In Sermon Illustrations: "The Me Generation"

A Body Is Not Crippled 'til Its Heart Has Ceased ...

Contributed by Bruce Howell on Jan 22, 2009

A body is not crippled ’til its heart has ceased to praise. Louis Albert Banks tells of an elderly Christian man, a fine singer, who learned that he had cancer of the tongue and that surgery was required. In the hospital after everything was ready for the operation, the man said to the doctor, "Are ...read more

Tags: Suffering Joy In

Denomination: Wesleyan

Dying To Save Her Father

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 26, 2009

DYING TO SAVE HER FATHER The great Charles Spurgeon told a story that demonstrated a person’s concern for an unsaved family member. A rather young girl in Spurgeon’s congregation who had a terminal illness approached her pastor one day with thoughts about her upcoming funeral. She spoke of her ...read more

Tags: Evangelism The Lost

Volcanic Rock And Coal

Contributed by Owen Bourgaize on Feb 3, 2009

VOLCANIC ROCK AND COAL When I went to Italy on holiday, one of the tours was to visit Mount Vesuvius. I climbed to the summit, and there was a huge crater with smoke coming out of it because, although the volcano is dormant just now, deep down in the earth there's molten rock. When the pressure ...read more

Tags: Atonement

Denomination: Baptist

Gossip: What Will They ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 13, 2009

GOSSIP: WHAT WILL THEY SAY? Three elderly men were talking about what their grandchildren would be saying about them fifty years from now. The first one said, "I would like my grandchildren to say, ’He was a hard worker." The second one said, "50 years from now, I want them to say, ’He was a ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 18:8

Tags: Christian Values

The Treasure Of The Church  PRO

Contributed by Anne Benefield on Mar 5, 2009

THE TREASURE OF THE CHURCH St. Lawrence was martyred in 258 A.D., but we remember him not for his martyrdom. We remember him as the Archdeacon of Rome. His responsibilities included maintaining the sacred vessels of the small, struggling church and distributing alms to the poor. While he was ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 15:13-16

Tags: Poverty

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Love Your Heart Attack?

Contributed by Guy Mcgraw on Mar 12, 2009

LOVE YOUR HEART ATTACK? Bob Benson, in his book, "See You At The House," tells of a good friend who had a severe heart attack and almost died, but was now well on the road to recovery. Visiting him, Bob asked, "Bill, how do you feel about your heart attack?" Bill answered, "I hate it. It nearly ...read more

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Cast Your Net On The Right Side

Contributed by Herb Pulse on Jun 28, 2017

I come from a fishing family. When I became old enough to walk, I became old enough to experience the wonderful world of fishing. One of things I particularly love is throwing a shad net. Often times it becomes very draining work, and at the tender age of 12 I became the primary go-to-guy for ...read more

Scripture: John 21:6

Tags: Jesus, Net, Cast

Denomination: Christian Church

Grace Of God

Contributed by Sunitha Justin on Dec 30, 2018

Once a man died & went to the gates of heaven. AS he was about to enter in to heaven, Peter stands by the gates and refuses to let him in. Peter says.. tell me why I should let you into heaven. You list out your reasons. I will score you. And If you score 100 points, then I will let you in. So ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:10

Tags: Grace, Heaven

Denomination: Charismatic

Let God's Grace Find You

Contributed by Steve Kinnard on Mar 1, 2019

LET GOD’S GRACE FIND YOU, IT WILL COME WHERE YOU ARE 1.GOD’S Grace went to the mountain top for Abraham when he was about to sacrifice Isaac; GOD provided a ram 2.GOD’S Grace went to the prison where Joseph was; Found Him and made Him second in command in all Egypt 3.GOD’S Grace went to the ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:8-9

Tags: Grace, Mercy

Denomination: Pentecostal

Yanking And Pulling.

Contributed by Roy Fowler on Jun 19, 2020

A woman that had boarded a plane to visit family struggled to wedge her suitcase into the tight overhead bin. Eventually triumphantly closing the door and taking her seat. When the plane landed, she got up opened the bin and found her suitcase was struck so she began yanking and tugging. The ...read more

Scripture: James 5:10-11

Tags: Persistence, Resilience

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Resilience When Faced With Insurmountable Problems

Contributed by Roy Fowler on Sep 13, 2020

A woman that had boarded a plane to visit family struggled to wedge her suitcase into the tight overhead bin. Eventually triumphantly closing the door and taking her seat. When the plane landed, she got up opened the bin and found her suitcase was struck so she began yanking and tugging. The ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 10:28

Tags: Resilience, Insurmountable Problems

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Have You Lost The "scent"?

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Feb 1, 2021

DEMAS LOST THE "SCENT" A man bought a new hunting dog. Eager to see how the dog would perform, the man took him out to track a bear. No sooner had they gotten into the woods than the dog picked up the trail. Suddenly he stopped, sniffed the ground, and headed in a new direction. He had ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 4:10, 1 John 2:15-16

Tags: Compromise, Worldliness, Backsliding, Values, Loving The World  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Churches Closed Due To Lack Of Power!

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Feb 19, 2022

Bill Crowder gives us a greatIllustration of Need for the Power of the Holy Spirit: "The first winter that my wife Marlene and I were married was marked by severe blizzards. I can vividly remember one Sunday when we awoke to find that the electricity had been knocked out by an ice storm. ...read more

Scripture: Acts 1:11

Tags: Holy Spirit, Power, Acts 2, Church

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Swimming With The Sharks

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jan 4, 2024

A millionaire decides to throw a massive party for his fiftieth birthday. During the party he grabs the mic and he announces to his guests that down in the garden of his mansion he has a swimming pool with two great white sharks in it. “The man who dares to swim across that pool gets 1 MILLION ...read more

Scripture: James 1:1-8

Tags: Spiritual Battles, Abraham, Spiritual Maturity, Trials, Problems, Temptations, Tests Of Faith, Faith, Discipleship  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Story Of The Chair

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Feb 22, 2024

Those of you who have heard of Evangelism Explosion by D. James Kennedy know the illustration of the chair. You know, a person can say ‘Yes, I see that chair. That’s a chair. I acknowledge that’s a chair. I believe that’s a chair. And I think that chair could hold me up if I sat in it.’ But ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 5:10-13, Ephesians 4:30-32

Tags: Cross, Assurance, Blood Of Jesus, Faith In Christ, Works, Grace, Mercy, Trust, Salvation  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Do Not Love The World

Contributed by Ken Mckinley on Jan 7, 2025

Now imagine this with me for a second. Let’s say you have a pillow and let’s say the family dog got ahold of that pillow and used it for a litter box… so you took it out and put it in the dumpster, and a family of rats moved into it and used it for a bed. And just before the day the trash truck ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 2:15

Tags: Love Of Jesus, Desire, Love Of The World

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Funny Prayers

Contributed by John Bright on Feb 2, 2025

I found this collection of funny prayers on-line: • Lord, I ask that you give me the superpower to eat as much pizza as I want without gaining any weight. It would truly be a miracle and make my life complete. Amen. • Lord, I ask that you make all the calories in donuts and ice cream disappear, ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 2:5

Tags: Holy Spirit, Food, Prayer, Flesh

Denomination: Methodist

Doctrine Of Atonement

Contributed by John Bright on Mar 1, 2025

We need to have core beliefs that do not change over time – NO MATTER WHAT! The doctrine of atonement is under attack today. It is attacked by folks who look at humans and see each one as basically good who occasionally do bad things. They talk about each person’s freedom to become your ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 3:17

Tags: Scripture, Atonement, Authentic, Holy God, Fallen World  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Methodist

Sin With A Big S

Contributed by John Bright on Jul 12, 2026

• “If we say that we have no sin,” John is referring to what today we call Sin with a big ‘S’. This is what we call the sin nature within each person; it is a matter of the heart and desires. Paul put it like this in Romans 7:17: “But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in ...read more

Scripture: Romans 7:17, 1 Corinthians 15:3

Tags: Sin, Garden, Weeds, Sin Nature

Denomination: Methodist

Your Bucket Is Filled!" Philippians 2: 1-11: ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Aug 21, 2004

“Your Bucket is Filled!” Philippians 2: 1-11: Key verse(s): 4 “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Consider Your Neighbor!) On a recent Saturday, awakening to a beautifully sunrise and cool breezes, I lazed in bed putting tasks upon the ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 2:1-11

Tags: Christian Disciplines

Denomination: Lutheran