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In Sermon Illustrations: "Surprises"

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  • Half A Cloak  PRO

    Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 22, 2005
    based on 4 ratings
     | 3,288 views

    HALF A CLOAK There is a legend about Martin of Tours who is said to be the first military chaplain. He followed the Roman Army from place to place ministering to the soldiers, and to people in the places they conquered. One cold winter day he was following the Roman Army into a city. There was a ...read more

  • Future Declin:e A New Barna Survey Discovered ...

    Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006
     | 1,824 views

    Future Declin:e A new Barna survey discovered that adults who attended church as a child are twice as likely to read the Bible during a typical week as are those who avoided churches when young; twice as likely to attend a church worship service in a typical week; and nearly 50% more likely to pray ...read more

  • I Have Come To The Conclusion That It Is ...

    Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 10, 2006
     | 2,406 views

    I have come to the conclusion that it is impossible to have a moral community or nation without faith in God, because without it everything rapidly comes down to "me," and "me" alone is meaningless. Today Americans have stopped acting in terms of their own moral, ethical and religious beliefs and ...read more

  • Sometimes People Try To Explain The Miracles In ...

    Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Oct 30, 2006
     | 1,222 views

    Sometimes people try to explain the miracles in the Bible as mere natural occurrences: "It may never rain cats and dogs, but fish, shells, and frogs have indeed fallen from the sky on rare occasions. In 1984, live six-inch [15 centimeters] flounders (fish) fell on a London neighborhood. It is ...read more

  • Seoul -- At His Father's Funeral, American Carl ...

    Contributed by Bruce Landry on Jan 15, 2007
    based on 1 rating
     | 3,112 views

    Seoul -- At his father’s funeral, American Carl Lewis placed his 100-meter gold medal from the 1984 Olympics in his father’s hands. "Don’t worry," he told his surprised mother. "I’ll get another one." A year later, in the 100-meter final at the 1988 games, Lewis was competing against Canadian ...read more

  • In October 1947, There Was A Geologist By The ...

    Contributed by Fred Sigle on Mar 19, 2007
     | 1,148 views

    In October 1947, there was a geologist by the name of Dr. John Williamson who was doing some work in the country of Tanzania. One day, he found himself driving in a deserted area, slipping and sliding along a rain-soaked road. Suddenly his four-wheel drive vehicle sank up to its axles in the mud ...read more

  • Dr. Helen Roseveare, Missionary To Zaire ...

    Contributed by Bobby Scobey on Mar 21, 2007
    based on 1 rating
     | 1,591 views

    Dr. Helen Roseveare, missionary to Zaire (formerly the Belgian Congo), told the following story: A mother at our mission station died after giving birth to a premature baby. We tried to improvise an incubator to keep the infant alive, but the only hot water bottle we had was beyond repair. So ...read more

  • On The Thursday Of Holy Week This Year, The ...  PRO

    Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Mar 25, 2007
    based on 4 ratings
     | 3,091 views

    On the Thursday of Holy Week this year, the queen of England will preside over the Royal Maundy Service at Guildford Cathedral. It is a service held each year on the Thursday before Easter, and the British monarch presents gifts of money to the poor. The royal website says, “The tradition of the ...read more

  • To Win Them, You Must Weep For Them  PRO

    Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 27, 2009
    based on 2 ratings
     | 4,064 views

    TO WIN THEM, YOU MUST WEEP FOR THEM A woman went to her pastor and said, "I’ve been a Christian for 20 years. I’ve read books on how to win souls. I’ve memorized scripture. I’ve taken courses on how to win the lost. And yet I haven’t won one person to the Lord. Why?" The pastor’s answer ...read more

  • Strangers Have Devoured His Strength - From Hosea ...

    Contributed by Dwight L. Moody on Jun 11, 2009
     | 2,536 views

    Strangers have devoured his strength - from Hosea 7:9 What gives spiritual weakness like allowed sin? It was so with Israel, it will ever be so with us. Yielding to unhallowed association (with) strangers devour our strength. If you ever saw a cake not turned, baked only on one side, ...read more

  • Spiritual Fruit: "This Has Been Plastered"  PRO

    Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 24, 2009
    based on 2 ratings
     | 4,665 views

    SPIRITUAL FRUIT: "THIS HAS BEEN PLASTERED" Benjamin Franklin learned that plaster sown in the fields would make things grow. He told his neighbors, but they did not believe him and they argued with him trying to prove that plaster could be of no use at all to grass or grain. After a little while, ...read more

  • Potato Piles

    Contributed by Sylvester Fergusson on Aug 21, 2009
     | 2,779 views

    POTATO PILES A young man came to a farm looking for work. So the farmer set him to the task immediately. He had a barn that needed painting. So the task was handed to the young man. The farmer said to himself that it would take at least three days to finish the task but in two days the young man ...read more

  • Christian Love Impacts A Heartless World  PRO

    Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 18, 2009
    based on 2 ratings
     | 4,363 views

    CHRISTIAN LOVE IMPACTS A HEARTLESS WORLD We live in a heartless world. The last United States census missed at least 5.7 million people who were anonymous even to the census takers. Every year thousands of unidentified and even unidentifiable bodies are found across North America. And only one out ...read more

  • Compassion For The Elderly, Post Office ...

    Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 5, 2009
     | 3,003 views

    Compassion for the Elderly, Post Office Style [FINDING MAMIE IN YOUR CHURCH] Mamie was an elderly woman, plagued with arthritis and a number of other ailments. So people were surprised to see her going regularly to the post office to buy stamps. One Christmas the lines were particularly long, but ...read more

  • When I Was In Seminary, The Administration Asked ...

    Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on Dec 24, 2009
     | 1,253 views

    When I was in seminary, the administration asked me to go on a recruiting trip back to Central College, from which I had graduated. So one of the professors and I flew into DesMoines, Iowa, where the college chaplain picked us up. He started to drive us to Pella, a trip of about an hour. The three ...read more

  • On December 7, 1941, A Japanese War Plane Piloted ...

    Contributed by Ajai Prakash on Jan 13, 2010
     | 1,992 views

    On December 7, 1941, a Japanese war plane piloted by Mitsuo Fuchida took off from the aircraft carrier Akagi. Fuchida led the surprise attack on the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Through the war years to follow, Fuchida continued to fly—often narrowly escaping death. At war’s end, he ...read more

  • The Sheep Dog  PRO

    Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 9, 2011
    based on 4 ratings
     | 6,081 views

    THE SHEEP DOG A man by the name of Keith Miller told of the time when his daughters were very young. They’d drop them off at the church’s children’s chapel on Sundays before the 11 am service. But one day Keith chanced to be in the class when the preacher was telling the story for the day to the ...read more

  • Researchers Find That Multi-Taskers Perform ...

    Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Sep 27, 2011
     | 1,615 views

    RESEARCHERS FIND THAT MULTI-TASKERS PERFORM POORLY So you think you can multitask? Texting while driving? No problem. Watching television and reading the Bible? No problem. Checking your email while listening to a spouse, a child, or a friend? No problem. In reality, however, according to a team ...read more

  • The Lost (And Found) Baptistery

    Contributed by Davon Huss on Nov 21, 2011
     | 2,215 views

    THE LOST (AND FOUND) BAPTISTERY Supposedly, it was constructed around 1828; sometime between then and about 1930 it was forgotten and unused till discovered in May of 2002. No one knows for certain when the open air baptistery of Mt. Gilead Baptist Church in Fort Gaines, Georgia, was last used. ...read more

  • Wishing Vs. Hoping  PRO

    Contributed by Thomas Clawser on Dec 3, 2011
    based on 2 ratings
     | 5,113 views

    WISHING VS. HOPING Eugene Peterson (Living the Message: Daily Help for Living the God-Centered Life) points out that what a lot of people call hope is in reality something different. It's wishing, not hoping: and wishing and hoping are not the same thing. "Wishing," Peterson says, "is something ...read more