In Sermon Illustrations: "Twelve Years"

Lost And Found

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 13, 2012

LOST AND FOUND In London there is an official governmental office for lost and found items. It is the London Transports “Lost Property Office.” It is located on the side of the Baker’s Street Station, just across the street from the fictitious residence of Sherlock Holmes. It has been there since ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:1-10

Tags: Parable Lost Coin

Now She Understands  PRO

Contributed by Ken Henson on Jul 5, 2012

NOW SHE UNDERSTANDS A lady had two children. The older son was 7 years old and the little girl about 2½ years old. She heard this terrible scream upstairs and as she ran upstairs she found out that the little girl was pulling the hair of her brother. He was crying out in pain. The mother ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 18:21-35

Tags: Forgiveness General

Denomination: *other

Out Of Ink?

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 19, 2012

OUT OF INK? According to MSNBC, The British Medical Journal recently reported the case of a 76-year-old woman who visited her doctor complaining of stomach problems. When the scans came back, doctors were amazed to see a long object in her stomach. It was a pen! The woman remembered having put a ...read more

Scripture: James 1:2-4

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Savior Or Judge?

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jan 14, 2014

A young man was drinking heavily and decided to go for a swim at a California beach. Fortunately, an older man was watching the young man as he entered the water and did not come back up for air. The older man ran to the struggling young man and saved his life. A few years later, that same ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16-18

Tags: Evangelism, Christ, Decision, Judgment Day

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Homosexuality In First Century Greek Culture

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Sep 24, 2019

Craig Keener writes, “Greek men were commonly bisexual; not only was homosexual behavior approved…but elements of the culture socialized boys in this direction. Men and women were segregated growing up, and male bonds became close. Apparently due to a deficiency in the number of women (which many ...read more

Scripture: Romans 1:24-32

Tags: Gay, Homosexuality, Lesbian, Gender, Bisexuality  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Strength Through Interconnectedness

Contributed by Richard Tow on Oct 5, 2020

Years ago, Jeanie and I visited the Redwood National Park in northern California. We stood in awe as we looked up to trees reaching over 350 feet. These trees have endured storms for over 1,000 years. The surprising thing is that their roots are very shallow—only about 10 to 12 feet deep. How does ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:2-3

Tags: Community, Church, Perseverance, Unity, Cooperation, Difficulties, Storms  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Charismatic

World Evangelism Statistics

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Mar 5, 2022

If you say that Jesus is waiting on the Church to get the Gospel out before His return, let me give you a few statistics on the challenge the Church faces. We have almost 8 billion people on our planet right now. There are almost 2.4 Christians in the world today. If 500,000 people were ...read more

Scripture: Acts 1:8, Matthew 28:19-20

Tags: Salvation, Gospel, Missions, Witnessing, Lost, Great Commission, Evangelism  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

He Still Brings The Dead Back To Life

Contributed by Glynda Lomax on Apr 20, 2025

A friend shared this story with me on Resurrection Sunday, it happened on the same day 20 years earlier. Proof God is still bringing the dead back to life - I wanted to share a resurrection Sunday testimony from around 20 years ago, I bought a very used small pickup and the seller claimed the AC ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 17:20

Tags: Resurrection, Miracles

Denomination: Charismatic

Lost & Found

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Nov 29, 2022

Melissa Highsmith was kidnapped by a babysitter in 1971 at the tender age of 22 months. Over the next 51 years, Highsmith's family and the police searched for her without success. Finally, with the use of DNA technology, her identity was confirmed and she was reunited with her family. Melissa ...read more

Scripture: Luke 19:1-10, Luke 15:1-7

Tags: Salvation, Gospel, Lost, Saved, The Cross  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Childlike Forgiveness

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 31, 2022

A few months ago, I was in El Paso holding an evangelistic meeting, and the young people were serving dinner to the mothers being that it was Mother’s Day. I was seating in a chair watching what was going on, and right in front, a four-year-old girl pushed a two-year-old boy, who fell on the floor ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:12

Tags: Grace, Forgiveness

What A Young Boy Saw In The Face Of A Missionary

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Feb 2, 2023

Many years ago when the great missionary Adoniram Judson was home on furlough, he passed through the city of Stonington, Connecticut. A young boy playing about the wharves at the time of Judson’s arrival was struck by the man’s appearance. Never before had he seen such a light on any ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:19-23, Acts 1:8

Tags: Evangelism, Children, Missions, Testimony, Witnessing, Fruit Of The Spirit  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Selling Eggs For Bad Sermons

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jan 9, 2024

An elderly pastor was searching his closet for a tie before church one Sunday morning. In the back of the closet, he found a small box containing 3 eggs and 100--$1.00 bills. He called his wife into the closet to ask her about the box and its contents. Embarrassed, she admitted having hidden the ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 4:1-3

Tags: Pastor, Preach The Word, Pastor's Wife, Sermons, Preachers, Bible, Church  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

My Donkey Stopped, What Now?

Contributed by Andrew Moffatt on Oct 25, 2024

Well, this is where it gets interesting. Say 100 years ago, two hundred years ago, I can almost certainly state as a matter of fact that if you were living at that time, you or someone you knew would have had a donkey, or a mule or a horse or a bullock. A beast that has been replaced by the ...read more

Scripture: Numbers 22:1-41

Tags: Death, Justification, Combustion Engine, History, Sword, Context, Angel, Repentence, Lithium Ion Battery  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Salvation Army

The Journey Of A Black Artist

Contributed by Jessie Manuel on Dec 30, 2024

Consider the journey of a fictional Afro American artist named Maya, who grew up in a neighborhood plagued by inequity. Her early life was fraught with challenges—families losing homes, schools underfunded, and dreams foiled by systemic barriers. However, Maya found solace in art, a channel ...read more

Scripture: Joel 2:25

Tags: Hope, Faithfulness, Restoration

Denomination: Methodist

A Father Came Home From Work Just Before Supper ...  PRO

Contributed by Don Hawks on May 8, 2002

A father came home from work just before supper and was met by his five-year-old daughter on the sidewalk outside his house. The little girl was not smiling. "Is something wrong, honey?" he asked. ...read more

Tags: Children, Mother's Day

Denomination: Methodist

A Fortune-Teller Studied The Hand Of A Young Man ...  PRO

Contributed by Mike Dubose on Jun 10, 2002

A fortune-teller studied the hand of a young man & told him, “You will be poor & very unhappy until you are 37-years old…” The young man said, “Well after that, what will happen? Will I be rich & happy?” The ...read more

Tags: Poverty

Denomination: Methodist

A Politician Sitting In The House Of Lords Was ...  PRO

Contributed by Andrew Clark on Aug 23, 2002

A politician sitting in the House of Lords was recently heard to say "Hallelujah! For the first time in the 10 years I have been here, I have just heard a bishop mention God in a speech!" We must not shy away from declaring the ...read more

Tags: Endurance

Denomination: Holiness

I Said To The Man Who Stood At The Gate Of The ...

Contributed by Herman Abrahams on Apr 17, 2004

I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year, "Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown." And he replied: "Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than a light and safer ...read more

Tags: Jesus Teachings

Denomination: Charismatic

Jim Montgomery, President Of Dawn Ministries, ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 6, 2006

Jim Montgomery, President of Dawn Ministries, observes "there is much evidence that evangelicals around the world are growing at rate of 6% to 7% per year. Even if we slowed to just 5%, the current 600 million evangelicals would ...read more

Tags: What Is Evangelism?

Plastic Prevails For The First Time, Americans' ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 20, 2006

Plastic Prevails For the first time, Americans’ use of credit cards, debit cards and other electronic bill paying has eclipsed paper checks. Last year there were 44.5 billion electronic transactions vs. 36.7 billion ...read more

Tags: Money