In Sermon Illustrations: "Turn"

The Gospel Came To Hawaii During The Period In ...  PRO

Contributed by Rick Bartosik on Oct 18, 2005

The Gospel came to Hawaii during the period in American history called "The Second Great Awakening" (1785-1820). Henry Opukaha’ia was the first Hawaiian Christian. In the late 1700s his entire family was killed during a tribal war on the shores of Kealakakua Bay on the Big Island. As he fled from ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16

Tags: Evangelism Urgency, Evangelism How To

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Phineas Could Not Sleep. He Was Up Before The ...

Contributed by Davon Huss on Mar 16, 2009

Phineas could not sleep. He was up before the sun. He had his bag packed, and he was downstairs, ready to begin the day. The year was 1820. Phineas was finally to see an island- his very own island. Phineas had received the island as a gift from his grandfather. As a baby, Phineas had been ...read more

Tags: Lies

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Victory Hill

Contributed by Johnny Wilson on Mar 30, 2009

VICTORY HILL Remember, our plotting is unfinished, but God’s training and strength-conditioning is already there for us. I want to talk about this chastising, sometimes translated as punishing, and which I have translated as "training." I have something in mind. The Hebrew verb means to provide ...read more

Tags: God's Judgment

Denomination: *other

Clarion Call Of One  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 9, 2009

CLARION CALL OF ONE The actions of a few are often a clarion call to courage. It requires radical sacrifice and radical commitment to accomplish these things. All that it takes is for one man to refuse to surrender! Anyone who is familiar with Winston Churchill understands that he was such a man ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 3:12-14, Malachi 3:6

Tags: Endurance

Loving Without Agreeing  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 28, 2009

LOVING WITHOUT AGREEING We can love others without totally agreeing with them. Often love is worked out by agreeing to disagree. We can offer love and care for people who are different from us and people we don’t agree with. This fact is illustrated by a true story that took place in the state of ...read more

Scripture: John 13:34-35

Tags: Christian Love

Stop For The Boat People

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 28, 2009

STOP FOR THE BOAT PEOPLE On Aug. 8, 2004, the Vietnamese community of Westminster, California, celebrated one of the kindest and bravest acts performed by a stranger on them. On Nov. 13, 1985, ninety-six Vietnamese refugees despaired for their lives and their families’ lives when the engine of the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:43-48

Tags: Christian Love

Let The Lower Lights Be Burning  PRO

Contributed by Dwight L. Moody on Jun 11, 2009

LET THE LOWER LIGHTS BE BURNING A few years ago, at the mouth of Cleveland harbor, there were two lights, one at each side of the bay, called the upper and lower lights; and to enter the harbor safely by night, vessels must sight both of the lights. These western lakes are more dangerous ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:14-16

Tags: Evangelism How To

Denomination: *other

I Was Once Preaching In The Chapel Of A ...

Contributed by Chris Surber on Sep 10, 2009

I was once preaching in the chapel of a retirement village in Yuma, Arizona. After delivering the sermon I began chatting with an elderly woman who I later learned was very hard of hearing. We were standing just outside the chapel, near a very beautiful pool table which looked as though it was ...read more

Tags: Tongue

Denomination: Christian Church

Ignoring The Barriers Of The Past

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 19, 2009

IGNORING THE BARRIERS OF THE PAST Every four years, the world’s attention turns to the summer Olympic games. For a few days, men and women from around the globe gather to compete against the best. Amazing records are broken and new ones are set at these games. The Four-Minute-Mile: Just a few ...read more

Scripture: Deuteronomy 1:1-8, Deuteronomy 2:1-3, Ecclesiastes 9:10

Tags: Encouragement

Sinners Need Restoration Like Cast Sheep Need ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 22, 2009

Sinners Need Restoration like Cast Sheep Need Rescued One of the dangers facing a sheep is that it becomes ‘cast’ and one of the challenges facing a shepherd is to make sure that his sheep do not become cast. A cast sheep is one that has turned over on its back and is, become of it lack of agility ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 23:1-6

Tags: Restoration

Wwii Vet's Blood Saves Grandmother  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 26, 2009

WWII VET'S BLOOD SAVES GRANDMOTHER And I think it is also what Paul was talking about in Romans 8:28 when he says, "...in all things God works for the good of those who love Him..." Kim Huffman tells this story: World War II was over, and my father, along with thousands of others had been ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:28

Tags: God's Provision

Discontented Home-Owner Becomes Content After ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 12, 2009

Discontented Home-owner Becomes Content After Realtor Describes House in Ad A home-owner was tired of his house. He’d lived there for many years, and he more he looked around at the house, the years, the neighbourhood, the more he wanted to be somewhere else. His critical eyes saw things that ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 1:12-26

Tags: Heaven

The Procrastination Before The Ultimate ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 14, 2009

The Procrastination Before the Ultimate Preservation of the Hudson Palisades as a National Natural Landmark The Palisades, also called the New Jersey Palisades or the Hudson Palisades are a line of steep cliffs along the west side of the lower Hudson River in northeast New Jersey and southern New ...read more

Scripture: Leviticus 23:9-14

Tags: First Fruits, Time

Trapped Coal Miners Discover Old ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 14, 2009

Trapped Coal Miners Discover Old Passage In one of the coal mines of the north, the top of the pit fell in while a considerable number of the miners were down below, and the shaft was completely blocked. Those who were in the mine gathered to a spot where the last remains of air could be breathed. ...read more

Scripture: James 4:4-10

Tags: Humility

Homeless Man Comes Home To His ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 1, 2010

Homeless Man Comes Home to His Mother In 1988 there was a story in the LA Times entitled “A Mother’s Search for Russell Love.” It told of a woman in Houston named Beverly Elliott. She had not seen her son, Russell Love, for four years and had not heard from him in two years; but she knew he was ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:11-32

Tags: Parable Prodigal Son

The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2010

"The Invasion" • In his book The Faith, Chuck Colson has a chapter entitled "The Invasion." In it he describes the invasion of Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944. • D-Day was the largest seaborne landing in history. • More than 150,000 U.S. troops • Employing 6,900 vessels, 4,100 landing craft, and ...read more

Scripture: John 1:14

Tags: Christmas

Phillip Yancey On Expectations And ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 1, 2010

Phillip Yancey on Expectations and Disappointment Phillip Yancey had this to say about people’s expectations: Daniel Boorstin, former librarian of Congress and director of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, offers this assessment of contemporary culture: When we pick up our ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:25-34

Tags: Disappointment

Not Success But Faithfulness  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 12, 2010

NOT SUCCESS BUT FAITHFULNESS Jordan was a man of unusual abilities and commitment. He had two Ph.D.s, one in agriculture and the other in Greek and Hebrew. He was so gifted he could have chosen to do anything he wanted. He chose to serve the poor. In the 1940s, he founded a farm in Americus, ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 12:1-3

Tags: Endurance

Back To Reality---It Was 2:00 In The Morning, ...

Contributed by Peter Loughman on Jul 27, 2010

BACK TO REALITY---It was 2:00 in the morning, freezing cold, and we were huddled together under the only streetlight for at least 100 miles. There we were, in the middle of the Sinai desert, waiting in an empty lot behind St. Catherine's Greek Orthodox Monastery, with high stone walls, St. ...read more

Tags: Truth

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Breaking The Heart Of The Father

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 30, 2010

BREAKING THE HEART OF THE FATHER D. J. Wilbur Chapman told a story related to him by R. A. Torrey of an old father and mother who determined to give their boy an education. They were as poor as they could be. They had a conference in their home, and decided to send their boy to the university. ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 23:22-26

Tags: God The Father