In Sermon Illustrations: "Watchfulness"

Faithful To The Finish

Contributed by Efrain Perez on Oct 9, 2011

FAITHFUL TO THE FINISH In the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Derek Redmond of Great Britain was considered a favorite contender for a medal. It was the evening of August 3, 1992 as Redmond was pitted against seven others in a semi-final in the 400 meters. Redmond knelt poised, waiting for the race to ...read more

Tags: God In The Hardships

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Abandoned At Seventeen

Contributed by Isaac Butterworth on Dec 8, 2014

One of the characters in Kent Haruf’s novel Plainsong, is Victoria, a seventeen-year-old girl who is four months pregnant. When her boyfriend finds out about her condition, he breaks up with her. And when her mother finds out, she kicks her out of the house and says to her, “You got yourself into ...read more

Scripture: Ruth 3:1-13

Tags: Support, Abandonment

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

A Story On Complacency And Laziness Bought About By Submitting To Temptatio

Contributed by John Gullick on Feb 12, 2016

Complacency and self indulgence were having a chat the other day. Complacancy was saying. “ my those other Christians are far too serious. “ Eat drink and be merry I say and then explode into heaven Painless death though thank you very much.”.” Laziness said. “ Yes but get someone else to prepare ...read more

Scripture: Luke 4:1-13

Tags: Temptation, Laziness

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Take It First To The Lord In Prayer  PRO

Contributed by Palitha Jayasooriya on Apr 3, 2017

Take it to the Lord in prayer My mobile phone crashed a few months ago and I had to switch to my wife's old one as a temporary measure. On the first day of using the phone, there was one particularly important feature that neither I nor my wife could grasp, though we tried to figure it out for a ...read more

Scripture: John 16:24

Tags: Prayer, Trusting God, Trusting Christ

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Peace

Contributed by Tim Smith on Aug 13, 2017

Lucinda Norman writes of her experience Christmas shopping at the mall. People had been pushing, elbowing and cutting in front of her all day. During a 10 minute extra 10% off special, one woman grabbed a lace table cloth from her hands, looked her in the eye and said, “Mine!” She yanked it back ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:1-9

Tags: Christmas, Stress, Peace, Shopping

Denomination: Methodist

He Became One Of Us!

Contributed by Chris Stringer on Mar 3, 2018

It was a cold winter morning, as I prepared my coffee and sit at the kitchen table. I kept hearing this sound, as something was hitting the window. I watched as this little bird continually flew back and forth into my kitchen window. I thought to myself, "This poor little guy is going to freeze." ...read more

Tags: Love Of God, Became Flesh

Denomination: *other

Who Needs Twitter!

Contributed by Dr. Fred W. Penney on Aug 20, 2019

We all want our lives to matter, and we believe they only matter if they are noticed by someone. I wonder if this desire for a witness isn't what fuels a lot of blogs, Facebook, and especially Twitter. We want someone, anyone, to take notice … to care about us … to watch us and by their ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 139:1-12

Tags: Communication, Self Esteem, Relationship

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Caesar Ruled.....but God Overruled!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Dec 20, 2020

"Augustus Caesar was ruling, but God was in charge, for He used Caesar's edict to move Mary and Joseph eighty miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem to fulfill His Word. Rome took a census every fourteen years for both military and tax purposes, and each Jewish male had to return to the city of ...read more

Scripture: John 1:1-12

Tags: Mary, Messiah, Christmas, Prophecy, History, Sovereignty Of God, Augustus Caesar  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

The Answer To My Prayers

Contributed by John Bright on Mar 5, 2021

I don’t see as many vending machines around as I used to see. The ones I see now, you can pay with your phone or your smart watch. In the old days, all the vending machines had the food on metal coils that would rotate and move the food forward when you make your selection. Sometimes, that item ...read more

Scripture: John 14:13, Luke 4:38-44

Tags: God, Prayer, Vending Machine

Denomination: Methodist

Old Lady: Looking For The Sonrise...

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on May 21, 2022

AN OLD LADY IN THE RESTHOME 40 YEARS AGO: DEANNA LAFFERTY READ THIS POEM TO ME WEEKLY. Deanna had brain cancer and had half of her head cut off. Her right part of her head was gone, so she could not move the left side of her body. She would hold her Bible or song book in her right hand. She ...read more

Scripture: John 3:30, Proverbs 17:28

Tags: Sunset, Sonrise, Dreaming

Denomination: Assembly Of God

There's Something About That Name!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Nov 7, 2022

Jesus, the mere mention of His name can calm the storm, heal the broken hearted, and raise the dead. At the name of Jesus, I've seen sin-hardened men melted, derelicts transformed, the lights of hope put back into the eyes of a hopeless child... At the name of Jesus, hatred and bitterness has ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 2:5-11

Tags: Worship, Praise, Healing, Prayer, Name Of Jesus  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Poiticians Rule And A Sovereign God Overrules!

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Dec 19, 2022

Augustus Caesar was ruling, but God was in charge, for He used Caesar's edict to move Mary and Joseph eighty miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem to fulfill His Word. Rome took a census every fourteen years for both military and tax purposes, and each Jewish male had to return to the city of his ...read more

Tags: Mary, Christmas, Bethlehem, Prophecy, Joseph, History, Virgin Birth, Sovereignty Of God  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Letting Go

Contributed by Bruce Lee on Jan 27, 2023

Letting Go “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair.” 2 Corinthians 4:8 ESV She was only five years old. It was her first day of school. Her mommy will never forget crying all the way back as she walked to the house after letting her go and ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:8

Tags: Survival, Letting Go, Funeral, Grief

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Never Give Up

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Oct 4, 2023

CONCLUSION: There was an old frog that gathered the little tadpoles around him to teach them a lesson about endurance and persistence. He told of the farmer and his wife that had milked all the cows and set the milk cans out by the road. He told how the frogs loved to jump up and sit on top of the ...read more

Scripture: Mark 5:36, Hebrews 11:1

Tags: Persistence, Never Quit

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Don't Let The Sun Confuse You

Contributed by Tim White on Mar 10, 2025

When Laura and I were blessed with a gift of a cruise, we had a blast. On the way back from the western Caribbean, we opened the cabin curtains to watch another sunset. But, there was no sun. I checked the television station that had mapped our trek and displayed our current location. The cruise ...read more

Scripture: John 12:46

Tags: Confusion, Direction, Guidance

Denomination: Baptist

Scarecrow?

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Sep 17, 2025

I had a dream. In the dream I saw some huge power lines. There were thousands of birds sitting on the power lines. Some of the birds were falling off the power lines. The birds were weak. Actually I could see some fell to their death due to starvation. The picture opened wider and I could ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 1:7, Genesis 3:8

Tags: Fear, Worry

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Singing On The Porch

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Feb 9, 2003

Singing on the porch By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com Make a joyful noise unto the Lord. Wow, what kids today are missing? They travel across the nation and have a DVD or a Nintendo in the SUV, and they never look out the window to see where they have been. We have a friend that has 4 ...read more

Tags: Family, Giving Yourself

Denomination: Assembly Of God

When Everything Fails, It’s Over

Contributed by James Snyder on May 9, 2020

During this time of seclusion, the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage and Yours Truly has spent some significant time binge-watching some of those Hallmark mystery movies. After a while, they all look alike, but my wife loves them, therefore, so do I. The other night as we were watching, one of ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 3:5-6, Job 2:9, Job 13:15

Tags: Attack, Humore

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

A Family Stare Off Competition

Contributed by James Snyder on Jul 4, 2020

During the last several months, the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage and I have spent some quality time together. I’m assuming this is quality time, but I will have to get second opinion evidence about that. Overall, we have been enjoying our time together without any interruptions, as usually ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 26:27

Tags: Humor, Competition, Movies

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Oh, To Be Crazy And Get Paid For It

Contributed by James Snyder on Sep 26, 2020

I usually don't complain a lot. When I do I get caught in some dilemma that I can’t talk my way out. You think I would learn my lesson, but I'm still in the learning curve. It was a long week, and the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage and I had a busy schedule. She went her way, I went my ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 5:10

Tags: Money, Politics, Humor

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance