In Sermon Illustrations: "Ve"

Fellow Pastor And Friend Denn Guptill Wrote These ...  PRO

Contributed by Pat Cook on Nov 10, 2003

Fellow pastor and friend Denn Guptill wrote these words: “How many people here have ever taken their kid’s to MacDonald’s. Ok you’ve taken the fruit of your loins to the golden arches, you’ve forked over some of your hard earned wealth, received your dinner and now you have retired to one of the ...read more

Tags: Gifts Giving, Giving Yourself

Denomination: Baptist

In A Former Church I Served, A Mother Started ...  PRO

Contributed by David Haun on May 27, 2004

In a former church I served, a mother started reading the Bible to her young son. A few weeks later they were reading from the Gospel of John. When she read John 3:16, her son commented, "Oh, I know this. This is an old one..." Being familiar with a Scripture can do that to us. We can "know" ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:1-5, 2 Timothy 3:12-17, 2 Timothy 4:1-5

Tags: Bible Study

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Six Stages Of A Married Cold  PRO

Contributed by Bruce Howell on Feb 5, 2005

Six Stages of a Married Cold First year: "Sugar Dumplin, I'm really worried about my baby girl. You've got a bad sniffle and there's no telling about these things with all this stuff that's going around. I'm putting you in the hospital this afternoon for a general checkup and a good rest. I ...read more

Tags: Marriage Commitment

Denomination: Wesleyan

According To An Old Fable, A Man Made An Unusual ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 20, 2005

According to an old fable, a man made an unusual agreement with Death. He told the Grim Reaper that he would willingly accompany him when it came time to die, but only on one condition—that Death would send a messenger well in advance to warn him. Weeks winged away into months, and months into ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 3:1-6

Tags: Death Nearness

Restitution And Forgiveness

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 6, 2010

Restitution and Forgiveness Keith Drury is a writer from the Wesleyan Church and in one of his books he touches on this whole subject of restoring relationships when talking about restitution. This is what he says. "Restitution deals with more than property. It is also going back and making ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 3:13

Tags: Forgiveness General

A Young Boy Gets A Driving ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 6, 2010

A Young Boy Gets A Driving Permit A young boy had just gotten his driving permit. He asked his father if they could discuss his use of the family car. His father took him into his study and said, “I’ll make a deal with you. You bring your grades up, study the Bible a little, get your hair cut, ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 3:4-5

Tags: Parenting

Loved, To Be Love

Contributed by Jason Bonnicksen on Apr 22, 2011

LOVED, TO BE LOVE One of the neatest gifts I've ever received was this little, hand towel. I was given this during my seminary commencement, and have cherished it ever since. The towel has a little saying on it: "Blessed to be a blessing" Isaiah 61:1. Isaiah 61:1-2 says: "The Spirit of the ...read more

Tags: Easter Maundy Thursday

Denomination: Lutheran

Is God Good?

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 25, 2011

IS GOD GOOD? Randy Alcorn talks about what happened to his friend, Ethel Herr in his new book, What Good is God. She had had a double mastectomy. Then two months later, doctors discovered that the cancer had spread. One of Herr's friends in shock asked her, "And how do you feel about God now?" ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 4:12-19

Tags: Trials And Difficulties

Cycles Of Dying Churches

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jan 16, 2022

Almost all churches go through “lifecycles” - they start with a MAN, a visionary leader has a passion to to accomplish a God-given Vision -- then they become a MOVEMENT. At this stage the people are nearly 100% committed. They spend time together at each other’s homes and in Bible studies. Then ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 3:1-6

Tags: Dying Churches, Church, Revival, Seven Churches

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Grim Reaper

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Grim Reaper According to an old fable, a man made an unusual agreement with Death. He told the Grim Reaper that he would willingly accompany him when it came time to die, but only on one condition—that Death would send a messenger well in advance to warn him. Weeks passed into months, and months ...read more

Tags: Death

1 John 3:20 Says Simply "He Knows Everything." ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

1 John 3:20 says simply "He knows everything." Does that describe you? Do you know everything? I’ve known people that thought they did. ILLUS - It’s kind of like the little boy that asked his mom, he said "momma, how come the idiots only come out when daddy’s driving." And the answer is because ...read more

Tags: God's Omniscience

Several Years Ago The Peanuts Comic Strip Had ...  PRO

Contributed by Jeeva Sam on Mar 20, 2001

Several years ago the Peanuts comic strip had Lucy and Charlie Brown practicing football. Lucy would hold the ball for Charlie’s placekicking and then Charlie would kick the ball. But every time Lucy had ever held the ball for Charlie, he would approach the ball and kick with all his might. At the ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 1:13-18, 2 Corinthians 7:9-11

Tags: Evangelism The Lost, God's Forgiveness, Momentum, Repentance

Denomination: Methodist

The Stranger By Billy Joel  PRO

Contributed by Jim Luthy on Sep 21, 2001

"The Stranger" by Billy Joel Well we all have a face that we hide away forever And we take them out and show ourselves when everyone has gone Some are satin, some are steel, some are silk, and some are leather They’re the faces of the stranger, but we love to try them on Well we all fall in love, ...read more

Tags: Satan, Sin Against God, Temptation General, Sin Deceptive

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Of The Many Things In Life That Are Certain One ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 8, 2002

Of the many things in life that are certain one of them is you always get found out in the end or, to use the old adage, ’Be sure your sins will find you out’. This young couple were about to get married. The young man went to his Dad and said, "I’m a bit apprehensive about getting married, Dad". ...read more

Tags: Sin Exposed, Marriage General

He Was Healed  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Nov 4, 2002

HE WAS HEALED Tony Campolo tells a story about being in a church in Oregon where he was asked to pray for a man who had cancer. Campolo prayed boldly for the man’s healing. That next week he got a telephone call from the man’s wife. She said, "You prayed for my husband. He had cancer." Campolo ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 9:24

Tags: Healing, Miracles Of Jesus, God's Forgiveness, Gifts Healing, Cure  (view more)  (view less)

Three Pastors From Different Congregations Were ...  PRO

Contributed by Mitch Chapman on Jan 4, 2003

Three pastors from different congregations were having lunch and sharing experiences and ideas to help each other out with their different fellowships. After several minutes of animated conversation, the first one remarks, "Hey, you know, we’ve got a serious problem at our church that I want to ...read more

Tags: Faith, Becoming A Christian

Denomination: Baptist

Tony Campolo Tells A Story About Being In A ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 26, 2007

Tony Campolo tells a story about being in a church in Oregon where he was asked to pray for a man who had cancer. Campolo prayed boldly for the man’s healing. That next week he got a telephone call from the man’s wife. She said, "You prayed for my husband. He had cancer." Campolo thought when he ...read more

Tags: Hardship Of Life

Money ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 6, 2010

Money Talks -Most of us have probably heard the saying, “Money talks.” Words are one thing, but when someone slaps down their money or writes the check, their words take on new meaning. Sometimes money produces results that seemed slow in coming with any other approach. This might be due to greed, ...read more

Scripture: James 5:1-6

Tags: Money

H ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 31, 2008

HEALED Tony Campolo tells a story about being in a church in Oregon where he was asked to pray for a man who had cancer. Campolo prayed boldly for the man’s healing. That next week he got a telephone call from the man’s wife. She said, "You prayed for my husband. He had cancer." Campolo thought ...read more

Tags: Prayer Answered

In Tough Economic Times Maybe You’re Thinking ...

Contributed by Dean O'bryan on Jul 21, 2008

In tough economic times maybe you’re thinking about polishing your resume and applying for a different job. If you find yourself looking, let me give you a little help. I came across several statements from actual resumes and job applications – and you might want to take notes and file these ...read more

Tags: Leadership General

Denomination: Baptist