In Sermon Illustrations: "Trials Mature Us"

Achilles' Heel

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 15, 2024

The ancient Greeks told a story of a warrior named Achilles. His mother had been warned that he would die of a wound, so she dipped him as an infant in the river Styx. That was supposed to make him invincible. THERE WAS ONE PROBLEM -- she held him by one heel which the protective waters did not ...read more

Scripture: James 1:9-15

Tags: Evil, Satan, Spiritual Warfare, Temptation, Trials, Lust  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

A Little Girl Walking In A Garden Noticed A ...  PRO

Contributed by Ted Sutherland on Mar 26, 2001

A little girl walking in a garden noticed a particularly beautiful flower. She admired its beauty and enjoyed its fragrance. “It’s so pretty!” she exclaimed. As she gazed on it, her eyes followed the stem down to the soil in which it grew. “This flower is too pretty to be planted in such dirt!” ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 7:17-24

Tags: Perseverance, God In The Hardships, Gods Will, Contentment, Purpose, Trial  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Patience With Others

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Mar 22, 2024

"Einstein was four years old before he could speak and seven before he could read". Einstein became one of the greatest physicists who ever lived. "Isaac Newton did poorly in grade school." Newton, like Einstein was one of the smartest people of his day as a scientist. "A ...read more

Tags: Patience, Kindness, Time, Maturing, Waiting On The Lord, Teaching, Endurance, Discipleship, Leadership, Suffering  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[003] Message From A Poem – A Simple Farmer’s Ditty

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on May 13, 2024

[003] MESSAGE FROM A POEM – A SIMPLE FARMER’S DITTY You will note that each line of the poem ends with the “ay” rhyme. The following poem is simple in structure but an attempt to relate to the simplicity of the land. I used to spend my holidays as an early teenager on the land with a farming ...read more

Scripture: Leviticus 26:23-25, Ezekiel 14:13

Tags: Nature, Poem, Farming, Farmers, A Ditty, God Keeps Us, Agrarian Society  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Three Levels Of Fruit Bearing

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 2, 2023

Galatians 5:19-23 describes the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit described by Paul in Galatians 5 is not something that is a goal for Christian living produced by the ability of the believer. No, it is the very character of Christ produced within us by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. In ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:19-23

Tags: Fruit Of The Spirit, Spiritual Maturity, Leaders, Spirit Filled Life, Fruit Bearing, Holy Spirit  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Life With God On Your Side Should Get Better, Shouldn't It?

Contributed by Gordon Mcculloch on Aug 31, 2017

5 Storms in my life changed me intensely. Sometimes a storm will follow a great spiritual event just like these disciples had witnessed. … Many years ago, I was having great difficulties, and that is when I turned to Christ, and then I knew that everything in the bible was true, that Jesus was ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 14:22-33

Tags: Doubt, Storm, Difficulties, Confusion, Trials, Doubt And Fear  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Episcopal

God Has Given Us All A Sweet Spot—in Fact, ...  PRO

Contributed by Bruce Emmert on May 29, 2001

God has given us all a sweet spot—in fact, Paul says that God has given us the gift of a sweet spot so that we could serve God and produce the maximum result and maximum satisfaction both for God and for us. Mark McGwire said, “When I feel the ball hit right on the sweet spot, a home run is ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:7, 1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Tags: Field, Gifts General

Denomination: United Methodist

Sometimes God Doesn't Tell Us His Plan Because We ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 20, 2002

Sometimes God doesn’t tell us His plan because we wouldn’t believe it anyway. ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 29:11-13

Tags: God's Omniscience, Knowing God's Will

The Next Time You Feel Like God Can't Use You, ...  PRO

Contributed by Sam George on Nov 8, 2004

The next time you feel like GOD can’t use you, just remember... Noah was a drunk Abraham was too old Isaac was a daydreamer Jacob was a liar Leah was ugly Joseph was abused Moses had a stuttering problem Gideon was afraid Sampson had long hair ...read more

Scripture: Nehemiah 1:1

Tags: Christian Disciplines

Denomination: Episcopal/Anglican

35.5% Or $88.3 Billion Of All '04 U.s. Charitable ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 20, 2007

35.5% or $88.3 billion of all ’04 U.S. charitable giving went to Religion and was the #1 donor ...read more

Tags: Giving General

I Am Sure All Of Us Had Our Fair Share Of Being ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

I am sure all of us had our fair share of being disrupted, disparaged or discouraged by rude behavior such as insults, curses, or gossip. Three pastors went to the pastor’s convention and were all sharing one room. The first pastor said, “Let’s confess our secret vices one to another. I’ll start ...read more

Tags: Apologetics Jesus

Divorce Cost Us All Each Year About 1.2 Million ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 10, 2008

Divorce Cost Us All Each year about 1.2 million couples divorce in the U.S., costing taxpayers an estimated $30 billion in federal and state expenditures. Each divorce costs society $25,000 to $30,000 because of the increased costs of helping people with housing, food stamps, bankruptcies, problems ...read more

Tags: Divorce

He Loves Us So Much That When We Tell Him, "I ...

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Aug 9, 2008

He loves us so much that when we tell Him, “I know better. I want things that aren’t mine, disordered sexual expression, cursing and swearing and gossip,” God tells ...read more

Tags: Sin Punishment Of

Denomination: Catholic

God Gave Us Our Memories So We Might Have Roses ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

God gave us our memories so we might have ...read more

Tags: Memories

I Must Use Beautiful Words, I Never Know When I ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

"I must use beautiful words, I never know when I ...read more

Tags: Words

God Tells Man Who He Is. God Tells Us That He ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2007

God tells man who he is. God tells us that He created man in His image. So ...read more

Tags: Creation

The Next Time You Feel God Can't Use You....

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Mar 4, 2014

Noah was a drunk. Abraham was too old. Isaac was a daydreamer. Jacob was a liar. Joseph was abused. Moses had a stuttering problem. Gideon was afraid. Sampson was a womanizer. Rahab was a prostitute. Jeremiah and Timothy were too young. David had an affair and was a murderer. Elijah was ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 3:1-11

Tags: Moses, Weakness, Failure, Excuses

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

How Do You Use Your 18,000 Words Per Day?

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 6, 2024

Do you have any idea how many words you use in the course of an ordinary day? To illustrate, let’s take the books of Tom Clancy. I’m sure you have read or heard of those techno-thrillers: “Hunt for Red October,” “Cardinal of the Kremlin,” “Clear and Present Danger,” “The Sum of All Fears,” “Without ...read more

Tags: Conversation, Mouth, Words, Tongue, Talk  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

[184]. Poem – Mirror Mirror On The Wall, Who’s The Worst Of Us All?

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Sep 5, 2025

[184]. POEM MESSAGE – MIRROR MIRROR ON THE WALL, WHO’S THE WORST OF US ALL? This is an unusual poem I think, the name taken from the saying, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of us all?” Here we have a reflective poem and a challenging one in our personal lives. There is often so ...read more

Scripture: James 1:23, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Matthew 9:2, Revelation 12:10

Tags: Mirror Mirror On The Wall, Sin, Reflection, Shame, Disgrace, Mirrors, The Accuser, Forgiveness  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Well ...

Contributed by Joe Bertone on Aug 1, 2012

WELL DONE One mentally challenged young man I heard said, “In this life God places us in His oven. In here it is hot and it hurts. No one likes being in the oven but when life is over, and the bell dings, God takes ...read more

Scripture: James 1:2-4

Tags: Endurance, Suffering, Fire, Trial, Well Done, Suffering Joy In  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ