In Sermon Illustrations: "What Is Holy Spirit"

Unintentionally Humorous Texts: What Are They Doing Here?

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Apr 3, 2024

Introduction: David had fled to Achish, king of Gath, in the land of the Philistines once before to escape Saul, the king of Israel and his own father-in-law (1 Samuel 21)! Now it’s a few years later and, once again, Saul is chasing David and, again, David fled to Gath. This time, David and his ...read more

Scripture: 1 Samuel 29:1-5

Tags: David, Philistines, Achish

Denomination: Baptist

What Happened To My Little Piggy Bank

Contributed by James Snyder on Sep 7, 2024

This week, I had to do something I hadn't done before: go to the bank and deal with fraud in my checking account. Someone tried to write a check for $1800 from my account. Fortunately, I didn't have that much money in my account, and I was a little provoked by this incident. How dare ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:10

Tags: Money, Banks, Savings

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

What Can Wash Away My Sin?

Contributed by John Bright on Mar 4, 2025

Your hands are wonderful creations of God! Look at your hands. But if left to do whatever we want – those hands get us into trouble. Try telling a child, “Don’t touch that!” Eve used her hand to pick a forbidden fruit. Adam received the forbidden fruit from Eve. Cain used his hand to murder ...read more

Scripture: Acts 22:16, Genesis 4:11

Tags: Eve, Adam, Cain, Hand

Denomination: Methodist

Daddy, What Does It Feel Like To Die?  PRO

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Feb 19, 2014

Years ago I heard the compelling story of a young pastor whose son was very sick and not expected to live long. Night after night the pastor and his wife would put their boy to bed and say a prayer hoping for a miracle. One evening, the boy looked at his father and said, "Daddy, what does it feel ...read more

Scripture: John 14:1-6, 2 Timothy 3:1-9

Tags: Death, Children, Heaven, Grief

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

What Made America Great, Donald Trump?

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on May 23, 2016

WHAT MADE AMERICA GREAT, DONALD TRUMP? Donald Trump says that he wants to make America great again. If he does, he should listen to the words of French writer Alexis de Tocqueville, who visited America in 1831, said, "I sought for the greatness of the United States in her commodious harbors, her ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 14:34

Tags: America, Memorial Day, Righteousness, July 4th

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

God Gives Us What We Need

Contributed by Tim Smith on Aug 13, 2017

Dana Chau tells the story about a missionary in Africa who had poor health and depended on goat milk for his source of vitamin. One day, the tribal leader came to visit the missionary. After a few minutes, it was obvious that the tribal leader was interested in the goat. The missionary decided to ...read more

Scripture: Titus 3:4

Tags: Provision, Giving

Denomination: Methodist

Forgetting What Is Past And Straining Toward The Future

Contributed by Kerry Haynes on Oct 8, 2017

Commentator Gordon Fee recalls the famous “miracle mile,” the first time two milers ran under four minutes in the same race. Roger Bannister and John Landy competed in Vancouver, B.C. in 1954. Landy had led all the way, but coming off the final turn toward the finish line he looked over his ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 3:13-14

Tags: Forgetting The Past, Heavenward Calling, Future Oriented

Denomination: Baptist

What Must We Do To Get Married?

Contributed by Ron Freeman, Evangelist on Jan 12, 2019

A couple once asked me: "What must we do to get married?" I answered: "All you have to do is say, I do." But, I ask you, was this all? What about the ring, the marriage license, the blood test and the wedding ceremony? Are these also parts of getting married? In marriage, ...read more

Scripture: Acts 16:30-31, Hebrews 11:1

Tags: I Do, Faith In 3d, Commitment, Salvation, Obedience, Confession, Purpose, Foundation, Faith, Love, Marriage  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

What Did We Know Before Facebook?

Contributed by James Snyder on Jan 25, 2020

To paraphrase one of my favorite humorist, Will Rogers, “All I know is what I read on Facebook.” I must admit that I also get information from Facebook. I can keep up with my family and friends, know what they are doing, and know what they are saying. The information there, whether true or not, is ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 25:14

Tags: Gossip, Secrets

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Chillin Ain’t What I Thought It Was

Contributed by James Snyder on Oct 3, 2020

Last week the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage came up with a brilliant idea. At least, at the time, it seemed brilliant. “Why don’t we,” she began, “take Monday off and just chill?” Since it's been a long time since I did any chillin, I had to ask her, "What do we chill ...read more

Scripture: Amos 3:3

Tags: Humor, Vacation, Day Off

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

What Great Men Said About The Bible

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Jan 4, 2021

List to what great men in the past have said about the Bible. Abraham Lincoln: "I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man. All the good from the Savior of the world is communicated to us through this book." W. E. Gladstone: "I have known ninety-five of the ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Timothy 4:1-3

Tags: Bible, Scripture, Truth, Word Of God

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

What Would The World Be Without Apple Fritters?

Contributed by James Snyder on Apr 24, 2021

Stress is not something new in my life or anybody else's, for that matter. The thing about stress is that you never get used to it, or at least I don't. I don't know what I would do if one week I had no stress at all. When that happens, I'll let you know. This past week has not ...read more

Scripture: John 16:33

Tags: Stress, Pleasure

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

What's All These Gadgets For?

Contributed by James Snyder on Aug 14, 2021

Without any hesitation, I will gladly admit that I am on the short side when it comes to gadgets. For me, most of them do not make any sense at all. Instead, I like things simple and easy. As for the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage, she is obsessed with gadgets. She loves them almost as much as ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 1:7

Tags: Frustration, Wisdom, Humor, Instruction

Denomination: Christian Missionary Alliance

Be More Active In Knowing What You Are Buying And ...

Contributed by Mark Eberly on Oct 23, 2008

Be more active in knowing what you are buying and who you are buying it from. For example, fair trade is a designation used for coffee and tea to not only make sure that justice is done by paying farmers fair wages but they also make sure that these farmers farm responsibly: they take care of the ...read more

Tags: Money

Denomination: Church Of God

What If I Am A Woman? Is Not The God Of Ancient ...

Contributed by Carl Benge on Nov 14, 2008

What if I am a woman? Is not the God of ancient times the God of these modern days? Did he not raise up Deborah, to be a mother, and a judge in Israel? Did not queen ...read more

Scripture: Judges 4:1-22

Tags: Leadership General

Denomination: Methodist

We Carve What We Already See

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 31, 2008

WE CARVE WHAT WE ALREADY SEE I heard the story once of a great Cherokee wood carver. He took logs and sat them on a stump outside his back door and sat in front of that log sometimes for hours just staring at it. Finally, he would pick up his carving tools and start carving the most beautiful of ...read more

Tags: God The Father

Put God First And Give Him What Is ...

Contributed by Ovidiu Radulescu on Jan 12, 2009

Put God first and give Him what is His! “Now about the collection for God’s people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 16:1-13

Tags: Tithes

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

What Does God's Voice Sound Like?  PRO

Contributed by Anne Benefield on Feb 4, 2009

WHAT DOES GOD'S VOICE SOUND LIKE? Erwin McManus, a pastor in Los Angeles, tells a great story about recognizing God's voice. My son, Aaron, was five or six when he began asking me, "What does God's voice sound like?" I didn't know how to answer. A few years later, Aaron went off to his first ...read more

Scripture: 1 Samuel 3:1-21

Tags: Hard Heart, Dealing With Conflicts

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

What Else Did He Tell You?

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 12, 2009

WHAT ELSE DID HE TELL YOU? A police officer pulled a guy over for speeding and had the following exchange: Officer: May I see your driver’s license? Driver: I don’t have one. I had it suspended when I got my 5th DUI. (Driving Under the Influence) Officer: May I see the owner’s card for this ...read more

Tags: Confession Of Sin

62% Of Parents Do Not Feel They Understand What ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 13, 2009

62% of parents do not feel they understand what it means to be a teen ...read more

Tags: Youth