In Sermon Illustrations: "The Birth Of Christ"

Devoting Yourself

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 21, 2014

DEVOTING YOURSELF When it says they "devoted themselves" it means they were steadfast or single minded in purpose or desire. They wanted it and they were going after it, so to speak. In 2008 Sanya Richards-Ross competed in the 400 Meter in Beijing. She started the race strong and built a ...read more

Scripture: Acts 2:42-47

Tags: Devotion, Church Body Of Christ, Spiritual Discipline

The Nfl...a Moral Compass?

Contributed by Robert Harmon on Oct 4, 2014

How would you like to have the NFL as your moral compass? Last week, we were hammered by reports about Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson and how the NFL was responding (or not responding) to the allegations of abuse. Tabloids, Social Media, and ESPN have been overloaded with their stories and many ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:24-27

Tags: Firm Foundation, Becoming Like Christ, Nfl

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Don't Play It Safe!

Contributed by Trae Durden on Nov 11, 2014

“Life was no cakewalk for Jesus, and he didn’t promise it would be any easier for his followers. We shouldn’t be surprised by resistance and persecution. Yet most of us play it safe. We pursue comfort. We spend ourselves to get more stuff. And we prefer to be entertained. We are all tempted by the ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:34-38

Tags: Comfort, Risk, Life In Christ, John Piper

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Fear In The Work Cubicle

Contributed by Troy Borst on Apr 4, 2015

IN THE WORK CUBICLE (p) It’s a normal day at the office. You got to work 5 minutes late like usual. You find your normal parking place open and you whip your car into the spot and grab all that you need from the passenger seat. You are soon in the elevator heading to your floor. The elevator ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 3:15

Tags: Evangelism, Workplace, Sharing Christ, Workplace Evangelism

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Wife Died

Contributed by Davon Huss on Jul 3, 2015

Booth-Tucker preached in Chicago one day, and out from the throng a burdened laborer came and said to him, before all the audience, "You can talk like that about how Christ is dear to you, and helps you; but if your wife was dead, as my wife is, and you had some babies crying for their mother who ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 1:10

Tags: Grief, God's Comfort, Christ's Sufficiency, The Comforter

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Preaching Fluff Versus Quality

Contributed by I. Grant Spong on Jun 8, 2017

I once lived in a town where there were two preachers who were polar opposites. The one was very charismatic and enthusiastic. But, he did not preach the Bible. I asked him one day why he didn't preach the Bible. His answer was that the people could read their Bibles at home. He preached ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:16-20

Tags: Great Commission, Preach Christ, Teach Jesus

Denomination: Baptist

Propitiation In Ancient Judaism

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Sep 30, 2019

David Flusser writes, “ Since the age of the Hasmoneans, Jews had believed that the saints who died to sanctify the name of God atoned for the sins of Israel… Even Jews who did not accept Christianity evidently believed that Jesus, like the other martyrs of the Roman ...read more

Scripture: Romans 3:21-31

Tags: Atonement, Propitiation, Death Of Christ, Penal Atonement

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Romans 6,7 & 8 Compared & Contrasted

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Oct 15, 2019

Romans 6 deals with the believer being dead to Sin. Romans 7 deals with the believer being dead to the Law. Romans 8 deals with the believer being alive in the Spirit, who gives us the power to life the "victorious ...read more

Scripture: Romans 6:1-13

Tags: Sin, Dead To Sin, Alive In Christ, The Law

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Christmas Cards Can Be Funny!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Dec 21, 2020

Our culture really gets into Christmas cards. It’s reported that Americans send 2.1 billion of them each year. Hallmark alone has more than 2,700 Christmas card designs. I don’t always read the cards but do like to catch up on those famous “Our-family-is-perfect Christmas letters” often found ...read more

Scripture: John 1:1-12

Tags: Christmas, Christ, Holidays, Laughter, Christmas Humor  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Living In Light Of Eternity

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 8, 2021

Over the triple doorways of the Cathedral of Milan there are three inscriptions spanning the splendid arches. Over one is carved a beautiful wreath of roses, and underneath is the legend, “All that which pleases is but for a moment.” Over the other is sculptured a cross, and there are the ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Tags: Eternity, Heaven, Materialism, Judgment Seat Of Christ

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Engraved On A Cathedral In Germany

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Apr 2, 2022

These words are engraved on a cathedral in Lubeck, Germany: You call Me master and obey Me not, You call Me light and see Me not, You call Me the way and walk Me not, You call Me life and live Me not, You call Me wise and follow Me not, You call Me fair and love Me not, You call Me rich ...read more

Tags: Servant, Obedience, Lordship Of Christ, Lord, Jesus  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

We Owe Our Whole Lives To God!

Contributed by Paul Clemente on Nov 3, 2022

Genesis 6:1-9 Some think that the “sons of God” in this passage are angels; how can we say not? - v3 tells us that these men will die and angels are eternal beings; also, Jesus Himself tells us in the Gospels that angels do not marry! What can we say about Gen 6:2? – God’s creations of people are ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 6:1-9

Tags: Love, Thanksgiving, Sin, Life, Jesus Christ  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Baptist Kittens

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Mar 5, 2023

A Church of Christ minister walked past a street corner stand that was full of kittens for sale by a little boy in his neighborhood. The sign over the kittens read, "Church of Christ kittens for sale, one week old.....$5.00 each". The minister smiled and said, "My son, you are ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 16:18

Tags: Baptists, Church, Truth, Humor, Church Of Christ  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

A Word About Bread And Stones:

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Jul 18, 2024

Text: Luke 4:1-4, KJV: 1 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. 3 And the devil said unto him, If thou ...read more

Scripture: Luke 4:1-4

Tags: Bread, Jesus Christ, Temptations, Stones, The Devil  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Jesus Doesn't Go To Church

Contributed by Coz Von on Jul 25, 2018

I met Jesus at a conference of Christian managers. But his story is a little out of the ordinary. The conference was hosted in a beautiful facility in Dallas, Texas, and the organizers had done a fantastic job at putting together a good program. We had great meetings and warm fellowship, and I ...read more

Tags: His Bride, The Bride Of Christ, Church, Body, The Body Of Christ, The Body, The House Of God, His Church  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

All Of You Know That Anne Is A Stay At Home ...

Contributed by Mike Rexroat on Dec 14, 2007

All of you know that Anne is a stay at home mom...but did you also know that she has also held some pretty important positions here in Kentucky as well. I have to tell you she will probably accuse me of being a smart alec for saying this but I really mean it....she has taught an exercise class ...read more

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Just This Past Thursday We Learned The Results Of ...

Contributed by Mike Rexroat on Dec 16, 2007

Just this past Thursday we learned the results of what is being called the "Mitchell" report. For those of us who are baseball fans it was a pretty dark day. Former Senator George Mitchell concluded his almost two year investigation into the game and released his conclusions and one of those ...read more

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

$3.00 Worth Of God, Please  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 8, 2011

$3.00 WORTH OF GOD, PLEASE Tim Hansel in his book "When I Relax I feel Guilty," writes some insights of what most people want from God. "I would like to buy $3.00 worth of God, please. Not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk or a snooze in ...read more

Scripture: Deuteronomy 6:4-5, Mark 14:32-42, Matthew 6:9-13, 1 John 4:7-21, Mark 10:17-22, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Deuteronomy 8:28, Romans 8:28, Matthew 25:1-13, Matthew 5:38-48  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Plan, New, God, Truth, Prayer, Life, Grow, Patience, Commitment To Christ  (view more)  (view less)

[181]. A Message From A Poem – Man’s Departure Is Away From God

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Sep 2, 2025

[181]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – MAN’S DEPARTURE IS AWAY FROM GOD We live in a world in decline and it was prophesied that way – {{2 Timothy 3:1-5 “Realise this, that IN THE LAST DAYS DIFFICULT TIMES WILL COME, for men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:1-5, 2 Timothy 3:13

Tags: Old Nature, Christian Poems, Britian, Wales, Getting Worse, Sin, New Birth, Tribulation, Sinful Nature, Departure  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

This Is An Alleged New Year’s Letter ...  PRO

Contributed by Tony Fox on Dec 12, 2000

ILL: This is an alleged New Year’s letter written from a church member to the pastor. Dear Pastor: You often stress attendance at worship as being very important for a Christian, but I think a person has a right to miss now and then. I think every person ought to be excused for the following ...read more

Scripture: Mark 7:24-30, Mark 7:1-8

Tags: New Year's Day, Growth In Christ, Faith, Sandra

Denomination: Baptist