In Sermon Illustrations: "Talk"

A Sentence Can Change A Life

Contributed by Fr Mund Cargill Thompson on Jan 22, 2011

A SENTENCE CAN CHANGE A LIFE When I was thirteen, a young lad only three years older than me said something that would change my life for ever. A single sentence of his is the reason I am a Christian today. What could you say in just ONE sentence that could switch someone from being an agnositic ...read more

Tags: Evangelism How To

Denomination: Anglican

Unbelievers At The Second Coming

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 26, 2011

UNBELIEVERS AT THE SECOND COMING Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the great Victorian preacher, said in a sermon entitled ‘Secret sins’ preached in 1857: "When Christ comes a second time, there will be a marvellous change in the way men talk. Me thinks I see him; there he sits upon his throne. Now, ...read more

Scripture: 2 Peter 3:1-18

Tags: Second Coming

Complicated Directions

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 15, 2011

COMPLICATED DIRECTIONS Matt Woodly, a father of four, talks about buying his children a swing set, about 15 years ago, as an early Christmas present. It was an extra long metal set with two swings, a two-seater swinging bench, a slide, monkey bars, and a series of hanging rings. He thought the ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 9:9-10

Tags: Learning

Never, Never Be Late  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 17, 2011

NEVER, NEVER BE LATE A local priest was being honored at his retirement dinner after 25 years in the parish. A leading local politician and member of the congregation was chosen to make the presentation and to give a little speech at the dinner. However, he was delayed so the priest decided to say ...read more

Scripture: James 5:13-16

Tags: Confession Of Sin

Who Will Do The Need-Meeting?

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 11, 2011

WHO WILL DO THE NEED-MEETING? One preacher told of shopping at the supermarket when a lady came down the aisle heading straight for him. She screeched to a halt within a few feet of him, wagged her finger, and said, "I left your church. I left your church". So I said, "Well, if it’s my church, I ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 2:1-5

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Pizarro's Critical Moment

Contributed by Dennis Davidson on May 19, 2011

PIZARRO'S CRITICAL MOMENT All great undertakings begin with a critical moment--a moment when a decision is made and someone launches himself into a never-to-be forgotten enterprise. FRANCISCO PIZARRO, the noted Spanish explorer, faced such a moment. He languished with his men on a small island ...read more

Tags: Action

Denomination: Baptist

What Occupies Your Heart

Contributed by Scott Carroll on May 20, 2011

WHAT OCCUPIES YOUR HEART I squirmed a bit as I forced myself to listen to my friend cataloging her problems. After three hours, I interrupted her gently to ask, "If you were to draw a circle to represent your life, what would be in the center? She thought a moment, then said, "My problems." My ...read more

Tags: Joy

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Invalids' Prayers Bring Revival  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 4, 2011

INVALIDS' PRAYERS BRING REVIVAL Max Lucado told of a church in Scotland back in the 1940s that was struggling to keep the doors open. A couple of its members were two older ladies who were invalids and couldn’t get out for worship any longer. But these ladies refused to allow their infirmities to ...read more

Scripture: James 5:13-20

Tags: Prayer Persistence, Serving

Stay Out Of The Stagnant Water

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 25, 2011

STAY OUT OF THE STAGNANT WATER Palmer Chinchen, in his book, True Religion, talks about traveling to the western edge of Zimbabwe with his brothers to raft the Zambezi River, starting at the base of the Victoria Falls. The falls are the largest in the world, more than a mile wide and three hundred ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 4:12-19

Tags: Church Practices

Fear Of Witnessing

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 31, 2011

FEAR OF WITNESSING Leighton Ford, Good News is for Sharing, 1977, David C. Cook Publishing Co., Page 15: In preparing for this book, I have talked to a lot of people, and the fear issue comes up front again and again. What makes people hesitate to share their faith? Here are some of the fears ...read more

Scripture: John 20:21-22

Tags: Evangelism Fear Of

He Keeps Knocking On The Door

Contributed by Chuck Sligh on Oct 28, 2011

HE KEEPS KNOCKING ON THE DOOR Despite their self-sufficiency, and despite their self-deception and despite their lukewarmness, Jesus is patiently knocking on the door of the Laodicean church anyway--knocking on a door of people who made Him sick! Isn’t that amazing? I remember a lady in our ...read more

Tags: Lukewarm

Denomination: Baptist

The Lord's Game Plan

Contributed by Eugene Morell on Jan 7, 2012

THE LORD'S GAME PLAN After I had been a Christian for a while, I felt that I was being called ton the ministry. I figured that the Lord had made just about his biggest mistake by calling me. When I told Barbara about what I felt, I rejoiced when she told me that I couldn’t be a pastor because all ...read more

Tags: Commitment To Christ

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

A Darkened Mind

Contributed by Andy Grossman on Feb 15, 2012

A DARKENED MIND The god of this age, Satan, wants people to be blinded to the Truth. He loves a darkened mind. Sean Sellers was a willing mind. His parents were long haul truckers from Colorado. Sean filled the empty hours with the occult. He began with Dungeons and Dragons. The he began ...read more

Tags: Cults

Denomination: Holiness

The Ram And The Cowboy

Contributed by Perry Greene on Apr 4, 2012

THE RAM AND THE COWBOY A couple of years ago in the Rocky Mountains a bighorn ram approached the home of a man named Ed Bailey while he was watching football on television. The bighorn stopped suddenly, seeing its reflection in a plate glass window. Thinking it was another ram, the bighorn bowed ...read more

Tags: Self

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Call Sin Something Else, Please?

Contributed by Eugene Morell on Jul 1, 2012

CALL SIN SOMETHING ELSE, PLEASE? There is a story about a Methodist preacher who often spoke on the subject of sin. He defined sin as that abominable thing that God hates. One day some of the leading laymen came to urge their pastor to stop using the word sin. The laymen told their pastor that ...read more

Tags: Sin General

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Roger Williams: Worship As A "Religious Fix"

Contributed by Tim Smith on Jul 1, 2012

ROGER WILLIAMS: WORSHIP AS A "RELIGIOUS FIX" Roger Williams was thumbing through a magazine on a short flight from Sacramento to San Diego. He had taken his seat when two well-dressed, attractive 20-something-year-old women sat down next to him. Their conversation competed with his attention to ...read more

Tags: Worship General

Denomination: Methodist

The Choice Of Sheep And Goats

Contributed by Stephen Belokur on Nov 27, 2012

THE CHOICE OF SHEEP AND GOATS I tried and tried to think of a common example that could be used to illustrate this separation of the sheep from the goats but was unable to do so because this situation is so unique and the reason it is so unique is because the sheep and the goats have chosen their ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 25:31-46

Tags: Judgement, Salvation, Free Will, Sheep And Goats, Free Moral Agency  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Nazarene

Death And Resurrection

Contributed by David Simpson on Jan 15, 2013

Our son, John learned a valuable lesson about death when he was a child. One day he took aim with his new BB gun at a little bird sitting on a limb near our back deck. He aimed and fired and hit his target and the bird collapsed to the ground. Dead. At first there was the excitement of being a ...read more

Scripture: John 14:19

Tags: Death, Resurrection

Denomination: Christian Church

Pastor And Leadership Speaker John Maxwell Te...

Contributed by Tim Smith on May 28, 2015

Pastor and Leadership speaker John Maxwell tells the story of his brother who was called to active duty during the Pueblo crisis in Korea. He says he could remember standing in his father’s office when my father found out the news and went to his brother, hugged him and said, “Larry, I’m going to ...read more

Scripture: Luke 22:33-38

Tags: Perseverance, Conversion

Denomination: Methodist

Bold Witness

Contributed by Tim Smith on Sep 25, 2016

Hugh Hewitt in his book “The Embarassed Believer” contends that most Christian are embarrassed believers. They do not talk about their faith or church. They don’t have Bibles on the corner of their desks. They never engage others in spiritual conversations. And the result has been the dramatic ...read more

Scripture: Luke 19:11-27

Tags: Witness, Witnessing, Embarrassed

Denomination: Methodist