In Sermon Illustrations: "The World Is Getting Worse"

Warren Bennis In "Why Leaders Can't Lead", ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Warren Bennis in "Why Leaders Can’t Lead", writes: "The flying Wallendas are perhaps the world’s greatest family of aerialists and tightrope walkers.... I was struck with (Karl Wallenda’s) capacity for concentration on the intention, the task, the decision. I was even more intrigued when, several ...read more

Tags: Sermon On The Mount

On March 6, 1987, Eamon Coughlan, The Irish ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

On March 6, 1987, Eamon Coughlan, the Irish world record holder at 1500 meters, was running in a qualifying heat at the World Indoor Track Championships in Indianapolis. With two and a half laps left, he was tripped. He fell, but he got up and with great effort managed to catch the leaders. With ...read more

Tags: Faith

Watching A Trapeze Show Is Breathtaking. We ...

Contributed by Aubrey Vaughan on Jun 1, 2008

WATCHING A TRAPEZE SHOW IS BREATHTAKING. WE WONDER AT THE DEXTERITY AND TIMING. WE GASP AT NEAR-MISSES. IN MOST CASES, THERE IS A NET UNDERNEATH. WHEN THEY FALL, THEY JUMP UP AND BOUNCE BACK TO THE TRAPEZE. IN CHRIST, WE LIVE ON THE TRAPEZE. THE WHOLE WORLD SHOULD BE ABLE TO WATCH AND SAY, "LOOK ...read more

Tags: Holiness

Denomination: Baptist

Not ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 21, 2008

NOT IMPRESSED A story is told about Rabbi Joseph Schneerson, a Hasidic leader during the early days of Russian Communism. The rabbi spent much time in jail, persecuted for his faith. One morning in 1927, as he prayed in a Leningrad synagogue, secret police rushed in and arrested him. They took ...read more

Tags: Persecution

Something Better Down The Road  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 24, 2009

SOMETHING BETTER DOWN THE ROAD A football game was being played in Badger Stadium in 1982 in Madison, Wisconsin with more than 60,000 fans in attendance. The home team was losing. But out of the blue during time outs, when play was a at stop, the fans would jump up and roar with excitement. Why? ...read more

Scripture: John 16:33

Tags: Disappointment

Color Of The View

Contributed by John Williams Iii on Aug 17, 2009

COLOR OF THE VIEW "There is a house in New England where the owner designed a unique feature. The owner of the house often took visitors to the tower and would ask them to look through one of the windows. Each of the four windows was different. The red-tinted window could make it look like a hot ...read more

Tags: Judgment

Denomination: United Methodist

The Unique Christ

Contributed by Bill Butsko on Sep 10, 2009

THE UNIQUE CHRIST His birth was contrary to the laws of life. His death was contrary to the laws of death. He had no cornfields or fisheries but He could spread a table for five thousand and have bread and fish to spare. He walked on no beautiful carpets or velvet rugs, but He walked on the ...read more

Tags: Jesus Christ

Denomination: Christian Church

We All Have Scar Tissue On Our Lives From Sexual ...

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Feb 16, 2010

We all have scar tissue on our lives from sexual sin. This sin is ripping our culture apart today and it’s destroying the fabric of this nation. It’s responsible for ripping the family unit apart today more than ever. Lust today is called love but lust is not love! We watch the news and we see one ...read more

Tags: Lust, Sin Bondage To

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Hope Is A Source Of Life

Contributed by Ken Pell on Jun 5, 2011

HOPE IS A SOURCE OF LIFE Hope prays for God’s "will to be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10) and then seeks to be God’s agent of change! One writer says: "Biblical and Christian hope does not mean living in the clouds, dreaming of a better life. It is not merely a projection of ...read more

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 4:13

Tags: God Brings Hope

Denomination: Nazarene

Unaware Of The King's Presence  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 4, 2012

UNAWARE OF THE KING’S PRESENCE Steve Brown tells the frustrating story of some British social scientists. Following the end of British rule in India in the 1940s, a group of researchers wanted to study the impact of the end of British rule on the life of the nation. After six months, the British ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 21:1-16

Tags: Easter Palm Sunday

There Is No Racial Distinction In The Kingdom Of God

Contributed by Howard Gunter on Mar 29, 2017

All human beings are equally created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26-27). God loved the world so much that He sent Jesus to lay down His life for us (John 3:16). The “world” obviously includes all ethnic groups. I like to use the following illustration which works as well with ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 1:26-27

Tags: Human Life, Jesus Died For All

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Jesus Road A Donkey

Contributed by Barry O Johnson on Jun 25, 2018

Whenever a city was conquered in the ancient world, the type of animal the victorious king would ride as he entered a defeated town would make all the difference in the world to the people. If he was seated on a horse, the city was doomed; it was a sign that he had come in war, riding his ...read more

Tags: Horse, Justified, Enemies, Life, Reconciliation, Conquer, Donkey, King, Saved, Death, Afraid, Forgiveness, Jesus, Peace  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Order From Chaos

Contributed by Alison Bucklin on Mar 17, 2023

The late Harvard mathematician and philosopher, Alfred North Whitehead, maintained that the whole scientific enterprise of the western world rested upon the belief that at the bottom of things science would find order rather than chaos. Where animists were afraid to probe a world enchanted with ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 1:17, John 1:1

Tags: Science, Logos, Reason, Alfred North Whitehead

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Love: Needing Or Giving

Contributed by Alison Bucklin on Jul 26, 2023

“The typical example of Gift-love would be that love which moves a man to work and plan and save for the future well-being of his family which he may die without sharing or seeing; the second, Need-love, is that which sends a lonely and frightened child to its mother’s arms. And of course Divine ...read more

Scripture: Mark 12:29-31, Luke 10:27, 1 John 4:7-8, Matthew 22:36-39

Tags: Love, Love Of God, Love Of Neighbor

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Rodney Pickett Makes This Observation, "Love Is ...  PRO

Contributed by Clyde Grimes on Dec 28, 2002

Rodney Pickett makes this observation, “Love is the identifying mark of Christianity. In a world of hate, envy, and anger, love sticks out like a healthy thumb. When anyone walks away from an encounter ...read more

Tags: Jesus Teachings, Love For God

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

And People Who Do Not Know The Lord Ask Why In ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 9, 2006

"And people who do not know the Lord ask why in the world we waste our lives as missionaries. They forget that they too are expending their lives... and when the bubble has burst they will have nothing of ...read more

Tags: Evangelism How To

If I Profess With The Loudest Voice And Clearest ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 10, 2006

"If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the Devil are at the moment attacking, I am not confessing ...read more

Tags: Sharing Your Faith

Ghandi Said "I Could Accept Jesus As A Martyr, ...

Contributed by Aubrey Vaughan on Feb 12, 2007

Ghandi said “I could accept Jesus as a martyr, an embodiment of sacrifice, and a divine teacher, but not as the most perfect man ever born. His death on the cross was a great example to the world, but that there was ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

It Is Sometimes Frightening To Observe The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"It is sometimes frightening to observe the success which comes even to the outlaw with a polished techniqueBut I believe we must reckon with character in the end, for it is as potent a force in world conflict as it ...read more

Tags: Christian Values

If The Heart Is Devoted To The Mirage Of The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"If the heart is devoted to the mirage of the world, to the creature instead of the Creator, the disciple is lost.However urgently Jesus may call us, His call fails to find access to our hearts. Our ...read more

Tags: Discipleship