In Sermon Illustrations: "Stories"

Man Vs. Milkshake

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Feb 27, 2011

MAN VS. MILKSHAKE James Dobson author, psychologist, and founder of Focus on the Family tells the story of a friend of his during their days in medical school. One day this man was walking across campus laden with books and briefcase. He passed by a fast food stand, and ordered something to eat ...read more

Tags: Confidence

Denomination: Brethren

Blessing People

Contributed by Tim Smith on Mar 17, 2011

BLESSING PEOPLE Reggie McNeal tells the story of one man who decided to bless the baristas at the Starbucks he frequents. When he asked them the question, “How can I ask God to bless you?” they were somewhat taken aback. Slowly but surely, they warmed up to him and the employees started to come ...read more

Tags: Blessing

Denomination: Methodist

Time Marches On  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 10, 2011

TIME MARCHES ON There was once a middle aged man who was considering going back to school to get that degree he had always wanted. But he was balking at the idea because he was now over 50 and what good would it do him now. He went to his dad for advice and his dad asked him how long it would ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:15-16

Tags: Wisdom, Wait, Response, Call God's Name, Time  (view more)  (view less)

On Obedience  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2011

ON OBEDIENCE "One word stands out from all others as the key to knowing God, to having His peace and assurance in your life--it is obedience." (Eric Liddell) Elisabeth Elliot tells the story of when she and her brother Tom were small children. Their mother would let Tom play with paper bags that ...read more

Scripture: 1 Samuel 15:22, 1 Peter 1:3-12, 1 Peter 3:1-12, Luke 8:16-21, Psalm 81:1-16  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Obedience

Who's Watching?

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 7, 2011

WHO'S WATCHING? I remember the story of that man who wanted to steal a goat. He took his four children and said to them: "You hide there, you hide by my left, you hide at my back, you hide by my right. If you see anybody coming, give me a sign that I will quickly stop whatever I 'm doing." But as ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 4:12-13

Tags: God's Omniscience

When We Come Together

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 30, 2011

WHEN WE COME TOGETHER Dr. J. Vernon McGee told a story about a little community where there were three churches on the same corner, a Presbyterian church, Methodist church and Baptist church. One Sunday night, all the windows were open and they could hear each other singing. They didn't get along ...read more

Scripture: John 13:34-35

Tags: Unity

Doing The Best You Can

Contributed by Scott Spencer on Sep 17, 2011

DOING THE BEST YOU CAN There is an old story from the Middle East about a little sparrow: "A man was traveling on his donkey when he came upon a small fuzzy object lying in the road. He dismounted to look more closely and found a sparrow lying on its back with its scrawny legs thrust upward. At ...read more

Tags: Endurance

Denomination: Calvary Chapel

Jehovah Is Still God

Contributed by Christian Cheong on Nov 14, 2011

JEHOVAH IS STILL GOD Gladys Aylward, missionary to China more than 50 years ago, was forced to flee when the Japanese invaded Yangcheng. But she couldn't leave her work behind. With only one assistant, she led a 100+ orphans over the mountains toward Free China. During Gladys's harrowing journey ...read more

Tags: Faith

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Too Much Of A Good Thing

Contributed by Johnny A. Palmer Jr. on Dec 8, 2011

TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING Reuters, had a rather strange story: Heat Wave Claims a Frostbite Victim. While the rest of Europe suffered under a record heat wave, back in August 2003, 46 year-old Mike Ball literally froze his foot driving 250 miles with his toes too close to the air conditioning ...read more

Tags: Ignorance

Denomination: Baptist

Overwhelming Forgiveness

Contributed by Davon Huss on Dec 12, 2011

OVERWHELMING FORGIVENESS A wonderful example of how to practice the lifestyle of grace comes from an incident in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, on October 2, 2006, when a man entered an Amish schoolhouse and murdered 5 girls while wounding 5 others before killing himself. As horrific as this ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness For Others

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

How Corrie Ten Boom Got Started

Contributed by Johnny A. Palmer Jr. on Dec 13, 2011

HOW CORRIE TEN BOOM GOT STARTED Corrie Ten Boom following WW II, understood that God was leading her to come to America. She survived the Nazi death camps and wanted to tell her story. She arrived here with only 50 dollars; no friends; no place to stay; and no speaking invitations. She writes, ...read more

Tags: Promises Of God

Denomination: Baptist

Jewish Blessings

Contributed by Perry Greene on Dec 19, 2011

JEWISH BLESSINGS David Stern relates in hid Jewish NT Commentary, pp.115-116 that there are many blessings given by the Hebrew people. There are blessings for wine (Matthew 26.27-29); for bread (14.19); The Talmud (circa 5th century CE) had specific formulas for dozens of blessings that the people ...read more

Tags: Blessing

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

All By Myself?

Contributed by Perry Greene on Dec 27, 2011

ALL BY MYSELF? The story is told of an old lady who had moved to the United States from Europe when she was a child, but now she wanted to officially become a citizen of this country. After months of going through all the necessary red tape, she was finally ready to take the required ...read more

Tags: Confidence

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Grits And Grace

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 10, 2012

GRITS AND GRACE How blessed is the person whose sin God does not take into account. Even if you don’t deserve it; God provides for you. True story. Two pastors were on their way to Atlanta, Georgia for a large Christian men’s gathering. One of them had never been in the south before. After ...read more

Scripture: Acts 15:6-11

Tags: Grace

Master Your Emotions

Contributed by Perry Greene on Dec 26, 2012

Master Your Emotions John Maxwell relates the story of Bobby Jones, a legendary golfer who won a major tournament at twenty-one. By age twenty-eight, he had already won the grand slam and retired. Jones had an uncle who said that by the time he was fourteen, Bobby was probably already the best ...read more

Tags: Emotions

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

No Atheists In The Water  PRO

Contributed by Paul Barreca on Mar 31, 2013

NO ATHEISTS IN THE WATER David Harrell wrote a book telling the story of his father, Edgar Harrell. Edgar was one of the 300 survivors of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis, the last US ship sunk by enemy contact in WW2. 600 of the 900 men who survived the ship's sinking were stranded in the ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 2:15

Tags: Shipwreck, Death, Dying, Loneliness, Atheism  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Bumper Stickers

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 12, 2014

BUMPER STICKER CONSCIENCE This is a true story. I have a pastor friend in Alabama named Bill who was driving to speak at a church in another county and he was running late. He was driving about 20 miles over the speed limit, when suddenly he remembered he had a Christian bumper sticker on his car. ...read more

Scripture: Romans 13:1-7

Tags: Conscience, Obey Authorities

The Relationship We Share

Contributed by Davon Huss on Jun 2, 2014

While many people hunger for family closeness, we often miss the opportunities that stand immediately before us. Tammy Harris of Roanoke, Virginia, began searching for her biological mother when she turned 21. A year of searching proved fruitless. Tammy did not realize, however, that her ...read more

Scripture: Mark 3:34-35

Tags: Family, Church Family

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Nfl...a Moral Compass?

Contributed by Robert Harmon on Oct 4, 2014

How would you like to have the NFL as your moral compass? Last week, we were hammered by reports about Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson and how the NFL was responding (or not responding) to the allegations of abuse. Tabloids, Social Media, and ESPN have been overloaded with their stories and many ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:24-27

Tags: Firm Foundation, Becoming Like Christ, Nfl

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

What Are You Holding Onto?

Contributed by Edward Hardee on Mar 18, 2016

Props: trophies, on large nice trophy for the main story. These are some nice trophies. This one was earned by my daughter through playing softball. She was so proud as they called her name up to receive this trophy. This is from a contest that one of them had worked hard for. This large ...read more

Scripture: Joshua 7:1-20

Tags: Sin, Treasure, Materialism

Denomination: Church Of God