Department of the Interior. He approached one farmer and said, "I've been authorized by the government to ...read more

Scripture: Acts 1:1-8

Tags: Great Commission, Authority

Mowing Your Yard In The Midst Of A Flood!

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jan 15, 2020

Glen and Jo Ann live in Orange County, California in a low lying area. It flooded one year and the local newspaper sent a reporter in a boat out to Glen and Jo Ann’s neighborhood. The reporter found Jo Ann, sitting on their roof watching large objects floating by, so he climbed up on the roof to ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:33

Tags: Humor, Priorities, Seeking The Kingdom First

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Wiretap Into Your Home

Contributed by Davon Huss on Aug 22, 2020

The church is the bride of Christ. If we love the groom (Jesus), we will look for positive things to say about the bride (the church). Bob Russell tells a story about how years ago, when there were multiple party telephone lines, a preacher picked up the telephone to make a call but couldn’t get ...read more

Scripture: John 13:35, 2 Corinthians 11:28-29

Tags: Evangelism, Love For The Church, Speak Positively

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

3 Temptations Satan Uses Against Us

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Feb 27, 2023

Eve’s descent into depravity is an illustration of James 1:14-15: “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” This is the Bible’s description of sin’s slippery ...read more

Scripture: James 1:14-15

Tags: Eve, Sin, Satan, Temptation, Garden Of Eden, Backsliding  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Sharing Love

Contributed by Rob Roy on May 22, 2024

In Irving Illinois a group purchased the old school building and made it into a long term alcohol recovery program. Some of those started coming to worship at the Irving church, two had met there, Matt and Kim, I and not using their real names. My favorite wife, Lisa and I got to know them, ...read more

Scripture: John 21:15-19, Mark 12:30-31

Tags: Service, Hope, Blessings

Why Be So Negative?

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Dec 12, 2025

NEGATIVE: One young boy stood holding on to the poles behind me. He was a smart young man. During the trip the young boy talked how stupid his teachers were. The conversation turned about how bad the principal and the office staff was. Then he told me how our best Sunday School teacher was ignorant ...read more

Scripture: Jude 1:22

Tags: Negative, Attitude

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Even When The Disciples Turned From Jesus, ...

Contributed by Richard Francis on May 18, 2007

Even when the disciples turned from Jesus, betrayed him, he forgave them and came after them to seek them out personally, he does the same for us, ask and you will recive seek and you will ...read more

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

One Well-Cultivated Talent, Deepened And ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"One well-cultivated talent, deepened and enlarged, is worth 100 shallow faculties. The first law of success in this day, when so many things are clamoring for attention, is concentration to bend all the energies to one point, ...read more

Tags: Workplace Success

Messianic Jew David Stern Comments, "Sha’ul’s...

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Jul 20, 2009

Messianic Jew David Stern comments, "Sha’ul’s self-limitation is consistent with Jewish ethical standards, derekh-eretz, the "way of the world." God expects us to do what is right and what is ethical. ...read more

Tags: Ethics, Kindness

Denomination: Independent/Bible

My Grandson Cole When He ...

Contributed by Bill Burress on Sep 16, 2010

Illustration: My grandson Cole when he sometimes asks for something gets the response, “We’ll see”, and he now says, “I hate we’ll see”, because he knows that it means he ...read more

Tags: Promises Of God

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

A Vicar Had A Dream. He Was On His Way To Heaven. ...  PRO

Contributed by Owen Bourgaize on Nov 9, 2000

A vicar had a dream. He was on his way to heaven. Before him there stretched a long flight of stairs. As he started to go up, he was given a piece of chalk and told that he must put a chalk mark on each of the steps for each sin he had committed. When he was about halfway up he met the bishop ...read more

Tags: Christian Love, God's Forgiveness, Sin General

Denomination: Baptist

Rabbi David A. Nelson Likes To Tell The Story Of ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Hensley on May 17, 2001

Rabbi David A. Nelson likes to tell the story of two brothers who went to their rabbi to settle a longstanding feud. The rabbi got the two to reconcile their differences and shake hands. As they were about to leave, he asked each one to make a wish for the other in honor of the Jewish New Year. The ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:12, Matthew 6:12

Tags: Forgiveness For Others, Christian Love, Cross, Judge, Judgement, Mote  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

General Stonewall Jackson Had A Man On His Staff ...

Contributed by Bruce Howell on Nov 8, 2005

General Stonewall Jackson had a man on his staff who had become so accustomed to his ways that he was able to discern whenever the General was about to start on an expedition. Someone asked him how he knew the General was about to depart without telling him. “Oh, that’s easy,” answered the man. ...read more

Tags: Prayer Persistence, Prayer Supplication, Prayer Adoration

Denomination: Wesleyan

A Beautiful Blond Senior Shares: "When We Date, ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 15, 2005

A beautiful blond senior shares: “When we date, we start giving gifts, like flowers or candy. When a couple becomes engaged, they give special things—a diamond and very personal things. The most personal gift that I can ever give is myself. I have nothing more precious to give. When I marry, I want ...read more

Tags: Sexuality

To Avoid Offending Anybody, The School Dropped ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 15, 2005

To avoid offending anybody, the school dropped religion altogether and started singing about the weather. At my son’s school, they now hold the winter program in February and sing increasingly nonmemorable songs such as “Winter Wonderland,” “Frosty the Snowman” and—this is a real song—”Suzy ...read more

Tags: Christmas