In Sermon Illustrations: "Telling The Truth"

When Does The Size Of A House Become Sinful?  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 4, 2011

WHEN DOES THE SIZE OF A HOUSE BECOME SINFUL? Several years ago, Millard Fuller of Habitat for Humanity addressed the National Press Club on public radio, on which he recalled a workshop he conducted at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary with 200 pastors in attendance. The assembled pastors quickly ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:6-10, Daniel 1:5-16

Tags: Greed

Paul Tournier On Persisting In Prayer

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 13, 2011

PAUL TOURNIER ON PERSISTING IN PRAYER Paul Tournier, the great psychiatrist and Christian counselor, tells in one his essays about the first time he tried to pray for a solid hour. He says that he set his watch on the table and began to pray, and after what he thought was a good while, checked the ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:18

Tags: Prayer Persistence

Mom's One-Line Sermons

Contributed by Jim Bennett on May 7, 2011

MOM'S ONE-LINE SERMONS In John 2:5, at the wedding in Cana, Mary, mother of Jesus, tells the servants, "Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it." That's "Mary's One-Line Sermon." Now, my mom preached some great one-line sermons to me as I was growing up. She had a one-line sermon from Revelation ...read more

Tags: Mother's Day

Denomination: Baptist

Cast The First Stone  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 11, 2011

CAST THE FIRST STONE A woman named Marilyn Helleberg told about being a teenager at church camp. She said an ugly rumor got started there about two of the counselors and it quickly became the talk of the camp. The next day, at Morning Prayer, the minister read the story of the adulterous woman. ...read more

Scripture: James 3:1-12

Tags: Tongue

I've Got A Flashlight!  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 13, 2011

I'VE GOT A FLASHLIGHT! Ann Beck of North Carollton, Mississippi, talks about the days when her husband and she taught 2- and 3-year-olds in Sunday school. A Bible verse they helped the pre-schoolers memorize was Psalms 56: "When I am afraid, I will trust in you." Their preschool son, Mark, was one ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 56:3

Tags: Fear And Worry

Satisfied

Contributed by Jason Bonnicksen on Jul 31, 2011

SATISFIED News flash: I like food! You know -- with a dash of seriousness -- it doesn't take a master chef to see that I've had a love-affair with food for some years. I'm like a lot of Americans; I often eat more than I need in order be "satisfied." A number of years ago, I went to ...read more

Tags: Fulfillment

Denomination: Lutheran

Faith In The Colombian Jungle

Contributed by Alison Bucklin on Aug 10, 2011

FAITH IN THE COLOMBIAN JUNGLE A man named Bruce Olson went to Colombia many years ago as a missionary to the headhunters in the far southern jungle, near the border with Brazil. The book that tells his story is Bruchko, the name the Indians called him since they couldn't wrap their tongues around ...read more

Tags: Faith

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Temptation Doesn't Always End In Failure

Contributed by Brad Henry on Sep 7, 2011

TEMPTATION DOESN'T ALWAYS END IN FAILURE The same Spirit that came down from heaven like a dove now led Jesus into the desert so He could be tempted by Satan. Why? Have you ever felt that you have been unjustly persecuted? Have you ever felt passed over, left behind, cast away or just can't seem ...read more

Tags: Temptation Of Christ

The Three Stone-Carriers  PRO

Contributed by Davon Huss on Oct 3, 2011

THE THREE STONE-CARRIERS Many years ago in a church in England, a preacher entered the pulpit and said: "Brethren, before I preach, allow me to tell this story. Many years have passed since I was in this place. On that evening there came three young men, not only with the intention of ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:18, 1 Chronicles 16:22

Tags: Grace

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Start With Just One

Contributed by Tim Hinrichs on May 8, 2012

START WITH JUST ONE Dawson Trotman, founder of the Navigators, tells the story of a 23 year old Sailor that he spent time discipling. He spent many hours with this young man in the Word and the importance of being a witness for the Lord and leading other sailors to Jesus. A month later the ...read more

Tags: Evangelism How To

Denomination: Lutheran

D.l. Moody On Grace

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 31, 2012

D.L. MOODY ON GRACE D.L. Moody was an American evangelist (February 5, 1837 - December 22, 1899 - 62 years). Moody said: "Grace isn't a little prayer you chant before receiving a meal. It's a way to live. The law tells me how crooked I am. Grace comes along and straightens me out." He also said: ...read more

Scripture: Luke 18:18-30

Tags: Grace

Love Your Enemies  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 22, 2012

LOVE YOUR ENEMIES An Armenian nurse had been held captive along with her brother by the Turks. Her brother was slain by a Turkish soldier before her eyes. Somehow she escaped and later became a nurse in a military hospital. One day she was stunned to find that the same man who had killed her ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:38-48

Tags: Christian Witness

Going Beyond Our Teachers  PRO

Contributed by Davon Huss on Jul 9, 2013

A well-known Bible teacher gives this insight: "Someone on our staff informed me several months ago that a woman had called the ministry office to find out what my 'official position' was on a biblically gray area. When she was told that it's not my policy to make 'official' public statements ...read more

Scripture: Mark 7:1-23

Tags: Legalism, Opinion, Spiritual Growth, Debatable

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Orphans

Contributed by Davon Huss on Oct 24, 2014

Rubel Shelly tells of his friends Rich and Patty White, who traveled to a 3rd world country to adopt a little girl named Olona. After 2 years of effort and paperwork, the Whites stood before a judge who read words from an official document: “Inasmuch as Olona Morgan is orphaned and unwanted by ...read more

Scripture: John 14:18

Tags: Chosen By God, Orphan, Unwanted

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Smell The Rain

Contributed by Dr. David Hallum on Sep 10, 2015

When my daughter Cynthia was a little girl, we lived in Odessa, TX. We made one of the pilgrimages that we did from time to time to see my wife, Rosemary’s family. Rosemary’s brother, Michael was in town at the time from the Navy. Now in West Texas, rain is a beautiful thing. We got one of ...read more

Scripture: John 12:1-10

Tags: Disciples, Aroma, Smell, Pleasant

Denomination: Baptist

When You Have Nothing Left But God, Then Fgod Is Enough

Contributed by Tim Smith on Aug 13, 2017

Pastor Norm Johnson tells the story of Bill who was gravely ill in the hospital. Norm was visiting him when the doctor came in and point blank said, “Bill, you're dead. There’s no hope. You’d better get your things in order.” Just that bluntly, no hope, no comfort, no, “How are you doing?” After ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:1-10

Tags: Hope, God Is Enough

Denomination: Methodist

Legalism, Rules And Judging Others

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Nov 12, 2018

Charles Price (pastor of The Peoples Church in Toronto) tells the story of a friend of his who went to the Netherlands to share the gospel with Dutch people and became friends with many Dutch Christians. He was amazed to find out how distressed Dutch Christians were with the state of American ...read more

Scripture: Romans 6:1

Tags: Legalism Vs Liberty, Rules

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Funny Church Feuds

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 31, 2022

Church feuds are not uncommon, especially among cliques in the congregation. But when the pastor and worship leader get into it, stand aside. In one church, the preacher preached one weekend on commitment, and how you should dedicate yourselves to service. The worship leader then led the choir in ...read more

Tags: Church, Unity, Hymns, Division, Church Fights  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Two Minutes

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Jul 12, 2022

Two Minutes to Eternity Marshall Shelley tells the story of his son's short life - just two minutes.The baby boy was born with a "chromosomal abnormality" called Trisomy 13. After the delivery, the doctor passed the baby to his mom. He was a healthy pink; Then he began to turn ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 1:27, Psalm 90:10-12, John 14:1-3

Tags: Death, Eternity, Heaven, Birth, Grief  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Overwhelming Forgiveness

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 31, 2022

A wonderful example of how to practice the lifestyle of grace comes from an incident in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, on October 2, 2006, when a man entered an Amish schoolhouse and murdered 5 girls while wounding 5 others before killing himself. As horrific as this was, the greater story was the ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 65:3

Tags: Grace, Forgiveness