In Sermon Illustrations: "Take No Thought"

The Evil In Ourselves

Contributed by Steven Ferber on Apr 10, 2012

THE EVIL IN OURSELVES A few weeks ago Americans were stunned by the news that an American soldier in Afghanistan apparently killed 17 Afghan civilians. Friends and teachers of Robert Bales describe him as caring, gregarious and self-confident before he just "snapped." One childhood friend told the ...read more

Tags: Sin Bondage To

Denomination: Lutheran

Prayer Before Battle  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 28, 2012

PRAYER BEFORE BATTLE During the 1800s, the French General George Muller Massena who took orders from Napoleon, arrived at a quaint and militarily important Austrian town. His 18,000 soldiers were gearing up for their invasion, as the stunned Austrian citizens were lifeless and terrified. Knowing ...read more

Scripture: 2 Chronicles 20:1-30

Tags: Prayer Supplication

Already Approved

Contributed by Bret Toman on Mar 14, 2013

ALREADY APPROVED I remember trying to get approved for our first mortgage. There were a number of difficulties and it was very frustrating both for me, and I'm sure for our agent. But after all the sweat and tears we got approval and consequently the offer on the house we wanted was accepted. Some ...read more

Tags: Grace

Denomination: Baptist

Going Beyond Our Teachers  PRO

Contributed by Davon Huss on Jul 9, 2013

A well-known Bible teacher gives this insight: "Someone on our staff informed me several months ago that a woman had called the ministry office to find out what my 'official position' was on a biblically gray area. When she was told that it's not my policy to make 'official' public statements ...read more

Scripture: Mark 7:1-23

Tags: Legalism, Opinion, Spiritual Growth, Debatable

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Baseball In Heaven  PRO

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Feb 6, 2014

BASEBALL IN HEAVEN Bob and Stan were good buddies and baseball friends. One day at a ballgame, they made a vow to each other that, whichever friend died first, that friend would send a message back to earth to let the other friend know if there was baseball in Heaven. Sure enough, one day Bob ...read more

Scripture: John 14:1-6

Tags: Death, Eternity, Heaven, Baseball

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Reflecting The Light  PRO

Contributed by Everette Pafford on Feb 27, 2014

REFLECTING THE LIGHT A well-known Bible teacher has just finished speaking to a large class of business people on the Christians' responsibility to be light in the world. He had emphasized the as believers we all have the obligation to reflect the Light in the world, the Lord Jesus. After the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:14-16

Tags: Evangelism, Living As Light

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Smell The Rain

Contributed by Dr. David Hallum on Sep 10, 2015

When my daughter Cynthia was a little girl, we lived in Odessa, TX. We made one of the pilgrimages that we did from time to time to see my wife, Rosemary’s family. Rosemary’s brother, Michael was in town at the time from the Navy. Now in West Texas, rain is a beautiful thing. We got one of ...read more

Scripture: John 12:1-10

Tags: Disciples, Aroma, Smell, Pleasant

Denomination: Baptist

If People Are Coming.....the Product Must Be Good!

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Mar 1, 2016

In his awesome book, Selling Jesus, by Douglas D. Webster, the author gives an incredible quote about the lack of spiritual discernment in American church growth and marketing today: "American Christianity is increasingly tolerant of any and all methods, as long as they bring NUMERICAL results. ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:1-17

Tags: Discernment, Truth, Church Growth, Marketing

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Let Our Faith Be In God And Not In The Things Of This World.

Contributed by Greg Burcham on Sep 2, 2016

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” Revelation 3:20 NKJV What a beautiful verse! Jesus declares His desire to be your Savior and friend. This verse comes at the end of Christ’s rebuke of ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 3:20

Tags: Laodicea, Open Door, God Cares For You

Denomination: Baptist

Relaxing Our Grip On Troubles

Contributed by Jerry Stephens on Mar 18, 2017

Recently I was praying at bedtime. I felt overwhelmed by the things I didn’t get done that day; things that would be facing me the moment I opened my eyes the following morning. As I recited my litany of woes, I sensed the Holy Spirit asking me which among them I thought he couldn’t handle. ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 5:7

Tags: Trust, Prayer, Prayer General, Trouble

Denomination: Vineyard

The Happy Meal

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Sep 19, 2020

The McDonalds “Happy Meal” might be the most famous meal in all the world. It's a meal for a kid that’s served at McDonalds restaurants that promises to make them happy – at least for a few fleeting minutes! In the mid-1970s, a MacDonald’s restaurant in Guatemala offered a hamburger, small ...read more

Tags: Peace, Happiness, Joy, Holiness

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Never Despair (What A Hilarious Story!)

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Nov 14, 2021

Robert Morgan has the following humorous illustration to encourage us to emulate Paul and "never despair". I read about a man whose route to work every day took him through a particular park in the city, and every day he saw an old fellow sitting on the park bench. This fellow was an ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Tags: Humor, Discouragement, Depression, Despair

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Our Professor Has No Brain!

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Feb 13, 2022

A college student was in a philosophy class, which had a discussion about God's existence. The professor presented the following logic: "Has anyone in this class heard God?" Nobody spoke. "Has anyone in this class touched God?" Again, nobody spoke. "Has anyone in ...read more

Tags: Evolution, Apologetics, Science, God, Atheists, Bible, Genesis  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Putting God First

Contributed by Glynda Lomax on Mar 18, 2022

I woke up this one morning recently around 7am which is fairly late for me, still very tired, and about 10 minutes into reading the Word trying to drink my coffee to wake up, I knew I would not be able to stay awake through all my prayers at that level of fatigue. But I was trying to make sure in ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 3:16, Psalm 63:1

Tags: Word Of God, Priorities, God First, Seek God Early

Denomination: Charismatic

Here's A Funny New Approach To Evangelism!

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Apr 10, 2022

There was a barber that thought that he should share his faith with his customers more than he had been doing lately. So. the next morning when the sun came up and the barber got up out of bed he said, "Today I am going to witness to the first man that walks through my door." Soon after ...read more

Scripture: Acts 1:8

Tags: Sermon Intro, Barbers, Evangelism, Gospel, Humor, Witnessing  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

At The Crossroad  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

At the Crossroad “I encountered a man on the Road of life, so sure of himself – so convinced he was right. He had (his) religion, but he didn’t know God, And though he had eyes, I thought that rather odd: He only could see what he wanted to see. So, blind to the truth that could set his soul ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 1:21

Tags: Decision, Salvation, Cross, Choice, Easter Palm Sunday  (view more)  (view less)

It Was Said That Henry Ford Was An Automotive ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

It was said that Henry Ford was an automotive genius. He came up with great ideas and handed them to researchers for development. One of his ideas was the concept of an engine in which the pistons were set at an angle to each other rather than in a straight line. He sketched out his idea for the ...read more

Tags: Easter Resurrection

Several Christian Men Who Had Been Touched By ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Several Christian men who had been touched by the Lord decided to do something practical for their pastor: pray for him. What is so unusual about that, you might ask. Well, for one particular pastor, it was a brand new sensation. These few laymen had just returned from a Bible study that ...read more

Tags: Paul

A Priest Visited An Elderly Woman Who Was Dying ...

Contributed by Austin Mansfield on Jun 28, 2007

A priest visited an elderly woman who was dying at home. She was sure that God no longer loved her because of the sins she had committed in her life; things that she thought were too terrible for even God to forgive. The priest told her about God’s grace and mercy, and Christ’s atonement for our ...read more

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

Holiness

Contributed by Steven Wunderink on Jul 16, 2007

Holiness My brothers and I collected Baseball cards as kids and we would play with them. How do you "play" with baseball cards? We would sort through them, divide them into teams, build our own allstar team, and sort out the duplicates for trading in school the next day. My brother was a BIG ...read more

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed