In Sermon Illustrations: "The Samaritan Woman"

The Prayer And The Chair

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 22, 2011

THE PRAYER AND THE CHAIR A woman called a pastor to come to the house to see her father. He goes to the house not knowing whether the man is Christian or not but he notices as he talks to him and the man answers back that he must be a Christian and there is a chair sitting close by. An empty ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:5-15

Tags: Prayer How To

Radical Faith  PRO

Contributed by Ken Pell on Jan 24, 2011

RADICAL FAITH I want to read to you the opening story from David Platt's book "The Radical Question" (Multnomah Press). Imagine a scene that took place in Asia not so long ago: A room in an ordinary house, dimly lit, all the blinds on the windows closed. Twenty leaders from churches in the ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 12:10-17

Tags: Persecution, Better Together

Denomination: Nazarene

Saved By Hope

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 17, 2011

SAVED BY HOPE An interesting item appeared in a Nashville newspaper, datelined Memphis (UPI): A woman named Hope pulled a man from chilly harbor waters after watching him drive his car off the bank in an apparent suicide attempt. Hope Phillips, thirty-eight, said Monday she was sitting in her car ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 42:1-11

Tags: God Brings Hope

The Story Of Catherine Lawes

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 26, 2011

THE STORY OF CATHERINE LAWES "Don’t set foot in the prison," people told her, but Catherine Lawes, whose husband was the warden at Sing Sing in 1921, went anyway. The first time there was a prison basketball game, she went, 3 daughters in tow and sat in the bleachers with the inmates. When she ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:12

Tags: Jesus Teachings

The Last Letter Of Karen Watson

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 18, 2011

THE LAST LETTER OF KAREN WATSON Our International Mission Board is working on a project called "The Last Letter." It’s actually an old tradition of soldiers and missionaries who as they boarded a ship, wrote their family and friends a letter that they think might be their final ...read more

Scripture: Mark 8:34-38

Tags: Missions

From Shackles To Statue

Contributed by Lee Strawhun on Sep 17, 2014

It was 1985 when Tim Cole was picked out of a lineup for a rape he never committed but would be convicted of and sentenced to serve 25 years. He was near the Texas Tech campus when the rape occurred and as a result was sent to prison because the victim picked the wrong man and the courts sentenced ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:5-9

Tags: Hope Of Justice, Victim, Forgiveness For Others, Continue In Faith

Denomination: United Methodist

Loving Neighbour

Contributed by Don Berry-Graham on Feb 29, 2016

A Little Pointer on Keeping a Balance Here’s a little bonus tip that I’ve found helpful to keep my wits about me as I live next to these wild Vikings we call sinners, pagans, and wacko unbelievers while keeping my vertical relationship with God strong. It’s called “whimsical holiness,” which is ...read more

Scripture: Luke 7:34

Tags: Witnessing Tools, Loving Neighbor

Denomination: Baptist

The Law, The Whole Law, And Nothing But The Law.

Contributed by Larry Turner on Jun 5, 2016

There is a story about a student at Cambridge University in England who entered the classroom on exam day and asked the proctor to bring him cakes and ale. The proctor refused, expressing astonishment at the young student’s audacity. At this point the student read from the four-hundred-year-old ...read more

Scripture: Deuteronomy 22:5-8

Tags: The Law, Bound By The Law, Judged By The Law

Denomination: Foursquare

Dont Be A Cookie Thief

Contributed by Flor Beloria on Dec 12, 2017

The Cookie Thief by Valerie Cox A woman was waiting at an airport one night, with several long hours before her flight. She hunted for a book in the airport shops, bought a bag of cookies and found a place to drop. She was engrossed in her book but happened to see, that the man sitting beside her, ...read more

Tags: Thief Cookie, Thankfulness, Gratitude, Presumption, Love Of God  (view more)  (view less)

Just A Touch

Contributed by Dr. Ronald Shultz on Dec 17, 2020

Mar 5:27 When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. 28 For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. 29 And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. 30 And Jesus, ...read more

Scripture: Mark 5:27-34

Tags: Faith, Desire, Touch, Crowds

Denomination: Baptist

The Funniest Funeral Sermon Ever!

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Dec 4, 2022

Two brothers had terrorized a small town in Alabama for decades. They lied, they cheated, they stole and they were two of the sorriest persons in the entire town. Then, unfortunately, one of the brothers died unexpectedly. The surviving brother went to the pastor of the local Baptist church. He ...read more

Tags: Death, Lies, Pastors, Churches, Funerals  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Preparing To Fall Into Temptation!

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jan 8, 2024

Some people fall into temptation, but a great many make plans for disaster ahead of time. "Son," ordered a father, "Don't swim in that canal." "OK, Dad," he answered. But he came home carrying a wet bathing suit that evening. "Where have you been?" ...read more

Scripture: James 1:10-15

Tags: Deceit, Spiritual Warfare, Temptation, Preparation, Lies, Disobedience, Defeat, Sin, Satan  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Hudson Taylor Learns About ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 10, 2010

Hudson Taylor Learns About Giving One wonderful testimony of faith from church history is that of Hudson Taylor, the first missionary to the interior of China (in the mid-1800s). He was a great evangelist because he learn “to move man, through God, by prayer alone.” To prepare for the loneliness ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:16

Tags: Giving Yourself

Called To Serve

Contributed by Dr John Singarayar Svd on Dec 1, 2023

In 1884, a devastating famine struck India, claiming over 50 lakh lives. In the midst of despair, Christian organizations from America, driven by compassion, sailed to India to provide medical aid and sustenance. Dr. John, accompanied by his daughter Ida Scudder, arrived in Ranipet. The dire ...read more

Scripture: Luke 10:25-37

Tags: Service, Called

Denomination: Other

Handel's Messiah-The Back Story

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Dec 9, 2023

George Frideric Handel's Messiah is one of the most beautiful musical renditions of Scripture ever created. What we don’t often hear about is the troubled back story during the writing of the Messiah. It was at this time that Handel was struggling financially because there was a shift in music, ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 9:1-7, Isaiah 53:3, 1 Timothy 6:15-16

Tags: Christmas, King Of Kings, Handel's Messiah, Rejected, Despised  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

I Was On My Honeymoon In The Bahama's When A Man ...  PRO

Contributed by John Mayes on Nov 1, 2005

I was on my honeymoon in the Bahama’s when a man walked up to me and said, "Would you like to buy some cocaine? You can tell everyone how much you really enjoyed the Bahama’s." After I said "No!" and got over the shock of that man’s boldness, I wondered how Jesus would have responded if someone ...read more

Scripture: John 4:7-15

Tags: Evangelism, Evangelism How To, Evangelism Fear Of, Salvation, Witness  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Pentecostal

Let Me Tell You About C.s.lewis, The Author Of ...

Contributed by Pat Cook on Feb 7, 2006

Let me tell you about C.S.Lewis, the author of the Chronicles of Narnia. In 1952 he had been writing to one of his fans an American woman named Joy Gresham, a recent convert to Christianity, and who had been a Communist Jew. She was also going through a hard divorce. He autographed her copy of his ...read more

Tags: Doubt

Denomination: Baptist

The Power Of Godly Hope

Contributed by Rick Crandall on Feb 23, 2006

*King Duncan tells the story that reminds us of the power of this hope. This happened in 1993, to a man named Terry Stout. Terry was the business manager for the Psychiatry Department at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. *One Fall morning Terry was running a little late, but (I’m sure led by ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:1-2, Hebrews 6:17-20

Tags: Despair, Salvation, Suicide, Godly Hope, Hope, Power Of God's Word  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

It Was The Winter Of 1926, An Age Where ...

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Dec 3, 2006

It was the winter of 1926, an age where narrow-mindedness and bigotry still had power in many places. A woman from Chicago named Thelma Goldstein decided to go to Florida for her first real vacation. She was not familiar with the area, and she unknowingly drove to a restricted hotel in North ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 53:3-5

Tags: Vacation

Denomination: Methodist

When I Was In Atlanta I Saw A Young Lady With ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 30, 2001

When I was in Atlanta I saw a young lady with blue hair and bright red streaked hair with yellow mixed underneath setting on a bench. -She had ear rings, nose rings, eyebrow rings and a lip ring. I went over to talk to her. I told her that I liked her hair. (I really did -she looked nice.) ...read more