In Sermon Illustrations: "Take Off"

Tending Your ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 1, 2010

Tending Your Garden Suppose 2 women were planting a vegetable garden. On the same day, they prepared the earth and planted their seeds. One then neglected her garden and waited for her vegetables to grow. The other woman worked in her garden regularly. She put cages around the young tomato plants, ...read more

Scripture: 2 Peter 1:5-9

Tags: Disciplines General

Phantom Guilt

Contributed by Larry Wilson on Jul 9, 2010

PHANTOM GUILT Amputees often experience some sensation of a phantom limb. Somewhere, locked in their brains, a memory lingers of the nonexistent hand or leg. Invisible toes curl, imaginary hands grasp things, a "leg" feels so sturdy a patient may try to stand on it. For a few, the experience ...read more

Tags: Guilt

Denomination: Baptist

The Deceitful World We Live In

Contributed by Paul Robinson on Mar 7, 2023

In 1939, Hollywood gave the world "The Wizard of Oz." Since then, the movie has become a classic. It tells the story of Dorothy, who is whisked away to the land of Oz, where she meets three friends, faces a wicked witch, and must find how to return home. The movie is filled with colorful ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:2-3

Tags: Deceit, The World

Denomination: Baptist

Last Week, Bernie Came To The Church Door. He ...  PRO

Contributed by Bill Sullivan on Oct 9, 2002

Last week, Bernie came to the church door. He showed up about five minutes before I was getting ready to leave for an appointment, and my first response to his arrival was, oh, no, not now. Bernie had been drinking – I could smell it on his breath. He was sweating profusely and was a little bit ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:13-20

Tags: Fellowship

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

A Preacher Said To His Congregation, "I Have ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 5, 2001

A preacher said to his congregation, “I have good news and bad news to tell you. The good news is we have enough money to pay off our building debt. The bad ...read more

Tags: Giving General, Church Practices

The Average Coupon User Spends About 20 Minutes ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 20, 2006

The average coupon user spends about 20 minutes of clipping and planning and saves about $12 a week. That’s 10-12 percent off the average shopping ...read more

Tags: Money

There Was A Life Insurance Salesman Who Claimed ...

Contributed by Bill Burress on Jan 12, 2011

There was a life insurance salesman who claimed his company paid their claim so quickly that their office, which is on the tenth floor of a eighty story building, that one day a man fell ...read more

Tags: Evangelism The Lost

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Consider The Following Email Recently Sent To Me ...  PRO

Contributed by Thomas Cash on Jan 13, 2005

Consider the following email recently sent to me titled "WORDS WOMEN USE." "FINE." This is the word women use to end an argument when they feel they are right and you need to shut up. Never use "fine" to describe how a woman looks——this will cause you to have one of those arguments. "FIVE ...read more

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

There Is A True Story Of An Old Man Who Visited ...  PRO

Contributed by Aubrey Vaughan on Jul 20, 2007

There is a true story of an old man who visited an old broken pier every Friday on the eastern sea coast of Florida until his death in 1973 his name was Eddie Rickenbacker whilst at the pier he would feed the sea gulls with a bucket of shrimps. Many years before in 1942 Eddie was a captain on ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

We Have Two Walnut Trees That Are Growing On The ...

Contributed by Virgil Gibson on Oct 17, 2007

We have two walnut trees that are growing on the property line. We have a fence between us and the neighbor, and the trees are growing up the back side of the fence. There are several limbs growing over on our side of the fence. The owner of the property owns several duplex apartments on the ...read more

Denomination: Apostolic

Food Safety Quiz

Contributed by Peter Loughman on Sep 22, 2009

FOOD SAFETY QUIZ In our Scripture this morning, we see that Peter has a vision where a blanket full of different kinds of food and a voice announces, "Get up, Peter. Kill and eat." "Surely not, Lord!" Peter replies. "I have never eaten anything impure or unclean." Peter is very careful about what ...read more

Tags: Disciplines Fasting

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

How A Wrestler Motivated ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 26, 2009

How a Wrestler Motivated Himself What we need isn’t logic; it’s faith in God. What we need is motivation to do the right thing. How can you get that motivation? The University of Oklahoma is quite proud of its wrestling team and on a certain day they were going down to wrestle at Memphis State. ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 9:6-8

Tags: Stewardship

The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 27, 2012

THE CONSCIENCE A. Quotes on the Conscience J. I. Packer—There are two sorts of sick consciences, those that are not aware enough of sin and those that are not aware enough of pardon. Anonymous—‘Let your conscience be your guide’ is only valid if God’s Word is guiding your conscience. Elton ...read more

Scripture: Acts 24:14-16

Tags: Conscience

My Body, My Swat

Contributed by James Snyder on Nov 6, 2021

Usually, I am not easily offended, nor do I easily lose my temper. I did lose my temper when I was six years old but have not been able to find it since. Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage is trying to find it but so far, she has not found it. Many people are ticked off by some minor little thing ...read more

Scripture: Song of Songs 2:15

Tags: Patience, Temper, Offended

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Motley, Cross-Breed, Half-Baked Sheep  PRO

Contributed by Andrew Moffatt on Nov 12, 2010

MOTLEY, CROSS-BREED, HALF-BAKED SHEEP Before I went off to train for ministry, I used to live in an old house in Oamaru with an acre and a half of land. I had the usual garden and lawn, but I also had about an acre and a quarter of pretty rough hillside that was planted in a variety of trees and ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 1:3, Numbers 6:22-27

Tags: Parable Lost Sheep

Denomination: Salvation Army

Passing It On

Contributed by David Dunn on Mar 30, 2026

I visited a friend for Thanksgiving. Nothing formal. Just one of those homes where you walk in and immediately feel like you belong. The kitchen was already alive—warm, a little crowded, full of movement. You could hear things happening before you even saw them. Pots shifting. Laughter from the ...read more

Scripture: Deuteronomy 6:6-7, 1 Corinthians 11:1

Tags: Tradition, Influence, Formation

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

An Angry Messiah Made His Point: Don't Go Making ...

Contributed by Kenneth Squires on Jun 6, 2003

An angry Messiah made his point: don’t go making money off of religion, or God will make hay of you (2). (2) Max Lucado, No Wonder They Call Him ...read more

Tags: Money

Denomination: Pentecostal

When I Was 40 And Looking At 60, It Seemed Like ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"When I was 40 and looking at 60, it seemed like a thousand years away. But 62 feels like a week and a half away from 80. I must now get on with ...read more

Tags: Hardship Of Life

Old Age, Believe Me, Is A Good And Pleasant ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"Old age, believe me, is a good and pleasant time. It is true that you are quietly shouldered off the stage, but then you are given such a comfortable front seat as spectator, and if you have ...read more

Tags: Hardship Of Life

God Is Testing Us, To See Whether We Can Trust ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"God is testing us, to see whether we can trust Him in the dark as well as in the light; and whether we can be as True to Him when all pleasurable emotions have faded ...read more

Tags: Endurance