In Sermon Illustrations: "Starting The Year"

The Jim Twins. ...

Contributed by Ed Sasnett on Dec 18, 2012

Maybe you’ve heard the story of the Jim twins. Jim Springer and Jim Lewis were twin sons of a fourteen-year-old Italian girl. She gave birth to them in a small town in Ohio and then disappeared. They were adopted into two separate loving families, but after 39 years of life had never seen one ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 1:6-9

Tags: Growth In Christ

Denomination: Baptist

During Super Bowl Xxxvii, Fedex Ran A Commercial ...  PRO

Contributed by Raymond L. Johnson on May 27, 2013

During Super Bowl XXXVII, FedEx ran a commercial that spoofed the movie Castaway, in which Tom Hanks played a FedEx worker, whose company plane went down, stranding him on a desert island for years. Looking like Tom Hanks in the movie, the FedEx employee in the commercial goes up to the door of a ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 25:8-10

Tags: Fulfillment, Discovery, Doing God's Will, God's Sovereign Will, Knowing God's Will  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

The Final Play Of The Game  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 7, 2013

THE FINAL PLAY OF THE GAME It's never too late to trust Jesus. Oops, I need to qualify that. There IS a time when it's too late to trust Jesus. If you die without putting your faith in Jesus, then it's too late. Someone observed about the thief on the cross that there is one deathbed conversion in ...read more

Scripture: Luke 23:39-43

Tags: Salvation, Becoming A Christian

Failure Maybe Opportunity?

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Sep 12, 2020

REMEMBER FAILURE MAY BE BUT AN OPPORTUNITY---- GEORGE CAMPBELL MORGAN, 12/9/1863. He died May 16, 1945. He preached his first sermon at 13 years of age. In 1888 a young man named CAMPBELL MORGAN had made application to the WESLEYAN SCHOOL of ministry. Campbell was one of 150 men to apply ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 3:13-14, Ecclesiastes 12:1

Tags: Remember, Opportunity

Denomination: Assembly Of God

There Are Many Mysteries

Contributed by Roy Fowler on Aug 25, 2021

There are 12 or 13 diseases that Doctors know nothing about or very little. They are Mystery's. One such mystery disease is “the sleeping sickness”. From 1917 to 1928, half a million people were afflicted with a ghastly condition that could be part of the plot-line of a horror film. The ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 1:3-14

Tags: Mystery Of God Can Be Found, Mysteries

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Fathers Who Talk To Themselves!

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Feb 26, 2023

There is a story about a man who stopped in the grocery store on the way home from work to pick up a couple of items for his wife. He wandered around aimlessly for a while searching out the needed groceries. As is often the case in the grocery store, he kept passing this same shopper in almost ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:22-23

Tags: Fruit Of The Spirit, Dads, Children, Parents, Father's Day, Men, Anger, Patience  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Soul Food

Contributed by David Dunn on Oct 8, 2025

A certain man who had been absent from church for a long time received an inquiring visit from the Pastor. The man told the Pastor, "I've attended nearly every Sunday for 30 years. In that time, I have heard something like 1,500 sermons. In all of those years, people were shouting ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 103:1-5, Isaiah 40:31, John 6:35

Tags: Worship, Faithfulness, Nourishment

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

After The Green Bay Packers Won The Super Bowl A ...  PRO

Contributed by James Wilson on Nov 27, 2000

After the Green Bay Packers won the Super Bowl a few years ago, Gilbert Brown was a hot commodity. Jacksonville offered him an extra million dollars to put his 325 pound body into their uniform, but Brown decided to stay in Green Bay. Why would he turn down a ...read more

Tags: Compassion, Sports

Denomination: Baptist

The Banner Headline Across The Top ...  PRO

Contributed by Larry Sarver on Apr 30, 2001

Illustration: The banner headline across the top of one Chicago Tribune read, "Guilty Plea Sets Inmate Free." The picture showed the freed man embracing his sister, and the article told how a man imprisoned for eight years cut a deal with the state’s ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness For Others, God's Provision

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Man Is Beset By Neuroses And Psychoses That ...

Contributed by Gene Gregory on Dec 20, 2004

“Man is beset by neuroses and psychoses that undermine his peace within. The fears of man are so many and varied that psychologists have charted them all the way from a to z: acrophobia, the fear of heights, to zoophobia, fear of animals. People cannot sleep. Americans are the champion ...read more

Tags: Endurance, God In The Hardships

Denomination: Baptist

Today As I Walked To Work, I Saw By A Penny On ...

Contributed by Robert Rose on Oct 18, 2005

Today as I walked to work, I saw by a penny on the ground. At first I thought to just pass it by, because, pennies are worthless and can’t buy much. Now days the term penny candy does not mean what it meant years ago. As I passed by the ...read more

Tags: Christian Disciplines, Forgiveness General

Denomination: Holiness

The Church & Education: The Average Protestant ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 5, 2006

The Church & Education: The average Protestant church offers classes, or education on 4.6 different topics in a typical year. The most common topics taught are for new members (60%) followed by basics of Christianity (47%) how to study the Bible (43%), evangelism (39%), spiritual ...read more

Tags: Beatitudes, Growth In Christ

A Wired Generation: Those Between Ages 10 And 17 ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 10, 2006

A Wired Generation: Those between ages 10 and 17 will center much of their life around the Internet. They will spend over 23 years of their lives online. They will send an average of 304,000 e-mails and just 265 hand-written love notes. 66% of all marriages will ...read more

Tags: Children

Mom At Home: According To The Census Bureau, ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

Mom At Home: According to the Census Bureau, fewer mothers are heading back to work during the first year of their child’s life. 55% of the 3.9 million women age 15 to 44 who gave birth between 7/99 and 6/00 returned to work. That ...read more

Tags: Parenting

Decent Movies Make More Money According To An ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

Decent Movies make more money according to an annual study by the Christian Film & Television Commission. In an analysis of American box-office receipts for 250 movies released last year, films that stressed “strong moral content” made an average $92,546,413 -- six times ...read more

Tags: Television And Movies

Kids Online: About 90% Of U.s. Children And ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2006

Kids Online: About 90% of U.S. children and adolescents ages 5-17 use computers, and about 60% use the Internet. About 25% of 5-year-olds use the Internet, and this number rises to over 50% by age 9, and to at least 75% by ages 15-17. ...read more

Tags: Children

The Church & Education: The Average Protestant ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2006

The Church & Education: The average Protestant church offers classes, or education on 4.6 different topics in a typical year. The most common topics taught are for new members (60%) followed by basics of Christianity (47%) how to study the Bible (43%), evangelism (39%), spiritual ...read more

Tags: Church General

American Entertainment: Prerecorded Entertainment ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 3, 2006

American Entertainment: Prerecorded entertainment media, including DVDs, videos, music, CDs, etc., ranked second to books, magazines and newsletters as the most widely purchased entertainment and recreation product, according to new Unity Marketing research. 62% purchased prerecorded media in the ...read more

Tags: Entertainment

Educated Donors: Only 26% Of The General Us ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 3, 2006

Educated Donors: Only 26% of the general US population has attained a bachelor’s degree or higher. In comparison, a little more than half of the US donor population (55%) have four-year degrees or more. A similar proportion of donors to faith-based organization ...read more

Tags: Giving General

Contrary To What Might Be Expected, I Look Back ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 10, 2006

Contrary to what might be expected, I look back on experiences that at the time seemed especially desolating and painful with particular satisfaction. Indeed, I can say with complete truthfulness that everything I have learned in my 75 years in this world, everything that has truly enhanced and ...read more

Tags: God In The Hardships