In Sermon Illustrations: "Sunday Morning"

Prayer For ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 22, 2009

Prayer for Compassion Then we can pray a prayer like David Mains prayed years ago. He was once pastor of the Circle Urban Church, an inner city church in Chicago, and one day, in the course of his ministry among such great need, he prayed, “Lord, let me see the world as you see it, and break my ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 9:36-38

Tags: Compassion

Baptism Is A Sign Of Submission To The Lordship ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 26, 2009

Baptism Is A Sign of Submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ When the early Christians declared their faith in baptism, they would shout out, “Jesus is Lord!” Baptism has always been a sign of submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. William Barker tells of a machinist at Ford Motor Company ...read more

Scripture: Acts 2:41-42

Tags: Baptism

Giving Up Is Better Than Ecstasy

Contributed by Sean Harder on Dec 4, 2009

GIVING UP IS BETTER THAN ECSTASY Scott Peck writes in his book "The Road Less Traveled: "I spent much of my ninth summer on a bicycle. About a mile from our house the road went down a steep hill and turned sharply at the bottom. Coasting down the hill one morning, I felt my gathering speed to be ...read more

Tags: Sacrifices

Praise Be To The Lord, The God Of Israel, ...

Contributed by Gregg Bitter on Jan 3, 2010

"Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his people" (Luke 1:68 NIV). A little child plays innocently in a park. Suddenly a man grabs her from behind and drags her into a van. She’s gagged. A bag’s pulled over her head. Dust stings her eyes. The smell of sweat ...read more

Tags: Restoration

Denomination: Lutheran

Astor's Promise

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Nov 18, 2010

ASTOR'S PROMISE One stormy night an elderly couple entered the lobby of a small hotel and asked for a room. The clerk said they were full and they would probably find so were all the hotels in town. "But I can’t send a fine couple like you out in the rain. Would you be willing to sleep in my ...read more

Tags: Promises Of God

Denomination: Brethren

Dead To Garlic

Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on Jul 20, 2011

DEAD TO GARLIC The problem is we are so accustomed to sin we do not recognize it's gravity. I once read the news account of the two Lake Worth, Florida, high school boys. They were suspended from school because they ate so much garlic that no one could stand to have them around. They had read ...read more

Tags: Dead To Sin

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Trusting The Scent

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 7, 2011

TRUSTING THE SCENT Years ago I read the story of a man by the name of Wally who owned a farm in Connecticut. He had a remarkable talent he had with birds, chickadees specifically. It seems that every morning these little birds would flutter down and land on his hands. And it wasn’t just for food; ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 17:2-5

Tags: Trust

Keep The Springs Pure  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 8, 2012

KEEP THE SPRINGS PURE The family’s water supply came from a spring just a few feet from the house. The pure, cold, sweet water bubbled up through a large pipe about the size of a barrel that had been sunk in the ground. One morning two huge frogs were found in the spring. No one wanted to drink ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 4:20-27

Tags: Heart

Overcoming Evil With Good

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 9, 2012

OVERCOMING EVIL WITH GOOD Stuart Holden (1874-1934), the author of "Prevailing Intercessory Prayer", was in Egypt and met a sergeant in a Highland regiment. "How were you brought to Christ?" he asked this bright Christian. The sergeant responded: "There was a private in the same company as myself ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:22-23

Tags: Christian Witness

A Story For Peace-Lovers  PRO

Contributed by Lalachan Abraham on Jan 21, 2013

A STORY FOR PEACE-LOVERS (Narrated by Dorothy S. Mclaren) One morning a little girl, dressed in spotless white, with a lovely bouquet of flowers in her hands, passed by a boy who was playing in the dusty street. The sight of this pretty girl stirred the spirit of mischief in the boy’s heart and ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:18

Tags: Peace

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Being A Bystander

Contributed by Kelly Benton on Mar 23, 2015

Some years ago we had some friends in our apartment complex that needed some help moving. Now, no one enjoys moving and everyone usually tries to avoid this type of labor if possible. But, these people needed some help so I volunteered myself and our oldest son Zane to help them move. We began ...read more

Scripture: Luke 23:33-35

Tags: Responsibility, Laziness, Bystander

Denomination: Other

Do Not Let Others Discourage You

Contributed by Shawn Drake on Apr 18, 2021

Over the last few Wednesdays, we have been studying how to make wise choices in who are your close friends. One of the main points is- To have a close friend, you have to be a close friend. We live in a time where people enjoy destroying other people and leave them discouraged. In our sermon ...read more

Scripture: Acts 18:1-28

Tags: Be The Church, Encourager

Denomination: Baptist

Cast The First Stone

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Feb 6, 2024

Marilyn Helleberg told about being a teenager at church camp. She said an ugly rumor got started there about two of the counselors and it quickly became the talk of the camp. The next day, at Morning Prayer, the minister read the story of the adulterous woman. He spoke of Jesus telling the crowd ...read more

Tags: Gossip, Division, Judging, Forgiveness, Confession, Criticism, Mouth, Words, Tongue, Love  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Looking For A Loophole. W C Fields Story

Contributed by J Jeffrey Smead on Mar 3, 2026

It is a difficult thing... to look in the mirror of our soul... and see where we really stand ... in our relationship with God. Some hold back ... from a total commitment to Jesus... and in a way, ... are looking for a loophole ... to make them acceptable ... before God. (Pause) W. C. Fields ...read more

Scripture: Acts 17:22-34, John 14:6

Tags: Spirit, Battle, Commitment, Flesh, Loophole  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Anglican

Dr. James Dobson's Focus On The Family Recently ...  PRO

Contributed by Austin Mansfield on Jun 3, 2007

Dr. James Dobson’s Focus On The Family recently aired this true story from Dr. Bob Reccord, president of the International Missions Board: A pastor friend in Texas was in a hurry after work. He had to get to the mall for some items, go to his daughter’s school to pick her up, take her home, get ...read more

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

Give A Birthday Present To Jesus

Contributed by Richard Goble on Nov 29, 2007

Give A Birthday Present To Jesus. One year our church celebrated Christmas by giving a birthday present to Jesus. On the first Sunday in December, I asked the congregation to think about what Jesus Christ really meant to them, and to offer a gift on the altar to symbolize their love for Him and ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

The Unquenchable Worshipper, Matt ...

Contributed by Roger Nelmes on Jan 30, 2008

Illustration: The Unquenchable Worshipper, Matt Redman Regal Books; Ventura California, ©2001 When we come together as congregations, we can just as easily get thrown off course. A few years back in our church, we realized some of the things we thought were helping us in our worship were ...read more

Tags: Corporate Worship

Denomination: Pentecostal

How To Get Kicked Out Of Church On Christmas Eve  PRO

Contributed by Peter Loughman on Dec 15, 2008

HOW TO GET KICKED OUT OF CHURCH ON CHRISTMAS EVE Christmas Eve 1990. I came this close to being physically thrown out of church. We were new to town and we heard that a certain church in town had a fantastic Christmas Eve service. So, we went with some friends, about ten of us total, to this ...read more

Tags: Christmas, Advent, Christmas Eve, Hymn, Hymnal, Hard To Believe, Way, Choir, New Jersey, Shut Up, Kicked Out, Go Away, Eject, Sing, Quiet, Song, Silent Night, Usher, Funny  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Disunity Stories  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 26, 2011

DISUNITY STORIES A man was stranded on an island. Alone for a number of years. Finally he was located and some people came ashore to rescue him. Before they took him off the island, he wanted to show them around. He took them to his hut and said "This is the home I built with my own 2 hands." Then ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-6

Tags: Divisions

Walking With Integrity

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 5, 2011

WALKING WITH INTEGRITY Integrity can be defined as: "wholeness; uprightness; honesty or soundness of moral principle and character; an undivided or unbroken completeness or totality with nothing wanting." Dr. Bob Reccord, president of the International Missions Board told about a pastor friend in ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 3:8-15

Tags: Christian Witness