In Sermon Illustrations: "Than Ksgiving"

God's Will And The Tablecloth

Contributed by John Perry on Apr 8, 2010

GOD'S WILL AND THE TABLECLOTH It happened in 1948, just a few days before Christmas. A flash flood ravaged a small town, leaving a gaping hole in the wall of an old church building--right behind the pulpit. The young pastor knew there was no time to fix the damage and decided to make the best of ...read more

Tags: God's Sovereign Will

Denomination: Pentecostal

Poor Man's Philanthropist  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 11, 2011

POOR MAN'S PHILANTHROPIST In 2005, when Thomas Cannon died of colon cancer in a hospital in Richmond, Virginia, he was 79. Thomas described himself a "poor man's philanthropist." When Thomas was three years old, his father died. Once Thomas' mother remarried, the family of six lived in a ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 9:1-15, 2 Corinthians 9:15

Tags: Giving General

Repentance Is Not A One-Time Event

Contributed by Tim Smith on Feb 19, 2012

REPENTANCE IS NOT A ONE-TIME EVENT Doug Tegner tells the story of attending a one-day leadership retreat called to deal with his church's current crisis. Redwood Chapel was founded in 1962 and has since hosted the Bay Area Sunday School convention (BASS), had strong music programs, planted vibrant ...read more

Tags: Repentance

Denomination: Methodist

Make It Your Aim Not To Sin

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Mar 24, 2012

MAKE IT YOUR AIM NOT TO SIN The whole purpose of John's letter, he says, is that we not sin. One day as I was studying this chapter I realized that my personal life's objective regarding holiness was less than that of John's. He was saying, in effect, "Make it your aim not to sin." As I thought ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 2:1

Tags: Holiness

Denomination: Baptist

Monogamy Syndrome  PRO

Contributed by Tim White on Feb 15, 2013

MONOGAMY SYNDROME Where at one time, having sexual relations outside marriage was considered liberating, current studies show that it damages one's ability to trust, affecting future relationship, one's respect for self, affecting every decision and diminishing the value of right decisions, and ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 6:18, 1 Corinthians 6:16, 1 Corinthians 12:6

Tags: Bible Truth

Denomination: Baptist

Tractor Pulls And Yokes

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 13, 2013

TRACTOR PULLS AND YOKES Some people like going to events called Tractor Pulls. This is when they cover the floor of an arena with dirt and guys in souped-up tractors compete to see who can pull the heaviest loads. That’s nothing new because long before the internal combustion engine, farmers were ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 11:28-30

Tags: Discipleship

Deeper

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Mar 18, 2020

Hebrews 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. WE NEED A GREATER REVELATION OF WHO JESUS IS. DEEPER, DEEPER --- MORE, MORE ABOUT JESUS. WE CAN FIND THE GREATER THAN… My Mom ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 13:5, 2 Timothy 1:12

Tags: More, Deeper

Denomination: Assembly Of God

How Much Is Enough?

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 11, 2008

HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH? Each week Kevin Tunell was required to mail a dollar to a family he'd rather forget. They sued him for $1.5 million but settled for just $936, to be paid a dollar at a time. The family expected the payment each Friday so Tunell would not forget what happened on the first Friday ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness For Others

I Recently Read The Story Of A Man Who, In 2006, ...  PRO

Contributed by Chris Surber on Sep 9, 2008

I recently read the story of a man who, in 2006, was driving along a road in Pune India, a city located in the Maharashtra province of central India. The man was driving a common mode of transportation in India, his motorcycle with its mighty 2 stroke engine, through torrential rains on a road that ...read more

Scripture: Romans 14:1-12

Tags: Gospel Of John, Church Body Of Christ

Denomination: Christian Church

Heroes Who Can't Swim

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 28, 2008

HEROES WHO CAN'T SWIM Paul Harvey tells the story of Ray Blankenship preparing his breakfast and gazing out the window, when he saw a small girl being swept along in the rain-flooded drainage ditch beside his Andover, Ohio, home. Blankenship knew that farther downstream, the ditch disappeared with ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:13

Tags: Christian Disciplines

Knowledge And Discipline Win The Game

Contributed by Paul Carlson on Feb 17, 2009

KNOWLEDGE AND DISCIPLINE WIN THE GAME Did you watch the Illinois vs. Arizona basketball game of the 2005 NCAA tournament in March 2005? Illinois was losing by fifteen points with only 2:50 seconds left. The coach had a meeting with the players to pump them up to continue to contend for the ...read more

Tags: Disciplines General

Denomination: Baptist

The Mona Lisa Of Your Life

Contributed by Paul Carlson on Feb 20, 2009

THE MONA LISA OF YOUR LIFE We live in an "I can’t wait" society. We must have instant gratification! It is no longer good enough to have a phone at home – now need a phone in your pocket! It is no longer good enough to have dial up internet – now must have High speed DSL ...to send a letter via ...read more

Tags: Character

Denomination: Baptist

How God Changed Ireland Through A Dream

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on May 3, 2022

One incident helped change Western civilization—Paul’s vision of a man from northern Greece led him to take the gospel westward into Europe instead of eastward into Asia—with far-reaching results. Nearly 400 years later, a remarkably similar dream changed all of Irish history. Patrick, a ...read more

Tags: Evangelism, Missions, Trinity, Dreams, Will Of God, Church Planting, Saint Patrick, Sovereignty Of God, Ireland  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Speed Limit

Contributed by John Bright on Feb 13, 2025

Let’s talk about following the speed limit. Why not? Maybe you don’t like being told what to do? That’s the definition of rebellion. Maybe you know better than everyone else. If so, those closest to you suffer the most! The starting point is safety. I have some family members that refuse to ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 2:15-16, Exodus 21:5-6

Tags: Submission, Rebellion, Speed Limit, Bond Servant

Denomination: Methodist

Yes, Virginia, There Is A Jesus  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 10, 2002

"YES VIRGINIA, THERE IS A JESUS." It is truly heartwarming to know that millions of people around the world believe in Santa. Sure, most are under four feet tall, but still it’s amazing that so many believe in the big guy in the red suit. Consider the following: Around the globe, today, live ...read more

Tags: Christmas, Birth Of Jesus

Generations And The Bible  PRO

Contributed by Billy Nale on Oct 19, 2009

GENERATIONS AND THE BIBLE A new research report from the Barna Group examines recent nationwide studies on how different generations of American adults view and use the Bible. For the purposes of this research, the Mosaic generation refers to adults who are currently ages 18 to 25; Busters are ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 1 Timothy 4:12-16

Tags: Bible Truth

Denomination: Baptist

Some Veterans Bear Visible Signs Of Their ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 16, 2001

Some veterans bear visible signs of their service: a missing limb, a jagged scar, a certain look in the eye. Others may carry the evidence inside them: a pin holding a bone together, a piece of shrapnel in the leg--or perhaps another sort of inner steel: the soul’s ally forged in the refinery of ...read more

Tags: Holidays Civic, Sacrifice, Soldier, Veteran's Day, Veterans  (view more)  (view less)

Foot In Mouth Disease! (07.20.05--Pride--John ...

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Jul 19, 2005

Foot In Mouth Disease! (07.20.05--Pride--John 7:51) Open mouth, insert foot! There are few times in life more embarrassing than when we say something we didn’t mean to say or let something slip that should not have been said. On the occasion of a recent birthday in our household, I was given ...read more

Scripture: John 7:51

Tags: Humility, Christian Disciplines

Denomination: Lutheran

Why We Celebrate The 4th  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 24, 2009

WHY WE CELEBRATE THE 4TH But there is a reason why we celebrate on the 4th and we can’t forget that! It was the day the day the colonies declared their independence from England. Freedom was declared in some famous words of the Declaration of Independence, which starts: We hold these truths to be ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 11:1-40

Tags: 4th Of July, Independence Day

This Life Is Just A Rental

Contributed by Todd Catteau on May 14, 2024

In the last few years when our family travels instead of booking a hotel we have used an Airbnb or a Vrbo. If you’re not familiar with this concept it’s basically people renting out their homes to tourists. It’s especially convenient if we have a lot of family to house. We can all stay together, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:19-20

Tags: Heaven, Worry, Rust, Possessions, Moths  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ