In Sermon Illustrations: "Turning Point"

Heroic Failure

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Nov 14, 2010

HEROIC FAILURE The Book of Heroic Failures, was written by Stephen Pile in 1979. It is a book written in celebration of human inadequacy in all its forms. My favourite story took part in 1978. During the fireman’s strike in England, the British army took over emergency fire-fighting and drove the ...read more

Tags: Mistakes

Denomination: Brethren

God's Standard For Sin

Contributed by K. Edward Skidmore on Dec 30, 2010

GOD'S STANDARD FOR SIN At a former church, a youth leader came up to me one day and said, "I'm trying to figure out the way God judges sin. The best I can figure it, I assume he grades on the curve like they do at school. You know, 70% good is a passing grade." I had bad news for him. God has a ...read more

Tags: Judgment

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Haydn Gives Glory To God

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 12, 2011

HAYDN GIVES GLORY TO GOD Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) was present at the Vienna Music Hall, where his oratorio The Creation was being performed. Weakened by age, the great composer was confined to a wheelchair. As the majestic work moved along, the audience was caught up with tremendous emotion. ...read more

Scripture: Acts 12:20-24

Tags: Humility

Planting The Wrong Seeds

Contributed by Gordon Curley on Jun 4, 2011

PLANTING THE WRONG SEEDS Some time ago the Reader’s Digest magazine told a story about a company who mailed out some special advertising business post cards. Glued to the postcard was a mustard seed. The card also contained the following words: "If you have faith as small as this mustard seed in ...read more

Tags: Evangelism How To

Denomination: Brethren

A Thunderclap In The Debate

Contributed by Michael Walther on Jul 11, 2011

A THUNDERCLAP IN THE DEBATE A group of college students were debating this issue one day. Some said a mother has the right to do what she wants with her own body. Others pointed out the scientific fact that an unborn child is not part of the mother's body and has its own distinct DNA, blood type, ...read more

Tags: Abortion

Denomination: Lutheran

No Atheists Among Heathens

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 3, 2011

NO ATHEISTS AMONG HEATHENS Leith Samuel writes in HIS magazine, "Many missionaries point out that the heathen know more than we think. They know that there is a God. There are no atheists among heathen tribes. There has never been discovered upon earth a tribe of people, however small or depraved, ...read more

Scripture: Romans 1:16-32

Tags: Guilt

A.w. Tozer: The Position Of Christ In The Church  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 1, 2012

A.W. TOZER: THE POSITION OF CHRIST IN THE CHURCH The present position of Christ in the gospel churches may be likened to that of a king in a limited constitutional monarchy. The king is in such a country no more than a traditional rallying point, a pleasant symbol of unity and loyalty much like a ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 1:15-20, Matthew 6:10

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Not Much Help

Contributed by Richard Tow on Jul 18, 2017

In his Peanuts strip, Charles Schulz had an amazing talent for communicating truths like this in humorous, memorable ways. In one strip Charlie Brown rests his head in his hands while leaning on the wall and looking miserable. His friend, Lucy, approaches. “Discouraged again, eh, Charlie Brown?” ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:1-5

Tags: Criticism, Critical, Judging

Denomination: Charismatic

Clean Conscience

Contributed by Shine Thomas on Jul 24, 2017

Xaviera Hollander wrote a book with a title: The Happy Hooker. Hollander, a prostitute, sought to silence the people who believe that no prostitute could find joy in what she was doing. In her book, Hollander celebrates the joy that she experienced in her profession, saying that she never felt ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 32:1-6

Tags: Guilt, Conscience, Pure Heart

Denomination: Assembly Of God

N.t. Wright Quote On Christian Artists

Contributed by Matthew Redder on Sep 21, 2018

I love this quote as I believe it is hard for the Christian artist to always understand their place in the church. Truth be told, artists have an incredible gift and responsibility in the community to illuminate the realities of the Word and of this life we live. Wright puts it well: "The ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 3:23, Exodus 35:35, Proverbs 22:29, Romans 12:2, Romans 12:6, 1 Timothy 4:14, Ephesians 2:10  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Painter, Poet, Dancer, Dance, Art, Creative, Artist, Christian Artist, Musician, Music, Creator  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Losing

Contributed by Davon Huss on Mar 13, 2021

Read a book by Pat Conroy entitled My Losing Season. In that book Conroy recounts the season in 1967 when he played point guard for the Citadel college basketball team. In his book Conroy contrasts the lessons from winning from those learned from losing. “Winning,” he writes, “makes you think ...read more

Scripture: Mark 8:35, John 12:23-33, John 12:25

Tags: Character, Winning, Losing

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Motherhood And Compassion

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Apr 19, 2022

Motherhood and Compassion. A few days ago, I made a marvelous discovery. In the Hebrew language of the Old Testament the word for “compassion” comes from the root word, “womb.” The picture is of a birthing. It is also the picture of a faithful mother giving all she's got to bring a little ...read more

Tags: Children, Compassion, Women, Mothers, Mother's Day, New Birth  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Deconstruction, Deconstruction, Deconstruct, Decon....

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Sep 20, 2024

One cannot insist that all truth claims are power plays, that all truth claims destroy freedom. C. S. Lewis writes in The Abolition of Man: “But you cannot go on ‘explaining away’ forever: you will find that you have explained explanation itself away. You cannot go on ‘seeing through’ things ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:16, John 18:38, Acts 26:25

Tags: Doubt, Truth, Objective Truth, Deconstructing Faith

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Dog Gone Story!  PRO

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Mar 28, 2003

THE DOG GONE STORY! Many years ago before airplanes and the great jets of today, people had to travel by ships. These great ocean going vessels were very slow sailing across long distances. The King of Greece made the decision to travel to the USA. The King had heard of the vast land and how God ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness In Jesus

Denomination: Assembly Of God

What Really Matters  PRO

Contributed by Ronnie Miller on Jul 28, 2011

What Really Matters It was two weeks before Christmas and it began to start. Everyone was scrambling and rushing to get to Wal-Mart. Their credit cards were in the orange and checking account in the red in hopes that their rich uncle would soon be dead. Old Saint Nick sitting high on a mountain ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:1-40

Tags: Christmas, Tree, Poem, Santa Claus

Denomination: Baptist

Sitting Together At The Supper Table, My 5 Year ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 30, 2001

Sitting together at the supper table, my 5 year old daughter Rachel asked if she could ask the blessing. "Sure," I said. Obviously hungry, she very concisely prayed, "Dear Jesus, thank you for the food. Amen." My wife and I, and our two older children, were surprised because Rachel was famous for ...read more

Tags: Children

In January 1997, A Brink's Truck Carrying 3.7 ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 30, 2002

In January 1997, a Brink’s truck carrying 3.7 million dollars worth of coins and currency crashed on an elevated highway in Miami, Florida. The money flew everywhere. For nearly two hours, news cameras captured the mad scramble of residents as they scooped up cash, stuffing nearly five hundred ...read more

Bible Teacher F.b. Meyer Once Had A Firewood ...  PRO

Contributed by A. Todd Coget on Aug 30, 2002

Bible teacher F.B. Meyer once had a firewood factory that employed prisoners. Meyer would give them a job to do, good wages, a place to live, and, when possible, spiritual encouragement. In exchange, he expected them to render good employment. They didn’t, and he lost money. Finally he fired them ...read more

Tags: Holy Spirit In Believers, Love Of The Disciples

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Two Boys Were Playing In The Snow One Day, When ...  PRO

Contributed by Scott Chambers on Jan 2, 2003

Two boys were playing in the snow one day, when one said to the other, "Let us see who can make the straightest path in the snow." His companion readily accepted the proposition, and they started. One boy fixed his eyes on a tree, and walked along without taking his eyes off the object selected. ...read more

Tags: Faith General

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

A Daughter's Faith  PRO

Contributed by George Rennau on Mar 30, 2003

A DAUGHTER'S FAITH A young Colombian Girl who received a New Testament in her school. She read the New Testament until one day her father caught her reading it...and told her not to read it any more because it was full of lies and fantasy. But the girl kept on reading until one day her father ...read more

Tags: Bible Influence, Community, Commitment, Giving, Money, Offering, Tithe  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Assembly Of God