In Sermon Illustrations: "Stumbling Stone"

A Gift Beyond Description  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 15, 2010

A GIFT BEYOND DESCRIPTION A few years ago, on "Good Morning, America," Joan Lunden featured some extraordinary gifts that a person might want to include on their Christmas gift list. One of them was a Jaguar automobile, the Jaguar 220. To purchase one, you first go to your Jaguar dealer and ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:8-21

Tags: Christmas, Joseph, God The Father

Rescue Effort

Contributed by Michael Walther on May 25, 2011

RESCUE EFFORT On August 30, 2005 Coast Guard Lieutenant Iain McConnell was ordered to fly his H46 helicopter to New Orleans and to keep that machine flying around the clock for what would turn out to be a heroic rescue effort. None of his crew were prepared for what they were about to see. They ...read more

Tags: Unbelief

Denomination: Lutheran

Satan's Three-Fold Attack

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 9, 2020

Satan tempts us in three separate ways according to I John 2:15-16: "The lust of the flesh is the desire to DO something apart from the will of God. The lust of the eyes is the desire to HAVE something apart from the will of God. The pride of life is the desire to BE something apart from ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:1-12, 1 John 2:15-16

Tags: Lust, Satan, Spiritual Warfare, Temptation

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[027] A Message From A Poem – Based On Psalm 91

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Feb 10, 2025

[027] A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – BASED ON PSALM 91 When people are asked for their favourite Psalm, usually Psalm 23 is given, the Shepherd Psalm. There are a few who chose Psalm 91 as a Psalm they love and the reasons are not hard to find in this Psalm. This is a beautiful Psalm. I am pasting ...read more

Scripture: Luke 4:9-11, Psalm 91:1-4, Psalm 91:5-10, Psalm 91:11-13, Psalm 91:14-16  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Compassion, Angels, Protect, Rescue, Care, Refuge, Shelter, Deliver  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Are We Really Who We Say We Are?  PRO

Contributed by Greg Buchner on Aug 9, 2004

“Are We Really Who We Say We Are?” It was a typical night on the streets of Lansing. As the bars began to open and the nightlife found its pulse again, the little storefront building, which held The Lansing Street Ministry – The Harvest House, was just beginning its evening ministry. The ...read more

Tags: Grace, Christian Disciplines

Denomination: Methodist

Do You Have A Portable God?" Numbers 10: 11-21 ...

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Jan 7, 2005

“Do You Have A Portable God?” Numbers 10: 11-21 Key verse(s): 21:“Then the Kohathites set out, carrying the holy things. The tabernacle was to be set up before they arrived.” Think about this! The only time that you will be through with change in this life is when your life is through. Life in an ...read more

Scripture: Numbers 10:11-21

Tags: God Brings Hope, God Brings Purpose

Denomination: Lutheran

Bill Broadhurst Was A Great Runner And He Entered ...  PRO

Contributed by Steve Malone on Jan 26, 2005

Bill Broadhurst was a great runner and he entered a 10k race in Omahu, a race that Bill Rodgers would win in less than 30 minutes. Bill Broadhurst had a handicap, he was paralyzed on his entire left side from an aneurism early in life. But he still loved to run and for him to be in the same race ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 4:7-8, Philippians 3:13-14

Tags: Endurance

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Mr. Coffee Gets His Mug ...

Contributed by Eric Ferguson on Jun 3, 2008

Mr. Coffee Gets His Mug Money THIS COFFEE "MUG" WORTH $15.6 MILLION TO ITS OWNER SAN FRANCISCO -- When it comes to coffee, Russell Christoff is more of a fresh-brewed than a freeze-dried kind of guy. So he never scrutinized the Taster’s Choice label. When he finally did, he was staring back at ...read more

Tags: Workplace Integrity

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Actions Speak Louder  PRO

Contributed by Tim Smith on Dec 10, 2008

ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER Andy Stanley tells the story of when he was 13 and learning the meaning of the phrase, "Actions speak louder than words." His dad was the Associate Pastor of First Baptist in Atlanta when the senior pastor was asked to resign. Charles Stanley was asked to preach on Sundays ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 4:12-23

Tags: Character

Denomination: Methodist

Close: (The Following Illustration Can Be Found ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

CLOSE: (the following illustration can be found on the internet – the event occurred April 25, 2003) Maurice Cheeks is the retired All Star point guard who at one time coached the Portland Trail Blazers. His team had just finished warming up for a playoff game against the Dallas Mavericks. The ...read more

Tags: Faith General

[068]. A Message From A Poem – Established Now And Changed

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Mar 28, 2025

[068]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – ESTABLISHED NOW AND CHANGED This poem is made up of couplets and each couplet is a contrast. What we were, to what God has made us to become. For example, in the first stanza, a member of the world system, but now, a member of the Body of Christ. The last two ...read more

Scripture: Romans 16:25

Tags: Poetry, Poem, Established, Changed, Rhyming Couplets  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

I Think God Gives Us Opportunities Like That To ...

Contributed by Sean Harder on Dec 4, 2009

I think God gives us opportunities like that to help us build our trust in Him. I used to go hiking and camping a lot by myself in the wilderness (not a good idea I know). But I remember getting lost once, and this was before I was even a Christian. I had literally no idea how to get back, and I ...read more

Tags: Trust

I Remember Something That Happened Just After I ...

Contributed by K. Edward Skidmore on Sep 4, 2010

I remember something that happened just after I moved to Texas from New Mexico in 1974. I was driving down a street in Alvin and was pulled over by a city policeman. He asked me if I was aware that I was driving over the speed limit in a school zone. Having just moved to Texas, I didn’t know ...read more

Tags: Law

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Meaning Of The Cross

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 25, 2011

THE MEANING OF THE CROSS In the 19th century, Armenian Christians, under a Turkish Muslim government, experienced a tremendous amount of persecution. The government lifted the ban on Muslims converting to Christianity in 1856. Then just eight years later, they began arresting these Muslim converts ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 4:12-19

Tags: Persecution

Rough Road Revival

Contributed by Dr. Ronald Shultz on Dec 17, 2020

Psalms 138:7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me. Things going badly or the road is rough? Need revived? David had that relationship with God that in the midst of ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 138:7

Tags: Revival, Trouble

Denomination: Baptist

Heaven, A Personal Place

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

Heaven, A Personal Place Jesus said, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me. In My Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and ...read more

Scripture: John 14:1-6

Tags: Heaven

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Don't Magnify Yourself Against Those That Are Fallen

Contributed by James Dina on Oct 9, 2020

DON'T MAGNIFY YOURSELF AGAINST THOSE THAT ARE FALLEN "If indeed you will magnify yourselves against me, and plead against me my reproach" (Job 19:5) 1. Many people forget their own frailty, how easy is it for them to fall. We should be taught by the mistakes of others to avoid being ...read more

Scripture: Job 19:5, Psalm 35:26

Tags: Love, Exaltation, Correction

Denomination: Pentecostal

History Records That During The Civil War, Many ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Hensley on Jun 27, 2001

History records that during the Civil War, many acts of violence were committed by both the armies of the north and the south. Once such act occurred in October of 1862 in the town of Palmyra, Missouri. According to W. E. Sutterfield, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Palmyra, the town was ...read more

Scripture: John 15:13

Tags: Forgiveness In Jesus, Cross Agony, Lordship Of Christ

Denomination: Baptist

The 1989 Armenian Earthquake Needed Only Four ...  PRO

Contributed by Dennis Lawrence on May 12, 2003

. “The 1989 Armenian earthquake needed only four minutes to flatten the nation and kill thirty thousand people. Moments after that deadly tremor ceased, a father raced to an elementary school to save his son. When he arrived, he saw that the building had been leveled. Looking at the mass of stones ...read more

Tags: Commitment, Father, Examples Of Faith, Loyalty, Salvation, Struggles, Trial  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Intelligent Design  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 15, 2004

Intelligent design ...imagine you are driving through South Dakota and suddenly come upon a mountain bearing the unmistakable likenesses of four American presidents, looking just as you remember from your history books. Would you, would anyone, conclude that these shapes were the product of wind ...read more