In Sermon Illustrations: "United States"

I Served As A U.s. Marine In Iraq During 2004. ...  PRO

Contributed by Troy Mason on Mar 4, 2005

I served as a U.S. Marine in Iraq during 2004. One day, I traveled with an Army unit to a border checkpoint between Iraq and Syria. We were "officially" turning over control of the border crossing to the Iraqi Border Police. To celebrate their newly regained authority, the Iraqi officers invited ...read more

Scripture: John 13:26

Tags: Bread, Lord's Supper

Denomination: Baptist

There Are Even New Words That Have Replaced Old ...

Contributed by Don Jones on Sep 24, 2006

There are even new words that have replaced old ones to better reflect this culture of diversity. I did a little research this last week and found lists of politically correct words to help us better understand what is happening in our world. John Leo says in, "Double Trouble Speak," U.S. News ...read more

Tags: Truth Absolute

Denomination: Baptist

During One Summer While I Was In Seminary, I ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

During one summer while I was in seminary, I worked as a chaplain at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, MD. I discovered while I was there that there were one group of people who were really open to prayer and to hearing about the need for Christ in their lives. Who were they? Men in the cardiac ...read more

Tags: Endurance

It's Amazing What You Can Get Away With These ...

Contributed by Aubrey Vaughan on Feb 22, 2008

It’s amazing what you can get away with these days, especially if you’ve got a good lawyer: Have you heard of a lawyer Dubbed "Mr Loophole" owing to his talent for finding unusual technical defenses, Mr. Freeman has represented celebrities from footballer David Beckham to snooker player Ronnie ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

We Live In A Culture That Is Redefining What Is ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 12, 2011

We live in a culture that is redefining what is sexually permissible. Earlier this year in the United Kingdom, Peter and Hazelmary Bull were found guilty of discrimination because they allowed only married couples to share a bed at their small hotel. A homosexual couple sued the Bulls because they ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Tags: Government

Trials

Contributed by Tim Smith on May 28, 2015

Sam Dixon was the General Secretary of the United Methodist Committee on Relief. He died under the rubble in the Montana Hotel of Haiti, serving God while meeting with other relief agencies to work together to better help the Haitian people. When one serves God so faithfully and suddenly is killed, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:13-16

Tags: God's Sovereignty, Serving, Choices, The Price To Follow

Denomination: Methodist

Make Sure Your Ax Is Sharpen

Contributed by Edward Hardee on Feb 16, 2023

When we were young we did not have central heating and air. As a matter of fact I do not remember us having a window unit. What we had was a fireplace in the winter time and a screen door in the summer. I remember that old fire place. If it was real cold we would put a blanket over the door ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 10:10

Tags: Holy Spirit, Sharpening Your Ax

Denomination: Church Of God

No More Spit In Soup!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 27, 2023

During WWII, a military unit in the Pacific hired a local boy to cook and clean for them. Being a bunch of jokesters, they quickly took advantage of the boy’s seeming naiveté. They smeared Vaseline on the stove handles so it would get all over his hands. They put buckets of water over the door ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:12-15, Galatians 6:7

Tags: Judgment, Revenge, Sowing And Reaping, Confessions, Paybacks, Apologies  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Stanley Hauerwas And William Willimon Open Their ...

Contributed by Paul Wallace on Sep 19, 2006

Stanley Hauerwas and William Willimon open their book Resident Aliens with the following: Sometime between 1960 and 1980, an old, inadequately conceived world ended…and a new world began. When and how did we change? Although it may sound trivial, one of us is tempted to date the shift sometime on ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 2:1-10

Denomination: Wesleyan

Jingle Bells  PRO

Contributed by Peter Loughman on Dec 23, 2006

JINGLE BELLS The two of them were best friends in seminary, studying together, helping each other financially when one or the other got in a pinch, they stood by each other through thick and thin. When they graduated from seminary both coincidentally received a church call within the same state: ...read more

Scripture: John 14:1-6, John 14:1-3

Tags: Death

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Herod The Great

Contributed by Martin Spoelstra on Dec 15, 2023

"In modern research on Herod, the most discussed issue concerns the impact of his reign on his Jewish subjects. Opinions vary. Some scholars paint a picture of a cruel tyrant, even a maniac suffering from a personality disorder, who introduced the ancient version of a Gestapo state with an ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 2:1-13

Tags: Christmas, Herod The Great, King Herod, Wisemen, Wiseman  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The First Glimmers That Excluding Design ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 24, 2001

The first glimmers that excluding design artificially restricts science come from admissions by scientists opposed to design. The arch-Darwinist Richard Dawkins begins his book The Blind Watchmaker by stating, "Biology is the study of complicated things that give the appearance of having been ...read more

Dr. David Swift Of The Smalley Relationship ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 10, 2002

Dr. David Swift of the Smalley Relationship Center states why blended families have such a difficult time making things work. "Most parents begin their second marriage by trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Until we realize that the two are different, we will waste time becoming angry, ...read more

Tags: Divorce, Family

Video Illustration: City Slickers- Right Atfter ...  PRO

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Feb 11, 2003

Video Illustration: City Slickers- Right atfter he is gored by the bull and they talk about it on the plane. It’s right after the scene of New York which says 1 year later. It’s his birthday and he is depressed and worried. Mitch has become a worry wart and it’s draining the joy out of his ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:25-34

Tags: Guilt

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

America's Ambassador To Japan, Douglas Macarthur ...  PRO

Contributed by Chris Hodges on Jul 29, 2003

America’s ambassador to Japan, Douglas MacArthur II, served as Counselor of the State Department under John Foster Dulles. Like Dulles, MacArthur was a hard worker. Once when Dulles telephoned the MacArthur home asking for Douglas, Mrs. MacArthur mistook him for an aide and snapped irately, ...read more

Tags: Parenting, Marriage, Giving Yourself

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Christian Giving Down: The Empty Tomb Reports ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 20, 2006

Christian Giving Down: The Empty Tomb reports that church donations have dipped to a 35 year low. As a portion of after-tax income, giving has fallen from 0.66% per capita in ’68 to 0.38% in ’02. However, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports that giving to the 400 largest charities rose 2.3% in ...read more

Tags: Giving General

Porn Plague: Today, There Are Over 200,000 ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 3, 2006

Porn Plague: Today, there are over 200,000 pornographic listings on the Internet. Newsweek Magazine claims that visits to adult sites comprise 33% of all on-line usage. Dr. Laura Schlessinger claims at any given time 62% of those on the Web are visiting a porn site—the discrepancy probably lying in ...read more

Tags: Addiction

Does God Exist? 73% Of Americans Are Classic ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 17, 2006

Does God Exist? 73% of Americans are classic true believers, convinced beyond a doubt God exists. 87% are basic believers, saying either they are convinced God exists or He probably exists and they have only a little doubt. 92% tilt toward the existence of God, stating that at the least they think ...read more

Tags: Apologetics God

First Of All, The Gospel Of Phillip Is A Gnostic ...  PRO

Contributed by Paul Wallace on Sep 20, 2006

First of all, the Gospel of Phillip is a Gnostic text that is widely considered by scholars to have been written at least a century after the canonical gospels. So it’s not authoritative. Second, even that debunked book does not refer to Jesus having married Mary Magdalene, but simply states that ...read more

Scripture: 2 Peter 2:1-21

Tags: False Teaching

Denomination: Wesleyan

Joel Osteen From His Book "Your Best Life Now" ...  PRO

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Nov 28, 2006

Joel Osteen from his book “Your Best Life Now” stated, “Until you learn how to enlarge your vision, seeing the future through your eyes of faith, your own wrong thinking will prevent good things from happening in your life. God will not pour fresh, creative ideas and blessings into old attitudes… ...read more

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational