In Sermon Illustrations: "Trying"

The Witness Of Booth And Lee

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Jul 15, 2010

THE WITNESS OF BOOTH AND LEE In the early years of her life she witnessed horrific events as members of her family were beheaded in conflicts in China. Although she was only a little girl, MI LEE (not her real name) was forced to watch and still hallucinates about these terrible and barbaric ...read more

Tags: Christian Witness

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Philip Yancey's Wife Shares The Suffering Of An ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 4, 2010

Philip Yancey’s Wife Shares the Suffering of an Elderly Man Philip Yancey- My wife worked with some of the poorest people in the city of Chicago, directing a program of a church that intentionally seeks out lonely and abandoned senior citizens no one else cares for. Many times I have seen her pour ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:15

Tags: Compassion

The Life Of Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 18, 2010

THE LIFE OF DIETRICH BONHOEFFER This week I want to look at the life of one of the most influential, conservative theologians of the 20th century. To say this man was brilliant would be an understatement. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Berlin in 1927 with a doctorate in ...read more

Scripture: John 12:23-26

Tags: Servanthood

Ravi Zacharias: A Lecherous Heart

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Nov 27, 2010

RAVI ZACHARIAS: A LECHEROUS HEART One of the most powerful stories I have ever heard on the nature of the human heart is told by Malcolm Muggeridge. Working as a journalist in India, he left his residence one evening to go to a nearby river for a swim. As he entered the water, across the river he ...read more

Tags: Sin General

Denomination: Brethren

Bees That Sting Also Bring Honey

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 1, 2011

BEES THAT STING ALSO BRING HONEY One Saturday morning, a seven-year-old boy was playing in their front-yard garden in the middle of flowers in bloom. He was trying to catch butterflies with his torn net. Suddenly a bee flew to his position buzzing straightway landing on the back of his palm. The ...read more

Scripture: James 1:2-4

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Huck Finn On Prayer

Contributed by Curry Pikkaart on Apr 5, 2011

HUCK FINN ON PRAYER There’s an incident in Huckleberry Finn where Mark Twain has Huck make a very human observation. "Miss Watson took me into a closet and prayed, but nothing came of it. She told me to pray every day, and whatever I asked for, I would get. But it weren't so. I tried it. Once I ...read more

Tags: Prayer General

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

You Come To Me

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 15, 2011

YOU COME TO ME Jimmy, and his son, Davey, were playing in the ocean down in Mexico, while his family -- his wife, daughters, parents, and a cousin -- were on the beach. Suddenly, a rogue riptide swept Davey out to the sea. Immediately Jimmy started to do whatever he could to help Davey get back to ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 11:28-30

Tags: Salvation

During World War Ii A Marine Was Serving In The ...

Contributed by Jonathan Campbell on Jun 23, 2011

During World War II a Marine was serving in the South Pacific. His platoon was under fire and they were trying to signal their comrades that they had taken a certain hill. Their sergeant issued an order for a man to take the American flag and raise it up on a pole to let other units know they had ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 17:9-15, Exodus 17:11

Tags: Prayer General

How Not To Achieve Virtue

Contributed by Michael Walther on Jul 4, 2011

HOW NOT TO ACHIEVE VIRTUE How do we move from vice to virtue? Let me tell you first of all how not to... Even ancient pagans, those who never heard the Bible, recognized that living in vice was deadly and destructive. They were far ahead of our modern culture that is foolishly accepting vices ...read more

Tags: Sin Bondage To

Denomination: Lutheran

A Unique Excuse

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 10, 2011

A UNIQUE EXCUSE A man who bought a brand new Mercedes and got out on the interstate. It was a convertible and the top was down, the breeze was blowing through his hair, and he decided he would open it up to see what it could do. The needle hit 80 miles an hour, then 90, then 100, then 110, then ...read more

Scripture: Luke 14:16-24

Tags: Lies

Spiritual Consumerism

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 15, 2011

SPIRITUAL CONSUMERISM In February 27 2009 article from the website “Slate” titled, “Why American churchgoers like to shop around” also caught my attention. That article cited statistics from a Barna Group survey that revealed that one in seven adults changes churches each year, and another one in ...read more

Scripture: John 4:19-24

Tags: Church Practices

Christ And The Law Of Compound Probability

Contributed by Suresh Manoharan on Jan 1, 2012

CHRIST AND THE LAW OF COMPOUND PROBABILITY In the book, Science Speaks, Professor Peter Stoner used "the Law of Compound Probability," to assess some of the prophecies relating to Christ. Simply stated, this law is used to calculate the odds against a "chance" fulfillment of such predictions when ...read more

Tags: Prophecy

Denomination: *other

First Phil And First Phyllis

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Feb 11, 2012

FIRST PHIL AND FIRST PHYLLIS Some years ago, I asked the leaders of our church to do a little exercise with me. I fabricated two imaginary people, one a man and the other a woman. Since this is First Presbyterian Church, I named the man "First Phil" and the woman "First Phyllis." I suggested that ...read more

Tags: Discipleship

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

On Habits

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Mar 7, 2012

ON HABITS Someone Once Said... * Thoughts produce acts, acts produce habits, and habits produce character.--Anonymous * If we realize the extent to which we are mere walking bundles of habits, we would give more heed to their own formation.--William James* * First we ...read more

Scripture: Acts 17:2

Tags: Disciplines General

Denomination: Baptist

Who Do I Shoot?

Contributed by Perry Greene on Apr 19, 2012

WHO DO I SHOOT? A new soldier was on sentry duty at the main gate. His orders were clear. No car was to enter unless it had a special sticker on the windshield. A big Army car came up with a general seated in the back. The sentry said, "Halt, who goes there?" The chauffeur, a corporal, said, ...read more

Tags: Action

Denomination: Independent/Bible

What Happens At Home

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 2, 2012

WHAT HAPPENS AT HOME Howard Hendricks used to say to us men in seminary preparing to lead churches, "If your Christianity isn't working at home, don't export it." It was his way of saying, "If you can't make your faith work in your own family, then please don't try to make it work in the family of ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 3:4-5

Tags: Parenting

Missions ...

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Aug 8, 2012

Missions quotes: "I have but one candle of life to burn, and I would rather burn it out in a land filled with darkness than in a land flooded with light" — John Keith Falconer "God's work done in God's way will never lack God's supply" — Hudson Taylor [ video ] "God isn't looking for people of ...read more

Tags: Missions

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Whitney Houston ...

Contributed by Bret Toman on Dec 10, 2012

Whitney Houston sang "Because the greatest love of all is happening to me I found the greatest love of all inside of me The greatest love of all Is easy to achieve learning to love yourself, it is the greatest love of all" Learning to love yourself, it is the greatest love of all. I’ll admit I’m ...read more

Tags: Love For God, Self Esteem

Denomination: Baptist

Somebody Help The Boy

Contributed by Josh Hunt on Jun 28, 2013

SOMEBODY HELP THE BOY I was at home alone with Ryan one morning when I suddenly realized that it had been approximately two minutes since my little explorer had made any noise. (When one babysits with Ryan, silence is definitely not golden.) I immediately began looking for him, searching each room ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 2:20

Tags: Marriage, Parenting

Denomination: Baptist

Dugger's

Contributed by Davon Huss on Oct 24, 2014

We see something similar when an only child has a new baby brother or sister in the house. Not getting attention sothey cause trouble. Parents try to reassure the child that they love him because the child thinks that the parents will love her less because of the new baby. Think about the ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 3:1

Tags: God The Father, Heavenly Father

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ