In Sermon Illustrations: "Talk"

How To Turn A Disagreement Into A Feud

Contributed by Paul Fritz on Jun 12, 2001

How to turn a disagreement into a feud: 1. Be sure to develop and maintain a healthy fear of conflict, letting your own feelings build up so you are in an explosive frame of mind. 2. If you must state your concerns, be as vague and general as possible. Then the other person cannot do anything ...read more

Tags: Christian Disciplines, Anger, Dealing With Conflicts

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

When I Was Growing Up In West Texas Cicada ...  PRO

Contributed by Richard Tow on Oct 14, 2003

When I was growing up in West Texas cicada (pronounced si-ka'-da) “locusts” like the one pictured on the screen filled the giant elm trees at times. During the heat of the summer the shrill buzzing sound of their mating call filled the air. To this day anytime I get in dry, hot weather I remember ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 6:1-7

Tags: Growth In Christ, Assurance Of Salvation

Denomination: Charismatic

In ‘the Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe' ...  PRO

Contributed by Warner Pidgeon on Dec 10, 2005

In ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ Edmund’s love for ‘Turkish Delight’ caused him to betray his family. He fell into the trap set by the Witch and since it tasted so good he became obsessed with getting more ‘Turkish Delight’. The temptation of luscious ‘Turkish Delight’ became stronger even ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 33:19, Matthew 5:7

Tags: Narnia

Denomination: Anglican

In The Glovebox Of Most Every Car In Our Parking ...

Contributed by Sherm Nichols on Nov 13, 2006

In the glovebox of most every car in our parking lot this morning, besides your registration and proof of insurance, there’s a book – a small book maybe ¾” thick. If you go to change your oil, it tells you what kind and how much to put in. It tells you what pressure to have in your tires, and how ...read more

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

A Man In Phoenix Called His Son In New York On ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 26, 2007

A man in Phoenix called his son in New York on Christmas Eve and says, “I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing; 45 years of misery is enough – I cannot take it any more!” The startled son replies, “Pop what are you talking about, you and mom are so in ...read more

The Value Of Connecting

Contributed by Bret Toman on Jun 15, 2009

THE VALUE OF CONNECTING Larry Crabb tells the story of a man he knew that attempted suicide. His injury was so severe that he should have died, but he recovered and sought out Dr. Crabb for therapy. The two had been meeting together for some time. They covered a lot of ground. Dr. Crabb ...read more

Tags: Church Small Groups

Denomination: Baptist

Frog Prince

Contributed by Bradley Kellum on Aug 10, 2009

FROG PRINCE An 80 year-old woman was walking down the main street in her hometown one evening when she heard a low voice say, "Hey lady." She looked around to see who was talking but upon seeing nobody there she shrugged it all off and continued walking. Before she got another five feet, she ...read more

Tags: Aging

Denomination: Baptist

I Once Took A Graduate Level Class On The ...

Contributed by Ken Mckinley on Jan 10, 2010

I once took a graduate level class on the psychology of learning, and in that class we talked about the way people learn. And I remember one time we were talking about babies and how they perceive certain things. It was kind of amusing actually, but they did a study where they would sit a baby ...read more

Tags: Ignorance

Denomination: Independent/Bible

One Of The Great Paradoxes Of The Christian Faith ...

Contributed by Donnie Martin on Jul 7, 2010

One of the great paradoxes of the Christian faith is that God wants us to talk to Him about everything that is going on in our lives, even though He already knows everything. So why pray? If you’ve ever wrestled with that question, perhaps the thoughts of the 19th-century preacher, R. A. Torrey, ...read more

Tags: Prayer General

Denomination: Baptist

Hope Is The Dream Of A Soul

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 14, 2011

HOPE IS THE DREAM OF A SOUL When a member of my congregation, 18-year-old Heidi, was thrown from a car back in May and suffered a head injury, it was a real miracle that she recovered and was soon in rehab at Crystus Santa Rosa. She was learning to walk again through rehab and therapy when a young ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 17:17

Tags: Friendship New Friends

The Obedient Mule

Contributed by Eugene Morell on Oct 11, 2011

THE OBEDIENT MULE There is a story about a farmer who wanted to sell his mule so The put the add in the local paper. One day a man from another community came to the farm. The two farmers got to talking and eventually they got around to talking about the mule. The farmer who wanted to buy the ...read more

Tags: Obedience

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Who Influences Whom?

Contributed by Perry Greene on Feb 15, 2012

WHO INFLUENCES WHOM? I heard a joke about Bill and Hillary Clinton recently. It seems they were on vacation one weekend, and decided to go for a drive to see the beautiful countryside. After a while, they needed to stop for gas. They pulled into a tiny gas station, and out walked a man to help ...read more

Tags: Worldliness

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Labor Day And Our Divine Union

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 4, 2012

LABOR DAY AND OUR DIVINE UNION I’ve heard that Labor Day was first celebrated in Boston on Sept 5, 1882. It wasn’t until 1894 that it became a federal holiday. That was an effort encouraged by President Grover Cleveland to reconcile with the labor movement and prevent further violence. You see, ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Tags: Holidays Civic

Where Is The Church When It Hurts?

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 13, 2012

WHERE IS THE CHURCH WHEN IT HURTS? Where is God in the midst of the storm? One author answered that question with this incident: "In Washington and Chicago, as I talked about the special edition of Where Is God When It Hurts?, inevitably the interviewer would turn the question back on me. 'Well, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 14:22-36

Tags: Comfort

A Young Boy Was Leaving For Iraq And On His Last ...

Contributed by Bob Marcaurelle on Jun 16, 2007

A young boy was leaving for Iraq and on his last night at home he went out with his friends. Arriving home about 11:30 he made his regular stop at the refrigerator. The mother and father were in bed upstairs, and as always did not feel right until they heard him come in. The mother said to the ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Reporters And City Officials Gathered At A ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Reporters and city officials gathered at a Chicago railroad station one afternoon in 1953. The person they were meeting was the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize winner. A few minutes after the train came to a stop, a giant of a man - six feet four inches with bushy hair and a large mustache stepped from the ...read more

Tags: Faith

The Basics

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Charles Spurgeon, “A man’s life is always more forcible than his speech. When men take stock of him they reckon his deeds as dollars and his words as pennies. If his life and doctrine disagree the mass of onlookers accept his practice and reject his preaching.” Will Rogers, “Live in such a way ...read more

Tags: Faith

Have You Seen Those New Gps Guidance Systems ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Have you seen those new GPS guidance systems that you can get for your car? Some are built in (for several thousand dollars) and some are portable. You can plug them into your lighter or cell phone connection in your car. Then you can touch the screen and tell it where you would like to go and it ...read more

Tags: Faith General

Many Have Asked Me, "Preacher, Where Is Hell, Is ...  PRO

Contributed by Jeffery Russell on Dec 6, 2007

Many have asked me, “Preacher, where is hell, is it down?” Back in 2003 we visited the Kilauea Volcanoes on the Big Island of Hawaii. To me it was fascinating to stand there and see these red-hot, smoking chasms. There were barricades all around them and the guides kept cautioning people. We ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Last Lecture

Contributed by Don Hawks on Aug 2, 2008

LAST LECTURE You may have heard about the death of 47 year old Carnegie Mellon University computer-science professor Randy Pausch last week from pancreatic cancer. Pausch was most famous for his "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" speech made last fall just after he learned he had months to ...read more

Tags: Death Nearness

Denomination: Methodist