In Sermon Illustrations: "Used For Bad"

Trust The Narrow, Unbeaten Path

Contributed by Sean Harder on Aug 5, 2011

TRUST THE NARROW, UNBEATEN PATH When I was younger I went hiking up Golden Ears Mountain. Several years earlier I went with my school and there was a nice rope bridge that crossed the waterfalls to keep you on the trail up the top of the mountain. The path that led to the bridge was wide, covered ...read more

Tags: Trust

The Meaning Of The Cross

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 25, 2011

THE MEANING OF THE CROSS In the 19th century, Armenian Christians, under a Turkish Muslim government, experienced a tremendous amount of persecution. The government lifted the ban on Muslims converting to Christianity in 1856. Then just eight years later, they began arresting these Muslim converts ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 4:12-19

Tags: Persecution

God's Whispers Are Ours To Hear

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Aug 31, 2011

GOD'S WHISPERS ARE OURS TO HEAR Bill Hybels' book: The Power of the Whisper: "Throughout history God has spoken. For millennia, he has forged his children’s faith by promising parted waters, empowering unlikely leaders, declaring world-changing prophecies-and imparting last-minute sermons to ...read more

Tags: God Brings Purpose

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Free Gas: God Knew

Contributed by Brad Henry on Sep 6, 2011

FREE GAS: GOD KNEW Yesterday we had an "event" at church. We were told to come with comfortable clothes and that was all the direction we received. When we got to church, the pastor said, "OK folks, today we are going to the gas station up the street. We are going to give $25.00 of gas to 150 cars ...read more

Tags: Prayer Answered

America's Spiritual Bankruptcy

Contributed by Sermon Central on Sep 8, 2011

AMERICA'S SPIRITUAL BANKRUPTCY America is incrementally and systematically rejecting God. America’s moral bankruptcy is symptomatic of its spiritual bankruptcy. For example: • In 1962 the Supreme Court ruled against prayer in our schools. In 1963, they outlawed Bible Readings. • In Alaska public ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 14:34

Tags: America

Revolution By Preachers

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Sep 19, 2011

REVOLUTION BY PREACHERS Resistance to England during the Revolution became a sacred duty to a people who were, on the whole, highly a religious people. And they were led--in their resistance to the tyranny of England--by their preachers. * It was a preacher named Jonathan Mayhew who observed that ...read more

Tags: Patriotism

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

At Christmas All Roads Lead Home

Contributed by Tim Smith on Feb 19, 2012

AT CHRISTMAS ALL ROADS LEAD HOME Marjorie Holmes writes, "At Christmas, all roads lead home. The filled planes, the packed trains and overflowing buses all speak eloquently of a single destination: home. Despite the crowding and the crushing, the delays, the confusion, we clutch our bright ...read more

Tags: Christmas Eve

Denomination: Methodist

Moody And The Filling Of The Spirit  PRO

Contributed by Ken Pell on May 27, 2012

MOODY AND THE FILLING OF THE SPIRIT One of the great preachers in U.S. history is D. L. Moody. He pastored in Chicago and there is still a wonderful Bible College there that bears his name and values. Mr. Moody was a successful minister, but by his own admission, he lacked the power in his ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 33:1-22

Tags: Pentecost, Blessing, Esau, Isaac, Curse, Spoken Word  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Nazarene

The Peril Of No Burden  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 5, 2012

THE PERIL OF NO BURDEN Shortly after coming to Christ, Sadhu Sundar, a Hindu convert to Christ, felt called to become a missionary to India. Late one afternoon Sadhu was traveling on foot through the Himalayas with a Buddhist monk. It was bitterly cold and the wind felt like sharp blades slicing ...read more

Scripture: Luke 10:25-37, Galatians 6:2

Tags: Compassion, Burden, Peril

The Idol Of Sexual ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 27, 2012

THE IDOL OF SEXUAL IMMORALITY -The next idol hasn’t just slipped in the door, it has kicked in the door. It is the Eros problem, our society has overdosed on immoral sexual behavior. Kids in my generation had to seek out things that had sexual overtones and it was usually pretty difficult to find ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 6:9-20

Tags: Immorality

Healing House: "I Thought You Were Dead."  PRO

Contributed by Tim Smith on Jan 6, 2013

HEALING HOUSE: "I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD." Healing House is in Kansas City, Ks. It's a home for drug addicts started by a woman named Bobbie Jo. Bobbie Jo had been walking the streets for many years but then someone cared enough to share the Gospel with her and she was born again. At the same time, ...read more

Scripture: Deuteronomy 26:1-11, Ephesians 2:1-10

Tags: Giving General

Denomination: Methodist

What Does "All" Mean?

Contributed by Chuck Sligh on Apr 14, 2013

WHAT DOES "ALL" MEAN? I know people who are carrying around a load of guilt over the past and they're loaded down with this extra weight God doesn't want them to have. I remember a lady in my church in Wiesbaden I'll call Jill. Jill had rebelled against her parents, had been on drugs, had had ...read more

Tags: Forgiveness In Jesus

Denomination: Baptist

The World Is Mine.

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Feb 23, 2016

THE WORLD IS MINE. God allowed the Children of Israel to wander in the wilderness because of a COMPLAINING SPIRIT that was never satisfied with anything from God. God demands that we cast off the complaining spirit in Philippians 2:14 -- "Do all things without murmuring or complaining. Nothing ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 2:14

Tags: Complaining, Whining, Unthankful, Griping

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

That Holy Communion Moment At The Hospital

Contributed by Jim Butcher on Apr 11, 2018

Note: this happened to me personally - you can reference Jim Butcher of Madison WV. Some of you have heard me share this story over the last few weeks, but I think it’s worth sharing again for those who haven’t had the chance to hear it. In early March, Patti Price asked me to bring communion to ...read more

Tags: Love, Communion, Marriage, Old Age

Denomination: Baptist

The Conversion Account Of St. Augustine

Contributed by Matthew Redder on Sep 21, 2018

The story of Augustine's conversion is an inspiring and amazing one. In my opinion it is a miraculous account of God grabbing the attention of Augustine and speaking directly into his heart through the power of a perfectly timed scripture. This could be a great illustration about the power of the ...read more

Scripture: Romans 13:13-14, Revelation 12:11, Acts 8:26-40, Psalm 119:9, Romans 3:23, Galatians 5:24, Ephesians 4:22-24  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Put On Christ, Miraculous, Power Of The Word, Conversion Of Augustine, Bible, Romans, Conversion, Testimony, Indulgence  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Parable Of The French Fry

Contributed by Doug Fannon on Sep 23, 2019

Once upon a time, last week, I picked up my son after football and he was hungry. So he and I stop at Burger King to pick up a snack. Well I bought for my son two of his basic food groups, Chicken Nuggets and French Fries. After going through the drive through, tossing in the bag of food in front ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 24:1, Psalm 50:10-15, 2 Corinthians 9:7, Malachi 3:8-10

Tags: Giving, Stewardship, Tithing

Denomination: Baptist

Parachute Illustration

Contributed by David Goering on Nov 1, 2019

SCRIPTURE: James 2:19 "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble." ILLUSTRATION: Two men are on a plane, an announcement comes over the loud speakers and says "This plane is going to crash, please put on the parachute that is under ...read more

Scripture: James 2:19

Tags: Faith, Salvation, Repentance

The Leadership Principles Of Jesus

Contributed by Garris Hudson on May 11, 2020

The Leadership Principles of Jesus. • Jesus was willing to invest in people others would have dismissed. (Consider the disciples. They were not the “religious” elite, yet Jesus used them to start His church). • Jesus released responsibility and ownership in a ministry. (Jesus sent the disciples ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:1-12, Luke 9:23

Tags: Discipleship, Leadership, Ministry Of Jesus, Business Management

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Flag And The Cross

Contributed by Davon Huss on Aug 1, 2020

Symbols evoke feelings of adoration or hatred. In this election year, the elephant and donkey mean different things to different people. Let's talk about a symbol that all Americans should be able to adore. In 1813 General Armistead commissioned Mary Pickersgill to make a huge flag that ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:18-24, Galatians 6:14, Colossians 2:15

Tags: Patriotic, Cross, Power Of God, United States, National Anthem, Flag Of United States  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Zordak - The Resurrection

Contributed by Samuel Young on Apr 7, 2021

I am Zordak, Jesus’ guardian angel. I want to tell you the story of Jesus. Jesus had died and laid in the grave. I was very sad. There were one hundred Roman soldiers and whole army of evil angels guarding the grave. But Sunday morning is coming… It was still dark. The dew was still on the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 27:62-66, Matthew 28:2, Luke 24:1-44

Tags: Easter, Resurrection

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist