In Sermon Illustrations: "Teachings"

In His Autobiography, Mahatma Gandhi Wrote That ...

Contributed by Donnie Martin on Sep 29, 2008

In his autobiography, Mahatma Gandhi wrote that during his student days he read the Gospels seriously and considered converting to Christianity. He believed that in the teachings of Jesus he could find the solution to the caste system that was dividing the people of India. So one Sunday he decided ...read more

Tags: Racism

Denomination: Baptist

Street Clothes

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 28, 2008

STREET CLOTHES On March 5, 1994, Deputy Sheriff Lloyd Prescott was teaching a class for police officers in the Salt Lake City Library. As he stepped into the hallway he noticed a gunman herding 18 hostages into the next room. With a flash of insight, Prescott (dressed in street clothes) joined the ...read more

Tags: Christmas

Our Praying Should Be Like The Story Of Jacob ...

Contributed by Paul Carlson on Feb 20, 2009

Our praying should be like the story of Jacob wrestling with God in Genesis 32. They wrestled all night and toward morning, Jacob had the angel in a full Nelson grip. The angel said, “Jacob, let me go.” The mighty Angel of God could have tossed Jacob off in a heartbeat, but God was teaching Jacob ...read more

Tags: Prayer Persistence

Denomination: Baptist

Poor Short-Term Memory

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 31, 2022

A man was working in his backyard one day when his neighbor began talking to him over the fence. He said, “Yeah, my wife and I went to one of those seminars yesterday, you know, where they teach you ways to improve your memory and such.” His neighbor commented, “Really? What was the name of the ...read more

Scripture: Luke 22:19

Tags: Communion, Lord's Supper

Prayer As Our Heavy Artillery

Contributed by Richard Tow on Jul 9, 2024

In Ephesians 6:18, Paul has completed the metaphor of Roman armor. But he is not finished teaching about spiritual warfare. In fact, he has come to the most important weapon in our spiritual arsenal. Prayer is the heavy artillery. Through prayer we call down the bombardment of God against our ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:18

Tags: Spiritual Warfare, Prayer, Intercession, Victory, Armor, Battles  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Charismatic

Little Things Add Up

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Mar 15, 2025

MY SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHER TOLD A STORY OF A MAN THAT WORKED IN THE COAL MINES IN EAST TENNESSEE. The man drove a coal truck from the coal temple to the rail road loading dock. It was a short quick trip. Each time the driver drove by the house where he lived. He made a quick stop threw a very large ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 2:13

Tags: Small, Little

Denomination: Assembly Of God

The Goal Of Spiritual Gifts

Contributed by John Bright on Sep 24, 2025

Spiritual Gifts were documented in Class Meetings within the Wesleyan tradition. It was there that members shared their lives – the successes and the struggles. They would search the Scriptures for answers, and they would pray for each other. Those prayers included listening for a Word from the ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 4:10-11, 1 Corinthians 12:28

Tags: Small Groups, Class Meeting, Love, Spiritual Gifts

Denomination: Methodist

My Wife And I Were Trying To Show Our ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 30, 2001

My wife and I were trying to show our grandchildren the importance of thanking God for everything that He had blessed us with. We encouraged them to speak to God whenever they needed to know what they should do. Michael, our 4 year old grandson, enjoyed holding our hands, and with head bowed, he ...read more

Scripture: Luke 11:1-13

Tags: Come As A Child

One Of My Jobs Some Years Ago Was Working With ...

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Dec 29, 2009

One of my jobs some years ago was working with disabled people. I remember working with a young Christian woman and my job was teaching her how to read. She would readily share her faith to others and I enjoyed the opportunity to encourage her in her faith. I chose the 23rd Psalm in our lessons and ...read more

Tags: Persecution

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Final Week

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Final week The mother of a nine-year-old boy named Mark received a phone call in the middle of the afternoon. It was the teacher from her son’s school. "Mrs. Smith, something unusual happened today in your son’s third grade class. Your son did something that surprised me so much that I thought you ...read more

Tags: God's Provision

Not A Time For Weak-Hearted Preaching

Contributed by Richard Goble on Nov 1, 2007

Not A Time For Weak-Hearted Preaching By Fred Jackson and Jody Brown November 22, 2002 (Agape Press) - A well known Bible teacher and author is calling on pastors to confront false beliefs from the pulpit. John MacArthur says no epoch in history has witnessed the rise of as many dangerous belief ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Leadership

Contributed by Stephen Smarowsky on Dec 13, 2007

Leadership Have you ever wondered why geese fly in a V formation? As with most animal behavior, God had a good reason for including that in their instincts. As each bird flaps its wings, it creates uplift for the bird following. In a V formation, the whole flock adds at least 71% more flying ...read more

Scripture: Job 12:7-9

Tags: Gifts Leadership

Denomination: Baptist

One Person Makes A Difference

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 31, 2008

ONE PERSON MAKES A DIFFERENCE Many people believe that one person cannot truly make a difference. Yet, history teaches us better. The story is told that in days past the state of Rhode Island was electing a state legislature. There was a thrifty Federalist farmer who started for the polls late ...read more

Tags: Jesus Christ

Publicly ...

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

Publicly Sing Praises to God A Necessity in Corporate Worship Corporate worship services offer Christians the opportunity to publicly sing the greatness of God, proclaim His truths and better yet, as a congregation sing unto the Lord. Colossians 3:16 says, “Let the word of Christ dwell ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:19

Tags: Worship Purpose

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

They Sent Me To Finish  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 12, 2009

THEY SENT ME TO FINISH With all the pomp and prestige that the Chinese government went to in order to put their best foot forward, there was one person who they honored who stood out. He is now in his seventies, but China brought him to Bejing as an honored guest. Why? The odd thing is that John ...read more

Scripture: Acts 20:24

Tags: Endurance

False Prophets And The Second Coming

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Apr 6, 2024

Harold Camping made multiple false predictions of the return of Christ. He would have been in trouble if he had lived during Old Testament times. Among the most prolific modern predictors of end times, Harold Camping publicly predicted the end of the world as many as 12 ...read more

Tags: Return Of Christ, Second Coming, Last Days, Rapture, False Teaching, Confusion, False Prophets, Deception, End Times, Prophecy  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Sign Of Jonah Was The Resurrection Of Christ, Not A Solar Eclipse.

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Apr 6, 2024

As far as the claim that the solar eclipse happened at the exact same time Jonah was in Nineveh, astronomers do confirm that it’s possible that within a ten-year window at approximately the same time period Jonah was in Nineveh there was an eclipse. However, that’s not precisely the exact same ...read more

Tags: Nineveh, False Prophets, Return Of Christ, Solar Eclipse, Resurrection, Prophecy, Second Coming, Rapture, Tribulation, False Teaching, Jonah  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

One Of My All-Time Favorite Movies Is "Mr. ...  PRO

Contributed by Mary Lewis on May 11, 2001

One of my all-time favorite movies is “Mr. Holland’s Opus.” It’s the story of a musician who really just wants to be a composer. Rather grudgingly, he takes a job teaching music at the local high school, supposing it will give him time to write music while providing an income for he and his wife. ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 3:20

Tags: Holy Spirit In Believers, Holy Spirit Attributes

Denomination: Baptist

Overcoming The Loss Of Hands And Feet

Contributed by Rick Crandall on Jul 16, 2008

David and Becky Guinn have been on my mind this past week. In 1997, the Lord blessed me to go with David on a mission trip to Ukraine. It was a life-changing experience for me. David and Becky deeply love the Lord. They have faithfully served the Lord for years in college ministry, mission work and ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 2:25-30, Matthew 12:9-15, 2 Timothy 1:1-12

Tags: Faith, Perseverance, Overcome Difficulty

Denomination: Baptist

Rich Atchley Says That If You Went To The Average ...  PRO

Contributed by Melvin Newland on Apr 16, 2001

Rich Atchley says that if you went to the average university campus today, & asked students if they know a verse of Scripture, most would say that they do. If you had asked 10 or 15 years ago, most would have quoted John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 5:1-13

Tags: Apologetics The Bible, Truth, Truth Absolute

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ