In Sermon Illustrations: "Troubled Times"

Genesis In The New Testament

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jun 26, 2023

There are at least 165 passages in Genesis that are either directly quoted or clearly referred to in the New Testament. Many of these are alluded to more than once, so that there are at least two hundred quotations or allusions to Genesis in the New Testament There exist over one hundred ...read more

Tags: Abel, New Testament, Eve, Genesis, Moses, Adam, Cain, Old Testament  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Why Do I Have So Many Toes?

Contributed by James Snyder on Jun 19, 2021

I must confess that I'm not always obvious to everything that is before me. I admit I miss a lot of things set before me. I don’t do this intentionally. For example, sometimes, when I come home from the church office, I pass the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage, and she is waving at me, but ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 4:25

Tags: Sight, Ignoring

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Seeing Only You! (10.14.05--Sacrifice!--Leviticus ...  PRO

Contributed by Mark Brunner on Oct 12, 2005

Seeing Only You! (10.14.05--Sacrifice!--Leviticus 1:2) Think about it; a world free from the chains of pain and suffering--a place where accomplishment reigned and failure rarely reared its ugly head. Since sacrifice requires so much effort and consumes so much valuable time, wouldn’t we be far ...read more

Scripture: Leviticus 1:2

Tags: Cross Agony

Denomination: Lutheran

Introduction: Risks Can Be Scary. Risks Can Be ...

Contributed by John Harvey on Sep 10, 2006

Introduction: Risks can be scary. Risks can be life-changing and exhilarating, or they can be disasters. Some risks are easy to take and others come with considerable calculation of the costs. One constant thing about life is that we are going to encounter risks. Risks scare me. Some risks that I ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

There Were Two Seven Year Old Girls That Could ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

There were two seven year old girls that could not wait for Christmas. You remember that time in your life when you didn’t sleep much the week before Christmas because of the excitement. These girls felt that excitement, they couldn’t wait to open their presents from the mom and dad. The Christmas ...read more

Tags: Ot Prophets

I Recently Came Across A Chinese Parable That ...

Contributed by Paul Dietz on Jun 19, 2008

I recently came across a Chinese parable that eludes to our thoughts for today’s text. It’s a tale about a water-bearer and his two pots of clay. An elderly peasant had two large clay pots. One of the pots had a crack down its side to a point about half way. The other pot, perfect! Each had been ...read more

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Denomination: *other

Prevailing Upon Mercy

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 12, 2009

PREVAILING UPON MERCY R. C. Sproul tells the story of when he was a college professor. At the start of the semester, the class of about 150 students had three papers due, let’s say, at noon on October 1st, November 1st, and December 1st. The penalty for a late paper was a zero grade. At noon on ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 33:19

Tags: Justice

Brother Lawrence And Disciplines

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 10, 2009

BROTHER LAWRENCE AND DISCIPLINES Around 1610, a child was born in France by the name Nichols Herman. Later in life, he would become known as Brother Lawrence. As a young man, he fought in the Thirty Years War and sustained a near fatal His injury to his sciatic nerve. The injury left him quite ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 6:9

Tags: Discipleship, Recognition, Seeking Christ

Margaret's Story  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 24, 2009

MARGARET’S STORY A young woman named Margaret had spent decades battling depression and anxiety that were traced back to a horrible day in school when a Teacher, frustrated with her tardiness, made her stand in front of the room and invited all the students to come up to the board and write ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:17, Zephaniah 3:17

Tags: Grace, Easter, Resurrection, Salvation, Encouragement, New Life, New Birth  (view more)  (view less)

Church Cake Cover-Up  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 19, 2009

CHURCH CAKE COVER-UP It was time for the annual cake sale at a Presbyterian church not much different than our own. Ms. Billings always made the most beautiful cakes...she was expected to make another one this year. However, Ms. Billings was a very busy woman with the time she spent with her ...read more

Scripture: 2 Samuel 11:1-15

Tags: Hypocrisy, Cake

Chris Paul: Forgiving The Murderers

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 23, 2011

CHRIS PAUL: FORGIVING THE MURDERERS In April, 2011, Rick Reilly wrote a moving story about forgiveness from the life of Chris Paul, the all-star basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets. Reilly writes: On the moonless night of November 15, 2002, five boys ran across a park, jumped a ...read more

Scripture: Luke 11:4

Tags: Forgiveness For Others, Ask Seek Knock

Anxious Moments, I Experienced Some Years Back, ...

Contributed by Suresh Manoharan on Dec 6, 2011

Anxious moments, I experienced some years back, when I had to disturb a "sleeping boss"! There I was between the devil and the deep blue sea (many years ago during my secular stint of 13 years in the Indian oil sector) pacing nervously in the Hotel aisle, peering frighteningly at the “Do not ...read more

Tags: Anxiety

Denomination: *other

Extraordinary Or Ordinary?

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 3, 2012

EXTRAORDINARY OR ORDINARY? God is not looking for extraordinary people. God is looking for ordinary people who will trust God in an extraordinary way. Morton Kondracke is known as a no-nonsense, independent-thinking journalist who, in addition to writing, appears on shows like The McLaughlin ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 3:1-15

Tags: Trust

Ashamed When It Counted The Most

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Dec 18, 2019

Ashamed when it counted the most My two sisters, when they were somewhat younger, liked to play the piano and took lessons for some time. I like music, too, but not all the practicing that went along with it! We found out there was going to be a “recital” where all of the students in their ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 3:12-15, 1 John 2:28

Tags: Christian Life, Shame, Rewards

Denomination: Baptist

Drugs Are No Game

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Apr 7, 2020

You’ve probably heard and seen it all when it comes to warnings about “don’t do drugs,” and so forth. Frankly, I’ve seen and heard a lot of them, and I’m sure glad someone told me about the dangers of drugs and drug abuse. Someone took a lot of time to get the information out and thanks to those ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 4:1-11

Tags: Drugs, Temptations, Drug Abuse

Denomination: Baptist

Unsung Heroes-Aquila And Priscilla

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Aug 12, 2023

Introduction: This couple is only mentioned a few times in the New Testament, but with each mention it’s clear they were serving the Lord. They are truly unsung heroes of the Bible! 1 Ministering with Paul in Corinth Text: Acts 18:1-3. KJV 1 After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came ...read more

Scripture: Acts 18:1-3, Acts 18:18-21

Tags: Priscilla, Aquila, Unsung Heroes

Denomination: Baptist

In His Book Enjoying Intimacy With God, J. Oswald ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 31, 2001

In his book Enjoying Intimacy with God, J. Oswald Sanders makes a piercing observation: "We are at this moment as close to God as we really choose to be. True, there are times when we would like to know a deeper intimacy, but ...read more

Scripture: Mark 12:29-30

Tags: Discipleship, Disciplines General

Notice John Wesley’s Rule For Christian ...  PRO

Contributed by Evie Megginson on Apr 17, 2001

Notice John Wesley’s Rule for Christian Living Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, At all the times you ...read more

Tags: Love Of The Disciples, Commitment To Christ, Christian Disciplines

Denomination: Baptist

We've Done Everything Else  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 15, 2001

We’ve Done Everything Else "We have learned to soar through the air like birds, to swim through the seas like fish, to soar through space like comets. Now it is high time we learned to ...read more

Tags: Holy Spirit Attributes, Kingdom Of God, Faith

Weighty Matters Americans Who Spend Even A Little ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2006

Weighty Matters Americans who spend even a little time sitting in a pew are more likely to be overweight than those who never darken the door of a church, according to research by Purdue University sociologist ...read more

Tags: Hardship Of Life