In Sermon Illustrations: "Three Hundred Denarii"

Rocky

Contributed by Aubrey Vaughan on Dec 12, 2008

ROCKY One of the biggest movies of modern times, "Rocky" starring Sylvester Stallone, almost never got made. Stallone was struggling to find work as a screenwriter. He saw a fight against Ali and little-known Church Wepner. Wepner went 15 rounds, and it gave Stallone an idea. Three days later, ...read more

Tags: Cross

Denomination: Baptist

The Person God Blesses

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 12, 2008

THE PERSON GOD BLESSES First, what do we notice about the Person God blesses. A. The person God blesses has had a conversion to God's ways. Where do I get this concept? I get it from Abram’s name change. When we first meet him he is known as "Abram." After an encounter with God (Gen. 17:5) he is ...read more

Tags: Discipleship

Someone Came Up With These Observations About ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 28, 2008

Someone came up with these observations about life - insights that are humorous: 1. A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand. 2. I love cooking with wine - sometimes I even put it in food. 3. If it weren’t for stress, I’d have no energy at all. 4. Whatever hits the fan will not be evenly ...read more

Tags: Miscellaneous

Steven Curtis Chapman Talks About His Tragedy

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 12, 2009

STEVEN CURTIS CHAPMAN TALKS ABOUT HIS TRAGEDY Two months after the tragic accident that claimed the life of his five-year-old daughter Maria Sue, Steven Curtis Chapman appeared with his wife and three oldest children on CNN’s "Larry King Live" Aug. 7 to testify to the solid hope believers have in ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Tags: Comfort

Habits

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 17, 2009

HABITS The American Heritage Dictionary "A recurrent, often unconscious pattern of behavior that is acquired through frequent repetition." It comes from the idea "to have, to hold, possess." Roman poet Ovid in 43 BC: "Nothing is stronger than habit." Habit is a cable; we weave a thread each day, ...read more

Tags: Character

Standing At The Edge Of The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 9, 2009

STANDING AT THE EDGE OF THE PRESIDENCY In early 1975, Jimmy Carter, the ex-governor of Georgia, began campaigning in Iowa, the site of the first statewide contest in the race for the 1976 Democratic presidential nomination. Carter knew almost no one in the state, and his first piece of business ...read more

Scripture: Joshua 3:1-17

Tags: Perseverance, Trials And Difficulties

Grave Of The Unknown

Contributed by Peter Loughman on Apr 13, 2009

GRAVE OF THE UNKNOWN There we stood bracing ourselves against the cold wind. It was cloudy, it was icy, the wind was blowing hard, it was not a pleasant day. The director said to me, "Peter, I think we should get started now." There were three of us there, myself, the funeral director and the man ...read more

Tags: Death

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

God Moment: Wow Impact

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Jun 10, 2009

GOD MOMENT: WOW IMPACT Chilly Chilton is the Sr. Pastor of Real Church in the inner city of Detroit. His church people have to listen 3 times a day to the Muslims call to prayer as it is broadcasted through the air waves. Chilly founded Real Church in June 2004. His community is called Hamtramck. ...read more

Tags: God's Provision

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

He Leadeth ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 14, 2009

HE LEADETH ME When Joseph Gilmore was just out of seminary, he filled in a couple of weeks at FBC in Philadelphia, PA. And he gave this testimony: "At the mid-week service, on the 26th of March, 1862, I set out to give the people an exposition of the 23rd Psalm, which I had given before on three ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 23:2

Tags: Wisdom

Police Officer Saves Choking ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 6, 2009

Police Officer Saves Choking Child Listen to the story of Les Brown, a San Diego police officer, who was driving down a new section of the interstate - Highway 5 - one day! He heard an emergency alert over his police car radio - a code blue - indicating that someone was dying! The address was ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 2:4

Tags: Heroism

Pow's Freed In Philippines During World War Ii, ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 10, 2009

POW’s Freed in Philippines During World War II, as told by Hampton Sides in his book “Ghost Soldiers.” In his book Ghost Soldiers, Hampton Sides tells of a dramatic mission during World War II. On January 28, 1945, hand-selected Army Rangers and Filipino resistance slipped 30 miles behind enemy ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:1

Tags: War, Freedom From Bondage

Rare Italian Automobile Good Only For ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 24, 2009

Rare Italian Automobile Good Only for Show I heard this week about a very, very special automobile. It was built in the 1920’s by the Italian manufacturer Bugatti, and it was designed to be sold to the outrageously wealthy. This car was equipped with 450 horses under the hood; it was some 22 feet ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:19-21

Tags: Materialism

Listen To This From A Guy Named Per Nilsen, From ...

Contributed by Brian La Croix on Dec 15, 2009

Listen to this from a guy named Per Nilsen, from Burnsville, Minnesota: Last week my son, Bjorn, got sick. I took his temperature, and it was 102.5 degrees. The Children’s Advil came out. He slugged down the appropriate dose for his size. Forty-five minutes later the fever was down to 100. Just ...read more

Tags: Death

Denomination: Wesleyan

If I Survive, I'll Be Ok

Contributed by Jim Kane on Feb 27, 2010

IF I SURVIVE, I'LL BE OK John Ortberg tells the story of going to a dude ranch in Arizona at the instance of his wife who felt the vacation was not complete without "the exhilaration of a truly challenging horseback ride." (His exact words.) The first time he went out at the ranch, he did so with ...read more

Tags: Faith

Denomination: Church Of God

A Small Congregation In The Foothills Of The ...  PRO

Contributed by Paul Wallace on Mar 25, 2010

A small congregation in the foothills of the Great Smokies built a new sanctuary on a piece of land willed to them by a church member. Ten days before the new church was to open, the local building inspector informed the pastor that the parking lot was inadequate for the size of the building. Until ...read more

Scripture: Acts 2:1-10

Tags: Faith, Mountain Moving

Denomination: Wesleyan

Phil Sheldrake's Story

Contributed by Warner Pidgeon on Apr 10, 2011

PHIL SHELDRAKE'S STORY At the age of 14 Phil Sheldrake was invited by a school friend to attend an event called Festival ’89. The event was being held on Sun Corner in Billericay and hosted by the preacher J. John. That night, Phil came to find a personal faith in Jesus. With his best friend, ...read more

Tags: Youth

Denomination: Anglican

God's Word Has Power

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 3, 2011

GOD'S WORD HAS POWER In an interview about his book The Folly of Prayer (IVP, 2009), author and pastor Matt Woodley shared a story about his friend Theresa. She had married the man of her dreams, but soon after that dropped into the pit of a deep depression. Everything went dark in her mind and ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:26-27

Tags: Bible Influence

Attitude Not Aptitude  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 6, 2011

ATTITUDE NOT APTITUDE Jesus' message here is that everybody can be great ... because anybody can serve. Dave Stone says that "service is the language of grace." One day a couple of church members were out distributing loaves of bread in a low-income housing complex. They came to an apartment ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 4:10-11, 1 Corinthians 2:9-11, Mark 12:30-31, 1 Peter 4:10, Mark 12:1-27  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Love, Servanthood

Angels Of Reconciliation  PRO

Contributed by Tim Smith on Feb 26, 2012

ANGELS OF RECONCILIATION With his life in disarray, Steven Lavaggi sat on his bedroom’s wooden floor, and began searching his Bible for answers. His wife had just left him to marry a writer for The Rolling Stone Magazine. Ten days later, Steven discovered his son was stricken with Juvenile ...read more

Scripture: 2 Thessalonians 2:1-17, James 2:15-20

Tags: God Brings Purpose

Denomination: Methodist

Spiritual Redwoods

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 18, 2012

SPIRITUAL REDWOODS Can you imagine a redwood tree saying, "I’d just rather remain a little bush"? That would seem insane, right? I want to put up on the screen some pictures of redwood trees. They are truly magnificent. My oldest daughter and her husband were married at the foot of redwood that ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 1:3-14

Tags: Growth In Christ