In Sermon Illustrations: "Thy Will Be Done"

I Knew My Father Was Pleased

Contributed by Revd. Martin Dale on Jan 6, 2011

I KNEW MY FATHER WAS PLEASED It reminds me of a story that Jonathan Goforth (1859-1936) the great Canadian missionary in China, used to tell. Jonathan’s father put him in charge of one of the family farms at the age of 15. He drew special attention to one very large field, which had become choked ...read more

Tags: Obedience

Denomination: Anglican

Do Whatever The Champion Does

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 24, 2011

DO WHATEVER THE CHAMPION DOES In 1976, Finland’s Lasse Viren made Olympic history when he became the first man to win both the 5,000 and 10,000 meter races in successive Olympiads. After his victory, his coach decided to take on the record of the legendary Emil Zatopek. Earlier in the century at ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 5:1-5

Tags: Discipleship

Precious Stone

Contributed by Ronnie Miller on Jul 31, 2011

PRECIOUS STONE Peter says that Jesus is a living stone rejected by men, but chosen by God and precious. He also says that we are living stones...so we are precious to God also. We are precious to God because of what Jesus has done for us. If we are precious to God and he calls us a living stone, ...read more

Scripture: 2 Peter 2:1-3

Tags: Atonement, Persecution, Troubles, Trial

Denomination: Baptist

What Is Not God's Will

Contributed by Mark Stepherson on Oct 7, 2011

WHAT IS NOT GOD'S WILL Sometimes we want things we know is not God's will. Jay Kesler wrote of a time when he caused an auto accident. He prayed that it did not happen, but it did. I know how the young Jay Kesler felt. I've done things that I wanted to undo and said things that I wanted to ...read more

Tags: Prayer How To

Denomination: Baptist

A Few More Hours

Contributed by Jerry Cosper on Jan 23, 2013

A FEW MORE HOURS A young lady busied herself getting ready for a blind date. He had promised dinner at an exclusive downtown restaurant with live music and dancing. Wanting to make a good first impression she had taken the day off work. She cleaned her apartment; she went out that afternoon to ...read more

Tags: Second Coming

Denomination: Baptist

When A Moralistic Mission Misfires!!!

Contributed by Suresh Manoharan on May 22, 2017

Heard of anecdotes when something done with an apparently good intention but in a wrong way went haywire? Here’s one for starters... Who can forget a school time story told often to emphasize the importance of proper usage of punctuation marks? It is said that on account of a last-minute ...read more

Scripture: 1 Chronicles 13:1-14

Tags: Mistakes, Miscalculation

Denomination: *other

Overcoming Evil With Good; David, Saul, And God

Contributed by Nickolas Kooi on Aug 30, 2017

King Saul tried to kill David numerous times. When Saul would be in David’s hand, David would refrain from showing him evil. Instead, he would spare Saul. He showed respect for his office of king, which led him to showing the mercy that Saul didn’t deserve. Sometimes, this led Saul to seeing ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:17-21

Tags: Mercy, Revenge, Good, Overcome Evil

Denomination: Lutheran

Car Keys

Contributed by Nickolas Kooi on Sep 7, 2017

“You shall not steal,” the Seventh Commandment. Not only do we not take what is not ours, we actually help to improve and protect the possessions and income of other people. I had this done to me a few weeks. I was finishing up something at home on a Friday, and Dawn came to pick me up in the ...read more

Tags: Theft, Seventh Commandment

Denomination: Lutheran

The Rotten Egg

Contributed by Daniel King, D. Min. on Jul 25, 2018

Main Idea: No matter how many good things you have done, one sin is enough to send you to hell. Verses: “There is none who does good, no, not one” (Romans 3:12 NKJV). “For the greatness of your iniquity Your skirts have been uncovered, Your heels made bare. Can the Ethiopian change his skin or ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 13:22-23

Tags: Sin, Good Works

Denomination: Charismatic

Why Its Called An Idiot Light

Contributed by Larry Hinkle on Jun 12, 2020

Six months after I bought my first car, the "service engine" light came on. I called my dad from college, "What does that service engine light mean? Can I still drive it, or do I need to fix something?" He chuckled and said, it was an idiot light, "It is set to trigger ...read more

Scripture: John 16:8, Acts 2:38

Tags: Maintenance, Discipleship, Warning, Conscience, Conviction  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Methodist

Get Back In The Game!

Contributed by John Bright on Mar 19, 2021

What if God started telling your church to do something we had never done before? How hard would you work against it - unwilling to change? There is an old saying – do you know what they put on the tombstone in front of a closed church? “WE NEVER DID IT THAT WAY BEFORE” If that’s the case, we ...read more

Scripture: Luke 5:12-26, Ephesians 4:11-12

Tags: Laity, Sports, Pastor, Basketball

Denomination: Methodist

Our Weakness

Contributed by Jerry Cosper on Apr 13, 2021

When I was in my early 20s and a student at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, I was, believe it or not, in pretty good shape. I jogged regularly. I was a karate student. I went to the gym 4-5 times a week. I truly was in good shape. Now that I’m older, I’m realizing that I’m not what I used to ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 40:29-31

Tags: Weakness, God's Strength, God Sustains

Denomination: Baptist

There Was A Little Boy That Sat At His ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

There was a little boy that sat at his grandmother’s feet while she was doing some needlepoint. Stitch by stitch, grandma pushed the needle down through the cloth and back up again. The little boy sat there and looked up in amazement trying to figure out what grandma was doing. “What is it ...read more

Tags: God's Provision

Bill Bright, Founder And President, Campus ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Bill Bright, founder and president, Campus Crusade for Christ - I know two law partners who used to hate each other. When one became a Christian, he asked me, "Now that I’m a Christian, what should I do?" I said, "Why not ask him to forgive you and tell him you love him?" "I could never do that" he ...read more

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Serving Jesus

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Serving Jesus • A certain family in a Southern Baptist Church had been inactive for years. • The family simply never went to church any more and every effort to get them to attend had failed. • One day one of the sons, name John, was bitten by a rattlesnake. The father immediately sent for the ...read more

Tags: Hell

If We Want The Respect Of Others, We Must Also ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

If we want the respect of others, we must also give them the respect they deserve. This is a lesson that Bishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa learned at a very young age. When he was a child growing up in South Africa, Racism was still a big problem. If a black person and a white person met while ...read more

Tags: Friendship General

A Young Employee Secretly Misappropriated ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

A young employee secretly misappropriated several hundred dollars of his business firm’s money. When this action was discovered, the young man was told to report to the office of the senior partner of the firm. As he walked up the stairs toward the administrative office, the young employee was ...read more

Tags: Mercy, Cults

Song - Jesus Loves Me, Senior Version *author ...  PRO

Contributed by William Akehurst on Jun 28, 2007

SONG - JESUS LOVES ME, Senior Version *Author Unknown* Jesus loves me, this I know, Though my hair is white as snow. Though my sight is growing dim, Still He bids me trust in Him. (CHORUS) YES, JESUS LOVES ME... YES, JESUS LOVES ME... YES, JESUS LOVES ME FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO. ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

In Genesis 35, After Jacob's Daughter Dinah Was ...

Contributed by Mel Shepherd on Jul 1, 2007

In Genesis 35, after Jacob’s daughter Dinah was raped by a Hivite named Shechem and Jacob’s sons took matters into their own hands by killing the people that had done this, in chapter 35, God gave this advice to Jacob because he was bitter with his sons, Simeon and Levi for destroying his ...read more

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

This Past Week I Went Up To Visit Oscar Norris. ...

Contributed by Brian Matherlee on Oct 2, 2007

This past week I went up to visit Oscar Norris. Oscar, who is blind, has been keeping really busy. He lives with his niece who loves to quilt and weave. Everything is made truly by hand. She makes her own dyes from nature. She takes wool from sheep and spins her own yarn. In years past Oscar ...read more

Denomination: Wesleyan