In Sermon Illustrations: "Time For Everything"

Life With Eternal Value

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Aug 30, 2010

LIFE WITH ETERNAL VALUE I was talking with a Jewish friend at work the other day. She said "I don't like evangelicals!" I said that it was unfortunate because I was one, and that she was working for an evangelical organisation. She said "I don't like people trying to convert me!" I said that as I ...read more

Tags: Christian Witness

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Sing Praise

Contributed by Ray Ellis on Nov 22, 2010

SING PRAISE We can get victory over hardships by singing praise to the Lord. "My mouth is filled with Your praise...all day long." Ps. 71:8 NAS Roger Bennett, pianist and songwriter died in 2007. Prior to his death he wrote on his website: Our enemy stalks us exactly the way the Bible ...read more

Tags: God In The Hardships

Denomination: Free Methodist

Blind But Now I See  PRO

Contributed by Michael Buckingham on Jul 8, 2011

BLIND BUT NOW I SEE Peter spent a few years trying to cope with his blindness, learning ways of looking after himself so that he wasn’t so much a burden upon his family, although they still continued to visit on the odd occasion. He also learned how to read Braille. Then one day he was informed ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:13

Tags: Beauty

Denomination: Baptist

The Unending Wish

Contributed by Tim White on Mar 5, 2012

THE UNENDING WISH When I was a boy, my dad asked me if I could have one wish be granted, what would it be? We played that game as a family, and every time my brother or one of my sisters thought of a better wish than I thought about, I would change my wish. Then my dad unplugged all the fun by ...read more

Tags: Wisdom

Denomination: Baptist

In The 1971 Film Willy Wonka And The Chocolat...

Contributed by Davon Huss on Aug 25, 2016

In the 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, chocolateer Willy Wonka (played by Gene Wilder) launches a worldwide frenzy when he inserts five golden tickets into his famous Wonka Bars. Each ticket gives the owner a chance to tour the chocolate factory and win a lifetime’s supply of ...read more

Scripture: Mark 10:13-16

Tags: Childlike Faith

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Word Was Being Made Real In The Back Of His Church

Contributed by Tim Smith on Aug 13, 2017

Pastor Thomas Tewell tells the story of getting ready for their 11 p.m. Christmas Eve service. As the people were gathering, a man named Jim came in. Jim was a recovering alcoholic, sober just 6 months, but his disease had cost him his family, his job, just about everything. He went in to the ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:1-10

Tags: Christmas, Grace, Ministry, The Word Made Flesh

Denomination: Methodist

No More Sin!

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Jul 8, 2023

David Brooks in his book “The Road to Character” says this about sin... Today the word sin has lost it's power and awesome intensity. It’s now used to refer to desserts... fattening desserts. Most people in daily conversation don’t talk much about individual sin. If they talk about human ...read more

Scripture: Romans 3:23, Romans 1:18-20, Ephesians 2:1-3

Tags: Sin, Salvation, Gospel, Depravity, The Cross  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

A Divided House Makes A Happy Home

Contributed by James Snyder on Feb 6, 2021

Never has our world been more divided than today. Politics, religion, sports and on and on I could go. For the most part, so many people think being divided is a negative thing. And for many people it is. However, after being married to the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage for almost 50 years, I ...read more

Scripture: Amos 3:3

Tags: Happy Home, Pastor Cave, Divided Home

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

I Don't Want A ‘shicken Sandich'! (06.13.05--The ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Jun 10, 2005

I Don’t Want a ‘Shicken Sandich’! (06.13.05--The Tie That Binds--1 John 3:13-18) “Well, what do you want?” The young frustrated mother blurted out to her little boy as he pouted in the fast food line. “We’ve been standing here for five minutes and I’ve told you everything on the menu. What is it ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 3:13-18

Tags: Promises Of God

Denomination: Lutheran

Compassion For

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 18, 2009

Compassion for "Dirty Dog Gentiles" Mark 7:36-37 Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.” (NIV) These ...read more

Scripture: Mark 7:36-37

Tags: Compassion

Casual Is Not Always Appropriate

Contributed by James Snyder on May 2, 2020

If confession is good for the soul, I would like to give my soul a little treat. During this "stay-at-home" phenomenon, the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage and Yours Truly, have been enjoying our time alone. We certainly have taken advantage of it. Not too long ago, my wife came up ...read more

Scripture: Luke 6:31

Tags: Casual, Humor

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Ready Or Not, Here I Quit

Contributed by James Snyder on Sep 18, 2021

I do not quit easily. When I start a project, I like to work until it's finished. I hate to quit before something is completed. One thing I have learned through the years is not to start something unless I have the time and resources to finish it. How many projects I started in the past and ...read more

Scripture: Amos 3:3

Tags: Quitting, Agreement, Humor

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Sweeping Closer To Home!" 2 Samuel 12:1-8 Key ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Jan 16, 2005

“Sweeping Closer to Home!” 2 Samuel 12:1-8 Key verse(s): 5-6:“David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die! He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.’” The old fix-it ...read more

Scripture: 2 Samuel 12:1-8

Tags: Leadership General

Denomination: Lutheran

Building A Relationship With God (Running The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 19, 2009

Building a Relationship with God (Running the Race) It was the summer before my Senior year at Jamestown College. I had taken up riding my bike several times a week and had gotten up to riding 10-20 miles in a single go. Needless to say… I was feeling pretty good about myself. So when school ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Tags: Sports

I May Be A Knucklehead, But I'm Not Insane

Contributed by James Snyder on May 15, 2021

Nobody is perfect except maybe the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage comes close. I've never caught her in some imperfection, or if I had, nobody would know it from me. There is such an obsession today for people to be perfect. And, of course, their definition of perfect is what they are. ...read more

Scripture: Amos 3:3

Tags: Humor, Family, Agreement

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

The Good, The Bad, And The Grouchy

Contributed by James Snyder on Apr 23, 2022

Have you ever had a week where everything went just perfect? Neither have I. Every Monday morning, I plan a perfect week, and I try my best to stick to that plan. My problem is simply, I do not know the meaning of the word "perfect." So I asked The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage ...read more

Scripture: James 1:19

Tags: Attitude, Grouchy

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

The Great Divide Between Brain And Tongue

Contributed by James Snyder on Nov 12, 2022

As my Uncle Fred used to say, one of the great benefits of getting old is that you know everything. If you had ever met Uncle Fred, you would easily conclude that he certainly wasn’t getting old. Of course, there are things I have learned during my aging career that has been of great use to me. ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 3:10

Tags: Temptation, Tongue, Brain

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Nothing Is More Satisfying Than Doing Nothing

Contributed by James Snyder on Oct 26, 2024

We were facing a very severe hurricane, and everything was being shut down. The hurricane was to hit us on a Wednesday night. Because we were in the center of where that hurricane was supposed to come, we were not allowed to get out and drive on the streets. I knew that I had to finish all my work ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 3:2

Tags: Hurricane, Planning

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

I Know A Family That Is Very Wealthy And Well On ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 8, 2004

I know a family that is very wealthy and well on its way toward embracing the principles that have just been laid out. This is a Roman Catholic family that has inherited a vast fortune. These people live just outside a Midwestern city and, as you might expect, make their home on a large estate ...read more

O Brother, Where Art Thou? Is A Comedy Set ...

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on May 1, 2005

O Brother, Where Art Thou? is a comedy set during America’s Depression era. The story revolves around three petty criminals who escape from a chain gang. One of them, the leader named Everett Ulysses McGill, tells his companions that he has buried money from a bank robbery near his property in ...read more

Tags: Prayer Supplication, Prayer Adoration

Denomination: Methodist