In Sermon Illustrations: "Understandable"

Contentment

Contributed by Paul Steen on Dec 11, 2017

Two old friends met each other on the street one day. One looked sad and almost on the verge of tears. His friend asked, “What has happened to you, my old friend?” The sad fellow said, “Let me tell you. Three weeks ago, my uncle died and left me forty thousand dollars.” “That’s a lot of money,” ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:11-13

Tags: Contentment, Satisfaction, Content

Denomination: Calvary Chapel

The Boat

Contributed by Dr John Singarayar Svd on May 13, 2021

A seeker decides to meditate alone, away from his place. He takes his boat out to the middle of the lake, moors it there, closes his eyes and begins his meditation. After a few hours of undisturbed silence, he suddenly feels the bump of another boat colliding with his own. With his eyes still ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 8:23-27

Tags: Anger, Boat

Denomination: Other

Being Persecuted

Contributed by Jerry Cosper on Feb 13, 2023

As we live our Christian lives there are a lot of questions that are related to the Christian Life that don't really fall into life and death categories. Questions like: what's your favorite version of the bible? How can I be a better group member? Or the BIG ALL-IMPORTANT QUESTION: if a ...read more

Scripture: John 15:18-25

Tags: Persecution, Suffering

Denomination: Baptist

Previously In Bethlehem...

Contributed by Bob Gillchrest on Dec 29, 2008

PREVIOUSLY IN BETHLEHEM... In order to fix such a mess and to bring the presence of God back into the midst of His chosen people, you have to understand the back story. In the world of drama, every character in a play, or in a television show or movie, has a back story. This is what happened ...read more

Tags: Birth Of Jesus

Denomination: Baptist

Bible By The Numbers

Contributed by Johnny Wilson on Feb 9, 2009

BIBLE BY THE NUMBERS The number 40 is an important spiritual symbol in the Bible. Noah’s flood -- 40 days and nights Moses on the mountain -- 40 days and nights Elijah in the wilderness headed for Sinai/Horeb to hear the still, small voice -- 40 days Jesus tempted in the wilderness for 40 days ...read more

Tags: God's Provision

Denomination: *other

Pastors And Friends

Contributed by K. Edward Skidmore on Mar 4, 2009

PASTORS AND FRIENDS Years back, a minister friend of mine made this comment in a Preacher’s Meeting. He said, "I’m sure you all know by now that none of us can afford the luxury of having friends in the churches we serve. We must remain aloof in order to protect ourselves from all kinds of ...read more

Tags: Friendship General

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Full Steam Ahead

Contributed by Paul Davidson on Jan 27, 2021

I used to work for a railroad. The engineer on a train has a huge responsibility to safely operate and move that train over sometimes difficult terrain and in all kinds of weather. When you have a train roughly a mile (or more) in length, hauling over 10,000 tons of freight, running in excess of ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 3:5-6

Tags: Fear, Trust, Trains

Denomination: Baptist

A Confusing Directive Was Recently Issued By A ...  PRO

Contributed by Joel Pankow on May 24, 2001

A confusing directive was recently issued by a British Admiral. It read: “It is necessary for technical reasons, that these warheads be stored bottom-side-up, that is, with the top at the bottom and the bottom at the top. That there be no doubt which is the bottom, and which is the top, each ...read more

Tags: God's Omniscience, Leadership General, Call Of The Disciples

Denomination: Lutheran

C ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 23, 2008

CHRISTIANS? Let’s go for a second to the lastest Barna Poll on Born Again Christians. In order to do this we need to understand a little information about what they consider to be a Born Again Christian. In Barna Research Group studies, born again Christians are not defined on the basis of ...read more

Tags: Christian Values

God's ...

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 11, 2008

“God’s Protection” “Intercession for Our Armed Forces” Psalm 33:16-18 says “No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save. But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 33:16-18

Tags: Patriotism

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

I Know

Contributed by Dennis Selfridge on Sep 5, 2008

I Know I know He is the beginning, so why do I worry about the end. I know He is the creator, so why do I wonder who will destroy. I know He has forgiven me, so why can't I forgive myself. I know He is a healer, so why do I speak of sickness. I know He can do all things, so why do I say I ...read more

Tags: Growth In Christ

Denomination: Wesleyan

Eyes And Toes

Contributed by Johnny Wilson on Aug 11, 2009

EYES AND TOES There is a terrific story I once heard in a taped message from a marvelous Baptist pastor named Ron Dunn. Dunn's parable suggested that once upon a time there was a body where the eyes convinced all of the other parts of the body that the gift of SIGHT was the only important gift. ...read more

Denomination: *other

Two Men, Two Soils  PRO

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Jan 28, 2011

TWO MEN, TWO SOILS Two of the men have impacted my life. Both of them died of cancer. For many years one of these men allowed his CIRCUMSTANCES to harden him towards those in his family and towards God. I thought my dad was about as far away from God as he could be. He seemed to be represented ...read more

Tags: Parable Sower And Seed

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Holy Spirit In The Movies—the Apostle

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 7, 2012

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE MOVIES--THE APOSTLE In 1983 Robert Duvall wanted to make The Apostle because he felt that the motion picture industry had mostly ignored the work of the Holy Spirit. According to Duvall, filmmakers hardly ever made a movie that would actually show the truth about the Holy ...read more

Scripture: Acts 1:8

Tags: Holy Spirit General

Fix The Dishwasher

Contributed by Roy Fowler on Sep 13, 2020

A Mother and her son were talking. His mother lived for nearly 94 years. One day around her 90th year she said something like, "If I had known I would live this long, I would have fixed the dishwasher." It had stopped working. So there it sat quietly waiting to be fixed. She thought it ...read more

Scripture: James 5:7, Isaiah 64:4, Exodus 14:15

Tags: Fix Our Problem, Now Is The Time

Denomination: Independent/Bible

The Cost Of Redemption - Hosea Buys Back Gomer

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Feb 27, 2022

One man started the bidding: “12 pieces of silver!” “13!” Said Hosea. “14 pieces of silver!” Hosea’s bid was “15!” The low bidders were beginning to drop out, but one man continued bidding: “15 pieces of silver and five bushels of barley!” Hosea said, “15 pieces of silver, 5 bushels of barley and a ...read more

Scripture: Hosea 3:1-5, 1 Peter 1:18-19, Romans 8:38

Tags: Hosea, Redemption, Covenant Love

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

What Did She Just Say?

Contributed by James Snyder on Jan 22, 2022

To be honest, I don't always hear what I'm supposed to hear. I do have ears, but sometimes they are not working in such a way as to benefit me. Often, The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage will talk to me about something, and then at the end of that, she will ask me a question of which I ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 133:1

Tags: Listening, Relationship

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Saint Arnold Janssen

Contributed by Dr John Singarayar Svd on Jan 10, 2025

Saint Arnold Janssen: A Prophetic Vision of Divine Encounter in a Transformative Century Intro: In a world often fragmented by ideological, cultural, and religious divisions, Janssen's vision offers a hopeful alternative—a spirituality of connection, respect, and mutual ...read more

Scripture: John 1:1-18

Tags: Leader, Mission, Founder, Saint Arnold Janssen, Father  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Other

But Some Of Us Continue To Carry The Heavy Burden ...  PRO

Contributed by K. Edward Skidmore on Feb 25, 2005

But some of us continue to carry the heavy burden of tying to be “good enough.” I heard a modern Parable that illustrates this. In the Parable, the driver of a wagon was on his way to market when he overtook an old man carrying a heavy load. Taking compassion on him, the driver invited the old ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 11:28, Matthew 11:28-30

Tags: Leader, Elder, Assurance Of Salvation

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

All The Evidence  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 22, 2005

ALL THE EVIDENCE Professor Thomas Arnold, for 14 years a headmaster of Rugby, author of the famous, History of Rome, and appointed to the chair of modern history at Oxford, was well acquainted with the value of evidence in determining historical facts. This great scholar said: "I have been used ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:1-15, 1 Corinthians 15:14-20, Luke 24:13-27

Tags: Apologetics Jesus, Easter Resurrection