In Sermon Illustrations: "The Door To Heaven"

Afghan Spiritual Harvest

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 16, 2011

AFGHAN SPIRITUAL HARVEST In his book What Good Is God?, Philip Yancey writes: "This is a true story from Afghanistan that took place in the early 1970s, before the Russian occupation or the Taliban regime. At the time, the government allowed a small Christian church to service internationals who ...read more

Scripture: Mark 13:9-11, Mark 19:1-20

Tags: Evangelism Fear Of

Al Was My Father-In-Law. He Was An Uncomplicated ...

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Feb 7, 2012

Al was my father-in-law. He was an uncomplicated man, easy to like. He was a natural athlete and avid outdoorsman who loved to hunt and fish. When he had a daughter (his first grandchild; my wife has no siblings) we didn’t realize how excited Al was about the prospect of taking her to the Great ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Tags: Evangelism, Love, Parents, Aging, Christian Love, Evangelism Urgency  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

The Insignificant Is Significant

Contributed by Peter Loughman on May 15, 2008

THE INSIGNIFICANT IS SIGNIFICANT To anyone who knows her, Joanne is not a significant person. Honestly, chances are, Joanne will never accomplish anything significant. In the town that she lives in, Joanne is never going to be someone who people in town will see as an important person. Joanne is ...read more

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Every Grandparent Can Testify That If Someone ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 11, 2008

Every Grandparent can testify that if someone would have just told them that grandchildren were so much fun, the choice would have been made to have them first! **** She was in the bathroom, putting on her makeup, under the watchful eyes of her young granddaughter as she'd done many times before. ...read more

Tags: Family

Something Seems To Be Missing

Contributed by James Snyder on Apr 10, 2021

Did you ever have a week when it felt like something was missing, but you didn't quite know what it was? I had that kind of a week this past week. It felt like something was missing, and I could not figure out what it was. The past week was typical in many regards. Everything seemed to be ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:9

Tags: Missing, Filling, Empty

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

That’s Why Doctors Call Us Patients

Contributed by James Snyder on Apr 17, 2021

For the past month I have been engaging with my eye doctor. I've had two cataracts removed which isn't a serious thing in itself. But what goes into this surgery is what baffles me. I've often wondered why doctors call us patients. I have figured out that the doctors are not patient, ...read more

Scripture: James 5:7

Tags: Surgery, Relationship

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Temptation Is Oh So Tempting

Contributed by James Snyder on Aug 7, 2021

At the beginning of the week, the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage informed me that she and some of her friends would be going thrift store shopping on Thursday. I nodded my head and smiled, not knowing where she was going with this. “Now,” she said, “you will have to take care of your lunch. ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:13

Tags: Humor, Temptations, Yielding

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Green Thumb Versus Black And Blue Thumb

Contributed by James Snyder on Oct 16, 2021

If you came to our parsonage, you would discover all over our property, plants and flowers. Just don’t ask me to identify what they are. I can tell a plant from a flower, but that’s as far as it goes with me. That is not true with the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage. She gets all the credit for ...read more

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Tags: Unity, Differences

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Why God Gave Me A Tongue

Contributed by James Snyder on Oct 1, 2022

One thing about getting older is that you begin to understand the old saying that you don’t know what you don’t know. It has been so true for me. When I think I know everything, something comes up that I never even thought about. Sometimes The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage brings up something ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 15:4

Tags: Blessing, Tongue, Curse

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

See Cookie Will Sneak

Contributed by James Snyder on Oct 29, 2022

For more years than I care to remember, I have been on a diligent pursuit, and I won’t stop until I reach my goal. My quest is to find a cookie I don’t like. Throughout the years, I have eaten every cookie I could find and loved them all. My biggest obstacle in this pursuit is The Gracious ...read more

Scripture: Mark 14:38

Tags: Temptation, Humor

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Learning What "Me-Time” Is All About

Contributed by James Snyder on Mar 18, 2023

Several months ago, The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage said she and her daughter and granddaughter were going to St. Augustine for a week and wondered if I wanted to go along. I said, “Let me think about it for a while, and I’ll get back to you.” I then overheard a conversation between my ...read more

Scripture: Amos 3:3

Tags: Vacation, Me Time

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

My Reward I’ll Eat It If I Want To

Contributed by James Snyder on May 6, 2023

One day last week, I was up early working in my office as I normally do. I happened to pause what I was doing for a moment and smelled this wonderful aroma. I know it wasn’t me because I hadn’t taken a shower yet. The aroma was coming from the kitchen area. I got up from my desk, walked out into ...read more

Scripture: 2 John 1:8

Tags: Reward, Chooses

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Having A Brain Can Be A Problem

Contributed by James Snyder on Jul 6, 2024

I have been showing people a picture of my brain for almost a month now. I’ve been having a lot of fun doing it and teasing people by saying, “I have proof that I have a brain.” In the beginning, I just believed that having a brain would be a wonderful experience for me. Little did I know that ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:12

Tags: Brain, Problems

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

[293]. A Message From A Poem – The Story Of William Shuttleworth

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Feb 19, 2026

[293]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – THE STORY OF WILLIAM SHUTTLEWORTH Alternate title if you like - WITNESS ON THE PATH OF LIFE Just to begin – you may wonder why I use =========== to separate stanzas. It is because the simple formatting in Sermon Central puts all the lines together and does ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:9-10, John 3:3, 2 Corinthians 5:17

Tags: Story Time, Christian Poetry, Christian Poems, Born Again, Saved, Crime, Coming To Christ, Converted, A Christian Story, Christ, Salvation, Testimony  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

All Bets Are Off!" Matthew 28: 1-7 Key ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 8, 2004

“All Bets Are Off!” Matthew 28: 1-7 Key verse(s): 5&6 “The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.’” “When the game begins, all bets ...read more

Tags: Easter Resurrection

Work With It!" Romans 12: 1-8: Key Verse(S): 6 ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Aug 10, 2004

“Work With It!” Romans 12: 1-8: Key verse(s): 6 “We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.” “All things being equal!” Where that may be the rallying cry of today’s philosophical democratically-driven culture, it wasn’t the impetus for justice in the Brunner household as I was ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:1-8, Mark 1:21-28

Tags: Family, Parenting

Denomination: Lutheran

How Dare You Accuse Me!" 1 Corinthians 15:55-58 ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Feb 8, 2005

“How Dare You Accuse Me!” 1 Corinthians 15:55-58 Key verse(s): 57:“But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” How dare you? Indignation. Though I have few hairs left on this bald pate, the few that I have will come to attention pretty quick should my dignity be ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:55-58

Tags: Greed, Sin Exposed, Sin General, Submission

Denomination: Lutheran

100 Names For Jesus In The Bible

Contributed by Garris Hudson on May 19, 2016

Advocate (1 John 2:1) Almighty (Rev. 1:8; Mt. 28:18) Alpha and Omega (Rev. 1:8; 22:13) Amen (Rev. 3:14) Apostle of our Profession (Heb. 3:1) Atoning Sacrifice for our Sins (1 John 2:2) Author of Life (Acts 3:15) Author and Perfecter of our Faith (Heb. 12:2) ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 2:1-11

Tags: Scripture, Jesus, Salvation, Names Of Jesus

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Spirit Of Power That We Receive Is Not Like ...  PRO

Contributed by Austin Mansfield on Oct 28, 2007

The Spirit of Power that we receive is not like the human power that we recognize as strong. It’s a power unlike anything we can do on our own. A young man growing up in the wrong part of Houston became a bully. He would get in fights in school, in the neighborhood, and began mugging people to ...read more

Scripture: Luke 24:49, Matthew 28:19-20, Matthew 28:19, Luke 9:57-67, Zechariah 4:6, Psalm 33:16-18  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Friend, Friendship

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

A History Of Thanksgiving ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 22, 2008

A HISTORY OF THANKSGIVING DAY In 1604 King James came to power in England. We hear his name often, as the most trusted version of the English Bible was translated during his reign – the King James Version. He was relatively tolerant of other religious opinions, except those that openly criticized ...read more

Tags: Thanksgiving Holiday