In Sermon Illustrations: "Teaching"

Excuses, Excuses

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

Excuses, Excuses In Luke 14:16 - 24, Jesus teaches using the "Parable of the Great Banquet." In it, Jesus shares about a man who was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. It was the custom then, as it is today, to send out invitations to such a special event quite a long ...read more

Tags: Arrogance

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Once Upon A Time...  PRO

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

Once Upon A Time... ...in 1725 to be exact, a little boy was born and was named John. His sailor father was gone to sea for long periods of time leaving John’s mother to raise him. She was a kind, God-fearing woman who loved him dearly and endeavored to raise him in the love of the Lord, ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16

Tags: Grace

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Free, But Still Enslaved

Contributed by Peter Loughman on Oct 20, 2008

FREE, BUT STILL ENSLAVED William Knibb sailed for Jamaica in November of 1824. He traveled to replace his missionary brother Thomas, who had died just a few months before his departure from England. His school in Jamaica dedicated to the children of slaves prospered. Slaves flocked from the ...read more

Tags: Confidence

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Predestination Talks

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 12, 2009

THE PREDESTINATION TALKS Ligon Duncan, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, MS, tells the following story: I well remember as a fifteen year-old boy at my grandparents’ house, reading through Ephesians 1 with grandmother and granddad and my aunt and the family for our morning ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 1:3-14

Tags: God's Sovereign Will

True ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 10, 2009

TRUE WORSHIP I want to read to you an excerpt from James Montgomery Boice’s book, "Whatever Happened to the Gospel of Grace?" to preface my opening statements. This is from his chapter entitled, "Reforming Our Worship". In it he cites two sources from which he got his information. I cite my ...read more

Scripture: John 4:23-24

Tags: Worship, Worship Definition

Shepherdless Sheep

Contributed by Gregg Bitter on Aug 2, 2009

SHEPHERDLESS SHEEP How pitiful shepherdless sheep are! Shepherdless sheep become easy prey for wolves, coyotes, and other predators. They can’t outrun them. They can’t outfight them. And what wolf would be scared off by a bleating: baaa? Sheep are left torn and bloodied and dead without a ...read more

Tags: Jesus Christ

Denomination: Lutheran

My Dad Wasn’t A Very Good Father To Me Or ...

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Jan 25, 2010

My Dad wasn’t a very good father to me or my sisters. He drank too much and got angry at our Mum far too often. At 5 years old while my Dad had a roaring argument with my Mum, I decided to swing my fists at him and tell him I hated him and tried to push him away from my Mum. As a kid, I remember ...read more

Tags: Father's Day

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Last Year I Came Across The Story Of Frida ...

Contributed by Warner Pidgeon on Feb 1, 2010

Last year I came across the story of Frida Gashumba. Her autobiography is called ‘Chosen to Die, Destined to Live – A miraculous escape from the Rwandan Genocide’. Her best friend Claudette was Hutu. Frida was Tutsi. One day at school the Head Teacher asked Hutus to stand. He then asked Tutsis to ...read more

Tags: Racism

Denomination: Anglican

The Columbia Explosion: Impending Doom

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 3, 2011

THE COLUMBIA EXPLOSION: IMPENDING DOOM The Bible says, "...all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). And, "...the wages of sin is death" (Rom. 6:23). Do you remember when the space ship, Columbia, blew up on re-entry on February 1, 2003? Seven crew members lost their ...read more

Scripture: Romans 6:23

Tags: Judgment

Ravi Zacharias: Changed Lives Show The Truth Of ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 9, 2011

RAVI ZACHARIAS: CHANGED LIVES SHOW THE TRUTH OF CHRIST In his book Has Christianity Failed You? Ravi Zacharias points to one of the greatest proofs for the truth of Christ and the reality of his resurrection: the changed lives of Christians. He writes: "During the course of nearly 40 years, I ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:13-16

Tags: Christian Witness

The Clarence Principle

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 7, 2011

THE CLARENCE PRINCIPLE That's what spiritual maturity is--It's not just being a Christian for a little while. It's being able to discern the difference between right and wrong, because you have practiced applying the principles of God's Word in your every-day life. It's being able to discern the ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 5:1-4

Tags: Leadership General

Mothers Live For Others  PRO

Contributed by Fr Mund Cargill Thompson on Sep 29, 2011

MOTHERS LIVE FOR OTHERS We've got all sorts of people here this morning. One thing we have got a lot of is mothers. Some of you, your children are long grown up. But you have the experience of having been a mother. So? Well, every mother lives her life for another. And that is what the church ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Tags: Mother's Day

Denomination: Anglican

The 5 Biggest Mistakes That Threaten ...  PRO

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Feb 4, 2012

THE 5 BIGGEST MISTAKES THAT THREATEN RELATIONSHIPS Dr. Edward Hallowell and his wife, Sue, authors of Married to Distraction: Restoring Intimacy and Strengthening Your Marriage in an Age of Distraction, teach you how to spot hidden distractions in your relationship and reveal the mistakes you may ...read more

Tags: Marriage Struggle

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Ears To Hear

Contributed by Todd Catteau on May 27, 2015

I’ve done a lot of funerals in my twenty plus years of ministry, far more than I thought I would ever do. Every service touches me in a unique way and with each funeral I seem to come away with a life-lesson I needed to hear. Recently I was taught a valuable lesson as I eulogized a certain man. ...read more

Scripture: James 1:19-25

Tags: Communication, Listen, Ears, Hearing

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Euodia And Syntyche - Conflict At Philippi

Contributed by Sam Mccormick on Dec 24, 2016

EUODIA AND SYNTYCHE We can’t help wondering what caused disharmony between two women in the church at Philippi, but we will not find the answer--only that Paul urged these women to live in harmony. That’s all we know. Yet until the Lord shall return, Bible-readers everywhere will know there was ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:2-3

Tags: Disagreement, Agree, Argument, Conflict

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Bring The Tithe To The Storehouse

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Nov 13, 2023

When I was a young boy, I started mowing yards to make money so I could buy hundreds and hundreds of baseball cards! When I made my first money, my mother reminded me of what God says in the Bible about tithing. "Now, son, the word tithe means one-tenth. God asks us to bring 1 out of every ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:10, Proverbs 3:9-10, 1 Corinthians 16:1-2

Tags: Giving, Church, Priests, Old Testament, Tithing, Stewardship, Storehouse  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[059]. A Message From A Poem – Distressful Times Will Come Upon Us

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Mar 13, 2025

[059]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – DISTRESSFUL TIMES WILL COME UPON US Are you battling in life because of some problem that won’t go away? Are you weighed down by a stressful matter and can’t shake it? Does your life feel like it is starting to come apart? Do you feel the storms are thundering ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:20, 1 Peter 5:7, Matthew 11:28-30

Tags: Anxiety, Anxious, Distress, Cast, Heavy Laden, I Am With You Always, Stressful, Stressful Living  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[093]. A Message From A Poem – Foraging In The Depths Of Scripture

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Apr 30, 2025

[093]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – FORAGING IN THE DEPTHS OF SCRIPTURE This poem deals with getting into the heart of scripture. There are images and techniques and encouragement in these stanzas. I actually make the comparison between a mudskipper that flits across the shallows on the water, and ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 4:12, Psalm 119:27, 2 Timothy 2:15, 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Tags: Buried Treasure, Inspired, Dig Deep, Eel, Mudskipper, Scripture, Word Of God, Workman  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

In 1994, Two Christian Missionaries Answered An ...  PRO

Contributed by Rob Short on Apr 7, 2001

In 1994, two Christian missionaries answered an invitation from the Russian Department of Education to teach morals and ethics in a large orphanage. About 100 boys and girls who had been abandoned, abused, and left in the care of a government-run program were in the orphanage. It was nearing ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 1:18-22, Luke 2:1-7

Tags: Always, Beginning, Birth Of Jesus, Look, Loved Ones, New Beginning, Memories, Memorial, Survival, Remember, Search, Russian  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

The Devil's Vision  PRO

Contributed by Michael Gibney on Aug 8, 2002

THE DEVIL’S VISION The devil once said, to his demons below, our work is progressing entirely to slow; The holiness people stand in our way, since they don’t believe in the show or the play; they teach that the carnival, circus and dance, the tavern and honky tonk, with games of chance, drinking ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 3:1-6

Tags: Satan, Television And Movies

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational