In Sermon Illustrations: "True Story"

Where Does Santa Get His Naughty Or Nice List?

Contributed by James Snyder on Dec 14, 2019

This week the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage approached me with a serious question. As far as I am concerned, life is full of questions, but coming from her, I need to be very careful. I have found out that a question with her is not merely a question. It can be a whole lot more than that ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 2:20

Tags: Christmas, Righteousness

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

It Was A Week That Was Shot To Pieces

Contributed by James Snyder on Jun 27, 2020

I only made one mistake last week, which is something of a record for me. I try limiting mistakes to one at a time, but not always in sequential order. I once tried to make my mistakes in a logical order, but it turned out to be a mistake. The one faux pas I made was taking Monday off. I proposed ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 6:9

Tags: Humor, Plans

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

A Musical Concert Or Aggravating Noise?

Contributed by James Snyder on Sep 12, 2020

To say the least, and I usually do, this summer has been quite a journey for the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage and myself. I can't remember a summer equal to the one we just went through. The fact that we got through it is amazing. We have been staying at home more often than usual, but ...read more

Scripture: Amos 3:3

Tags: Music, Humor

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

The Alleged Warrant For My Arrest

Contributed by James Snyder on Oct 24, 2020

This past week was one of the best weeks I've had in a long time. I got everything completed, as well as some overdue projects. There’s no feeling quite like the feeling of having accomplished your goals for the week. As far as I was concerned, this called for an Apple fritter celebration. ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 4:18

Tags: Fear, Humor

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Be Careful What You Smile About

Contributed by James Snyder on Mar 20, 2021

Dr. James L. Snyder I am a student of smileology and have been just about all my life. If you can't smile at something, it's not worth thinking about. Of course, certain things in life are serious, but not that many. Too many people take everything seriously and ruin their life. These are ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:4-5

Tags: Humor, Facebook, Lockedout

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Who Doesn’t Like A Girl Scout Cookie?

Contributed by James Snyder on May 8, 2021

This week the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage made a little slip. To her, it was a little slip, but to me, it was a big mistake. It is not always that she makes mistakes that I can profit on. I don't make this public, especially within her earshot, but there are times that she makes a ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 37:4

Tags: Diet, Girl Scouts

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Mr. Cold, Please Go Away

Contributed by James Snyder on Jan 29, 2022

Dr. James L. Snyder The older I get, the more allergic I am to cold. So whenever the temperature dips below my age number, that is too cold for me. I know some people relish the cold; that person is not me.. There are some things that I enjoy being cold. I like my iced tea to be very cold, ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 3:5-6

Tags: Cold, Heaven

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Beverage Drinking Woes

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Sep 19, 2022

Introduction: The Bible doesn’t mention coffee, tea, soft drinks, or other beverages such as what we have these days but there’s still a verse that comes to mind when I think about it. Here’s the verse, and I’ll share some thoughts in a moment: Text: Revelation 3:16, KJV: 16 So then because thou ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 3:16

Tags: Water, Lukewarmness

Denomination: Baptist

Who’s The Clown Now?

Contributed by James Snyder on Nov 5, 2022

As a young person, I was fascinated with clowns. My first encounter was at a circus I attended with my family. The main character in the circus was the clown. When I first saw those clowns, I was scared almost to death. I've never seen anything as scary as those circus clowns. That began my ...read more

Scripture: James 1:19-20

Tags: Humor, Clowns, Circus

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

I Saw This Incredible Answer To Prayer For Healing

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Apr 13, 2024

While pastoring a Southern Baptist church in Texas, one day I heard that one of our church members was in the hospital after being bitten by a brown recluse spider. It was a pretty serious situation. The doctor had told the young mom that they may have to amputate her hand if the swelling did not ...read more

Tags: Holy Spirit, Healing, Satan, Prayer, Unity, Anointing, Testimony, Elders, Miracle  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Being Sick Is Not My Cup Of Tea

Contributed by James Snyder on Apr 27, 2024

I do not have a history of being sick. I rarely even have a headache, but I must confess, I give headaches. The last two weeks have been different for me. I have never experienced such a long stretch of sickness before. One day in the hospital and then two weeks in bed. What kind of experience is ...read more

Scripture: James 5:16

Tags: Sickness, Doctors, Nurses

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Unsung Heroes: Paul’s Nephew

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Jun 19, 2024

Introduction: It’s interesting that we know very little about Paul except that he was a Jew, born in Tarsus, receiving an education in Jerusalem, and some of his days as Saul the persecutor of the new Church. We’re never told the names of his parents, siblings—or if he had any other siblings ...read more

Scripture: Acts 23:16-22

Tags: Paul, Unsung Heroes, Paul's Nephew

Denomination: Baptist

[178 ]. A Message From A Poem – Lost Three Things - Lost One Sheep

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Aug 26, 2025

[178 ]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – LOST THREE THINGS - LOST ONE SHEEP What are the best-known parables the Lord Jesus gave? I suppose there could be some debate about that but for me, I think The Prodigal Son, The Sower and The Good Samaritan. The Lost Sheep is near the top. Two of those I have ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 23:1, Psalm 23:4, Luke 15:3-7, John 10:11, John 10:14  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Shepherding, The Lost Sheep, The Shepherd Psalm, One Sheep Lost, Sheep, Search, The Good Shepherd  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Animals And Colors In The Bible

Contributed by Pastor Cosmos on Jan 13, 2011

ANIMALS AND COLORS IN THE BIBLE The Bible to teach us to interperet the Bible by using the the Bible to interperet itself Isaiah 28:9-10 "9Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. 10For precept ...read more

Tags: Bible Study

Denomination: Charismatic

One Man's Life Provides A Dramatic Answer To The ...  PRO

Contributed by James Dunn on Mar 12, 2002

One man’s life provides a dramatic answer to the question, can God indeed bring positives out of troubled times? This young man’s name is David, and he is an awesome picture of God’s using difficulties for good. For years he viewed trials as something that affected only his external world, and any ...read more

Scripture: 2 Samuel 2:6, 2 Samuel 6:6

Tags: Growth In Christ, Hardship Of Life

Denomination: Baptist

In August Of 1983, I Started My Sophomore Year ...  PRO

Contributed by John Harvey on Apr 28, 2004

In August of 1983, I started my sophomore year in high school. At that time I made the conscious decision not to be the good little girl anymore. I had a crush on someone I had known for the past 3 years and I was going to date him. Well, not only did he become my boyfriend, before long he had ...read more

Tags: God's Forgiveness, God's Provision

Denomination: Baptist

God Knows Where We Are  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 23, 2011

GOD KNOWS WHERE WE ARE Ken Gaub wrote about an experience he had back in the 1990s: "Do you believe that God not only loves you, but knows where you are and what you’re doing every minute of the day? I certainly do after an amazing experience I had several years ago. "At the time I was driving ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 139:1-18

Tags: God's Omniscience, Love Your Enemies

The Mission Of David Livingstone  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 30, 2011

THE MISSION OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE The modern missionary movement really got started about 150 years ago with people who were concerned about the continent of Africa. There was a Scottish preacher by the name of Robert Moffatt who was serving in South Africa. He returned to Scotland to try to enlist ...read more

Scripture: Romans 15:14-24

Tags: Missions, Intercessory Prayer

As I Was Growing Up With A Younger Brother And ...  PRO

Contributed by Richard Goble on Oct 30, 2007

As I was growing up with a younger brother and sister, one of our favorite games to play was baseball. We had a plastic bat and ball, and we would team up with some of the neighborhood kids and play ball in the back yard. On one particular occasion my mom took our bat away from us because we were ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 3:16-21

Tags: Forgiveness, Blood, Satan, Giving, Selfless, Care, Regeneration, Sacrificial, Young Men, Fear Of God  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist