In Sermon Illustrations: "The First Day Of The Week"

Did God Create Evil?

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 1, 2008

DID GOD CREATE EVIL? Does evil exist? The university professor challenged his students with this question. Did God create everything that exists? A student bravely replied "Yes, he did!" "God created everything?" The professor asked.” Yes sir", the student replied. The professor answered, "If ...read more

Tags: Sin General

The Wood Had Now Burnt Long Enough To Be Glowing ...

Contributed by Paul Dietz on Apr 10, 2008

The wood had now burnt long enough to be glowing embers of charcoal. The fire was cracking and popping a little. The waves were slapping the shoreline of the lake. A mist was rising off the water and being burned away by the morning sun. It was a good morning for a breakfast of fish and bread. But ...read more

Denomination: *other

So,... You Say You ...

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

SO,... YOU SAY YOU BELIEVE? A. W. Tozer wrote, “Fortunately only a few things are matters of life and death, such as a compass for a sea voyage or a guide for a journey across the desert. To ignore these things is not to gamble or take a chance; it is to commit suicide. Here it is either be ...read more

Scripture: Acts 11:21

Tags: Trust

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Born, And ...

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

Born, And Born-again The birth of a baby is a wonderful thing! Doctors, nurses and parents regularly speak of the miracle of the birth of a child. News of a child’s birth is often reported by newspaper and radio, especially in rural areas. Exciting as it is, however, no natural birth of ...read more

Scripture: John 3:7

Tags: Salvation

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Blessed Are The Merciful

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

Blessed Are The Merciful In the Sermon on the Mount, we notice that Jesus' subject was not on how people are to be saved, but on the fruit of those who allow the Holy Spirit to work in their lives. One of the signs or evidences that a person has been converted is that he is now merciful. ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:7

Tags: Character

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Once Upon A Time...  PRO

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

Once Upon A Time... ...in 1725 to be exact, a little boy was born and was named John. His sailor father was gone to sea for long periods of time leaving John’s mother to raise him. She was a kind, God-fearing woman who loved him dearly and endeavored to raise him in the love of the Lord, ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16

Tags: Grace

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Free, But Still Enslaved

Contributed by Peter Loughman on Oct 20, 2008

FREE, BUT STILL ENSLAVED William Knibb sailed for Jamaica in November of 1824. He traveled to replace his missionary brother Thomas, who had died just a few months before his departure from England. His school in Jamaica dedicated to the children of slaves prospered. Slaves flocked from the ...read more

Tags: Confidence

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

Mr. Schemer On The Broad Road

Contributed by David Goering on Sep 20, 2018

There was a man named Mr. Evangelist who grabbed a handful of pamphlets containing scripture verses and the good news that had transformed his very own life. off he went into the highways and byways and as he went he began to share these pamphlets with everyone that providence would put in his ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 36:2, Matthew 7:13-14

Tags: Self Righteousness, The Broad Road, Self Flattery, Self Justification

A Collector’s Item?

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Feb 23, 2020

Hard to believe, but I may have a collector’s item! In my own house! Now, before you start sending me “Can I see it?” types of emails, maybe I should explain just what this “collector’s item” really is. Really, it wasn’t that much of a collectible, even from a couple of years ago. It’s only ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:19-20, Colossians 3:2

Tags: Stewardship, Collector's Items

Denomination: Baptist

Prophecies Of The Messiah

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Dec 21, 2020

The Bible Passes The Prophecy Test! There are literally thousands of prophetic predictions made in the Bible. Some of these prophecies are quite dramatic in nature. For instance, Isaiah mentions Cyrus the Persian King, by name, 125 years before he was born. Not a single one prophecy made in the ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:14-17, 2 Timothy 4:1-3

Tags: Bible, Messiah, Christmas, Jesus, Prophecy, Inspiration, Inerrancy  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Eyes Wide Open

Contributed by Todd Catteau on Jul 6, 2021

It’s happened to me more times than I care to admit. My wife will ask me to get something out of the pantry or refrigerator and, after a quick check, I’ll report that the item she wants is not there. Then she looks and there it is, right where she said it would be. Right there staring me in the ...read more

Tags: Beauty, Hope, Blessings

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Dna And Stained Glass

Contributed by Dr. Bradford Reaves on Sep 2, 2021

Dr. Francis Collins’s credentials are impeccable: he is a physical chemist, a medical geneticist, and the former head of the Human Genome Project. He is also, by his own account, living proof that there is no conflict between science and religion.” “In 2006, he published ‘The Language of God,’ in ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 1:27

Tags: Creation, Dna

Denomination: Brethren

I Was That Baby Boy Who Almost Died

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Mar 15, 2022

When I was 15 years old, I met Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior. It was the summer before my sophomore year in high school. That summer, the Lord called me to preach with an unmistakable calling on my life. I had a dream of one of my best friends one night. He was surrounded by flames and ...read more

Tags: Gospel, Miracles, God's Call, Prodigal Son, Testimonies, Father, Healing  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[013] A Message From A Poem - Academic Christianity

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Jun 14, 2024

[013] A MESSAGE FROM A POEM - ACADEMIC CHRISTIANITY If you did a survey in universities and places of higher learning, and in liberal theological colleges in our days, you would find very few Christians. The mind of man today is bent on humanism and the search for rationalism in an existential ...read more

Scripture: Luke 13:3, 1 Corinthians 1:18-19, 1 Corinthians 1:23-25

Tags: Academic Christianity, Professing Christians, Faith, Salvation, Foolishness, Humanism  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

An Observation About A Billboard Worker

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Oct 24, 2024

Text: Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, KJV: 9 Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. 10 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. How many of you have seen anybody changing the ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, John 15:5

Tags: Assistance, Billboards, Clergy Appreciation Month

Denomination: Baptist

Some Thoughts On The Death Of A Child

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Nov 1, 2024

Introduction: The death of a loved one is never easy to bear. The death of a child is no doubt even worse. Not counting wars, murder, enslavement, or any other heinous act, there were a number of people in both the Old and New Testaments who suffered the death of a child. Thanks be to God, I have ...read more

Scripture: 2 Samuel 12:22-23

Tags: David, Children, Death Of Infants

Denomination: Baptist

[033] A Message From A Poem – Belshazzar’s Time Had Ended

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Feb 21, 2025

[033] A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – BELSHAZZAR’S TIME HAD ENDED The purpose of this poem is to retell the story from Daniel in poem form. There is not much to say about it for it follows the biblical narrative, but it is the last stanza that is important in defining biblical principles. God’s word ...read more

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 1:10, Daniel 5:24-30

Tags: Wrath, Daniel, Judgment, Babylon, Belshazzar, Found Wanting  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[130]. A Message From A Poem – How Can I Give You Up, O My Son?

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Jul 12, 2025

[130]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – HOW CAN I GIVE YOU UP, O MY SON? This is a serious poem because it is based on a serious verse, one that has strong application to the cross. Here is the passage – {{Hosea 11:7-8 “My people are bent on turning from Me. Though they call them to the One on high, ...read more

Scripture: Hosea 11:7-8, Acts 2:23

Tags: Christian Poetry, Christian Poems, Easter, Heart, Compassion, Calvary, The Cross, Another Way, Love  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[186]. A Message From A Poem – Musings On Being In Heaven

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Sep 5, 2025

[186]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – MUSINGS ON BEING IN HEAVEN This is a lovely poem FOR ME, which is why I wrote it. How much do we think of heaven? I am afraid some are so earth-bound that they give little thought to heaven. Do we know what heaven will be like? Of course we do not. We can only ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:2-4, 1 Corinthians 2:9

Tags: Christian Poems, The Third Heaven, Jesus, Heaven, Center  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational