In Sermon Illustrations: "Turning Point"

Crisis: Danger + Opportunity

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 16, 2009

CRISIS: DANGER + OPPORTUNITY Once an eagle reaches maturity, it molts each year. It’s beak keeps growing, so even if damaged soon it is as good as new. I was reading that you cannot tell the age of an eagle once it has reached an adult stage. It seems their strength does not diminish. Their color ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 18:31-33

Tags: Hardship Of Life

Bears, Caps And Bags

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 16, 2009

BEARS, CAPS AND BAGS Two hunters came across a bear so big that they dropped their rifles and ran for cover. One man climbed a tree while the other hid in a nearby cave. The bear was in no hurry to eat, so he sat down between the tree and the cave to reflect upon his good fortune. Suddenly, and ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 1:6-9

Tags: Hardship Of Life

Washing Dishes For ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 17, 2009

WASHING DISHES FOR GOD Brother Lawrence, a 17th century lay brother and a good cook, spent most of his years in a monastery as a cook. He did not have the education necessary to become a cleric and his mundane duties included cooking meals, running errands and scrubbing pots, anything but changing ...read more

Tags: Servanthood

The Greatest Generation

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 9, 2009

THE GREATEST GENERATION Franklin Delano Roosevelt: "This generation of Americans has a rendezvous with destiny." The year was 1940, and it would be called the fulcrum of America in the 20th century. The nation was balanced precariously between the darkness of the Great Depression on one side and ...read more

Tags: America

Are You A Christian?

Contributed by Guy Mcgraw on May 7, 2009

ARE YOU A CHRISTIAN? Two men met on a plane and one man asked the other, "Are you a Christian?" "Yes I am." "Wonderful! Are you Protestant, Catholic, or Orthodox?" "I’m a Protestant." "That’s great. So am I. Are you Calvinist or Arminian in your theology?" "I’m happy to say that I’m a staunch ...read more

Tags: Unity

Thank You, Daddy!  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 13, 2009

"THANK YOU, DADDY!" To illustrate how we often fail to give God the thanks he deserves, Chuck Swindoll told the following story of a man he visited in a dismal veterans hospital: The day I arrived to visit, I saw a touching scene. This man had a young son, and during his confinement in the ...read more

Scripture: Luke 17:11-19

Tags: Gratitude

The Cross: Solution To Alignment Problems  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 18, 2009

THE CROSS: SOLUTION TO ALIGNMENT PROBLEMS I remember when my first car, a beautiful 92 Chevy Cavalier, developed and alignment problem. I would be driving down the freeway, and it pulled to the right pretty hard. In fact, you really had to work against the car to make it get in the left lane. On ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 19:25-26

Tags: Cross

Courage: Breaking The Barrier

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 19, 2009

COURAGE: BREAKING THE BARRIER Seek courage and strength to move out of your comfort zone. You will need it. Even the smallest of changes even if they are for the best disrupts our relational systems. Without courage, without trusted companions, and with strength, growth and maturity will never ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 16:13

Tags: Growth In Christ

I Used To Have 1982 Volkswagen Golf. It Was Cute ...

Contributed by Eduardo Quintana on Oct 20, 2009

I used to have 1982 Volkswagen Golf. It was cute car and I liked the engineering. I am not a mechanic, so when the car broke down, I would take it to an expert. Not just a mechanic, but also a foreign car specialist. You see this car was a Wolf berg edition made in Germany and I new that a mechanic ...read more

Tags: Stewardship

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Are You A Big-Godder Or A Little ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 29, 2009

Are You a Big-Godder or a Little Godder? Many years ago, there was a learned Hebrew professor at Princeton Seminary named Robert Dick Wilson. He could read more than 30 Semitic languages! One time about twelve years after Donald Grey Barnhouse had graduated; he went back to the seminary to preach ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 2:1-26

Tags: Sanctification

1950's Game,

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 5, 2009

1950’s Game, "Going To Jerusalem," Misrepresented the Christian Life Mark 8:33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter – same word. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” (NIV) Peter’s attitude was not only ...read more

Scripture: Mark 8:34-38

Tags: Discipleship, Playing Games

The Missed Opportunity In Mongolian ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 4, 2009

The Missed Opportunity in Mongolian History A 13-year-old Mongolian inherited land from his father. Through great strategy and awesome fighting ability, he formed fighting bands that conquered village after village. Eventually he became known as Genghis Khan and ruled over 2 million people. His ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:19-20

Tags: Evangelism Urgency

Occasionally I Meet Christians Who Say

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Jan 8, 2010

Occasionally I meet Christians who say “God is telling me to go and do this or that” and then the next minute God seems to have changed His mind. I remember one guy who made God look like He didn’t know how to make up His mind at all! One day it was “God wants me to do this.” and the next day it ...read more

Tags: Words, Oath

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Eichmann Is In All Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2010

Eichmann Is In All Of Us In 1960, Israeli undercover agents orchestrated the daring kidnapping of one of the worst of the Holocaust’s masterminds, Adolf Eichmann. After capturing him in his South American hideout, they transported him to Israel to stand trial. There, prosecutors called a string of ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:12

Tags: Sin Fall Of Man

The Longer I Walk With Christ The Uglier My Sin ...

Contributed by Chris Surber on May 9, 2010

The longer I walk with Christ the uglier my sin seems to me. The closer into communion with God I am the more desperately thankful to God I am for having forgiven this broken, brazen, bold, sinner’s heart. It is only when we have been in the light that darkness is well defined. Interestingly ...read more

Tags: Sin Hurtful To God

Denomination: Christian Church

Learning To Play One's Instrument To God's ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 27, 2010

Learning to Play One’s Instrument to God’s Glory Does anyone here remember taking music class in grade school? When you first join a music class you are given an instrument to play. You really don’t have much of a choice in what you play. The instructor simply assigns you the instruments based on ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:1-31

Tags: Body Of Christ, Gifts General

Older Brother Takes The Blame And Dies For ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 28, 2010

Older Brother Takes the Blame and Dies for Younger Brother The story is told of two Chinese brothers who lived in Chinatown just after the turn of the century. One brother, the eldest of the two, was a very honest and hardworking individual, while the younger brother was rebellious, and often ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:21

Tags: Christian Love, Substitute

A Change Of Words, A Change Of Focus  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 23, 2010

A CHANGE OF WORDS, A CHANGE OF FOCUS Here is a story that I believe show how our journey is made better simply by a change in words. A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign, which said: "I am blind, please help." There were only a few coins in the hat. ...read more

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Tags: Gratitude

The Wrong Oil  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 8, 2011

THE WRONG OIL Phil (a member of our congregation) owns a stunning sports car. It's a Viper. It's a thing of beauty. And it has a powerful engine with 10 cylinders. Most of us common folks have cars with 6 and 8 cylinders... but this car has TEN cylinders. I'm pretty sure it can take you anywhere ...read more

Scripture: Jude 1:3-4

Tags: Doctrine

We Don't Know Her Story

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 22, 2011

WE DON'T KNOW HER STORY They called her their troubled one, or their feisty one. She had wild flyaway hair much like that of a punk rocker, but jet-black. And she was only, at the oldest, a couple of weeks old. So small, she looked as if she could fit in one hand. The ICU nurses all took turns ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 19:13-15

Tags: Prayer Supplication