In Sermon Illustrations: "Three Hundred Denarii"

Abraham Lincoln's Humble Beginnings Have Become ...

Contributed by Ajai Prakash on Dec 8, 2009

Abraham Lincoln’s humble beginnings have become part of American lore. But one historian says that the most difficult part of young Abraham’s life came not during his early years in a Kentucky cabin, but after Thomas Lincoln moved the family to Indiana in 1816. The family arrived in Indiana during ...read more

Tags: Humility

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

From The Balcony

Contributed by Ken Kersten on Jan 15, 2010

FROM THE BALCONY A man lay sprawled across three entire seats in the movie theater. When the usher came by and noticed this, he whispered to the man, "Sorry, sir, but you're only allowed one seat." The man mumbled but didn't budge. The usher became impatient. "Sir, if you don't get up from there ...read more

Tags: Grace

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Fasting Together: The Minnesota Grasshopper ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 4, 2010

FASTING TOGETHER: THE MINNESOTA GRASSHOPPER SWARM In Minnesota, during the summer of 1876, there was a swarm of grasshoppers destroying the crops. There was a fear that the grasshoppers would return, so Governor John S. Pillsbury proclaimed a day of prayer and fasting on April 26, 1877, urging ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 58:1-14

Tags: Fast

Nfl Players Are Some Of The Strongest Most ...

Contributed by Roger Miller on Apr 27, 2010

NFL Players are Some of the strongest most disciplined athletes in the world-and exactly who you would want to walk with you down a dark alley! But look at Michael Vick and Big Ben and you know for a fact they are weaklings against sin! They are a worthless savior! It is a reminder that all ...read more

Tags: Sports

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Sin Is Like A Raccoon

Contributed by Rodelio Mallari on Dec 12, 2010

SIN IS LIKE A RACCOON In A View from the Zoo, Gary Richmond, a former zookeeper, has this to say: Raccoons go through a glandular change at about 24 months. After that they often attack their owners. Since a 30-pound raccoon can be equal to a 100-pound dog in a scrap, I felt compelled to mention ...read more

Tags: Christian Disciplines

Denomination: *other

Guard Duty

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 15, 2011

GUARD DUTY When I was in the U.S. Army, I remember we had to pull guard duty many times. The purpose of guard duty was to ensure that other soldiers, equipment, or areas were protected from the enemy. I can recall that in basic training, or boot camp, we had to memorize three General Orders and ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 4:23

Tags: Heart

Perfect Day For Evil

Contributed by Brad Henry on Sep 13, 2011

PERFECT DAY FOR EVIL As I gave the opening prayer at Charlotte Motor Speedway to Honor 9/11, I met this man in a Fireman’s’ uniform with a New York accent. The Speedway had flown in three men who had been First Responders that day 10 years ago. This man gave me a chilling account of his day. His ...read more

Tags: Holidays Civic

How The Mighty Fall

Contributed by Tim Smith on May 12, 2013

HOW THE MIGHTY FALL Jim Collins has written a book called "How the Mighty Fall" about businesses who at one time were strong and effective and yet went from hero to zero during the last decade. Motorola was number one in cell phones in the world in 2004 and today they are on the edge of ...read more

Tags: Pride, Attitude General, Temptation General

Denomination: Methodist

Feasts In The Bible

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 11, 2014

There are seven feasts in the Bible and they help us to tell the time. In fact, the Hebrew word for "feast" is moadim, used 223 times in Scripture and means "appointed times". The feasts represent the calendar of God’s plan for the ages. Four of the feasts were historically fulfilled in Christ’s ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 12:1-13

Tags: Second Coming, Passover, Feast

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Contentment

Contributed by Paul Steen on Dec 11, 2017

Two old friends met each other on the street one day. One looked sad and almost on the verge of tears. His friend asked, “What has happened to you, my old friend?” The sad fellow said, “Let me tell you. Three weeks ago, my uncle died and left me forty thousand dollars.” “That’s a lot of money,” ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:11-13

Tags: Contentment, Satisfaction, Content

Denomination: Calvary Chapel

Awesome Achievement (Moffatt's Law)

Contributed by Andrew Moffatt on Jan 31, 2018

Awesome achievement And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. - Paul. (1 Corinthians 13:13) Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians writes about love in chapter thirteen, but he finishes the chapter by mentioning two other powerful things, ...read more

Tags: Achievement, Confident Belief, Faith, Love, Law, Hope, Action  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Salvation Army

Assumptions And Arrogance

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Nov 12, 2019

Four people—a pilot, a professor, a pastor, and a hiker—were flying in a small plane when the engines died. The pilot said, “There are only three parachutes. Since this is my plane, I’m taking one of them.” He put it on and jumped out. The professor said, “I’m brilliant and the world needs me, so ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 5:13-20

Tags: Mistakes, Arrogance, Assumptions, Snob, False Confidence, Errors  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Christmas Present Unrealized

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Nov 25, 2019

This is a true story. Freddie and John were fortunate enough to have a season ticket to watch Chelsea soccer in the UK. They could not help noticing that there was always a spare seat next (B14) to them and they had a friend who would love to buy a season ticket, especially if all three could have ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:1-20

Tags: Christmas, Christmas Present, Unattended Effect, Missed Opportunity

Denomination: Independent/Bible

The Wrong Target

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on May 31, 2021

Emmons loses gold medal after aiming at wrong target! 2004 Washington Post: Matt Emmons of the United States shoots at wrong target, finishes eighth. (Douglas C. Pizac -- AP) Matthew Emmons is an elite athlete ! He was an accounting major from Browns Mill, New Jersey. He was a four-year ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 22:26-30, 1 Corinthians 9:24, 2 Timothy 2:5, Hebrews 12:1-3

Tags: Purpose, Priorities, Idolatry

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Gossip Test

Contributed by John Bright on Jun 1, 2021

Another basic concept – sin creates spiritual blindness. Let me illustrate with my favorite sin to talk about… GOSSIP. I’ll stop right here and make sure you know how I define gossip. Before you tell someone a story about another person (even disguised as a prayer request), it needs to pass all ...read more

Scripture: Luke 6:37-45

Tags: Sin, Gossip, Spiritual Blindness

Denomination: Methodist

The Narrow Definition Of Neighbor

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Mar 20, 2022

With their passion for definition, Jewish Rabbis sought to define who a man's "neighbor" was. They confined the word "neighbor" to include only their fellow Jews. For instance, some of them said that it was illegal to help a Gentile woman in her time of childbirth for ...read more

Tags: Levites, Priests, Rabbis, Parable, Neighbor, Kindness, Good Samaritan  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Buried With A Fire Extinguisher!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jun 6, 2022

An interesting newspaper clipping from 1999 told of a British man who was quite a character. Two or three days AFTER his funeral his friends started getting signed postcards from him. The cards said "wish you were here" and were addressed from ...read more

Tags: Hell, Death, Eternity, Judgment, Deceived  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Gossip-Free Church

Contributed by John Bright on Sep 23, 2025

I like to illustrate this kind of thing by talking about gossip. I believe it is the most tolerated sin in every congregation. As always, I like to share my definition of gossip. Something is not gossip if it can pass three tests: ? 100% Truth - You heard/saw it directly – can’t be repeated from ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:29

Tags: Truth, Gossip, Holier Than Thou

Denomination: Methodist

Pursuing Butterflies!" Luke 22:24-30 Key ...

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Apr 1, 2005

“Pursuing Butterflies!” Luke 22:24-30 Key verse(s) 24:“Also a dispute arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest.” We live to benefit ourselves and not others. Are you offended by this statement? It certainly isn’t what the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches us to put others ...read more

Scripture: Luke 22:24-30

Tags: Christian Disciplines, Forgiveness General

Denomination: Lutheran

You’re Probably Familiar With The Book ...  PRO

Contributed by Alan Perkins on May 9, 2001

You’re probably familiar with the book "Moby Dick". Even if you’ve never read it, you know the story: Captain Ahab goes in search of a great while whale, and is finally killed when the whale attacks and destroys his ship. But you probably didn’t know that this scene in Herman Melville’s novel was ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:13-20, Matthew 5:21-37, Matthew 5:38, Matthew 5:6, Matthew 22:15-22, Ezekiel 37:12-14  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: God's Omniscience, Holy Spirit In Believers, Knowing God's Will, Jehoshaphat

Denomination: Baptist