In Sermon Illustrations: "Ups And Downs"

There's A Little Guy Somewhere, Waiting To ...

Contributed by Daniel Owens on Jan 9, 2008

There’s a little guy somewhere, Waiting to appear; Curled up inside his mother’s protective atmosphere. He’s the one they didn’t plan on, He’s an extra mouth to feed, a little inconvenience neither of them need. He’s doctor’s bills and formula, He’s sleepless nights and stress, He wet and ...read more

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

You Can Tell What We're Going Through When You ...  PRO

Contributed by Matthew Sullivan on Feb 19, 2008

You can tell what we’re going through when you come over to our house and check out the bookshelf. We’ve got James Dobson’s entire library: “Dare to Discipline”, “The Strong Willed Child”; “Parenting isn’t for Cowards.” I can’t tell you that I’ve actually read them all! We’ve got others, “How to ...read more

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Transparency And Real ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 17, 2009

TRANSPARENCY AND REAL LIFE I can right off the top of my head think of at least three falsehoods that many people still call the truth today: 1. "Every day in every way our world is getting better, better, better." I sure would like to meet the person who first wrote those words, wouldn’t you? ...read more

Tags: Truth

Everyday Reminder

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 24, 2009

EVERYDAY REMINDER Those of you who know me know that I love fishing. I do not however like hunting. For some reason the thought of shooting an animal is just not appealing to me. That does not mean I do not know how to shoot. When I was a kid I was in a gun club. I competed in target shooting and ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 31:19

Tags: Guilt

Diversity In The Church  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 8, 2009

DIVERSITY IN THE CHURCH Philip Yancey put it this way in an article in Christianity Today just this last November. He writes, "As I read accounts of the New Testament church, no characteristic stands out more sharply than [diversity]. Beginning with Pentecost, the Christian church dismantled the ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 3:28

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

View Everyone As God's Creation  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 9, 2009

VIEW EVERYONE AS GOD’S CREATION Presbyterian biblical scholar/ minister/author Carl Howie tells about an incident that took place in a New York subway. It was winter, and an especially cold and bitter night. Very few people were on the subway at that hour. At each station, the train would screech ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:10

Tags: Judgment

Comedian And Actor Chris Farley, Of Saturday ...

Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Apr 20, 2009

Comedian and actor Chris Farley, of Saturday Night Live fame, was found dead in his downtown Chicago apartment on December 18, 1997. The Cook County medical examiner’s office later reported that he died of an opiate and cocaine overdose (James Barron, “Chris Farley, 33, a Versatile Comedian-Actor,” ...read more

Tags: Sin Wages Of

Denomination: Other

Mistaken For Jesus

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 27, 2009

MISTAKEN FOR JESUS Carolyn Gillette told the story of a hospice chaplain named Larry, and how he became friends with an 80-year-old lady named Mary. Mary was a hospice patient. Larry visited with her many times, and was greatly impressed by her faith. One day, he got a call that Mary had taken a ...read more

Tags: Christian Witness

A Couple Of Weeks Of Ago I Was Playing With A ...

Contributed by Chris Surber on May 29, 2009

A couple of weeks of ago I was playing with a friend’s dog who loves to chase a tennis ball; well Jake will chase most any ball if you throw it for him in fact! After I had thrown the ball for him a couple of times I took the ball, gave it a good wind up, and threw it hard, though I never let go ...read more

Tags: Salvation, Religion

Denomination: Christian Church

The Man Detested The Cat. He Was Allergic To Cat ...

Contributed by Bret Toman on Jun 8, 2009

The man detested the cat. He was allergic to cat hair. He hated the smell of the litter box. He couldn’t stand the scratching on the furniture and he couldn’t get a good night’s sleep because the cat kept jumping on the bed. When his wife was out of town for the weekend, he put the cat in a bag ...read more

Tags: Stewardship

Denomination: Baptist

D.l. Moody: God Loves Sinners  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 25, 2009

D.L. MOODY: GOD LOVES SINNERS D.L. Moody was a renowned American preacher back in the mid 1800’s. He went to England where he was introduced to a young preacher named Henry Moorehouse. During their short conversation, Moorehouse said he wanted to go to America. Moody, trying to be polite, said ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:8

Tags: Atonement, Salvation, Cross, Revival, God's Love  (view more)  (view less)

I Couldn't 'not' Forgive Him  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 10, 2009

I COULDN’T ’NOT’ FORGIVE HIM Chris Carrier has one of the best testimonies of Christian forgiveness I have ever seen. Chris grew up in Coral Gables, Florida. He was abducted when he was just 10 years old. Chris’ kidnapper was angry with the boy’s family. He burned him with cigarettes, stabbed him ...read more

Scripture: Luke 6:27-49

Tags: Forgiveness For Others

Weathering The ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 13, 2009

WEATHERING THE STORMS Pastor Ron Ritchie once talked about a friend of his named Jack who called him one night many years ago. He sensed immediately that his heart was heavy with grief. A few months prior his wife Cindy had become pregnant for the first time after years of waiting on the Lord to ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:10

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

But Proffering Our Physical Lives As Living ...

Contributed by Johnny Wilson on Aug 11, 2009

But proffering our physical lives as living sacrifices, we get the benefit of living life to its fullest because we are in agreement with God as to priorities and purpose. We aren’t really giving up our lives. We are learning to stand beside ourselves and see ourselves as God sees us. We see our ...read more

Tags: Faith, Sacrifices

Denomination: *other

Several Years Ago, The Leadership Of A Fairly ...

Contributed by Mark Eberly on Sep 10, 2009

Several years ago, the leadership of a fairly large English church became tired of the ‘worship wars.’ They were tired of different people getting mad and getting upset when the worship leader didn’t embrace their particular way or mode of worship. Some wanted hymns. Some wanted both. Some wanted ...read more

Tags: Worship Purpose

Denomination: Church Of God

Revenge Vs. Forgiveness  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 18, 2009

REVENGE VS. FORGIVENESS There was once a man who was bitten by a dog, which was later discovered to be rabid. The man was rushed to the hospital where tests revealed that he had, in fact, contracted rabies. At the time, medical science had no cure for this disease and so his doctor faced the ...read more

Scripture: Luke 7:41-50

Tags: Forgiveness For Others

Boy Survives In Wilderness By Obeying Father's ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 2, 2009

Boy Survives in Wilderness by Obeying Father’s Instructions More than ninety people conducted an ALL-NIGHT SEARCH for an eight-year-old boy named Dominic. While on a skiing trip with his father, this little boy apparently had ridden a new lift and skied off the run without realizing it. They hoped ...read more

Scripture: John 15:7-11

Tags: Obedience

The Witness Of Orel Hershiser On The Tonight ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 8, 2009

The Witness of Orel Hershiser on the Tonight Show About 15 years ago, Orel Hershiser was pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers. They had just won the World Series. And Orel had been named the Most Valuable Player. One of the TV shows about the series showed him in the dugout just before the 9th ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:14-16

Tags: Christian Witness

No Peace In ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 2, 2009

No Peace in World The weekend of December 7, 1941, started out to be another routine weekend. The aircraft carriers were at dockside and the crews were enjoying the day with rest and relaxation. The sky was clear, the sun was shining and the weather was beautiful. This was a perfect picture of ...read more

Scripture: John 16:33

Tags: War

Each Night When I Turn Off The Study Light And ...

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Dec 25, 2009

Each night when I turn off the study light and stumble blindly towards the bedroom, trying not to wake Julie, who often goes to bed before me, I realize how helpless I am in the darkness. My night vision is hopeless. Kitchen benches, edge of the Pantry and doors seem to deliberately thwart my ...read more

Tags: Judgment

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational