In Sermon Illustrations: "Take"

In Disney's Animated Movie Toy Story, Woody (...

Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on May 11, 2010

In Disney's animated movie Toy Story, Woody (a plush toy cowboy) confronts Buzz Lightyear (a toy astronaut) with the fact that he is only an action figure and not really a space hero. Early in the movie Woody shouts, "You're not a space ranger! You're an action figure—a child's plaything." After ...read more

Tags: Security

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

A Pastor Friend Was Telling Me About Two Men In ...

Contributed by Ed Sasnett on Jul 8, 2010

A pastor friend was telling me about two men in his church who are stricken with Alzheimer’s. One man is a retired pastor. He and his wife still attend church. Sometimes it takes this retired pastor longer than usual to say something. My friend spoke of being patient with him as they ...read more

Tags: Servanthood

Denomination: Baptist

Pull Up The Roots Of Bad Habits Early  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 2, 2010

PULL UP THE ROOTS OF BAD HABITS EARLY A wise old tutor was once taking a stroll through a forest with a curious youth. The tutor suddenly stopped and pointed to four plants close by. The first was a tiny sprout, just coming out of the earth. The second had rooted itself quite firmly in the fertile ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 15:7-20

Tags: Character

Outlived His Children

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Dec 15, 2010

OUTLIVED HIS CHILDREN His weather worn face looked like ancient parchment stretched over a wire mesh skeleton and his eyes, haunted with memories, looked straight through me into my soul. As I gave my devotion that day I could tell that he understood the anguish Abraham must have felt as God said, ...read more

Tags: Hardship Of Life

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Limited Understanding

Contributed by Bret Toman on Jan 4, 2011

LIMITED UNDERSTANDING Suppose I take my 2 year old to the doctor and he gets a shot in the arm and it really hurts. He doesn’t understand that the shot is to help him get better. All he knows is that shot hurt. And daddy just stood there. Doesn’t dad know how bad a shot hurts? Was he unable to ...read more

Tags: Humility

Denomination: Baptist

Better One Safe And Sure Way  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 30, 2011

BETTER ONE SAFE AND SURE WAY There is a story about a Fox boasting to a Cat about his clever tactics for escaping its enemies. "I have a whole bag of tricks," he said, "which contains a hundred different ways of escaping from my enemies." "I have only one," said the Cat; "but I can generally ...read more

Scripture: John 14:6, John 14:6-14

Tags: Salvation, Humor

Boss: Mark Dever On The Four Aspects Of ...

Contributed by Tim White on May 7, 2011

BOSS: MARK DEVER ON THE FOUR ASPECTS OF LEADERSHIP B=Boss. The leader "reproves, rebukes, and exhorts with all longsuffering and doctrine." There is a delicate balance in local churches between pastoral authority (Hebrews 13) and congregational authority (Matthew 18). The pastors must exercise ...read more

Tags: Leadership General

Denomination: Baptist

Before It's Too Late

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 11, 2011

BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE USA Today had an article on the front page about those who escaped the World Trade Center on September 11. After interviewing over 300 survivors and family members of victims, USA Today concluded that in the South tower those who didn’t delay but ran for safety immediately ...read more

Scripture: Luke 9:57-62

Tags: Evangelism Urgency

Russell Herman's Last Will And Testament

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 22, 2011

RUSSELL HERMAN'S LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT In 1994, a 67-year-old carpenter named Russell Herman died in Marion, Illinois. In his last will and testament he bequeathed the following: • $2.4 billion to the town of Cave-In-Rock • $2.4 billion to the city of East St. Louis • $1.5 billion for projects ...read more

Scripture: Joshua 21:45

Tags: Promises Of God

You Are Not In Charge  PRO

Contributed by Donnie Martin on Sep 7, 2011

YOU ARE NOT IN CHARGE Tom Boyd tells about a woman who was a member of a church he pastored in Tennessee. She was flamboyant and eccentric but Boyd was impressed with her "intense commitment to the faith. She did not have a pietistic bone in her body, but her devotion was nonetheless clear and ...read more

Tags: Humility

Denomination: Baptist

Fixing The Fence At The White House  PRO

Contributed by J.d. Tutell on Jan 23, 2012

FIXING THE FENCE AT THE WHITE HOUSE Three contractors were on a tour of the White House. One is from Minnesota, another is from Tennessee, and the third is from Chicago. As they are walking through they notice a broken fence and ask if it would be possible to submit a bid to fix it. They are ...read more

Tags: Money, Separation, Salvation, Bribery, Thief  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

The Place Of Abundant Adventure

Contributed by Tim Smith on Feb 26, 2012

THE PLACE OF ABUNDANT ADVENTURE Mike Slaughter tells the story of going to Darfur, Africa to minister to the refugees. "It was the first time in my life I knew I was going into a situation with a probability I could die; a situation that was utterly dangerous. There were people with guns. We would ...read more

Tags: Sacrifices

Denomination: Methodist

Christlikeness: A Painful Process  PRO

Contributed by Josh Hunt on May 9, 2012

CHRISTLIKENESS: A PAINFUL PROCESS The truth is that the Spirit of the living God is guaranteed to ask you to go somewhere or do something you wouldn’t normally want or choose to do. The Spirit will lead you to the way of the cross, as He led Jesus to the cross, and that is definitely not a safe or ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:18, Matthew 16:24-25, Revelation 12:1-2

Tags: Holy Spirit In Believers

Denomination: Baptist

The Master's Hand

Contributed by James Kelly on Aug 11, 2012

THE MASTER'S HAND An auctioneer was taking bids on household items. He was tired and wanted to go home. There was only one item left an old violin. It wasn’t much to look at and no sound came from it. It was a seemingly worthless instrument. The auctioneer started the bid who will give me one ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:17-19

Tags: Grace

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Power For Holy Living

Contributed by Davon Huss on Jun 30, 2014

Ludwig Nommensen traveled to begin mission work with a tribe in southeast Asia. The village chief welcomed Ludwig and said, "You have 2 years to learn our customs and convince us you have a message worth hearing." After 2 years, the tribal leader asked the missionary how Christianity differs from ...read more

Scripture: Acts 2:1-47

Tags: Holy Spirit, Law, Holy Living

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Virgin Birth

Contributed by Davon Huss on Dec 17, 2014

M.R. DeHaan- From a beginningless eternity Jesus was the infinite Son of God, one of the three persons of the trinity, equal with God the Father and the Holy Spirit. And then when the time for the payment of redemption’s price came, Jesus left the glories of the Father’s house, laid aside the form ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 2:6-8

Tags: Incarnation, Virgin Birth, Christ's Incarnation, Christmas Meaning

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Clean Conscience

Contributed by Shine Thomas on Aug 2, 2017

Martin Luther who brought the protestant reformation out of the Catholic church questioned the doctrine and practices of the Catholic church in a thesis called ‘The Ninety-Five Theses’ in October of 1517. The Roman Catholic church wanted Martin Luther to recant his view. The Diet of Worms of 1521 ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 119:11

Tags: Conscience, Clean Conscience, Pure Conscience

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Mom, That Was For You!

Contributed by Nickolas Kooi on Aug 30, 2017

A pastor went to the hospital to visit Maggy, one of his members. She was in the last stages of her life because of cancer, and was heavily medicated, and unresponsive. He went to support her family, who was taking it hard. When he got there, he was surprised with what he saw. Her daughter, ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:9-13

Tags: Service, Love, Honor, Sacrificial Love

Denomination: Lutheran

Sabbath Sympathy

Contributed by Nickolas Kooi on Jun 1, 2018

Never one to back down from a fight, Jesus takes the bait, and summons the man. He literally says, “Rise in the midst of the group.” And there are two reasons for this request. He wants everyone to see and witness this event. He wants him up and in the middle. The second is this. As a ...read more

Scripture: Mark 3:3-5

Tags: Sabbath, Pharisees, Sympathy, Sabbath Controversy, Healing By Jesus  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Lutheran

The Vine

Contributed by Michael E. Bartee Sr. on Oct 19, 2018

When I was growing up I was one of six children. Our house was very small, only four rooms. And without any of the convieniences most houses had in those days. We did not have a bathroom,running water, or a furnace. There were two boys, about my age, that lived close by. In my mind they were ...read more

Scripture: John 5:15

Tags: Trusting God, Faith In Christ

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational