In Sermon Illustrations: "The Old Nature"

What Commitment?

Contributed by Tim Smith on Jul 1, 2012

WHAT COMMITMENT? When I was in my first year of ministry, I walked into our District preachers meeting at the same time as Bobbie Potter, who was pastor of Munholland UMC in Old Metairie. He asked if I preach last Sunday which I did. Then he asked, "What did you ask them to commit to?" I said I ...read more

Tags: Worship General

Denomination: Methodist

Billy Graham: Strong Statements

Contributed by Davon Huss on Aug 20, 2012

BILLY GRAHAM: STRONG STATEMENTS The preacher to the Presidents, Billy Graham, now 93 years old, has come out with some surprising statements in the past few months. Recently, Mr. Graham quotes his late wife Ruth as saying, "If God doesn't punish America, He'll have to apologize to Sodom and ...read more

Tags: Judgment

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Jealous In A Restaurant  PRO

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Jan 10, 2013

JEALOUS IN A RESTAURANT There is an old story about an older couple having dinner in a restaurant. The wife sees another couple about their age sitting in a booth nearby. She sees the husband sitting close to his wife, with his arm around her. He is whispering things in her ear, and she is smiling ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:28

Tags: Contentment, Marriage General

Denomination: Baptist

Angel At Fredericksburg

Contributed by Perry Greene on Mar 25, 2013

ANGEL AT FREDERICKSBURG No longer able to withstand the wrenching moans of the suffering wounded and dying Union soldiers, 19 year old Confederate Sergeant Richard Kirkland of the 2nd South Carolina approached Brigadier General Joseph Kershaw, CSA, to seek permission to go to their aid. Initially ...read more

Tags: Angels

Denomination: Independent/Bible

They Won't Let Me In, Either!

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jan 28, 2014

THEY WON’T LET ME IN, EITHER! Years ago in the Deep South, a Baptist church was struggling over whether or not to allow a black gentleman to join their church. He had been their janitor for years and decided he wanted to be part of the church family. A special vote of the congregation was called ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 33:1-20

Tags: Church, Racism, Presence Of God

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Chapter 11

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Mar 4, 2014

Two old friends met one day after many years. One graduated from a prestigious college and was very successful. The other had not attended college and was very poor. The poor friend said, "How has everything been going with you?" The successful friend said, "Well, one day I opened the Bible at ...read more

Scripture: James 4:1-11

Tags: Wealth, Riches, Success

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

I Was Driving Home One Sunday From Trinity Of...

Contributed by Tim Smith on May 28, 2015

I was driving home one Sunday from Trinity of Gentilly, where I was serving. I was on Napolean headed toward the river and had just passed Pascale Manales when I saw Covenant Presbyterian Church at the corner of St. Charles Ave. I then had a vision of younger families in the Uptown and Garden ...read more

Scripture: Acts 16:1-10

Tags: Holy Spirit, God's Guidance, Visions

Denomination: Methodist

Two Trees

Contributed by Steve Kinnard on Feb 15, 2019

TWO TREES Imagine you are walking through the woods on a path, one side of the path is in sunlight and one side is in darkness. On each side of the path is a tree. The tree on the left is in darkness and the tree on the right is bathing in the sunlight. The tree on the left is old, scary, and ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 1:1-6

Tags: Evil, Good

Denomination: Pentecostal

Sowing And Reaping

Contributed by Steve Kinnard on Feb 15, 2019

SOWING and REAPING In my life time I’ve eaten a lot of taters and beans In fact, I’ve grown a lot of taters, and I’ve grown a lot of beans. But I’ve never raised beans from a tater plant, nor have I ever got taters from a bean bush. If fact, I found that 99% of the time you reap what you sow, ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 6:6-8

Tags: Sowing, Reaping

Denomination: Pentecostal

Redwood Trees Teach A Lesson On Unity

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Aug 12, 2019

The huge redwood trees in California are considered the largest living things on earth and the tallest trees in the world. Some of them are over 300 feet high and over 2,500 years old. One would think that trees so large would have a tremendous root system, reaching down hundreds of feet into the ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 2:1-9

Tags: Unity, Working Together

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Inn

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Nov 25, 2019

The INN was full. The "inn" is mentioned in the Old Testament, and was still in operation in the New. The Inn was located on land that had been given to Chimham by DAVID (2 Samuel 19:32-40). It was a place to accommodate a number of TRAVELERS (Jeremiah 41:17). Holman Bible Dictionary ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:6-7

Tags: Christmas, Bethlehem, Inn, No Room At The Inn

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Christmas Cards Can Be Funny!

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Dec 21, 2020

Our culture really gets into Christmas cards. It’s reported that Americans send 2.1 billion of them each year. Hallmark alone has more than 2,700 Christmas card designs. I don’t always read the cards but do like to catch up on those famous “Our-family-is-perfect Christmas letters” often found ...read more

Scripture: John 1:1-12

Tags: Christmas, Christ, Holidays, Laughter, Christmas Humor  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Many Years Ago A Boat Was Wrecked In A Storm On ...

Contributed by Bobby Scobey on Jun 6, 2007

Many years ago a boat was wrecked in a storm on Lake Michigan at Evanston, Illinois. Students from Northwestern University formed themselves into rescue teams. One student, Edward Spencer, saved seventeen people from the sinking ship. When he was carried exhausted to his room, he aside, “Did I do ...read more

Denomination: Pentecostal

The Happy Hypocrite." It Is A Story About A Man ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

“The Happy Hypocrite." It is a story about a man who was born with an awful facial deformity. He grew up alone and lonely. When reaching adulthood, he decided to move from his town to begin a new life. On his way he discovered a beautiful mask that fit his making him look handsome. At first the ...read more

Tags: Grace

Feb. 23, 2007, Nashville, Tenn. - A Rare, ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Feb. 23, 2007, NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A rare, 184-year-old copy of the Declaration of Independence was found by a bargain hunter at a Nashville thrift shop. Michael Sparks, a music equipment technician, is selling the document in an auction March 22nd at Raynors’ Historical Collectible Auctions in ...read more

Tags: Faith General

Someone Shared With Me A Story This Week Of A ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Someone shared with me a story this week of a young boy who witnessed a Baptism at his local Baptist Church. And he heard how the minister described it made that person part of the family of God. This got the young boy to thinking and so the next morning he decided to baptize the family cats. He ...read more

Tags: Peace

The Chicago Tribune Carried A Story Titled "Man ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

The Chicago Tribune carried a story titled “Man Electrocuted After Ignoring Warnings .” Jason Grisham shouldn’t be alive. During his attempt to scale an electrical tower, the 22-year-old man received a shock that is usually fatal. Partway up the tower, 69,000 volts of electricity coursed through ...read more

Tags: Jesus Teachings

The Scary Ride

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

A father said: On a summer day I took my three-year-old daughter to a Kiddy Park in Dallas, Texas to ride the rides. I put her on a small ride which she insisted on trying even though it was the ’scariest.’ As she whipped around the corners in the kiddy car, she wrinkled up her face into a ...read more

Tags: God's Omnipotence

Sadly, We Want A Religion That Doesn't Ask Us To ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Sadly, we want a religion that doesn’t ask us to sacrifice, not even for a moment. Bob McFall, was a 39 yr. Old bachelor suffering from Aplastic Anemia. He needed a bone marrow transplant. A search was conducted among his family and they discovered that his first cousin was an ideal match to donate ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 2:1-3

Tags: Easter Palm Sunday

Humorus Story: God Was Once Approached By A ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Humorus story: God was once approached by a scientist who said, "Listen God, we’ve decided we don’t need you anymore. These days we can clone people, transplant organs and do all sorts of things that used to be considered miraculous. "God replied, "Don’t need me huh? How about we put your theory ...read more

Tags: Ot Characters