In Sermon Illustrations: "This Is Good"

Unintentionally Humorous Texts: Micah’s Misfortunes, Part 1

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Mar 7, 2024

Introduction: The days of Israel’s judges, before Samuel and the kingdom, were known as ‘seesaw days”: Israel alternated between being true to the God of Israel, then abandoning Him to worship the idols of other nations. Israel would be oppressed, and then cry out to their God for help, but then ...read more

Scripture: Judges 17:1-6

Tags: Micah, Ephraim, Idols, Teraphim

Denomination: Baptist

Unintentionally Humorous Texts: Micah’s Misfortunes, Part 2

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Mar 11, 2024

Introduction: The first verses of Judges 17 tell the story of Micah. In a word, he stole a lot of money from his mother, but returned it to her after she pronounced a curse on the stuff—and, probably, the thief whoever it may have been. The section concludes with Micah establishing his own ...read more

Scripture: Judges 17:7-13

Tags: Micah, Idolatry, Levites, Mount Ephraim

Denomination: Baptist

Dancing In My Pajamas

Contributed by James Snyder on May 4, 2024

After 2 weeks of being sick with many days in bed, I have come to appreciate what some people go through when they have a severe sickness. My sickness wasn’t that devastating. It just sucked the energy out of me and caused me a lot of coughing and sneezing. I barely had enough energy to get out of ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 41:10

Tags: Health, Sickness, Dancing, Pajams

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Having A Brain Can Be A Problem

Contributed by James Snyder on Jul 6, 2024

I have been showing people a picture of my brain for almost a month now. I’ve been having a lot of fun doing it and teasing people by saying, “I have proof that I have a brain.” In the beginning, I just believed that having a brain would be a wonderful experience for me. Little did I know that ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:12

Tags: Brain, Problems

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

My Days Of Wonder In The Hospital

Contributed by James Snyder on Feb 1, 2025

Dr. James L. Snyder My plans for the New Year were horribly changed by ending up in the hospital. Around the middle of the month, it seemed like I may have had the flu. After all, everybody around me had the flu, and I just wanted to fit in with society in general. I had to cancel my Sunday ...read more

Scripture: James 1:2-4

Tags: Nurse, Hospital, Sick

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

[204]. A Message From A Poem - Once I Was Lost – Now I Am Saved

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Sep 17, 2025

[204]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM - ONCE I WAS LOST – NOW I AM SAVED (Shakespeare) When Macbeth heard that Lady Macbeth was dead these words were spoken – “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow Creeps in this petty pace from day to day To the last syllable of recorded time; And all our yesterdays ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 2:14, 1 Timothy 2:5, Acts 4:12, John 9:25

Tags: Christian Poems, Name, Salvation, Cross, Testimony, Rejection, Natural Man  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Can You Eat Too Many Cookies At Christmas?

Contributed by James Snyder on Dec 27, 2025

Can You Eat Too Many Cookies at Christmas? Dr. James L. Snyder Christmas was over, and the house began to quiet down in a good way. Don’t get me wrong, I love the noise when all the family is together. It is a good feeling to be with your family during this wonderful holiday season. I love the ...read more

Scripture: 1 Chronicles 16:8-10

Tags: Cookies, Christmas

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

[249]. A Message From A Poem – Strange Doctrines Are Among Us

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Jan 2, 2026

[249]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – STRANGE DOCTRINES ARE AMONG US [[ “Secernment” (third stanza) refers to the act or process of separating or distinguishing substances, often used in a physiological context to describe the secretion of substances in the body. It can also mean the ability to ...read more

Scripture: Acts 20:28, Acts 20:29-30, Matthew 7:15, 2 Timothy 3:13, 1 Timothy 1:18  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Wolves Among Us, Perverse, Elders, Errors, Christian Poetry, Christian Poems, Strange Doctrines, Faith, Discernment, Fight, Fail, Vigilant  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[293]. A Message From A Poem – The Story Of William Shuttleworth

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Feb 19, 2026

[293]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – THE STORY OF WILLIAM SHUTTLEWORTH Alternate title if you like - WITNESS ON THE PATH OF LIFE Just to begin – you may wonder why I use =========== to separate stanzas. It is because the simple formatting in Sermon Central puts all the lines together and does ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:9-10, John 3:3, 2 Corinthians 5:17

Tags: Story Time, Christian Poetry, Christian Poems, Born Again, Saved, Crime, Coming To Christ, Converted, A Christian Story, Christ, Salvation, Testimony  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

One Saturday Afternoon A Father And His Six-Year ...  PRO

Contributed by Brent Zastrow on Apr 18, 2001

One Saturday afternoon a father and his six-year old son Mickey were fishing near a bridge by the Kokomo Reservoir when a woman lost control of her car, slid off the bridge and hit Mikey at a rate of about 50 mph. Sheriff Marr, the boys grandfather, had seen the results of ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 9:10

Tags: Saint, Miracles Of Jesus, Jesus Christ, God's Provision

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

How Much Does Prayer Weigh?  PRO

Contributed by Danny Thomas on May 21, 2001

How Much Does Prayer Weigh? Louise Redden, a poorly dressed lady with a look of defeat on her face, walked into a grocery store. She approached the owner of the store in a most humble manner and asked if he would let her charge a few groceries. She softly explained that her husband was very ill ...read more

Tags: Prayer Answered, God's Provision, Examples Of Faith

Denomination: Pentecostal

Adopted By Christ  PRO

Contributed by Bruce Howell on Jul 9, 2001

Illus.: “Adopted by Christ” John was born into a family of 12 children. They were very poor. He was the youngest. He never remembered his father eating a meal with the rest of the family. He had to work long hours to feed his family. One day his father ran off with another woman, leaving his ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 15:11-20

Tags: Ashes, Beauty, Children, Trinity, God's Provision  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Wesleyan

Worship In Spirit And In Truth, By Leann Gabel ...  PRO

Contributed by A. Todd Coget on Aug 3, 2001

[Worship in Spirit and in Truth, by Leann Gabel of Amarillo, TX] In Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman, it didn’t take long before their conversation turned to worship. I would guess that was as hot a topic then as it is today. The woman’s question was sincere, "I know there are two ways to ...read more

Scripture: Nehemiah 1:5

Tags: Church Practices, Bible Truth, Holy Spirit General, Woman At Well

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

: "Scarred Hands” (James S. ...  PRO

Contributed by Bruce Howell on Aug 21, 2001

Illus.: “Scarred Hands” (James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited, pp. 119-120) A small orphaned boy lived with his grandmother. One night their house caught fire. The grandmother, trying to rescue the little boy asleep upstairs, perished in the smoke and flames. A crowd gathered around the ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:6-8

Tags: Lordship Of Christ, Forgiveness In Jesus, Christian Disciplines

Denomination: Wesleyan

Want To Know What Your Boat Is? Your Fear Will ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 22, 2001

Want to know what your boat is? Your fear will tell you. Just ask yourself this: What is it that produces fear in me - especially when I think of leaving it behind and stepping out in faith? For David, it is his vocation. He has been a builder for thirty-five years; he is in his late ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 14:22-33

New Orleans (Bp)--An Explosive New Study Says ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 31, 2001

NEW ORLEANS (BP)--An explosive new study says some gay people can turn straight if they really want to. Robert L. Spitzer, a psychiatry professor at Columbia University who led the study, said he couldn’t estimate what percentage of highly motivated gay people can change their sexual orientation ...read more

Tags: The Word, Words

A Preacher Recalls One Such Instance During ...  PRO

Contributed by Melvin Newland on Oct 11, 2001

ILL. A preacher recalls one such instance during the Sunday evening service. When he finished speaking, he asked, "Is there anyone else who would like to say something?" At that, a rather dignified visitor stood up & said, "Yes, sir, I’d like to say something. This is the first time I’ve been ...read more

Scripture: John 8:1-11

Tags: Repentance, Forgiveness For Others

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Imagine A Group Of People Coming To Your Home And ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 27, 2002

Imagine a group of people coming to your home and interrupting your Twinkie-eating, TV-watching routine with an urgent message: “Good News! We’re from the United States Olympic Committee. We have been looking for someone to run the marathon in the next Olympics. We have statistics on every person ...read more

Scripture: Acts 20:24, 1 Corinthians 9:24, 2 Timothy 4:7, Hebrews 12:1, James 1:1-4  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Race, Discipleship, Disciplines

I Recently Heard About A Doctor Who Seemed To ...  PRO

Contributed by Cameron Horsburgh on Feb 1, 2002

I recently heard about a doctor who seemed to have had a huge amount of success as a GP. Whilst he only had a small number of patients on his books, they all stayed in remarkable health. A journalist heard about this doctor, and decided to pay him a visit. Now this journalist, a man by the name of ...read more

Scripture: Luke 5:29-32, 2 Chronicles 7:14

Tags: God Brings Hope

Denomination: Holiness

Praying For Reagan  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 29, 2002

PRAYING FOR REAGAN Peggy Noonan, in her book "When Character Was King" shares a facinating story about President Reagan and his belief in Prayer: "'Do you know about his ulcer?' Nancy Reagan asked me. We were talking about his early days in the governship. He came home a few months into ...read more

Tags: God's Omnipotence, Worry, Prayer Adoration, Prayer General