In Sermon Illustrations: "Starting The Year"

Lucado On Alcoholism

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 23, 2011

LUCADO ON ALCOHOLISM Max Lucado, one of America's great Christian leaders, found that out earlier in his ministry. He once said, "I come from a family of alcoholism. If there's anything about this DNA stuff, I've got it." For more than 20 years, drinking was not a major issue for Lucado, but about ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 3:1-5

Tags: Alcohol

Just Follow Directions  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 5, 2011

JUST FOLLOW DIRECTIONS Robert Kupferschmid was an 81-year old man who had no flying experience. However, due to a tragic emergency, he was forced to fly an airplane. On June 17, 1998, he and his 52-year-old pilot friend, Wesley Sickle, were flying from Indianapolis to Muncie, Indiana. During the ...read more

Scripture: James 2:14-26

Tags: Faith Vs. Works

The Preacher And The Farmer  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 5, 2011

THE PREACHER AND THE FARMER Years ago, a young man had just gotten out of Bible College where he’d spent several years learning all the theological terminology that he thought would make him a successful preacher. He’d just been hired at a country church and he was determined to begin bringing new ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 2:1-5

Tags: Evangelism How To

The Bill Always Comes Due

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 12, 2011

THE BILL ALWAYS COMES DUE Bob Harris, weatherman for NY TV station WPIX-TV and the nationally syndicated independent Network news, had to weather a public storm of his own making in 1979. Though he had studied math, physics and geology at three colleges, he left school without a degree but with a ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 19:5

Tags: Lies

The Tenacity Of Edison And Lincoln

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 23, 2011

THE TENACITY OF EDISON AND LINCOLN Look at the life of Thomas Edison. At 21, he patented his first major invention: the Electrical Vote Recorder (a device 100 years ahead of its time!). At 26, he invented the automatic telegraph and paraffin paper. At 30, the phonograph (earliest record player). ...read more

Scripture: 2 Thessalonians 1:4

Tags: Endurance

Hope Of Maria

Contributed by Ken Pell on Jun 5, 2011

HOPE OF MARIA Hope weans God’s people from seeking and trusting this world. The story is told of Maria. She lived in a small town in southern Kentucky. She did not see or hear from her husband for years. Edward was assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division during the Korean war and captured when the ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 3:2-3

Tags: Pleasing God, God Brings Hope

Denomination: Nazarene

Relying On Technology

Contributed by Perry Greene on Mar 15, 2012

RELYING ON TECHNOLOGY The following two news stories come from Reuters: "A Ukraine businessman who bought a pager for each member of his staff as a New Year gift was so alarmed when all 50 of them went off at the same time that he drove his car into a lamp post. The unnamed businessman was ...read more

Tags: Men's Day

Denomination: Independent/Bible

The Village Of The Book

Contributed by Perry Greene on Apr 17, 2012

THE VILLAGE OF THE BOOK It was early in 1945. As United States forces pushed deep into Okinawa they came across a village unlike any they had ever seen. Here at Shimabuku they were met and welcomed by two old men who invited the troops in as "fellow Christians." Correspondent Clarence W. Hall ...read more

Tags: Bible Truth

Denomination: Independent/Bible

John D. Rockefeller's Transformation

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 14, 2012

JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER’S TRANSFORMATION John D. Rockefeller, Sr., was strong and husky when he was a youth. He early determined to earn money and drove himself to the limit. At age 33, he earned his first million dollars. At age 43, he controlled the biggest company in the world. At age 53, he was ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 9:1-15

Tags: Giving General

The Box Was Not Empty

Contributed by Perry Greene on Jul 3, 2012

THE BOX WAS NOT EMPTY "We often learn the most from our children. Some time ago a friend of mine punished his 3-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. Money was tight, and he became infuriated when the child tried to decorate a box to put under the tree. Nevertheless, the ...read more

Tags: Children

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Jim Buskirk Was Pastor Of Tulsa First Umc For ...

Contributed by Tim Smith on Jul 30, 2012

Jim Buskirk was pastor of Tulsa First UMC for many years. He’s been a mentor in my ministry. I listened to his sermon tapes for years. He once told this story. A man named Henry got off the bus near his church. As he walked up the street, he noticed a young boy sitting by a flower bed near a ...read more

Tags: Widows And Orphans

Denomination: Methodist

How To Send An Ultra Top Secret ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 24, 2012

HOW TO SEND AN ULTRA TOP SECRET MESSAGE There is a distinguished British gentleman by the name of Sir Oliver Franks. He had been a professor of philosophy at Oxford, and president of a couple of different colleges during the turbulent years of the 1960s and following. He had also been the chairmen ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Tags: Preaching

Pax Romana  PRO

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Dec 30, 2012

PAX ROMANA About 27 years before Jesus was born Rome experienced something unique that history has called Pax Romana = the peace of Rome. Beginning with the reign of Augustine, Emperor of Rome and lasting till about 180 A.D. (a period of 200 years) Rome was at peace. They had few internal ...read more

Tags: Peace

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

When Your Sin Finds You Out.  PRO

Contributed by Larry Turner on Sep 16, 2013

I was 18 years old when I stole my first and only item. I was a bagger at a local grocery store. The store had some small battery operated record players that played 45s. (For those too young to remember what 45s were, they looked like bid CDs with a hole in the middle.) A lot of the record players ...read more

Scripture: Numbers 32:23

Tags: Truth, Unconfessed Sin

Denomination: Foursquare

From Shackles To Statue

Contributed by Lee Strawhun on Sep 17, 2014

It was 1985 when Tim Cole was picked out of a lineup for a rape he never committed but would be convicted of and sentenced to serve 25 years. He was near the Texas Tech campus when the rape occurred and as a result was sent to prison because the victim picked the wrong man and the courts sentenced ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:5-9

Tags: Hope Of Justice, Victim, Forgiveness For Others, Continue In Faith

Denomination: United Methodist

Loss

Contributed by Steve Kinnard on Aug 9, 2019

Have you ever had a time in your life when you suffered drastic income loss? In 1995 I had a dream job, I had an office that was 30 foot by 40 foot with my own private bath, no boss on 2nd and 3rd shift and the pay was great, not bad for a blue-collar worker. We based our lifestyle on my wages, and ...read more

Scripture: Joel 2:25-27

Tags: Loss, Recovert

Denomination: Pentecostal

Living Or Dead

Contributed by Max Furman on Dec 24, 2021

On Easter Sunday, religious leaders and the disciples had all witnessed the same event. However, both saw something differently. A few years ago, I was getting ready to leave the house for a run and as my wife and I talked, I learned that she was soon going to run an errand. Jokingly, I told her ...read more

Scripture: Luke 24:8-11

Tags: Easter, Resurrection

The Night Before Cassie Bernal Was Murdered At Columbine

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Nov 6, 2022

On Tuesday April 20, 1999, Cassie Bernal was in the Columbine Colorado high school library reading her Bible when the two students burst in carrying guns. According to one of the witnesses, her friend Josh, one of the killers pointed his gun at Cassie and asked, "Do you believe in ...read more

Tags: Faith, Death, Persecution, Heaven, Satan, Testimony, Terrorism, High School, Last Words, Martyrs, Columbine  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Jingle Bells At A Funeral?

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Dec 22, 2022

Several years ago, a pretty well-known singing group made a monster mistake at a funeral service. This group traveled all around the USA singing and sharing Christ. One of the men in their home church back in Texas told them that he prayed for them, supported them greatly and loved to hear them ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 1:9

Tags: Christmas, Communication, Confession, Confusion, Embarrassment, Funerals  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Our Influence On Others

Contributed by Richard Tow on Feb 13, 2023

Evangelist Billy Sunday told a story about “a man who lived in east Tennessee. That man hunted rattlesnakes for a living. He would sell rattlesnakes. One particular time he caught a rattlesnake that had fourteen rattlers. It was a huge rattlesnake. He put that rattlesnake in a box and put a glass ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 4:12

Tags: Compromise, Influence, Example, Leadership, Alcohol  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Charismatic