In Sermon Illustrations: "Understanding" showing 981-1,000 of 2,271

John Macarthur States This About Our Text And The ...  PRO

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Mar 25, 2011

John MacArthur states this about our text and the Bible: "Now let me make it as clear as I can to you. The Old Testament is not a collection of the wisdom of ancient men. The Old Testament is not a collection of the best of religious thinking. The Old Testament is not a collection of the good ...read more

Tags: Bible Influence, Kenya

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

John Piper's Reading Plan

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 14, 2011

JOHN PIPER'S READING PLAN John Piper is a well-known Christian author and pastor. He tells about a plan that he says has changed his life. Suppose you read about 250 words a minute, and you resolved to devote just 15 minutes a day to some serious theological reading to deepen your understanding ...read more

Scripture: Deuteronomy 17:18-20

Tags: Learning

Cleaning Up Our Mess

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 2, 2011

CLEANING UP OUR MESS There is a story about President Ronald Reagan when he "...was in the hospital healing from when he had been shot. One day his Vice President walked in the room to find him on his hands and knees wiping up water. The Vice President said, 'Mr. President, they’ll take care of ...read more

Scripture: John 13:12-17

Tags: Humility

Stop "Supposing"

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Nov 21, 2011

STOP "SUPPOSING" I remember reading the story of a faithful but fairly poor Christian woman. She was always cheerful and smiling and excited about life. But she was so cheerful that a friend of hers decided she was too cheerful. She needed a dose of "reality" and perspective. So the friend said ...read more

Tags: Fear And Worry

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Successful People Get Up Early!  PRO

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 14, 2014

Forbes Magazine states that early risers are the most successful people. The discipline of getting up early produces many positive results, such as: 1. More proactive approach to life 2. The ability to anticipate problems better 3. Better goal-setting 4. Time for exercise 5. Sleep is much better ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 22:1-21, Genesis 22:1-19

Tags: Sacrifice, Abraham, Temptation, Trusting God, Success, Successful, Getting Up Early  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Knowledge Vs Wisdom

Contributed by Pastor Randall Timblin on Aug 20, 2018

There is a big difference between knowledge and wisdom. First, let us understand that there is no such thing as wisdom unless it pertains to wisdom from God. All other earthly wisdom is foolishness, according to God. Now that we have that straight, what exactly is the difference. Well, my ...read more

Tags: Wisdom, Knowledge, Foolishness

Denomination: *other

Do You Think God Knows What He Is Doing?

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on May 4, 2022

A young woman prepared for missionary service on foreign fields. She had been appointed by the mission board and was ready to sail when she received a telegram saying that her sister had died in a western state. She cancelled her reservation and went home. The sister left four little children ...read more

Tags: Evangelism, Missions, Trusting God, Providence, Will Of God, Missionaries, Sovereignty Of God  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

God's Way Is The Best.

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on May 31, 2022

I read the story about a young woman who had prepared for missionary service on foreign fields. She had been appointed by the mission board and was ready to sail when she received a telegram saying that her sister had died in a western state. She cancelled her reservation and went home. The ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:28

Tags: Faith, Trust, Obedience, Purpose, Providence, Will Of God, Sovereignty Of God  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Going To The Movies With Penguins!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 27, 2023

A truck driver was hauling a load of 500 penguins to the zoo. Unfortunately, his truck broke down, so he waved down another truck and offered the driver $500 to take the penguins to the zoo. The next day, the first truck driver picked up his repaired truck. When he drove into town, he couldn’t ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:19-20

Tags: Evangelism, Communication, Missions, Purpose, Great Commission, Mission  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Private First Class Milton L. Olive Iii Was Born ...

Contributed by Richard Arnold on Dec 7, 2004

Private First Class Milton L. Olive III was born November 7, 1946 in Chicago, Illinois. He died on October 22, 1966, just shy of his 20th birthday in Phu Cuong, Vietnam. The citation for his Medal of Honor reads as follows: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness In Jesus

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Audacity To Believe… (This Portion Based On ...

Contributed by David Rumley on Nov 8, 2006

THE AUDACITY TO BELIEVE… (This portion based on Rob Bell’s Nooma video called Dust) Why would Peter have the audacity to believe He could do what Jesus was doing? How would he believe in God and believe in himself enough to know he too could walk on water? To understand this we must understand ...read more

Denomination: Pentecostal

Salvation And Reprobation

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 17, 2009

SALVATION AND REPROBATION Someone may ask, "Of what use then is the doctrine of reprobation?" I am glad you asked! Let me suggest (from Dr. Boice) some useful aspects of the doctrine of reprobation. First, reprobation assures us that God’s purpose has not failed. God has determined the outcome ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 24:24-31

Tags: God's Judgment

The Prison Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2010

The Prison of Bitterness Because we live in a world full of people that don’t know grace. It’s foreign to them. They don’t know it. And if they don’t hear about it and experience it from the body of Christ, they will never know it. I first learned of this story from Max Lucado. Each week Kevin ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:31-32

Tags: Bitterness

The Weak Will Become Strong  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 12, 2011

THE WEAK WILL BECOME STRONG The story is told of a ten-year-old boy who decided to study judo. The problem was he had been in a car accident and had lost his left arm. So he started the lessons and was doing well but he couldn’t understand why after 3 months of lessons that his coach had only ...read more

Scripture: James 1:2-5

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Holiness And Red Buttons  PRO

Contributed by Mark Stepherson on Aug 6, 2011

HOLINESS AND RED BUTTONS In studying holiness as a prayer key, I got bogged down with trying to understand it. I had an even harder time trying to explain it. I felt like the Red Buttons character in the movie, "Hatari." In that movie, John Wayne led a team of hunters in Africa capturing wild ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 2:8, Matthew 22:15-22

Tags: Holy, Prayer, Holiness

Denomination: Baptist

The Padded Cross  PRO

Contributed by David Parks on Mar 25, 2013

THE PADDED CROSS Well, here I am, Lord. You said, "Take up your cross," and I'm here to do it. It's not easy, You know, this self-denial thing. I mean to go through with it, through...yes, Sir. I'll bet you wish more people were willing to be disciples like me. I've counted the cost and ...read more

Scripture: Luke 9:23-25

Tags: Easter Resurrection

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Comfortable Out-On-A-Limb!" Romans 11:33-36 Key ...

Contributed by Mark Brunner on May 23, 2005

“Comfortable Out-On-A-Limb!” Romans 11:33-36 Key verse(s) 11:“For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.” Get real! When as a youth I heard this phrase, it often gave me reason to pause. If someone was insisting that I was caught up in a fantasy and ...read more

Scripture: Romans 11:33-36

Tags: Trinity

Denomination: Lutheran

Praying For The Lost

Contributed by Rick Crandall on Mar 15, 2010

PRAYING FOR THE LOST Lee Thomas is a great teacher on praying for the lost. Here’s part of a testimony from his book: When we begin to pray for someone’s salvation, God seems to draw a circle around that individual and then gets in the circle with him. That is what happened to Ricky Gresham when ...read more

Tags: Evangelism The Lost

Denomination: Baptist

A "Conquering" Faith

Contributed by Ken Pell on Jan 31, 2011

A "CONQUERING" FAITH The following story comes from Hank Hanegraaff's book, "The Last Disciple" (which refers to the Apostle John, the last one of the 12 to die). It is set within the historical context of first century Rome's persecution of the church. Leah is the sister of a young Christian ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:28-37

Tags: Persecution

Denomination: Nazarene

The World Needs More Grandfathers

Contributed by James Snyder on Feb 22, 2020

As time has gone by, I have learned a few things. According to the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage, I have not learned enough yet, but that's just her opinion. She gave me a great compliment the other day when she said, “Dear, you’re as smart as you will ever be.” I am still not over that, ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 17:6

Tags: Grandchildren, Grandfathers

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance