In Sermon Illustrations: "Ups And Downs"

At The Time Appointed, The End Will ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 24, 2009

AT THE TIME APPOINTED, THE END WILL BE Baptist preacher William Miller, founder of the Millerites, announced that Christ would come on March 21, 1843, and when that failed, he proposed a new date of October 22, 1844. In a Philadelphia store window the following sign was displayed: "This shop is ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 24:43-44

Tags: Second Coming

Doves And Direction

Contributed by Johnny Wilson on Mar 30, 2009

DOVES AND DIRECTION God’s people in the northern kingdom were acting like a dove, quite senseless and flitting back and forth between Assyria and Egypt as their protector—in spite of the fact that Yahweh, God of Armies ("Lord of Hosts") wanted to be their shield and defender. This is a powerful ...read more

Tags: Wisdom

Denomination: *other

I Did A Google Image Search For The

Contributed by James Jack on Apr 11, 2009

I did a google image search for the “armour of God.” It’s extraordinary the number of diagrams and pictures devoted to this theme. For our instruction and entertainment (well, actually more for our entertainment), I’ll show you a selection. • They normally involve someone decked out somewhat like ...read more

Tags: Christian Values

Denomination: Anglican

Marriage: Sleeping On The ...

Contributed by Tim Harlow on May 13, 2009

MARRIAGE: SLEEPING ON THE HIDE-A-BED Doug and Sylvia Whitt were on their honeymoon, and it was late, after the wedding and all this stuff and they went into the room. It was this beautiful room, and it had all the amenities. They realized there was no bed there. They were like "this is kind of ...read more

Tags: Marriage Struggle

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Grace Can Change Your Life

Contributed by Scott Bayles on Jun 27, 2009

GRACE CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE My wife, Ashley, once told me about a moment of grace that will forever remain in her memory. One icy November afternoon when she was in high school, a carload of teenage boys were on their way to a basketball game. Ashley was a cheerleader and had already arrived at the ...read more

Tags: Grace

Denomination: Christian Church

Transcending Tradition

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 13, 2009

TRANSCENDING TRADITION During these tough economic times, churches all across the country are seeing a sharp drop in their offerings. Thankfully, we haven’t seen that here, yet, but a lot of churches have, one of them being the Cross Timbers Community Church in Argyle, Texas. Their drop in income ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 13:5

Tags: God Brings Hope

Knowing Scripture To Save Your Life

Contributed by Davon Huss on Oct 19, 2009

KNOWING SCRIPTURE TO SAVE YOUR LIFE Several years ago in Guatemala, a young Christian named Paulos had been arrested with a gang of robbers. In that place and in those days, anyone suspected of a crime, was immediately taken to an open field, ordered to dig a hole, and then toppled into the hole ...read more

Tags: Bible Study

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Pride And Greed Spoil Relationships

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 19, 2009

PRIDE AND GREED SPOIL RELATIONSHIPS Are you so focused on your career, your raise and your ambitions for the future that you fail to realize the gift of relationships that God has given you today? The second rule is that people come before possessions and positions. Otherwise, you might find ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 16:26

Tags: Greed

George Washington Helps Exhausted ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 28, 2009

George Washington Helps Exhausted Soldiers He could have others serve Him while he was on earth, but he said, The “Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve” (Mark 10:45) What did the God of the universe who was fully in control of all things do? John 13:4-5 – ‘he got up from the meal, ...read more

Scripture: Mark 10:42-45

Tags: Servanthood

Great Expectations And A Valentine's Day Airplane ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 19, 2009

Great Expectations and a Valentine’s Day Airplane Flight There is a story about a new couple in love. They were in a long distance relationship and the girl at the last minute demanded that the man jump on the next plane to get to her in time for Valentines day. The man was terrified of flying and ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Tags: Romantic Love, Valentine's Day

We Sing When We Face ...

Contributed by Thomas Cash on Jan 11, 2010

We sing when we face death. Lavena (Beanie) Peters was dying of liver cancer. I was at the hospital with her family, essentially on a deathwatch. Beanie’s pain was excruciating, and the pain medicine kept her in a nearly unconscious state. Others left the room for a moment; only Harriet her ...read more

Tags: Singing Praise, Death Nearness

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Horror Stories From ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 6, 2010

Horror Stories from Refugees Hushidah Bagam is 20. For two years now, she has lived in a squalid bamboo and corrugated iron hut in a Bangladesh refugee camp. But what she left behind in neighbouring Myanmar (formerly called Burma) was worse. “The soldiers came to our village In the middle of the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 2:13-18

Tags: Hardship Of Life

It Seems To Me That It Is Accurate To Say Our ...

Contributed by Ed Sasnett on May 27, 2010

It seems to me that it is accurate to say our generation is in a relationship crisis. We have the highest divorce rate in the Western hemisphere, more couples live together than are married, absentee fathers or mothers are common, abortions that number into the hundreds of thousands ...read more

Tags: Unity, Immorality

Denomination: Baptist

My Sister And Her Husband Pete Are On A Holiday ...

Contributed by Ross Cochrane on Jun 4, 2010

My sister and her husband Pete are on a holiday working their way through OUTBACK PLACES in Australia. Unfortunately they can't travel on the dirt roads at the moment because of an unexpected rainy season. They have to stick to the highways because if they get off the track they will sink in the ...read more

Tags: John The Baptist

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Sing Praise

Contributed by Ray Ellis on Nov 22, 2010

SING PRAISE We can get victory over hardships by singing praise to the Lord. "My mouth is filled with Your praise...all day long." Ps. 71:8 NAS Roger Bennett, pianist and songwriter died in 2007. Prior to his death he wrote on his website: Our enemy stalks us exactly the way the Bible ...read more

Tags: God In The Hardships

Denomination: Free Methodist

What Would You Say?

Contributed by Scott Sharpes on Dec 16, 2010

WHAT WOULD YOU SAY? A number of years ago a couple traveled to the offices of an Adoption Society in England to receive a baby. They had been on the waiting list a long time. They had been interviewed and carefully scrutinized. Now at last their dreams were to be fulfilled. But their day of ...read more

Tags: Adoption

Denomination: Nazarene

Standing On The Door

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 4, 2011

STANDING ON THE DOOR You see, when we Christians do a poor job, then people don't want to have anything to do with our Christ. God's own name as well as the Christian faith itself is on the line. When we disrespect our supervisors, then our supervisors disrespect our Savior, and we become a ...read more

Scripture: Romans 16:17-19

Tags: Evangelism How To

Blind But Now I See  PRO

Contributed by Michael Buckingham on Jul 8, 2011

BLIND BUT NOW I SEE Peter spent a few years trying to cope with his blindness, learning ways of looking after himself so that he wasn’t so much a burden upon his family, although they still continued to visit on the odd occasion. He also learned how to read Braille. Then one day he was informed ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:13

Tags: Beauty

Denomination: Baptist

The Lost Camper: Making Yourself Available

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 6, 2011

THE LOST CAMPER: MAKING YOURSELF AVAILABLE One of my favorite sayings: "God doesn't want your capability. He only wants your availability. If you'll give Him your availability, He'll provide the capability." Availability is when you make yourself accessible for utilization. Availability is what we ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 6:8

Tags: Servanthood

When Do We Worship

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 7, 2011

WHEN DO WE WORSHIP Author Douglas J. Moo: "Worship is not merely, or even mainly, what we do on Sunday morning. Worship is a 24/7 matter. We worship God when we give ourselves to him in service. We worship God when we show love to others, when we do our jobs faithfully and with integrity, when we ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:1

Tags: Worship Definition