In Sermon Illustrations: "The Millennial Reign Of Christ"

Billy Graham: Can Money Buy Happiness?  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 23, 2012

BILLY GRAHAM: CAN MONEY BUY HAPPINESS? Rev. Billy Graham: "The Bible warns that money cannot buy happiness. Money cannot buy true pleasure. Money cannot buy peace of heart. And money cannot buy entrance into the Kingdom of God. If God has given you more than your neighbors around about you, ...read more

Scripture: Luke 12:13-34

Tags: Money

Worship Warrior  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 17, 2012

WORSHIP WARRIOR I like the way songwriter and worship leader, Brian Doerksen, puts it. He says, "Becoming a worshipper means becoming a warrior... And by toning that down...we have sent men and women away from the church in droves. It's time to call them back," Doerksen says, "as worshiping ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:1-2

Tags: Worship Definition

Marcus Young And The Bible

Contributed by Hal Seed on Nov 9, 2012

MARCUS YOUNG AND THE BIBLE In the 1890s, Marcus Young moved his family to the country of Burma, which is now called Myanmar. He was digging a well one day when he noticed some mountain tribesmen staring down into the hole he was in. The tribesmen asked him, “Have you brought the book of ...read more

Tags: Bible Influence

Denomination: Baptist

Several Years Ago I Read A Story Written By A...

Contributed by Davon Huss on Aug 11, 2015

Several years ago I read a story written by a preacher in the Philippine Islands. One day he was passing a large church on Good Friday when he spotted many selling incense, candles, veils and rosaries. He also saw several small boys who were running about selling crosses. He heard them calling, ...read more

Scripture: Luke 9:23

Tags: Take Up Your Cross, Carrying Your Cross, Message Of The Cross, Cheap Grace

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Life's Challenges

Contributed by T.j. Conwell on Apr 18, 2017

Whenever I think about how difficult life is, I'm always reminded and encouraged by these two verses, especially this week. Imagine this: Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and God's only Son, who is about to be arrested and crucified for me ... prays for me. What if we treated one another like this ...read more

Scripture: John 17:11-12

Tags: Life Challenge, Servanthood, Faith In Jesus

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Smelly Man

Contributed by Daniel King, D. Min. on Jul 25, 2018

Main Idea: The only thing that can wash away sin is the blood of Jesus. Verse: “But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6 NKJV). Illustration: A smelly man came to visit me. He needed a bath so bad. He wanted to hug me and talk to me. I ...read more

Tags: Sin, Blood Of Jesus, Wash Away Sin

Denomination: Charismatic

What Is The Bible?

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Dec 2, 2020

What is the Bible? "THIS BOOK contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding, its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Timothy 2:15

Tags: Bible, Truth, Word Of God, Memorize The Scripture

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Saint Or Sinner

Contributed by John Bright on Feb 19, 2021

In the “Freedom in Christ” course, Neil Anderson and Steve Goss, share an illustration that I just love – “You know the fairy tale of the princess who decided to kiss a frog? When she kissed the frog, he changes into a handsome prince. Now imagine they go out to a fancy restaurant to celebrate ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:2

Tags: Princess, Prince, Sinners, Saints, Frog  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Methodist

Church Attendance In The Usa At An All-Time Low

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Mar 5, 2022

During the First Great Awakening, 20 percent of the colonial population came to Christ and joined churches. Today, less than 20 percent regularly attend church. Discussed at length in his book The American Church in Crisis, David Olson conducted research showing that only 17.5 percent of the ...read more

Scripture: 2 Chronicles 7:14

Tags: America, Revival, Church Attendance, Evangelism, Church, Worship  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Holy Spirit Had A Monopoly On Moody

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Nov 13, 2022

Dwight L. Moody was a shoe salesman from Chicago who fell in love with Jesus and started sharing his faith with everyone he met. Even though he was never ordained or had formal training, God used him to reach thousands for Christ as an evangelist. There was a group of British pastors who were ...read more

Tags: Holy Spirit, Preaching, Revival, Jealousy, Moody, Critical Spirit, Preachers  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Faith Is Resting My Whole Weight On God!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 23, 2023

When missionary John Paton was translating the Scripture for the South Sea islanders, he was unable to find a word in their vocabulary for the concept of believing, trusting, or having faith. He had no idea how he would convey that to them. One day while he was in his hut translating, a native came ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:22-23

Tags: Faith, Revival, Faithfulness, Spiritual Fruit, Fruit Of The Spirit  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Idolatry Of Cell Phones

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 26, 2023

t’s no surprise that 45% of Americans say that their phone is the most valuable possession. What is surprising is how far our obsessions with cell phones go: Over one-third of Americans (36%) say they’d give up their pets to keep their cell phone. 53% say that in a house fire or other disaster, ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:22-23, Galatians 6:1-2

Tags: Cell Phones, Lust, Faithfulness, Idolatry, Time, Fruit Of The Spirit, Self Control  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Haman Is A Type Of The Antichrist

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Aug 28, 2023

Some Bible students have seen in Haman an illustration of the “man of sin”, or the Antichrist, who will one day appear and ruthlessly rule over humanity (2 Thess. 2; Rev. 13). Haman was given great authority from the king, and Satan will give great power to this wicked world ruler we call the ...read more

Tags: Tribulation, Haman, Man Of Sin, Esther, End Times, Prophecy, Second Coming, Antichrist, Rapture  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

A Whole New Understanding Of Patience

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Mar 22, 2024

Hebrews 12:1 tells us to "run with endurance" the race set before us. George Matheson wrote, "We commonly associate endure or patience with lying down. We think of it as the angel that guards the couch of the invalid. Yet, there is a patience that I believe to be harder -- the ...read more

Tags: Patience, Prophets, Waiting On The Lord, Job, Endurance, Second Coming  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Goal Of Spiritual Gifts

Contributed by John Bright on Sep 24, 2025

Spiritual Gifts were documented in Class Meetings within the Wesleyan tradition. It was there that members shared their lives – the successes and the struggles. They would search the Scriptures for answers, and they would pray for each other. Those prayers included listening for a Word from the ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 4:10-11, 1 Corinthians 12:28

Tags: Spiritual Gifts, Small Groups, Class Meeting, Love

Denomination: Methodist

People Generally Don't Like Change

Contributed by Rick Crandall on Sep 30, 2025

People generally don't like change. As Mark Twain famously said, "The only person who likes change is a wet baby." There's a lot of truth to that quote. Many times, we think of change as being a bad thing, and we older people have seen a lot of bad changes in our lifetimes. *But ...read more

Scripture: Acts 16:16-34

Tags: Demon Possession, Spiritual Transformation, Paul, Salvation, Missions, Silas, Christian Service, Philippian Jailer, Evangelism  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

[055]. A Message From A Poem – Death For The Christian

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Mar 12, 2025

[055]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – DEATH FOR THE CHRISTIAN We deal with a subject today we often like to forget about. When we are young we give it little thought but when we are old, it tends to preoccupy our minds a lot more. This poem is not so much about the subject of death itself, as it is ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 1:18, 2 Corinthians 5:8, Hebrews 9:27

Tags: Egypt, Poetry, Poem, Christian Death, Absent From The Body, Keys Of Death And Hades, Death, Fear  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Bishop Lindsey's Story  PRO

Contributed by Sheila Crowe on Sep 26, 2002

Bishop Lindsey’s Story I recently had the opportunity to hear our Bishop, Lindsey Davis, speak. He is an avid golfer, so much so in fact that when we went to Augusta for the North Ga Conference meeting they gave him a green jacket – I’m not sure why – I’m kidding I do know the significance of a ...read more

Tags: Church Purpose Of, Sharing Your Faith, What Is Evangelism?

Denomination: United Methodist

Chris Had A Vision To Share The Gospel With Every ...

Contributed by Ken Sowers on Nov 11, 2002

Chris had a vision to share the gospel with every student at Dunwoody high school. Problem was that Chris was a skater and had very few friends. But he did have a great dream. Mark grew up in Miami with his mom. His folks split up and he moved to Atlanta, when he became a teen be fell to alcohol ...read more

Tags: Sharing My Testimony, Sharing Your Faith

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

There Once Was A Carpenter Who Visited One Of Two ...  PRO

Contributed by Karl Eckhoff on Feb 12, 2004

There once was a carpenter who visited one of two brothers who had recently grown embittered with each other over a misunderstanding over the farm they had managed together for the past 40 years. The carpenter was in need of work; or so he said, and he asked the one brother if there was anything ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:11-13

Tags: Jesus Teachings, Parable General

Denomination: Lutheran