In Sermon Illustrations: "W M Punshon"

Church Matters

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Jun 1, 2024

Why do people in churches seem like cheerful, brainless tourists on a packaged tour of the Absolute? The tourists are having coffee and doughnuts on Deck C. Presumably someone is minding the ship, correcting the course, avoiding icebergs and shoals, fueling the engines, watching the radar screen, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 16:18, Ephesians 4:11-13

Tags: Eternity, Church, Mission

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Of Herods And Kings

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Jun 4, 2024

"Every Herod dies and comes alone to stand before the Lamb upon the Throne." ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 2:19-20, Revelation 5:1-8

Tags: Power, Politics, Sovereignty, Kingdom Of God

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Money Is Dangerous

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Aug 8, 2024

Cofounder of Apple Steve Wozniak has a personal disdain for money and accumulating large amounts of wealth. He told Fortune magazine in 2017, "I didn't want to be near money, because it could corrupt your values. When Apple first went ...read more

Scripture: Luke 12:15, 1 Timothy 6:9-10

Tags: Money, Wealth, Greed, Riches, Possessions  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

That Great Getting' Up Morning...

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Oct 30, 2024

And now O Lord – When I’ve done drunk my last cup of sorrow— When I’ve been called everything but a child of God— When I’ve done travelling up the rough side of the mountain— O – Mary’s baby— When I start down the steep and slippery steps of death— When this old world begins to rock beneath my ...read more

Scripture: John 11:25, 1 Corinthians 15:20-26

Tags: Death, Resurrection, Hope, Dying, Funeral  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

God's Mercy

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Nov 2, 2024

Henri Nouwen tells the story of a family from Paraguay. The father spoke out against the military regime and its human rights abuses. The police arrested his teenage son and tortured him to death. Enraged townsfolk wanted to turn the boy's funeral into a huge protest march, but the doctor ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:1-18, Romans 5:1-11, Ephesians 2:1-5

Tags: Mercy, Sin, Evil, Salvation, Cross  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Gospel

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Dec 9, 2024

Pastor Martin Niemoeller confronted Hitler’s corruption of the German church and spent 8 years in prison. In 1945 he was freed by American forces. Remarkably he lived to the age of 92. A few days before his death he wrote - "when I was young I felt ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:1-8, Galatians 1:1-5, Romans 1:1-5

Tags: Grace, Gospel, Discipleship, Devotion, Justification  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Theology Of Sin - The Chasm Between God And Mankind.

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Dec 11, 2024

Without a sense of sin, says Soren Kierkegaard, there is no true Christianity ..."Take away the alarmed conscience and you may close the churches and ...read more

Scripture: Romans 3:23, Romans 6:1-2

Tags: Church, Sin, Repentance

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Look!

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Dec 30, 2024

E. Stanley Jones, Methodist Doctor and Missionary to India once wrote: The early Christians did not say: "Look what the world has come to!" - but, "Look what has come to the world." They saw not merely the ruin, but the resource for the reconstruction of that ruin. They ...read more

Scripture: John 1:14

Tags: Jesus, Gospel, Incarnation

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Swallowed By A Whale - The Sign Of Jonah

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Feb 13, 2025

Jonah was in the belly of a great fish for 3 days and 3 nights! A kayaker from Chile was in the mouth of a Humpback whale for about 3 seconds - before being spit out! The story was reported by CNN (February 13, 2025) A humpback whale briefly swallowed a 24-year-old kayaker last Saturday during ...read more

Scripture: Jonah 1:17, Matthew 12:39, Matthew 12:40

Tags: Bible, Jonah, Miracles, Rejection, Escape, Signs, Reliability Of Scripture  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

From Boxer To Preacher

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Mar 22, 2025

George Foreman died in March 2025 at age 76. Foreman was a heavyweight boxer for the USA in the 1968 Olympic Games - winning the Gold medal. He later became a professional Boxer and world Champion. In 1977 after a fight with heavyweight Jimmy Young, Foreman had a crisis experience. He thought he ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16, Romans 10:9-10, Luke 19:1-10

Tags: Salvation, Gospel, Born Again

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

A Hint Of Heaven

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on May 22, 2025

“At present we are on the outside of the world, the wrong side of the door. We discern the freshness and purity of morning, but they do not make us fresh and pure. We cannot mingle with the splendours we see. But all the leaves of the New Testament are rustling with the rumour that it ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:42-54, John 14:1-4

Tags: Faith, Heaven, Eternal Life

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

It All Started With An Apple

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Jul 24, 2025

In my backyard I have two apple trees. They grow low to the ground and in July the apples are plentiful but small and green. Harvest is not until late September here in Ontario. But the low hanging branches present an enticing temptation to pick the apples. One beautiful morning I noticed an ...read more

Scripture: Romans 7:7-25, Romans 6:1-4, Romans 3:21-31

Tags: Original Sin, The Fall, Sin, Obedience, Temptation, Adam  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Hymns And U2

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Mar 5, 2026

For a man who spends so much time in the future, Edge always carried some deep past in his soul, likely an obscure village in Methodist Wales. Edge's father, Garvin, was a mechanical engineer, a churchgoing one. Edge's mother was a schoolteacher, a churchgoing one. Science and faith were ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 14:26, Philippians 4:4-10

Tags: Church, Worship, Praise

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

An Appetite For God

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Mar 5, 2026

It is the desire for God which is the most fundamental appetite of all, and it is an appetite we can never eliminate. We may seek to disown it, but it will not go away. If we deny that it is there, we shall in fact only divert it to some other object or range of objects. And that will mean that we ...read more

Scripture: John 6:35, John 6:58

Tags: Faith, God, Spiritual Hunger

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

A Man Was Walking Down A Dark Street. All Of ...

Contributed by Douglas Dudley on Feb 10, 2005

A man was walking down a dark street. All of sudden a robber jumped out with a gun and said, " give me your money." The man replied, " Hey, you can’t do this to me! I’m a United states ...read more

Tags: Sin Exposed

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Wrong Side

Contributed by Bobby Scobey on Aug 18, 2009

WRONG SIDE A woman rang the doorbell of a house and introduced herself to the little girl who opened the door by saying, "Hello! I’m your great-aunt on your daddy’s side." The little one ...read more

Tags: Family

Denomination: Pentecostal

What Claim Has Sin Upon A Dead Man? None! ...

Contributed by Clark Tanner on May 8, 2008

"What claim has sin upon a dead man? None! Well, then, God looks upon the believer as dead - dead with Christ, and risen again; and his power to deny the working of sin consists in his ...read more

Tags: Basics Of Christianity

Denomination: Orthodox

Winning Words  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 15, 2002

WINNING WORDS Hosting a TV show, I’ve interviewed my share of beauty contest winners; I once even had Miss America on my show. But when a friend asked if I would judge a beauty contest at a nursing home, I thought, Good heavens! What on earth would be the criteria for judging? When I ...read more

Tags: Giving Yourself, Fulfillment, Family

Will Rogers  PRO

Contributed by Donnie Martin on Sep 14, 2002

Will Rogers Will Rogers was known for his laughter, but he also knew how to weep. One day he was entertaining at the Milton H. Berry Institute in Los Angeles, a hospital that specialized in rehabilitating polio victims and people with broken backs and other extreme physical handicaps. Of course, ...read more

Tags: Humility

Denomination: Baptist

Becky Pippert Used To Be The Evangelism ...  PRO

Contributed by Tom Mccrossan on Jan 22, 2004

Becky Pippert used to be the evangelism specialist for InterVarsity. One time she told a story that helped us really understand God’s grace in the light of the Sixth Commandment. She led a girl to Christ. After this girl became a Christian, she began to agonize, feel tremendous guilt about the fact ...read more

Tags: Abortion

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed