In Sermon Illustrations: "Take Off"

The Old Tree

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 4, 2010

THE OLD TREE There is an old proverb about the leader of a city who would take daily walks to gain peace of mind and inspiration from nature. One day, the burdens of his position had his mind more disturbed than normal, and the old man found himself walking much further than usual. Eventually he ...read more

Scripture: Philemon 1:11

Tags: God Brings Purpose

We Have Been Waiting For The Movie Called "How To ...  PRO

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on May 5, 2010

We have been waiting for the movie called "HOW TO TAME YOUR DRAGON" to come out in the cinemas. It is a kids movie about Vikings and dragons. The amount of advertising saying that it was coming was phenomenal. Talk about good marketing! Their target audience is children. Jesus has His own marketing ...read more

Tags: Demons

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

A Few Believed…  PRO

Contributed by Aubrey Vaughan on Apr 26, 2007

3. A FEW BELIEVED… One of the great films of 1999 was The Matrix, starring Keanu Reeves. It’s a futuristic sci-fi movie, where the world has been taken over by computers. The computers need the energy that comes from human bodies, so they keep a supply of genetically engineered humans in a ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

In His Children's Book, Entitled Is A Blue ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

In his children’s book, entitled "Is A Blue Whale The Biggest Thing There Is?" Robert Wells takes us from a size that we can grasp to one that we cannot grasp. The largest animal on Earth is a blue whale - the flippers on his tail alone are bigger than most animals on the Earth However, a blue ...read more

Tags: Parable Pharisee

The Most Tragic War In American History Was The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

The most tragic war in American History was the Civil war, sometimes referred to as the War Between the States. As you know it began in 1861 and lasted until 1865. More American’s lost their lives during the Civil War than in all of the other wars we have fought put together. And one of the real ...read more

Tags: God's Omnipotence

Andy Stanley Tells The Story Of When He Was 13 ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 28, 2008

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 until a suitable ...read more

Tags: Christian Values

The Box Is Empty

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 31, 2008

THE BOX IS EMPTY God offers us more than this world does, but most of us never take the time to see it. There was a 15-year old boy named Joey, whose mother died at birth. She was a severe alcoholic, and that had affected his pre-natal development. The result was that he was slightly retarded. ...read more

Tags: Worldliness

The Craigslist Murder

Contributed by Chris Mccarthy on Aug 17, 2010

THE CRAIGSLIST MURDER When Charlene Sanders drove home from a routine day of work April 28, the last thing she expected was that she would be telling family of her husband’s death later that night. At about 9 p.m. on April 28, Jim Sanders invited a young man and women into his home to view a ring ...read more

Tags: Christian Witness

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Sanctity Of Human Life

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Dec 6, 2010

SANCTITY OF HUMAN LIFE There's plenty of evidence of blatant disregard for human life today. Terrorism and suicide bombers? Capital punishment? Human trafficking. Abortion? So what is God thinking when He asks Abraham to take his only son, the son he loves, and to sacrifice him as a burnt ...read more

Tags: Human Life

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Craigslist Murder

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 29, 2011

THE CRAIGSLIST MURDER When Charlene Sanders drove home from a routine day of work April 28, the last thing she expected was that she would be telling family of her husband's death later that night. At about 9 p.m. on April 28, Jim Sanders invited a young man and women into his home to view a ring ...read more

Scripture: John 15:12-13

Tags: Heroism

Walt Disney's Leadership  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 30, 2011

WALT DISNEY'S LEADERSHIP Walt Disney was a remarkable man of vision. He never gave up. Early in his career a newspaper fired him because they thought he had "no good ideas". That just made Disney try harder. When he was starting out in Kansas City he couldn't sell his cartoons. Some hinted that he ...read more

Scripture: Ezekiel 37:1-14

Tags: Faith, Vision, Perseverance, Leadership General

The Ram In The Bush

Contributed by Preacher Fo Real on May 14, 2011

THE RAM IN THE BUSH Jeffery is not an avid cook, but he can hold his own in any kitchen. As the youngest child in the Honiara extended dysfunctional family, he spent many hours reluctantly tied to his mother’s apron springs. Often, he would find himself assisting her in the daily chores around the ...read more

Scripture: Joel 2:28-32

Tags: Doing God's Will

Denomination: *other

The "Glue" Of Jesus

Contributed by Guy Mcgraw on Jun 22, 2011

THE "GLUE" OF JESUS The diameter of the Earth around the equator is 7,926.6 miles. The earth’s circumference is about 25,000 miles. It weighs an estimated 6,000 million, million, million tons. And it just hangs there in mid air. Not held up by anything visible. The earth is spinning 1,000 ...read more

Tags: Creation

The Friendship Of John Newton

Contributed by Davon Huss on Jul 3, 2011

THE FRIENDSHIP OF JOHN NEWTON While John Newton is best-known as the author of the famous hymn, "Amazing Grace," his life teemed with spiritual fruit. A new biography on his life by Jonathan Aitken gives us a peek into the legacy of the man who described himself with one simple sentence: "I am a ...read more

Tags: Friendship General

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Attitude Not Aptitude  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 6, 2011

ATTITUDE NOT APTITUDE Jesus' message here is that everybody can be great ... because anybody can serve. Dave Stone says that "service is the language of grace." One day a couple of church members were out distributing loaves of bread in a low-income housing complex. They came to an apartment ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 4:10-11, 1 Corinthians 2:9-11, Mark 12:30-31, 1 Peter 4:10, Mark 12:1-27  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Love, Servanthood

The Example Of Bethany Hamilton

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 26, 2011

THE EXAMPLE OF BETHANY HAMILTON That word for "commit" is actually a banking term. It means to deposit something for safekeeping. Well, that's what we're to do with our lives when we go through times of suffering. Deposit your life in God's bank (so to speak) for safe-keeping. Trust Him to ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 4:12-19

Tags: Trust

Lucado On Thankfulness

Contributed by Derrick Tuper on Nov 23, 2011

LUCADO ON THANKFULNESS Max Lucado tells about living as an American in Brazil. One day, as he was walking along the street on his way to the University to teach a class, he felt a tug on his pants leg. Turning around, he saw a little boy about 5 or 6 years old with dark beady eyes and a dirty ...read more

Tags: Thanksgiving Holiday

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Sin Causes God Pain

Contributed by Troy Borst on Apr 25, 2013

SIN CAUSES GOD PAIN There is a book I read a few years ago, "Theology of the Pain of God" by Kazoh Kitamori, which added to my view about how I see my relationship with God. It is a deep theological book which looks at our relationship with God from the perspective of pain... and not our pain, ...read more

Tags: Sin, God The Father

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Strength Through Humility

Contributed by Gordon Mcculloch on Jul 7, 2014

And I must say here, this does not come automatically, we have to work at it and develop it, and many times we grit our teeth as we think we fail every now and again, but I will end with this analogy, it is the best I can up with, it is crude … but think of yourself when you give your offering, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 11:16-30

Tags: Humility, Strength

Denomination: Episcopal

Igdaliah, A Man Of God

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Jun 21, 2020

Text: Jeremiah. 35:4, KJV: And I brought them into the house of the LORD, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan, the son of Igdaliah, a man of God, which (was) by the chamber of the princes, which (was) above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the door: Thoughts: Igdaliah ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 35:4

Tags: Man Of God, Men Of God, Igdaliah

Denomination: Baptist