In Sermon Illustrations: "Where"

The Census Taker From Rome  PRO

Contributed by Dorothy Napier on Sep 21, 2009

THE CENSUS TAKER FROM ROME I am reminded of a story told of a cesus taker from Rome, who went to Galilee around 28 A.D. As he entered the region he came upon a man sitting on a donkey. he man had long hair and a flowing beard. He wore an old cloak, sandals, and beads. Pardon me the census taker ...read more

Tags: God Brings Hope

Denomination: Baptist

Years Ago I Was Working Two Jobs Trying To Get ...

Contributed by Sean Harder on Dec 18, 2009

Years ago I was working two jobs trying to get into professional golf. One of those was a courier job where you had to use your own vehicle. I had a very reliable Honda civic hatchback, great for driving in the city, a fair bit of space in the back with the seat folded down. It was the best car I ...read more

Tags: Mistakes

Missionary Paralyzed Learns How To Thrive In ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 1, 2010

Missionary Paralyzed Learns How To Thrive in Suffering Scott Larson shared a personal encounter. “Annette and her husband were missionaries in Western Europe when she began to have pain in her back. When the pain became so unbearable that she could no longer function, even with muscle relaxants, ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 23:1-6

Tags: Suffering Joy In, Joy In Trials

Imagine With Me For A Moment, If You Had A ...

Contributed by Rick Gillespie- Mobley on May 7, 2010

Imagine with me for a moment, if you had a beautiful picture in your home that was worth over a hundred thousand dollars because of the artist who had painted it. It was a one of a kind masterpiece. The artist had put excellence into every stroke of his work The colors were awesome. The depth ...read more

Tags: Mother's Day, Respect

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

A Good Name I Never Met

Contributed by Davon Huss on Feb 14, 2011

A GOOD NAME I NEVER MET In his book, I Almost Missed The Sunset, Bill Gaither writes: Gloria and I had been married a couple of years. We were teaching school in Alexandria, Indiana, where I had grown up, and we wanted a piece of land where we could build a house. I noticed the parcel south of ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 22:1

Tags: Character, Armor Of God

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Don't Give Up—the Case Of Mrs. Ruth Ertel

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 8, 2012

DON’T GIVE UP--THE CASE OF MRS. RUTH ERTEL In 1965 a divorced mother of two, found a classified ad offering a restaurant for sale. She mortgaged her house to purchase the restaurant, the original Chris’s steakhouse. In 1976 a fire forced her to relocate. Under the original purchase agreement, the ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:3-5

Tags: Endurance

Unsung Heroes: He Helped David With The Sheep

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Nov 14, 2020

Text, 1 Samuel 17:20-21, KJV: 20And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the trench, as the host was going forth to the fight, and shouted for the battle. 21For Israel and the Philistines had put the ...read more

Scripture: 1 Samuel 17:20-21

Tags: David, Sheep, Shepherding

Denomination: Baptist

Unsung Heroes-Those Who Made Copies Of The Scriptures

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Sep 30, 2021

Introduction: sometimes we forget, or take for granted, the easy availability of God’s Word. Retail stores (not just Christian bookstores) sometimes have copies of the whole Bible for a dollar per copy! Secondhand or thrift stores occasionally have donated Bibles and other portions for a very ...read more

Scripture: Daniel 9:1-2

Tags: Jeremiah, Word Of God, Scribes, Baruch, Daniel  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

[173]. A Message From A Poem – Look Up Look Up

Contributed by Ron Ferguson on Aug 22, 2025

[173]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – LOOK UP LOOK UP Two lines I wrote in the poem are:- “Your heart is where your mind is set. Your mind is what your heart has fixed.” This is not a circular argument and is allied with this verse – {{Colossians 3:2 “SET YOUR MIND on the things above, not on the ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 3:1, Colossians 3:2

Tags: The Mind, Set Your Mind, Christian Poems, Earthly, Look To Christ, Looking To Jesus, Heavenly Minded, Look Up, The Heart  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Global Gift Dilemma

Contributed by Loyd C. Taylor on Dec 4, 2025

Global Gift Dilemma Simple Gifts, Joyful Hearts I enjoy Christmas not just because it commemorates Christ’s birth and allows us to share that meaningfully with others. I appreciate the spirit of giving, but as my wife and I grow older, we’ve become more careful about our spending. We now keep ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 17:22, Matthew 1:21, John 1:1-14, Isaiah 9:6, Micah 5:2  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Ideas, Gifts, Frugal, Lists, Christmas, Wisdom  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Two Men Had Gone Moose Hunting Up In Canada For ...  PRO

Contributed by Kenneth Henes on Oct 27, 2000

Two men had gone moose hunting up in Canada for a week. Their week of hunting was over, and a pilot had flown in to pick them up, as arranged ahead of time. The pilot taxied the plane down the grass landing strip to where the hunters stood with all of their equipment and the two moose they had ...read more

Tags: God's Omniscience, Faith, Faith General

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

One Of The Most Disturbing And Powerful Films I ...  PRO

Contributed by Rob Short on Mar 18, 2001

One of the most disturbing and powerful films I have seen over the last couple of years is Steven Spielberg’s movie, Saving Private Ryan. The movie tells the story of an Army captain named John Miller who having survived the carnage of the D-Day invasion at Normandy Beach, portrayed in 28 minutes ...read more

Scripture: Nehemiah 1:1, Nehemiah 4:1-23, Nehemiah 4:10-23, Nehemiah 4:14

Tags: Lordship Of Christ, Forgiveness In Jesus

Denomination: Baptist

No Cross, No Poland  PRO

Contributed by Steve Malone on Apr 7, 2001

NO CROSS, NO POLAND Charles Colson in his book Kingdoms In Conflict, tells how before the collapse of communism, the government of Poland issued an order that all crucifixes were to be removed from classroom walls just as they had been banned in factories, hospitals, and other public ...read more

Tags: Jesus Teachings, Forgiveness In Jesus, Cross Agony

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

A Young Christian Went To His Local Church ...  PRO

Contributed by A. Todd Coget on Aug 3, 2001

A young Christian went to his local church usually, but one weekend attended a small town church. He came home and his wife asked him how it was. "Well," said the young man, "It was good. They did something different however. They sang hymns instead of regular songs." "Hymns," said his wife, ...read more

Tags: Church Practices

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

I Was Invited To Be A Valet For Mid Americas ...

Contributed by Douglas Vincent on Nov 19, 2004

I was invited to be a valet for Mid Americas corvette rally. It was so amazing. I got to drive a 63 coverable, a crème white 69; I drove more 2000 models than I can count. Each one got my adrenaline pumping, and I was amazed by the power each car had. I was parking them in the grass below these ...read more

Tags: Sin Deceptive, Sin Separates From God

Denomination: Methodist

Dragging My Sin  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 6, 2005

DRAGGING MY SIN In this award winning film called “The Mission,” Robert DeNiro plays a mercenary who has taken asylum in the local church after killing his brother in a fit of jealous rage. He eventually leaves the church and heads to a mission post located above the waterfalls in a South American ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 32:1-11, Psalm 32:1-11, Mark 5:1-19, Mark 5:1-19

Tags: Forgiveness General, Forgiveness For Others, Character

In The Movie "Shawshank Redemption," An Old ...  PRO

Contributed by Timothy Smith on Sep 10, 2005

In the movie “Shawshank Redemption,” an old prisoner, Brooks Handlin, acts unreasonable and threatens to take another prisoner’s life. They find out that the reason Brooks has reacted this way is that he’s scared. Scared because his parole has been approved. You see those outside of Shawshank see ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 21:1-3

Tags: Heaven

Denomination: Christian Church

Belief In Life After Death, Like The Existence Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 3, 2006

Belief In Life After Death, like the existence of God, is widely embraced by American adults. According to a new Barna Research poll 81% believe in an afterlife of some sort. Another 9% say they are not certain. Just 10% contend there is no form of life after death. 79% agree, “Every person has a ...read more

Tags: Heaven

The Story Is Told Of A Young Man Who Had Just ...  PRO

Contributed by John Visser on Feb 20, 2006

The story is told of a young man who had just started his new job in the produce department of a grocery store, when a woman came up to him asking to buy a half head of lettuce. As politely as he could, the young man said that “In this store, we don’t sell half heads of lettuce, we sell whole ...read more

Tags: Dealing With Conflicts

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Whenever Our Family Moved To A New Town Or City, ...

Contributed by Dale Pilgrim on Apr 21, 2007

Whenever our family moved to a new town or city, the first few evenings were used to drive around and explore our new surroundings. We didn’t use a map or give much attention to where we were going. We had no particular destination in mind so a map held no value. We would come to an intersection ...read more

Denomination: Salvation Army