In Sermon Illustrations: "Tell"

Freedom

Contributed by Tim Smith on Sep 25, 2016

In the Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, VA, there’s a special display for a rickety, home-made aluminum kayak. This tiny, makeshift boat seems oddly out of place in the midst of displays for impressive Navy vessels and artifacts from significant battles on the sea. But a bronze plaque tells museum ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 12:1-2

Tags: Freedom, Persecution

Denomination: Methodist

Follow The Light

Contributed by Tim Baker on Jan 5, 2018

When I flew airplanes regularly landing at night was very different than daylight. I would use the instruments to guide me to the airport over most of the trip, but since I was a VFR pilot I would use my eyes outside of the cockpit to land the plane. In the daylight using your eyes to land was ...read more

Tags: Light, Light And Darkness, Light For Our Path

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Do All Roads Lead To God?

Contributed by Daniel King, D. Min. on Jul 25, 2018

Main Idea: Jesus is the only one way to heaven. Verse: Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6 NKJV). Illustration: I once heard someone say, “All religions ultimately lead to God.” But, think about this question logically. ...read more

Tags: Evangelism, Salvation, Religious Beliefs

Denomination: Charismatic

The Baby Chased Away The Darkness

Contributed by Daniel King, D. Min. on Jul 25, 2018

Main Idea: Jesus was a baby that changed the whole world. Verse: “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman…” (Galatians 4:4 NKJV). Illustration: Once upon a time there was a village. In the village there lived many men. They were always mad at each ...read more

Tags: Salvation, Baby Jesus, Birth Of A Savior

Denomination: Charismatic

Persecuted For Faithfulness

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Aug 6, 2018

Many of our sisters and brothers are persecuted even in our own time. Voice of the Martyrs reports, for example, the experience of a young man named Philip, who lives in Laos. Philip walked two hours to another village to hear the gospel. Just three weeks after he returned home as a new believer, ...read more

Scripture: John 15:18-20

Tags: Persecution, Faithfulness

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Your Cheatin' Heart

Contributed by Ed Sasnett on Aug 12, 2020

Your Cheatin’ Heart is a song written and recorded in 1952 by country music singer and songwriter Hank Williams. However, the song was released after his death in 1953. Your Cheatin’ Heart is considered one of the greatest songs of country music. The song is a slow ballad, telling an ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 4:20-27

Tags: Obedience, Compromise

Denomination: Baptist

Fountain Of Youth

Contributed by Rev. Duraimony Dickson on Nov 6, 2020

The fountain of youth has been told in stories since medieval times. The Fountain of Youth is a mythical spring that restores the youth of anyone who drinks or bathes in its waters. Many have gone on conquests to find this mythical spring of water, but all have failed. In 1565, a Spanish explorer ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:11, Ecclesiastes 3:1

Tags: Everlasting Fountain Of Youth, Everlasting Fountain

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Lost At Sea For Nine Months!

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Mar 15, 2022

LOST AND FOUND - Three Mexican fishermen who disappeared while on a short shark fishing trip were rescued in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, after spending 9 months on the open sea. The men said they survived by eating raw fish, ducks, and seagulls, drinking rainwater, and reading the Bible. They ...read more

Tags: Lost Sheep, Prodigal Son, Luke 15, Celebration, Parables, Lost  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Power For Holy Living

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 24, 2022

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 ...read more

Scripture: Acts 2:1-47

Tags: Holy Spirit, Law, Obedience, Power

Doctor Cho: Walking On Water

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Jun 15, 2022

Matthew 14:27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. 28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. 29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 14:27

Tags: Faith, Walk On Water

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Letting Go

Contributed by Bruce Lee on Jan 27, 2023

Letting Go “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair.” 2 Corinthians 4:8 ESV She was only five years old. It was her first day of school. Her mommy will never forget crying all the way back as she walked to the house after letting her go and ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:8

Tags: Survival, Letting Go, Funeral, Grief

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Strike While The Iron Is Hot - Engagement

Contributed by J Jeffrey Smead on Mar 1, 2023

There is an old adage ... that you may still hear at times even today: ... Strike while the Iron is hot! The saying is basically telling us .... that when the time is right... you should act... you should seize the moment ... or you will miss out ... on your opportunity. The adage is taken from a ...read more

Scripture: John 5:1-9, Mark 2:1-12

Tags: Seize, Strike

Denomination: Anglican

Boxer Illustration For Spiritual Battles

Contributed by Richard Tow on Jul 9, 2024

Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:26: “I do not fight like a man beating the air (NIV).The NLT says, “I am not like a boxer who misses his punches.” A boxer can throw a lot of punches, but if none of them hit the opponent, he will lose the fight. This is one reason a boxer trains so that he punches with ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 9:26, Ephesians 6:10-18

Tags: Devil, Spiritual Warfare, Opposition, Overcoming, Boxing, Battles  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Charismatic

Metamorphosis

Contributed by Richard L. Brown on Mar 1, 2025

I thought of a book I read years ago in German class. We were assigned the task of reading the Famous Novel by Franz Kafka entitled “The Metamorphosis”. It was about a young man who woke up one day and realized he had been transformed into, of all things, a large Roach. The story line of the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 17:1-9

Tags: Transfiguration, God's Presence

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Christian Doctor Explains Heaven To Dying Patient

Contributed by Rick Crandall on Sep 24, 2025

Christian Doctor Explains Heaven to Dying Patient Wayne Brouwer told about a very sick man home on hospice. His doctor had come to see him that day, and as the doctor was leaving the room, the patient said, "Doctor, I am afraid to die. Tell me what lies on the other side." *Very ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 139:1-24

Tags: Fearfully Made, Wonderfully Made, Nathan The Prophet, Solomon's Temple, Mother's Womb, Omniscience, Omnipotence, Omnipresence, God's Presence, God's Creation, King David, Light, Darkness  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

I Don't Remember - Good Story On Forgiveness Of Sin

Contributed by J Jeffrey Smead on Dec 9, 2025

A Pastor in the Philippines, ......a much-loved man of God ......carried the burden of a secret sin that he had committed ... many years before. He had repented ... but still had no peace, ......no sense ...of God's forgiveness. In his parish ... there was a woman ......who deeply loved God ...read more

Scripture: Micah 7:19, Romans 7:14-19, Romans 7:23-24, Romans 8:1-2, Luke 15:11-32, Psalm 103:12-14  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Forgiveness, Sin, Vision

Denomination: Anglican

Charles Colson Told The Following Story In An ...  PRO

Contributed by Paul Wallace on Oct 12, 2005

Charles Colson told the following story in an address at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi: I love the illustration about a man named Jack Eckerd. A few years ago I was on the Bill Buckley television program, talking about restitution (one of my favorite subjects) and criminal ...read more

Tags: Commitment To Christ

Denomination: Wesleyan

The Gold Watch- Lucille Wales' Husband Henry ...

Contributed by Lloyd Ludwick on Jan 15, 2007

The Gold Watch- Lucille Wales’ husband Henry retired from his job as a mechanic at the local Ford dealership he was given a gold watch inscribed with his name. Henry was so proud it became his greatest treasure. "Now I have something special I can leave to our son" he would tell his wife. But the ...read more

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

What An Orphan Boy Learned About John 3:16 On ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 14, 2009

What An Orphan Boy Learned About John 3:16 on Christmas Eve In far away cold country a number of years ago there was a young orphaned boy selling papers on a cold, freezing Christmas Eve afternoon. Toward the close of the afternoon the little boy went up to a policeman and said, "Sir, I’m real ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16

Tags: Christmas

I Am With You, No Matter What: The Story Of Salty

Contributed by Rick Crandall on Oct 20, 2013

I Am With You, No Matter What: The Story of Salty Those people believed the truth about Jesus, and they received Him as their Lord and Savior. But we see more here in Acts 17:4. We see a commitment of their lives. Verse 4 tells us that these new Christians "joined Paul and Silas." The KJV says ...read more

Scripture: Acts 17:1-6, Matthew 28:18-20, Hebrews 13:5-6

Tags: Commitment, Faithfulness, Faithfulness Of God

Denomination: Baptist