In Sermon Illustrations: "Test Of Faith"

Visit Of Some Of Our Church Members To A ...

Contributed by Suresh Manoharan on Nov 30, 2011

Visit of some of our Church members to a Departmental store to buy gifts for orphans/widows during Christmas season... Last Christmas, the womenfolk of our Church went to a reasonably distant Departmental store to buy gifts for the widows/orphans/Sunday school children of our Church. When, they ...read more

Tags: Christmas

Denomination: *other

Wishing Vs. Hoping  PRO

Contributed by Thomas Clawser on Dec 3, 2011

WISHING VS. HOPING Eugene Peterson (Living the Message: Daily Help for Living the God-Centered Life) points out that what a lot of people call hope is in reality something different. It's wishing, not hoping: and wishing and hoping are not the same thing. "Wishing," Peterson says, "is something ...read more

Tags: Christmas Advent

Denomination: Other

A Sacrifice Of Praise Hurts!

Contributed by Mark Stepherson on Mar 1, 2012

A SACRIFICE OF PRAISE HURTS! Several years ago, there was a song on Christian radio that said, "We bring a sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord." It had a happy, upbeat tune. Listening to it, I had the feeling that the singers were intrigued by the words but had not personally ...read more

Tags: Prayer Adoration

Denomination: Baptist

God, Send Us Bigger Rattlesnakes  PRO

Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on Mar 26, 2012

GOD, SEND US BIGGER RATTLESNAKES There was a farmer who had three sons: Jim, John, and Sam. No one in the family ever attended church or had time for God. The pastor and church members tried for years to interest the family in the things of God, but to no avail. Then one day, a rattlesnake bit ...read more

Tags: Prayer Supplication

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Straightest Path  PRO

Contributed by Perry Greene on Apr 12, 2012

THE STRAIGHTEST PATH Two boys were playing in the snow one day, when one said to the other, "Let us see who can make the straightest path in the snow." His companion readily accepted the proposition, and they started. One boy fixed his eyes on a tree, and walked along without taking his eyes off ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:13-15

Tags: Jesus Christ

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

How Well Do You Obey?  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 7, 2012

HOW WELL DO YOU OBEY? How we admire the obedience a dog shows to its master! Archibald Rutledge wrote that one day he met a man whose dog had just been killed in a forest fire. Heartbroken, the man explained to Rutledge how it happened. Because he worked out-of-doors, he often took his dog with ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:21-23, Luke 9:23-27, Jeremiah 7:21-24

Tags: Obedience

The Journey Of Jonathan Aitken

Contributed by Warner Pidgeon on Nov 4, 2012

THE JOURNEY OF JONATHAN AITKEN Jonathan Aitken was a British war correspondent in Viet Nam, Chief-Executive of TV-AM, and for 23 years an MP including time as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and a Defence Minister. Jonathan Aitken's life fell apart after he was caught telling a lie under oath in ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Denomination: Anglican

Last Lap Of The Race

Contributed by Shawn Miller on Jul 4, 2014

May 29, 2011 it looked like it was destiny, the day Dale Earnhardt Jr. was rounding the last lap of the Charlotte Motor Speedway. You could just imagine the script that was being set; it was memorial day, he was being sponsored by the national guard, and He was going to finally win for the first ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 4:7

Tags: Perseverance, Endurance, Finish The Race, Gas Tank

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Novelist Herman Wouk Has Written Of A Meeting...

Contributed by Davon Huss on May 17, 2016

Novelist Herman Wouk has written of a meeting he had with David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first president. Ben Gurion urged him to move to the newly established nation. This was 1955, and terrorists were still bringing regular bloodshed to the citizens. Ben Gurion had left office and had begun his ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:1

Tags: Freedom, Free To Serve, Stop Playing It Safe, Freedom From Fear

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Jumping The Grand Canyon

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

Main Idea: No matter how good you are, you cannot make it to heaven through your own effort. Verse: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV). Illustration: Once, two men had ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:8-9

Tags: Sin, Need For Christ, Need For Salvation

Denomination: Charismatic

Totally Submerged In The Plan

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Mar 22, 2019

WE NEED TO BELIEVE GOD TO BE CALLED OUT, SET ASIDE, TO HEAR THE CALL OF GOD TO BE FAITHFUL, A PECULIAR PEOPLE… 1 Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 2:9

Tags: Plan, Called Out, Submerged

Denomination: Assembly Of God

President Leslie Lynch King????

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Aug 12, 2019

Leslie Lynch King, Jr. was born on Monday, July 14, 1913 in Omaha, Nebraska. His parents separated sixteen days after his birth and were divorced the following December. His father was abusive and had a drinking problem. His mother took her baby and moved back to her parents’ home in Grand Rapids, ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:17-21

Tags: Salvation, New Life, Adoption Into God's Family

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Take Me Home

Contributed by Dr. Ronald Shultz on Sep 23, 2019

Take Me Home I've been everything that I want to be. I've seen everything that I want to see. All over this world I did roam. Now, I'm asking you, Jesus, please take me home. I can hear my spirit within me groan. I wan to be sitting at the foot of Your throne. I've had my fill ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 19:13-14, Philippians 1:23-24

Tags: Success, Failure, Loneliness, Sorrow, Despair, Homesick  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Ten Rules For Improving The Church

Contributed by David Parks on Jun 3, 2022

TEN RULES FOR IMPROVING THE CHURCH 1. Tell yourself over and over that since you are not perfect you would not fit into a perfect congregation, if one existed. 2. Instead of picking out the worldly members to point to, pick out the sincere, dedicated, spiritual members and thank God for them. You ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 6:1-2, 1 Peter 4:8, Matthew 7:1-5

Tags: Church, Encouragement, Judgementalism

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Fear Overtakes The Boat - Matthew 8:23-27

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Aug 19, 2022

FEAR OVERTAKES THE BOAT Matthew 8 v 23-27 “When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him Matt 8:24 and behold, there arose a great storm in the sea so that the boat was covered with the waves but He Himself was asleep, and they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Save us, Lord. We are ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 8:23-27

Tags: Fear, Security, Authority

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Orders Remain Unchanged!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 10, 2023

There is a tomb of unknown soldiers in America which has a guard 24 hours a day. Every hour on the hour, 365 days a year, a new soldier reports for duty. When the new guard arrives, he receives his orders from the one who is leaving. The words are always the same: “Orders Remain Unchanged.” The ...read more

Scripture: Acts 1:8

Tags: Evangelism, Church, Holy Spirit, Missions, Revival, Witnessing, Great Commission  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Three Levels Of Fruit Bearing

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 2, 2023

Galatians 5:19-23 describes the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit described by Paul in Galatians 5 is not something that is a goal for Christian living produced by the ability of the believer. No, it is the very character of Christ produced within us by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. In ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:19-23

Tags: Fruit Of The Spirit, Spiritual Maturity, Leaders, Spirit Filled Life, Fruit Bearing, Holy Spirit  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Cork And The Whale

Contributed by Joshua Blackmon on Jul 6, 2025

2 Corinthians 4:7-18 offers a portrait of spiritual buoyancy. Paul, in other places, invites us to follow him as he follows Christ (1 Cor 11:1). His spiritual practices caused him to float above the difficulties that he faced over and over again in his life and ministry. One of the greatest things ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 11:1, 2 Corinthians 4:7-18

Tags: Poem, Buoyancy

Denomination: Pentecostal

Luther: Asleep In Christ

Contributed by David Dunn on Nov 1, 2025

(Martin Luther quotes about death.) “What is our death but a night’s sleep? For as through sleep all weariness and faintness pass away… so at the Last Day we shall rise again as if we had only slept a night.” Source: It’s widely reproduced in quotation databases such as AZ Quotes and Luther’s ...read more

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, John 11:25

Tags: Resurrection, Hope

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

Trust God And You Will Be Firm

Contributed by Arulselvam Rayappan on Jan 13, 2026

Trusting the Lord is a recurring theme in the Prophet Isaiah. “Unless your faith is firm, you shall not be firm” Is 7: 14. Advent is a time of trusting the Lord. God alone can save those who place their trust in Him. At times we are confused concerning the choices we have to make. On the one hand ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 7:14

Tags: Fear, Trusting God, Afriad

Denomination: Catholic