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:
Tags:
Denomination:
Evangelical/Non-Denominational
Contributed by Steve Heartsill on Oct 25, 2000
based on 115 ratings
| 4,121 views
Pappy was a pleasant fellow. His face was quite drawn from age, but when he smiled, even his wrinkles seemed to smile with him. Pappy owned a pawnshop. Everyone who knew him respected and adored him. There was a room in the back of his shop where he spent time tinkering with his own precious items.
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Baptist
(Note: I used this illustration as part of a funeral message in January 2017)
Back when I was 11 years of age, I really discovered pro baseball! We lived about four hours away from Cincinnati, Ohio, at the time—which was no problem for me!
Well, I must have really pestered Dad because he
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Baptist
Contributed by Garris Hudson on Dec 2, 2020
“W. S. Plumer said, “We never see sin aright until we see it as against God. All sin is against God in this sense: that it is His law that is broken, His authority that is despised, His government that is set at naught Pharaoh and Balaam, Saul and Judas each said, ‘I have sinned’ which is only
...read more
Scripture:
Tags:
Denomination:
Evangelical/Non-Denominational
Contributed by Mark Winter on Jan 18, 2003
based on 58 ratings
| 2,626 views
In the Pacific Northwest, where it’s overcast most days, lots of people suffer from light deprivation, which results in mood swings and depression. There’s even a scientific name for this problem: “Seasonal Affective Disorder,“ or S.A.D. People suffering from S.A.D. have to set up special light
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Methodist
Contributed by Mark Hensley on Feb 4, 2002
based on 2 ratings
| 2,541 views
Stephen Olford is without question one of the great Preachers of the World:
Son of a missionary to Africa
Did not want to go through the trials and tribulations of a missionary.
Was mistreated by Christians in England and rebelled against God.
Studied to become an engineer.
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Baptist
Contributed by Bruce Howell on Feb 1, 2001
based on 228 ratings
| 11,123 views
The story is told (by Ernest Hemingway) of a father and his teenage son who had a relationship that had become strained to the point of breaking. Finally the son ran away from home. His father, however, began a journey in search of his rebellious son. Finally, in Madrid, in a last desperate
...read more
Scripture:
Tags:
Denomination:
Wesleyan
Contributed by Joel Pankow on Sep 6, 2001
based on 63 ratings
| 2,373 views
One day some manure came out from a prize bull - landing right in the middle of the walkway. It thought to itself, “I’m going to rise above the rest of this dung. I’m not going to live in the gutter - I’m going to be great and famous. That same day, a farmer’s hat fell off on top of the manure.
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Lutheran
Contributed by Jeeva Sam on Apr 5, 2001
based on 119 ratings
| 3,604 views
Julia had been singing "softly and Tenderly" by her father’s bedside. As the last word hummed in her throat, her father reached toward her. "I want that one," he said. His eyes rose to Julia in an urgent glare. "At the funeral?" she asked. He blinked slowly. "I’ll tell Reverend Walton," she said.
...read more
Tags:
Denomination:
Methodist
Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 9, 2002
based on 38 ratings
| 14,661 views
A FATHER'S FORGIVENESS
In his book, What’s So Amazing About Grace , Phillip Yancey tells the story of Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway grew up in a very devout evangelical family, and yet there he never experienced the grace of Christ. He lived a libertine life that most of us would call "dissolute"…
...read more
Tags:
Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jun 26, 2023
based on 1 rating
| 1,452 views
A broken parent came to me and said, "Pastor Larry, I raised my kids in church. I raised my kids to follow Christ, know His Word and put Him first in their lives. They all made decisions for Christ in our church and were baptized. But, now that they have all graduated from high school, not
...read more
Scripture:
Tags:
Denomination:
Evangelical/Non-Denominational
In the early days of IBM (variously dated to the 1920s–1960s), an employee was responsible for a major error that cost the company a significant amount of money—typically cited as $10 million (adjusted for inflation, that's over $100 million today; some versions say $1 million or $600,000). The
...read more
Scripture:
Tags:
Denomination:
Evangelical/Non-Denominational
Sermon Central