In Sermon Illustrations: "The Coming Of The Lord"

Mistaken For Jesus  PRO

Contributed by Melvin Newland on Sep 3, 2009

MISTAKEN FOR JESUS Some years ago I heard an interesting story about a young boy living in Paris at the end of the World War II. He had been orphaned by the atrocities committed by the German forces. Now all alone, he was having to scrounge around the ruined city as best as he could to find ...read more

Tags: Christian Love

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Have You Ever Seen Those Frequent Flyer Programs ...

Contributed by Mark Eberly on Sep 14, 2009

Have you ever seen those frequent flyer programs that the airlines have? Fly with us and you will earn points that can get free flights (of course with the restrictions on when you can use those points and on what flights, the only way to redeem them is on a one way flight to Butte, Montana ...read more

Tags: Church Growth, Self

Denomination: Church Of God

J. Wilbur Chapman Meets General Booth Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 28, 2009

J. Wilbur Chapman Meets General Booth of Salvation Army A willingness to obey is the first step toward spiritual understanding John 7:17 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. When J. Wilbur Chapman was in London, he had an opportunity to meet General ...read more

Scripture: John 7:16-17

Tags: Obedience

Chief Justice Of Supreme Court Humble Enough To ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 17, 2009

Chief Justice of Supreme Court Humble Enough to Stand Next to a Chinese Laundryman As Christians, we are to trust God the Holy Spirit by being completely humble. Let me share a story which gives us a picture of humility; maybe you will see yourself in this story: When Charles Evans Hughes was ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-6

Tags: Humility

Defense Lawyer's Final Trick Back ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 19, 2009

Defense Lawyer’s Final Trick Back Fires A defendant was on trial for murder in Oklahoma. There was strong evidence indicating guilt, but there was no body. In the defense’s closing statement the lawyer, knowing that his client would probably be convicted, resorted to a trick. "Ladies and gentlemen ...read more

Tags: Justice

Focusing On Danger Yields A Missed ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 16, 2009

Focusing on Danger Yields A Missed Opportunity August 12, 1944 - the allies nearly surrounded the German 7th and 5th Panser armies during operation Cobra. General Omar Bradley described the situation stating, “This is an opportunity that comes to a commander not more than once in a century. We’re ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 4:2-6

Tags: War

A Story From The Book Upon Which The Old Movie ...

Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on Dec 24, 2009

A story from the book upon which the old movie “The Bridge on the River Quai” was based, is telling. The Irish Republican Army had a ‘buddy’ system called ‘The Mucker System.’ In this system soldiers agreed to ‘muck’ someone else. That meant the other person was more important than ones self – ...read more

Tags: Compassion

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

You Have To Love Him Into It

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 1, 2010

"You Have To Love Him Into It"--A Stock Assistant Learns a Big Lesson A stock assistant was working at a grocery store on Christmas Eve. One of the things he was responsible for was the display in one of the aisles which was a pyramid of canned products. He had to rebuild this display many times ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:8-20

Tags: Unconditional Love

In A Remote Swiss Village Stands A Beautiful ...

Contributed by Christian Cheong on Jun 28, 2010

In a remote Swiss village stands a beautiful church - Mountain Valley Cathedral. It has high pillars and magnificent stained glass windows, but what makes it special is the most beautiful pipe organ in the whole region. People would come from far off lands just to hear the lovely tunes of this ...read more

Tags: Salvation, Restoration

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Some Time Later

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Dec 10, 2010

SOME TIME LATER Day after day the drudgery of books had began to depress me. Don't misunderstand. I love reading books. I was working in a warehouse at the time. Two of us would work in a large cubicle to pack books into boxes according to a computer order and convey them to be stacked onto ...read more

Tags: Finding Fulfillment

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

What We Watch Affects Our Behavior

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 26, 2011

WHAT WE WATCH AFFECTS OUR BEHAVIOR Studies are even showing how we are affected by what we watch on television, hear on our radios, or read in books and the paper. A study recorded in American Psychologist reported that “Psychologists have studied the effect of violent media on aggression for ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:22-23

Tags: Television And Movies

Anger On The Golf Course

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 26, 2011

ANGER ON THE GOLF COURSE There were times when golf course etiquette was completely traded in for the ever popular "lose control and act like a madman" routine. There's something intriguing about watching a full grown man crumble to pieces over a tiny ball that's 1½ inches in diameter. I've seen ...read more

Scripture: James 1:19-21

Tags: Anger

The Richest Man On The Island

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 4, 2011

THE RICHEST MAN ON THE ISLAND In his autobiography Just As I Am, Billy Graham recalls a story demonstrating that apart from God, we will not gain anything from living wisely. He said: Some years ago Ruth and I had a vivid illustration of this on an island in the Caribbean. One of the wealthiest ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:6-10

Tags: Money

How Not To Market The Church

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 10, 2011

HOW NOT TO MARKET THE CHURCH When we speak of marketing the church (writes David Wells) we are not referencing such things as advertising church events, providing excellence in church programming, being kind to visitors, or providing ample parking. No one is arguing the importance and value of ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 3:14-16

Tags: Church Practices

Do You Have The Nerve Of A Squirrel?

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 12, 2011

DO YOU HAVE THE NERVE OF A SQUIRREL? A young writer with a very uncertain income went into a quiet park to contemplate a serious problem. For four years he had been engaged, but felt he did not have enough money to get married. He wanted to live and write in Paris, Rome, Vienna, ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 3:5-6

Tags: Trust

Serving Saves A Soul

Contributed by Rick Crandall on Jul 8, 2011

SERVING SAVES A SOUL One of the best ways to do these good things is to get involved in Vacation Bible School: Praying for VBS, inviting kids to come, serving in VBS, and following up on our guests. Kids will get saved. Sometimes even parents get saved through VBS. Florence Lee can tell you that. ...read more

Tags: Evangelism The Lost

Denomination: Baptist

Live In A Way That Glorifies God  PRO

Contributed by Mark Stepherson on Jul 19, 2011

Live in a Way That Glorifies God Dan Blocker was my favorite character, Hoss, on the TV series Bonanza. When he died unexpectedly, Hoss died. The producers knew they could not replace him. The story was that woman was caught in a flood. Hoss held her above the water with one hand and held a ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:31, Matthew 5:16, 1 Peter 2:12

Tags: Glory

Denomination: Baptist

The Wrong Oil  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 8, 2011

THE WRONG OIL Phil (a member of our congregation) owns a stunning sports car. It's a Viper. It's a thing of beauty. And it has a powerful engine with 10 cylinders. Most of us common folks have cars with 6 and 8 cylinders... but this car has TEN cylinders. I'm pretty sure it can take you anywhere ...read more

Scripture: Jude 1:3-4

Tags: Doctrine

Margin Or Messiah?

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 24, 2011

MARGIN OR MESSIAH? Richard Swenson wrote a book in the 1990's titled, "Margin" in which he describes modern society as so overcommitted and over scheduled that we have no space left for rest. A reviewer writes: Overload is not having time to finish the book you're reading on stress. Margin is ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 11:28-30

Tags: Stress

Visions Of Glory

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 9, 2011

VISIONS OF GLORY Chan Gailey, who just began his second season as head coach for the Buffalo Bills, got his start coaching football at Alabama's Troy State University. In 1984, with a 12-1 record, he led the Troy State Trojans to a Division II NCAA national championship. A week before the big ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 5:5-6

Tags: Pride