In Sermon Illustrations: "Trials Mature Us"

Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde: Our Irrevocable Acts  PRO

Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on Jun 30, 2011

DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE: OUR IRREVOCABLE ACTS Robert Louis Stevenson, in "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," set forth the irrevocable nature of every act we perform. Mr. Jekyll discovered a drug that would transform him into a man devoid of any conscience and therefore able to enjoy any vice or sin. ...read more

Tags: Romans, Sin Bondage To

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Cleaning Up Our Mess

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 2, 2011

CLEANING UP OUR MESS There is a story about President Ronald Reagan when he "...was in the hospital healing from when he had been shot. One day his Vice President walked in the room to find him on his hands and knees wiping up water. The Vice President said, 'Mr. President, they’ll take care of ...read more

Scripture: John 13:12-17

Tags: Humility

Flood In My Soul

Contributed by Brad Henry on Aug 3, 2011

FLOOD IN MY SOUL The night before my shoulder surgery last week I had what looked like the start of a kidney stone. My first thought was to cancel the surgery then Julie came in and settled me down. This happened from a medical procedure that went bad when I was 19. I still suffer some effects ...read more

Tags: Worry

Keeping Up With Next Door  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 8, 2011

KEEPING UP WITH NEXT DOOR I heard about a chicken yard with a big hen house, where a rooster had all of his hens laying eggs. One day, two little boys were next door playing football, with a brand new white football. One of them accidentally kicked the football over the fence, and it rolled into ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 4:4

Tags: Envy, Successful

The Prayer Police

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 16, 2011

THE PRAYER POLICE A little over 3 years ago, a group of students at an Alabama high school recited the Lord’s Prayer together in the lunchroom, which prompted a suit by the parents of another student. In response, Judge Ira Dement, on October 29, 1997, termed the action "religiously based ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:11-16

Tags: Persecution

The Guilt Of Their Deaths

Contributed by Troy Borst on Aug 17, 2011

THE GUILT OF THEIR DEATHS The movie "Saving Private Ryan" (1998) is a movie that many of us have seen and is quite a memorable movie because of its portrayal of the D Day invasion of Normandy in World War II. The movie begins and ends with an elderly man visiting the Normandy memorial. The ...read more

Tags: Guilt

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

It Was Enough

Contributed by Brad Henry on Sep 8, 2011

IT WAS ENOUGH This past Sunday morning I had an encounter with God. I had a bad headache (from God to keep me home) so I did not go with Julie and the boys to church. I got my bible out and then started praying. I felt the Lord flood my soul and then I felt like laying prostrate on the floor and ...read more

Tags: Prayer Answered

The Adam And Eve Virus

Contributed by Daniel J. Little on Nov 15, 2011

THE ADAM AND EVE VIRUS The Genesis narrative (chapter 3) tells us how God gave Adam and Eve His wisdom as well as His authority, and then how they pursued a counterfeit authority and an alien wisdom—actually satanic wisdom. The moment they introduced that dark wisdom into their lives a radical ...read more

Tags: Sin Fall Of Man

Denomination: *other

The Style Of Indiana Jones In Discovering ...

Contributed by Suresh Manoharan on Dec 20, 2011

The style of Indiana Jones in discovering "Biblical treasures"!!! Yes, Indiana Jones stories are juicy and spicy, for they stoke the fires of inherent sense of discovery in all of us. Add to that breathtaking stunts and adventure, you have a heady mix guaranteed to give one some goose bumps. ...read more

Tags: Bible Study, Indiana Jones

Denomination: *other

The Bride Of Christ

Contributed by K. Edward Skidmore on Dec 21, 2011

THE BRIDE OF CHRIST When I was a janitor at O.B.C. there were two or three times I had the opportunity to clean the floors in the girls dorms. One thing that astounded me as I went from room to room was the large pin-up pictures and posters of brides on the walls. Some of these girls had ...read more

Tags: Weddings

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

That's My Country

Contributed by Guy Mcgraw on Mar 11, 2012

THAT'S MY COUNTRY George Shultz, when Secretary of State during the Reagan administration, kept a large globe in his office. When newly appointed ambassadors had an interview with him and when ambassadors returning from their posts for their first visit with him were leaving his office, Shultz ...read more

Tags: Missions

People Matter

Contributed by Bill Butsko on Apr 13, 2012

PEOPLE MATTER During my second month of nursing school, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions, until I read the last one: 'What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?" Surely, this was some kind of joke. I had seen ...read more

Tags: Gratitude

Denomination: Christian Church

Dream Big: Google's Founders

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 18, 2012

DREAM BIG: GOOGLE'S FOUNDERS In 1998, Larry Page and Sergey Brin picked the number one followed by 100 zeroes while they were still graduate students at Stanford University. That number in mathematical terms is called a googol, and that became the name of their new enterprise. Today, Google ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 3:20-21

Tags: Business And Marketplace

Thomas Manton On God's Word And Prayer  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 1, 2012

THOMAS MANTON ON GOD'S WORD AND PRAYER Thomas Manton: Meditation on Scripture supplies us in prayer. Barrenness and leanness of soul is a very great defect, which God's children often complain of. One great reason is because the Word of God doth not dwell plenteously in them, so that in every ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:17-18

Tags: Prayer How To

Working Hard To Earn Salvation

Contributed by Tim Smith on Oct 21, 2012

WORKING HARD TO EARN SALVATION United Methodist Bishop Reuben Job writes, "If we are just good enough, do enough, deny ourselves enough, we will be forgiven, redeemed, and reconciled to God. Following this path brings no peace, assurance, or sense of companionship with God. Rather than asking ...read more

Tags: Grace

Denomination: Methodist

There Are 2 Ways Of Handling Pressure

Contributed by Tim Spear on Dec 6, 2012

There are 2 ways of handling pressure: One is illustrated by a bathysphere, the miniature submarine used to explore the ocean in places so deep that the water pressure would crush a conventional submarine like an aluminum can. Bathyspheres compensate with plate steel several inches thick, which ...read more

Tags: Stress, Temptation Resisting

Denomination: Baptist

Blackaby: What Does A Calling Look Like?  PRO

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Jan 3, 2013

BLACKABY: WHAT DOES A CALLING LOOK LIKE? Henry Blackaby shares from his book "The Power of the Call" pages 10-14 a clear picture of what one looks like who is called by God into pastoral ministry: 1. The pastor is chosen 2. He is chosen by God 3. He is chosen by God to be His servant 4. He is ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 5:1-4, 1 John 4:7-10

Tags: Leadership General, Elder, Shepherd, Pastor

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Last Words

Contributed by Rick Pendleton on Feb 6, 2013

LAST WORDS My father worked for the railroad when I was younger. One night a train was backing up to hook up to some other cars and one man was not watching. He was in the way and the train made the connection right through his body. He did not die immediately, but he knew he had only a short ...read more

Tags: Evangelism Urgency

Denomination: Baptist

Overloaded

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 3, 2013

OVERLOADED In the book, Overload, by Dr. Richard Swenson, he discusses one of the main reasons our lives have too much anxiety and stress. He says that most of us are just plain overloaded. Think about it. (1) We are overloaded with commitments. We don’t know how to say no. And as a result we meet ...read more

Scripture: Luke 10:38-42

Tags: Stress, Time Management

A Friend Of Mine

Contributed by Spencer Miller on Jun 3, 2013

A FRIEND OF MINE Branch Rickey, whose name was recently placed back into our memories in the wonderful movie '42' a story about the baseball great Jackie Robinson, was a devout Christian. Once while head of the old Brooklyn Dodgers, he attended negotiations involving a certain ballplayer's ...read more

Tags: Commitment To Christ

Denomination: Baptist