In Sermon Illustrations: "The Apple Of The Eye"

7 Ways To Pray For Lost Loved Ones

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Mar 25, 2024

Praying for Unsaved Loved Ones “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.” (Romans 1:16) 1. Pray that God will draw them to himself. “No one can come to me unless the Father … draws him.” (John 6:44) 2. Pray for the Holy Spirit to ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 1:8, John 20:21

Tags: Lost, Unsaved, Unbelievers, Salvation, Gospel, Missions, Prayer, Intercession, Burden, Evangelism, Holy Spirit  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Genuine Praise

Contributed by David Dunn on Oct 6, 2025

A little old saint who came to church every Sabbath and sat right down front. The preacher was predictable. The sermons were steady, maybe a bit too steady. But every week, that dear lady found something to say “Amen!” about. Every time she did, it startled the whole congregation — because nobody ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 34:1, Philippians 4:4, Hebrews 13:15, Luke 19:37-40

Tags: Worship, Praise, Revival, Gratitude, Testimony  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

Unfold Your Deck Chair - Funny Story

Contributed by J Jeffrey Smead on Mar 3, 2026

In a "Peanuts" strip, ... Charlie Brown and Lucy were discussing ... theology. Lucy said, ... "On the great cruise ship of life, ... some people ... take their deck chairs ... to the bow. And some people ... take their deck chairs ... to the stern. Where do you put your deck ...read more

Scripture: Acts 17:22-34, John 14:6

Tags: Deck Chair, Faith, Life, Ship, Chair  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Anglican

It’s Difficult To Find Beauty In Death. ...  PRO

Contributed by David Yarbrough on Jun 18, 2001

It’s difficult to find beauty in death. It’s even more difficult to find beauty in a death camp. Especially Auschwitz. Four million Jews died there in World War II. A half-ton of human hair is still preserved. The showers that sprayed poison gas still stand. But for all the ugly memories of ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:8

Tags: Joy, Christian Disciplines, Cross Agony

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Good Won’t Get You There, Feda H. ...  PRO

Contributed by A. Todd Coget on Oct 11, 2001

[Good Won’t Get You There, Feda H. Babinski] I’m standing there in front of gates like none I’ve ever found They shine like golden ribbons as they glide across the ground I see the stairs that never end how brilliantly they glow I start to climb and realize there’s nothing down below Then ...read more

Tags: Faith Vs. Works, Judgment

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Animals Can Do Some Pretty Amazing Things  PRO

Contributed by Ray Navarro on Dec 7, 2001

Animals can do some pretty amazing things. For example, what happened one day in the state of Maryland. Believe it or not, this is a true story. The Atlantic Ocean converts into many rivers and streams that paint the state of Maryland much like a leaf of a palm tree that extends in many ...read more

Tags: Friendship New Friends, Compassion, Church Small Groups

Denomination: Adventist

I Read The Story This Week, Of A Woman Who Was ...  PRO

Contributed by Terry Rolen on Dec 11, 2001

I read the story this week, of a woman who was shamed and brought closer to God by someone the world would over look. “We were the only family with children in the restaurant. I sat Erik in a high chair and noticed everyone was quietly eating and talking. Suddenly, Erik squealed with glee and ...read more

Tags: Parable General, Kingdom Of God, Children

Denomination: Church Of God

For Everyone—communion Meditation  PRO

Contributed by Troy Mason on Aug 23, 2002

FOR EVERYONE-COMMUNION MEDITATION James W. Moore of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Houston tells a story about one of his minister friends. His name is Tom and he does a fascinating thing each month. Even though he has an extremely busy schedule he still makes the time each month to go down ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 11:24-25, Luke 22:19

Tags: Lord's Supper, Reverence, Worth, Communion, Church Practices  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Fred Craddock Was A Seminary Professor. Once, ...  PRO

Contributed by Tom Mccrossan on Dec 10, 2003

Fred Craddock was a seminary professor. Once, while he was lecturing at Yale University, he told of going back one summer to Gatlinburg, TN, to take a short vacation with his wife. One night they found a quiet little restaurant where they looked forward to a private meal—just the two of ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 1:11-23

Tags: What Is Evangelism?, Evangelism How To, Evangelism Urgency

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Two Old Saw Bucks On A Hill! ...

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Jun 25, 2005

Two Old Saw Bucks on a Hill! (06.27.05--Direction--John 21:4-6 ) How often we see things dimly in the morning light only to confront something altogether different than what we thought we saw in the first place. Not long ago I was awakened early, much earlier than I normally venture out in the ...read more

Scripture: John 21:4-6

Tags: Fear And Worry

Denomination: Lutheran

Greater Love Hath No Man That This, That A Man ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 10, 2006

"Greater love hath no man that this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). "When we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son" (Romans 5:10). When nations are engaged in deadly strife, it is common for patriots to declare that he who gives his life for ...read more

Tags: Evangelism How To

Michael Yaconelli's "Messy Spirituality"  PRO

Contributed by David Selleck on Oct 26, 2006

Michael Yaconelli’s, "Messy Spirituality" Vincent’s story about grace graciously given in the messiest of circumstances from Michael Yaconelli’s book Messy Spirituality. In a book aby New Zealand author Mike Riddell, Vincent has met and fallen in love with a young girl named Marilyn. Neither one ...read more

Denomination: Methodist

A Mother Is Born By Regina ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 27, 2010

A Mother Is Born by Regina Phillips My first child, a daughter, was born on July 27, 2000, and I found I was completely unprepared. I thought I was ready for her birth. I had read my books and articles on childbirth and baby care; I had bought everything on my shopping checklist. The nursery was ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 49:15

Tags: Children, Mothers

The Book Of Heaven] In 1832 Four Indian Chiefs ...

Contributed by Dennis Davidson on Aug 15, 2010

[THE BOOK OF HEAVEN] In 1832 four Indian chiefs from the western part of our nation walked the streets of the city of St. Louis, Missouri. The wearied, wasted manner of their appearance demonstrated the fact that they had come a long way. General George Rogers Clark was military commander at St. ...read more

Tags: Missions

Denomination: Baptist

The Parable Of Water  PRO

Contributed by Andrew Moffatt on Sep 21, 2012

The Parable of Water There are a lot of things I could compare when it comes to living in the world, sexual sin, the lust we have for objects that are shiny; but, I’ve decided that I’m not going to. I’ve decided to discuss two different liquids. One of them is water and the other is Coca Cola. ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 106:1-12, James 1:16-19

Tags: God's Goodness, Kingdom Of God, Temptation General

Denomination: Salvation Army

The Teddy Bear Of Jesus

Contributed by John Telgren on Feb 11, 2017

I put my son to bed, and went through the routine. "I love you, I love mommy, I love your brothers, etc." Then he stopped, looked up at me, and asked, "What about my Teddy, don't you love my Teddy?" I looked over at a tattered, dingy, stuffed animal that was on it's last leg quite literally. I ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:25-32

Tags: Church, Bride Of Christ, Church Appreciation

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The House With The Unused Room

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Feb 11, 2020

How many times have you seen a house that looked so promising, you couldn’t help but want to buy it? That very thing happened to me some time ago. I was interested in buying a home, and sure enough, there was one caught my eye! It wasn’t too far from where I was working, the price seemed ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 19:5

Tags: Israel, Houses, Wasted Space, Real Estate

Denomination: Baptist

Salt Of The Earth  PRO

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

Salt of the Earth Matthew 5:13 says to Christians, "You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men." Our Lord is telling His disciples that ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:13

Tags: Character

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The High School That I Went To Was A Big ...

Contributed by Curt Cizek on Nov 21, 2008

-The high school that I went to was a big football, track and wrestling school -All of the best athletes played football -The coach of the team highly encouraged his best players to not play basketball anymore but to concentrate during the winter on lifting weights instead of shooting a ...read more

Tags: War

Denomination: Lutheran

Have You Seen The Rabbit - The Race

Contributed by J Jeffrey Smead on Mar 31, 2023

Yet as I prepared this Message ... the Holy Spirit made it clear to me ... that to be all that God has called us to be ... and before we should connect with others ... we first must be abiding with ... and be connected to the Jesus ... to the true vine. To continually abide in the Lord ... to ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:14, Luke 22:42, Matthew 6:6, John 10:27, John 15:5, Matthew 25:40, 1 Corinthians 9:24, 2 Timothy 4:7, Hebrews 12:1  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Cost, Race, Prize, Connect, Chase, Endurance, Vine  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Anglican