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In Sermon Illustrations: "Surprise"

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  • Unwanted Items—the Ark Of The Covenant

    Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Jul 16, 2025
     | 191 views

    Unwanted Items—The Ark of the Covenant Introduction: To “frame” this illustration, we’d need to look at a couple of chapters in 1 Samuel. In chapter 4, the writer tells us of Israel’s decision, foolish as it was, to bring the Ark of the Covenant out of the Tabernacle and down to the battlefield. ...read more

  • Good Won’t Get You There, Feda H. ...  PRO

    Contributed by A. Todd Coget on Oct 11, 2001
    based on 113 ratings
     | 2,800 views

    [Good Won’t Get You There, Feda H. Babinski] I’m standing there in front of gates like none I’ve ever found They shine like golden ribbons as they glide across the ground I see the stairs that never end how brilliantly they glow I start to climb and realize there’s nothing down below Then ...read more

  • A Hungry Enemy  PRO

    Contributed by Jeff Strite on Oct 27, 2002
    based on 23 ratings
     | 6,908 views

    A HUNGRY ENEMY A woman wrote to "Pulpit Helps" to explain a miraculous lesson her family experienced. During one of their family Bible readings as new Christians, they ran across the verse, "If your enemy is hungry, feed him" (Romans 12:20 RSV). She writes: Ours sons, 7 and 10 at the time, ...read more

  • We Had An Experience Just This Week Of God ...  PRO

    Contributed by David Haun on Dec 21, 2003
    based on 2 ratings
     | 1,888 views

    We had an experience just this week of God stepping in when a call is given. The miracle started about two weeks ago when I "accidentally" came across an account of a new movie showing in selected theaters. The movie was reviewed as one of the best in recent years and was titled "The Gospel of ...read more

  • On The Battlefield Discernment Is Critical. An ...  PRO

    Contributed by Mark Brunner on Jul 8, 2004
    based on 16 ratings
     | 5,261 views

    On the battlefield discernment is critical. An officer leading his men into battle must be able to make decisions quickly and accurately. Decisiveness can spell the difference between victory and defeat. General Robert E. Lee, one of the greatest military strategists to ever wear an American ...read more

  • Foot In Mouth Disease! (07.20.05--Pride--John ...

    Contributed by Mark Brunner on Jul 19, 2005
     | 3,545 views

    Foot In Mouth Disease! (07.20.05--Pride--John 7:51) Open mouth, insert foot! There are few times in life more embarrassing than when we say something we didn’t mean to say or let something slip that should not have been said. On the occasion of a recent birthday in our household, I was given ...read more

  • Leveling The Ground! (10.21.05--That ...

    Contributed by Mark Brunner on Oct 19, 2005
    based on 1 rating
     | 2,466 views

    Leveling the Ground! (10.21.05--That Person!--Genesis 5:3-5) As I paid for my fuel purchase in he came. Everyone in town knew him as just plain Frank. He was dirty, loud and smelly. Most people avoided him because he was just different from most other folks. He didn’t bath or shower but once in a ...read more

  • Who Was United States Senator Edmund G. Ross Of ...  PRO

    Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 10, 2006
    based on 2 ratings
     | 2,585 views

    Who was United States Senator Edmund G. Ross of Kansas? I suppose you could call him a "Mr. Nobody." No law bears his name. Not a single list of Senate "greats" mentions his service. Yet when Ross entered the Senate in 1866, he was considered the man to watch. He seemed destined to surpass his ...read more

  • Standing In The Doorway  PRO

    Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 17, 2009
    based on 7 ratings
     | 4,221 views

    STANDING IN THE DOORWAY John Todd was born in Rutledge, Vermont, into a family of several children. They later moved to the village of Killingsworth back in the early 1800s. And, there, at a very young age, both John’s parents died. The relatives wondered what they would do with so many ...read more

  • Father, Forgive Them...  PRO

    Contributed by Warner Pidgeon on Mar 27, 2009
    based on 5 ratings
     | 3,693 views

    FATHER, FORGIVE THEM... Many years ago, long before any of us were born, and long before our great grandparents were born, a young man walked into town. His clothes were old and well worn. His shoes had holes, and he carried all of his possessions in a small, dirty bag. When he first arrived in ...read more

  • He Can See Me Now  PRO

    Contributed by Matthew Sickling on Jun 5, 2009
    based on 2 ratings
     | 2,266 views

    HE CAN SEE ME NOW I want to share a story with you in closing. It’s a story I heard several years ago about a high school football player. I don’t know his name, or what number he wore on his uniform or anything like that. All I know is that this kid wasn’t really that great of an athlete. He ...read more

  • The Lady Or The ...

    Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 19, 2009
     | 3,635 views

    The Lady or the Lion By Frank Stockton (edited and revised) In the very olden time there lived a semi-barbaric king, whose ideas were indeed semi-barbaric. The king had a daughter, beautiful and fair… the envy of every woman in the nation. She could have any man in the kingdom… but her heart was ...read more

  • The Empty Assignment

    Contributed by Peter Loughman on Mar 31, 2010
     | 2,700 views

    THE EMPTY ASSIGNMENT I was assigned to retrieve box number 673 A. I took my little pink piece of paper with my assignment for the afternoon - find box #673 A, Humana Hospital, February 1970. I had just started to working at this medical file warehouse and so I naively thought that the boss was ...read more

  • Taking A Grenade

    Contributed by Rick Crandall on May 21, 2011
     | 2,310 views

    TAKING A GRENADE A week ago last Tuesday (04/08/08) the Medal of Honor was posthumously awarded to Navy Seal Michael Monsoor. Here is part of what President Bush said to Michael’s family and those gathered at the White House: "In September 2006, Michael laid down his life for his brothers in ...read more

  • Ravi Zacharias: Changed Lives Show The Truth Of ...  PRO

    Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 9, 2011
    based on 3 ratings
     | 4,257 views

    RAVI ZACHARIAS: CHANGED LIVES SHOW THE TRUTH OF CHRIST In his book Has Christianity Failed You? Ravi Zacharias points to one of the greatest proofs for the truth of Christ and the reality of his resurrection: the changed lives of Christians. He writes: "During the course of nearly 40 years, I ...read more

  • My Sheep Know My Voice  PRO

    Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 9, 2011
    based on 2 ratings
     | 7,108 views

    MY SHEEP KNOW MY VOICE Do you all know much about Emperor Penguins? I was not very familiar with these birds until a few years ago when the documentary, March of the Penguins, came out. And as I watched this documentary, I learned many intriguing facts about this largest of the penguin family. ...read more

  • Our Greatest Need

    Contributed by Ed Sasnett on Dec 20, 2012
     | 4,053 views

    If we were to go out on the streets and ask people at random, “What is your greatest need?” we would probably get a number of different responses. We wouldn’t be surprised in this economy if we got several answers of people needing a job so they could provide for their home and family. If people ...read more

  • A Mother's Search

    Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 24, 2015
     | 8,222 views

    Longing to leave her poor Brazilian neighborhood, Christina wanted to see the world. Discontent with a home having only a pallet on the floor, a washbasin, and a wood-burning stove, she dreamed of a better life in the city. One morning she slipped away breaking her mother’s heart. Knowing what ...read more

  • The Payment For The Parts

    Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Feb 20, 2020
     | 2,767 views

    One of the worst things that could happen to anybody is a car accident. My oldest son had this happen recently. He was okay, just a few bruises, but the car was totaled. Not good. A day or so later, he and I went to the garage where the car had been towed. We took turns removing his personal ...read more

  • Unsung Heroes: Abraham’s Cook

    Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Jan 23, 2021
    based on 1 rating
     | 2,335 views

    Introduction: Cooks, those who prepare meals for others, are not mentioned very often in the Bible. Their roles and functions were important, no matter where they were. In this passage, Abraham was surprised to see three Unexpected Guests arrive at his tent “in the heat of the day”. Following ...read more