In Sermon Illustrations: "Togetherness"

Burma Shave And The Church  PRO

Contributed by Ed Sasnett on Jun 15, 2010

BURMA-SHAVE AND THE CHURCH Dan Betzer told about the old Burma Shave commercials alongside the roadside. Some of you remember how advertisers would use several well-placed slogans on signs to promote their product. Burma Shave was famous for their billboard advertisements. For example, one ...read more

Tags: Discipleship

Denomination: Baptist

You Know When You Are Growing Old When...

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Nov 23, 2010

You know when you are growing old when... * Everything hurts and what doesn't hurt, doesn't work, * Your knees buckle and your belt won't. * Your back goes out more often than you do. * You know all the answers but no one asks the questions. * Your mind makes agreements your body can't keep. ...read more

Tags: Aging

Denomination: Brethren

Hope Is The Dream Of A Soul

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 14, 2011

HOPE IS THE DREAM OF A SOUL When a member of my congregation, 18-year-old Heidi, was thrown from a car back in May and suffered a head injury, it was a real miracle that she recovered and was soon in rehab at Crystus Santa Rosa. She was learning to walk again through rehab and therapy when a young ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 17:17

Tags: Friendship New Friends

Wahlstrom's Wonder  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 17, 2011

WAHLSTROM'S WONDER I once read about a certain Mr. Wahlstrom who purchased an old bombsight and took it apart to see what made it work. As he began to put it back together, he decided to add to it some spare parts he had from other projects. Over time, friends and neighbors took an interest in the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:18-20, John 1:14-18, Jonah 3:1-10

Tags: Church Purpose Of

Diapering Is Like Baseball

Contributed by Alan Tison on Apr 25, 2011

DIAPERING IS LIKE BASEBALL Communication is necessary for all mothers. A young couple had just had a newborn baby, and the time came when the baby needed a change, and the mother was not able to change the baby so she asked her husband, who was a minor league ball player if she would change the ...read more

Tags: Communication General

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

James And John Talking

Contributed by Andrew Moffatt on May 9, 2011

JAMES AND JOHN TALKING This is how I imagine it was before Salome approached Jesus about one of the boys being at either side of him in his kingdom. Remember these two disciples were the "sons of thunder." James: What do you reckon I’m sure that he'll be King soon and I want to sit on my throne ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 20:20-27

Tags: Servant, Discipleship

Denomination: Salvation Army

How Many Will Be Saved?

Contributed by Michael Walther on May 20, 2011

HOW MANY WILL BE SAVED? There was a debate between two famous rabbis about this. One said that the number saved would be one third of the world. To support this he pointed to the ancient Flood in which Noah and his three sons and their families were saved. But of these three sons, Shem, the ...read more

Tags: Salvation

Denomination: Lutheran

Built Out Of Junk

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 8, 2011

BUILT OUT OF JUNK Did you hear about the homeless man in Brazil who built his own car out of junk? Orismar de Souza is a homeless man in Brazil who decided to build the car using junk, spare parts and a hammer and chisel. Four years later, the "shrimpmobile" has him back on his feet. Souza, 35, ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Tags: Born Again

Gift Of Pearls

Contributed by Jason Bonnicksen on Jul 25, 2011

GIFT OF PEARLS A number of years ago, when our oldest was just a little tyke, a Chinese man we knew gave my wife a string of pearls as a gift. Anyway, the pearls he gave her were different from the ones we might find in a jewelry store; they were natural, not cultivated. Now, the most common ...read more

Tags: Parable Treasure

Denomination: Lutheran

Stain Removal: Homeboy Industries

Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on Sep 9, 2011

STAIN REMOVAL: HOMEBOY INDUSTRIES Father Greg Boyle is in the business of erasing the past. A Jesuit priest, he is the founder and director of Homeboy Industries in East Los Angeles. Father Boyle put together a team of physicians trained in the laser technology of tattoo removal. The team is ...read more

Tags: Blood Of Christ

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Selfish King  PRO

Contributed by James Lloyd on Dec 4, 2011

THE SELFISH KING Once upon a time there was a king who lived in a beautiful kingdom. He was happy and so were his people. They worked together to improve the kingdom and brought the king many gifts. The king, in turn, was generous to his people. People all over the world heard of this kingdom and ...read more

Tags: Kingdom Of God

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Impacts Of Trust And Distrust

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 10, 2012

THE IMPACTS OF TRUST AND DISTRUST One of the serious problems of human nature is our natural tendency to be distrusting and suspicious. Barbara Misztal, in her book, Trust in Modern Societies: The Search for the Bases of Social Order, mentions three things that trust does in the life of a person. ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 9:7-10

Tags: Trust

Go Get Your Mother!

Contributed by Joe Bertone on Aug 27, 2012

GO GET YOUR MOTHER! One of my favorite stories of a door is the story of the Amish boy and his father who went to the big city for the very first time. They were amazed by everything they saw. Having grown up and lived all their lives on a rural farm everything was completely new to them. The ...read more

Scripture: John 10:7-10

Tags: Door, Change, Transformation, Mystery, Elevator, Amish  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

"You Done Quit Preachin' And Gone To Meddlin'!"

Contributed by Rick Pendleton on Oct 11, 2012

Two excited women who were sitting together in the front pew of church with a fiery preacher. They were in the spirit and loving the message. They were shouting out and waving their hankies. They would use their paper fan to wave for Jesus and then to cool themselves off fearing they might just ...read more

Tags: Preaching, Gossip

Denomination: Baptist

Renewal And New Life

Contributed by Perry Greene on Apr 1, 2013

RENEWAL AND NEW LIFE Henry David Thoreau, in his classic book, Walden, told of a powerful custom of the Mucclasse Indians. Once each year, they had a village clean up called a "busk." First they would make new clothes for themselves as well as furniture and cooking utensils. They would keep all ...read more

Tags: God Brings Hope

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Crucufixion

Contributed by Tim Smith on Feb 11, 2015

David Smith writes about crucifixion. They would take the upright beam and place it in a hole in the ground and fix it steadfast. And then they would take the victim and lay his hands on the cross beam, driving spikes into his quivering flesh and with a rope would hook it onto the cross beam and ...read more

Scripture: Luke 23:33-38

Tags: Crucifixion, Death On A Cross

Denomination: Methodist

The Influence Of A Pastor's Wife

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Aug 12, 2019

When William Booth, the founder of The Salvation Army, felt the call of the Lord to go into the streets of London and begin ministering to street people, he stood in a Methodist Conference meeting and requested permission from the presiding bishop to be released from his church to go into the ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 17:1-16

Tags: Pastor's Wives, Listening To God, Encouraging Others

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Love

Contributed by Roy Fowler on Sep 19, 2020

A young teenage boy and girl were setting in a swing on her parents front porch way up in the mountains of North Carolina. They spent a lot of time there away from everyone just them. They would talk about all kinds of things. Things about when they had grown up. What would they do: go to college ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 4:9-10

Tags: Love For God, Love Like God

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Cycles Of Dying Churches

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jan 16, 2022

Almost all churches go through “lifecycles” - they start with a MAN, a visionary leader has a passion to to accomplish a God-given Vision -- then they become a MOVEMENT. At this stage the people are nearly 100% committed. They spend time together at each other’s homes and in Bible studies. Then ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 3:1-6

Tags: Dying Churches, Church, Revival, Seven Churches

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Baseball Legend Cal Ripken, Jr. Was Interviewed ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Baseball legend Cal Ripken, Jr. was interviewed about his success as a baseball player. Many believe he is one of the greatest players in baseball history, but his individual success was not what mattered most to him. In the interview, he said: “I’d much rather be referred to not as an individually ...read more

Tags: Humility