In Sermon Illustrations: "Thank You"

A Day To Diet?  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 18, 2003

A DAY TO DIET? Do you diet on Turkey day, or do you hide your food journal for fear you will fill all its pages on this one day? Here’s what Jeanne McManus of the Washington Post says about the tradition of eating on Thanksgiving day: "I believe in tradition. I believe in Thanksgiving. I ...read more

Tags: Giving Yourself, Thanksgiving Holiday

The Resources We Need

Contributed by Christian Cheong on May 28, 2003

THE RESOURCES WE NEED Federal Express, a speedy postal delivery company, once ran a commercial similar to movie Castaway, in which Tom Hanks played a FedEx worker whose company plane went down, stranding him on a desert island for years. Looking like Tom Hanks in the movie, the FedEx employee ...read more

Tags: Bible Influence

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Nothing We Have Is Attributable To Our Own ...  PRO

Contributed by Clark Tanner on Aug 31, 2003

"Nothing we have is attributable to our own strengths and talents. People think so. It’s an attitude that was expressed very effectively by James Stewart’s character in the movie, “Shenandoah”. He was the patriarch of a large Southern family, running a very successful plantation when the Civil ...read more

Tags: Humility, Joy, Christian Values

Denomination: Orthodox

I Will Pay For My Own Sins  PRO

Contributed by Gene Gregory on Mar 8, 2004

I WILL PAY FOR MY OWN SINS For some time now, we have been hearing about Mel Gibson’s new movie, The Passion of the Christ, the biblical account of the last hours of Christ’s earthly life. Some claim it is too violent and graphic. Some claim it is anti-Semitic, though the producer filmed his ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 6:14, Ephesians 2:8-9

Tags: God's Forgiveness, Cross

Denomination: Baptist

Our Topic Today Is Worship And Service. I'd Like ...

Contributed by Anne Benefield on Jan 29, 2009

Our topic today is worship and service. I’d like to begin by telling a true story that happened to Reverend Forrest I. Sears. He writes: Wilma had been a member of our church for many, many years. In her later years she needed the assistance of a cane to help in walking. As she was talking ...read more

Tags: Preaching

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Seizing Opportunities: -- A Lady Once Writing To ...

Contributed by Lonnie Erwin on Oct 26, 2007

Seizing opportunities: -- A lady once writing to a young man in the navy, who was almost a stranger, thought, "Shall I close this as anybody would, or shall I say a word for my Master?" and lifting up her heart for a moment, she wrote, telling him that his constant change of scene and place was an ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Writer Regina Barreca Wrote An Article For The ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 4, 2001

Writer Regina Barreca wrote an article for the Chicago Tribune in 1996 on this very issue: "Sloth is insidious. It whispers that you might as well do it tomorrow, that nobody will know if you cut comers here and there to save yourself some trouble, that the world will be the same in a hundred ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 6:11-12

Tags: Doctrine

You Can Do What I Cannot Do. I Can Do What You ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

You can do what I cannot do. I can do what you cannot do. Together ...read more

Tags: Leadership General

The Dawn Of Goodness

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 28, 2003

THE DAWN OF GOODNESS There is the story of a young lady who was a bright student. Unfortunately, she did not have assurance. Her name was Marian. She was working her way through college by cleaning the dorm rooms of her fellow students. She was often annoyed by their in ability to say “thank you” ...read more

Tags: Christian Love

Just Before General Eisenhower Died, Billy ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Just before General Eisenhower died, Billy Graham was invited to visit him at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, DC He was told he could stay thirty minutes. When he went in, the general was wearing his usual big smile, even though he knew he didn’t have long to live. Later Billy Graham told what ...read more

Tags: Parable Ten Virgins

Mind Your Manners - Servant - President Calvin Coolidge Story

Contributed by J Jeffrey Smead on Dec 1, 2025

Have you ever dined at a fancy restaurant ... or at someone's home ... and felt a little ... uncomfortable? President Calvin Coolidge ... invited some friends from Vermont ... to dine with him ... at the White House. They were extremely ... nervous. And were concerned ... about the correct ...read more

Scripture: Luke 14:7-14, Matthew 15:36, John 13:14, 1 Corinthians 11:27

Tags: Manners, Servant, Friends

Denomination: Anglican

The Fixer-Preacher - Pastor Appreciation Help

Contributed by Loyd C. Taylor on Jun 24, 2025

The Fixer-Preacher Celebrating Pastor Appreciation Day It’s not every day I get to stand up here and talk to everyone on a Sunday morning, but when I do, it’s for a pretty special reason. Picture this: sunlight fills the room, the choir is quietly humming, and you can smell fresh coffee in the ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 17:22, Romans 13:7, Hebrews 13:7, 1 Timothy 5:17, 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13, Ephesians 4:11  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Humor, Laughter, Pastor Appreciation, Introductions, Pastor Humor, Icebreakers, Sermon Starters  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

5 Ways To Praise

Contributed by Davon Huss on Mar 28, 2011

5 WAYS TO PRAISE There are 5 ways that you can praise employees: personal praise, written praise, electronic praise, public praise and indirect praise. Personal praise- is considered the most important type of praise by employees. It consists of being verbally thanked one on one for doing good ...read more

Tags: Workplace

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

People Who Claim To Have Faith And Yet Are Simply ...

Contributed by Aubrey Vaughan on Dec 3, 2009

PEOPLE WHO CLAIM TO HAVE FAITH AND YET ARE SIMPLY FILLED WITH PIOUS GOOD WISHES TO THOSE IN NEED (CHRISTIAN BROTHER) WITHOUT GOOD ACTIONS GIVE TO THE LIE OF PIOUS WORDS. THE THOUGHT ONLY COUNTS IF SOMETHING TANGIBLE IS DONE TO HELP THE INDIVIDUAL. OUR FAITH BECOMES AN ACT MAKE PRETEND. IT SPEAKS ...read more

Tags: Faith

Denomination: Baptist

The Spiritual Odd Couple  PRO

Contributed by Joel Pankow on May 1, 2002

THE SPIRITUAL ODD COUPLE Often times we stand in awe of the fact that our Savior Jesus Christ was born into this sinful world and took on human flesh - born in a cattle stall! What a filthy place for God to be born! In the same way, then, shouldn’t we stand in awe at what the Holy Spirit ...read more

Tags: Holiness, Holy Spirit In Believers

Denomination: Lutheran

Queen Mary Made It Her Practice To Visit Scotland ...  PRO

Contributed by Guy Mcgraw on Apr 8, 2003

Queen Mary made it her practice to visit Scotland every year. She was so loved by the people there that she often mingled with them freely without a protective escort. While walking with some children one afternoon, she went farther than she had planned. Dark clouds came up unexpectedly, so she ...read more

Scripture: Malachi 1:7-8

Tags: Discipleship, Giving Yourself

How Do Your Eyes See It?  PRO

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Jun 6, 2002

How do your eyes see it? By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. [email protected] so you are a Mother? I see alot different than you do, you see the mud all around you, Ha! I see the diamond in you. You compare yourself to others, and say I can never acheive that level. I say, you are beyond where most ever ...read more

Denomination: Assembly Of God

For My Next Point, I Need A Volunteer. I Need A ...

Contributed by Robbie Parsons on Sep 14, 2008

For my next point, I need a volunteer. I need a young person who really likes bubble gum. (Get the volunteer and talk with him or her up front for a minute.) So you like chewing gum? What is your favorite kind? Really, that is nice. I’m sorry that I don’t have any of that king of bubble gum, ...read more

Denomination: United Methodist

While Grace Is Getting What You Don't Deserve, ...

Contributed by Brian Harvison on Oct 7, 2008

While grace is getting what you don’t deserve, mercy is not getting what you deserve. A mother once approached Napoleon seeking a pardon for her son The emperor replied that the young man had committed a certain offense twice and justice demanded death "But I don’t ask for justice," the mother ...read more

Tags: Mercy

Denomination: Baptist

Children's Letters To The Pastor

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Dec 31, 2021

Children’s letters to the Pastor Dear Pastor, I would like to go to heaven someday because I know my brother won't be there. Stephen. Age 8, Chicago Dear Pastor, I know God loves everybody but He never met my sister. Yours sincerely, Arnold. Age 8, Nashville. Dear Pastor, Please say ...read more

Tags: Children, Humor, Pastors

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational