In Sermon Illustrations: "Wicked Heart"

One Moment's Believing

Contributed by Rickey Bennett on Aug 18, 2009

ONE MOMENT'S BELIEVING Octavius Winslow said it this way. "One moment’s believing, close contact with the cross will do more to break the heart for sin, deepen the conviction of its exceeding sinfulness, and disenthrall the soul from all its bondage and its fears, bringing it into a sense of ...read more

Tags: Cross

Denomination: *other

Early African Converts To Christianity Were ...

Contributed by Bobby Scobey on Feb 22, 2010

Early African converts to Christianity were earnest and regular in private devotions. Each one reportedly had a separate spot in the thicket where he would pour out his heart to God. Over time the paths to these places became well worn. As a result, if one of these believers began to neglect ...read more

Tags: Prayer Persistence

Denomination: Pentecostal

I Like What S. D. Gordon Wrote: "It Is Startling ...

Contributed by Tony Abram on Feb 27, 2010

I like what S. D. Gordon wrote: "It is startling to think that Satan can actually come into the heart of a man in such close touch with Jesus as Judas was. And more--he is cunningly trying to do it today. Yet he can get in only through a door opened from the ...read more

Tags: Antichrist

Principles Of Materialism  PRO

Contributed by Derrick Tuper on May 8, 2010

PRINCIPLES OF MATERIALISM In Randy Alcorn’s book: God, Money and Possessions, we find some worthwhile principles: 1. God owns everything. 2. My heart always goes where I put my money. 3. Heaven, not earth, is my home. 4. Giving is the only antidote to materialism. ...read more

Tags: Giving General

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Quotes On Humility

Contributed by Billy Nale on Apr 13, 2011

QUOTES ON HUMILITY "To become truly great, one has to stand with people, not above them." -- Charles de Montesquieu "Modesty is a shining light; it prepares the mind to receive knowledge, and the heart for truth." -- Madame Guizot "None are so empty as those who are full of themselves." -- ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 3:8

Tags: Humility

Denomination: Baptist

Jesus Cared

Contributed by C. Philip Green on Jan 2, 2013

JESUS CARED Henri Nouwen once said, "What we see, and like to see, is cure and change. But what we do not see and do not want to see is care: the participation in the pain, the solidarity in the suffering, the sharing in the experience of brokenness. And still, cure without care is as ...read more

Scripture: John 11:35

Tags: Restoration, Caring Love

Denomination: Evangelical Free

Take Courage And Have Faith, God Is With Us, Is ...

Contributed by Richard Francis on May 19, 2007

Take courage and have faith, God is with us, is in control, he might shake the nations and bring disasters, but God is God, the silver is his, the gold is his and all the glory is his, rejoice and trust. Remember God loves us and whatever we do that will not change, he is there arms wide open ...read more

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

When A Surgeon Enters An Operating Theater, He ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

WHEN A SURGEON ENTERS AN OPERATING THEATER, HE IS CAREFUL TO WORK IN A STERILE ENVIRONMENT, BY SCRUBBING HIS HANDS; WEARING A STERILIZED GOWN AND MASK TO PROTECT THE PATIENT AND HIMSELF, FROM ANY GERMS OR BACTERIA. L. THE THEOLOGICAL IMPLICATION IS THAT WE SHOULD HATE SIN, BECAUSE THE ONLY WAY WE ...read more

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

Ernest Hemingway, Said This About His Life: "I ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

Ernest Hemingway, said this about his life: “I live in a vacuum that is as lonely as a radio tube when the batteries are dead, and there is no current to plug into.” Hemingway lived his life in a way that would be the envy of any person who has bought in to the values of this world. But on a Sunday ...read more

Tags: Ot Kings

A Poem By William Stidger

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

A poem by William Stidger says it well: "I saw God bare his soul one day Where all the earth might see The stark and naked heart of him On lonely Calvary. There was a crimson sky of blood And overhead a storm; When lightning slit the clouds and light engulfed his form. Beyond the storm ...read more

Tags: God In The Hardships

Conviction Of Sin

Contributed by Alison Bucklin on Aug 28, 2023

“The new believer will often rest for days or months in the peace which follows the initial decision, but after a while they begin to become aware of “the ground of their heart, which God before would not disclose unto them lest the soul should fail before Him, and the spirit which He had made. Now ...read more

Scripture: Luke 5:8, Luke 5:27, Luke 19:8, Matthew 8:8

Tags: Repentance, Conviction, Conversion

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Death By Crucifixion

Contributed by John Bright on Apr 6, 2025

This a medical description of what happens: DEATH BY CRUCIFIXION: SLOW SUFFOCATION 1 - Shallowness of breathing causes small areas of lung collapse. 2 - Decreased oxygen and increased carbon dioxide cause acidic conditions in the tissues. 3 - Fluid builds up in the lungs. Makes the situation in ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 27:32-56

Tags: Crucifixion, Slow, Suffocation

Denomination: Methodist

Does Anyone Know What That Piece In The Middle Of ...  PRO

Contributed by Glenn Newton on May 3, 2005

Does anyone know what that piece in the middle of the washer is called? The part in the middle that moves back and forth and shakes the clothes back and forth? What is that called? I’m going to call it an Agitator…. What is the purpose of the Agitator? As far as I can tell, it sole purpose is ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 4:17-24

Tags: Holy Spirit In Believers, Holy Spirit Attributes

Denomination: Nazarene

The Late Rev. Dr. John Rowan Claypool Iv Served ...

Contributed by R. David Reynolds on Feb 3, 2008

The late Rev. Dr. John Rowan Claypool IV served as a pastor for 47 years, first in Southern Baptist Congregations in the South and then from 1986 to 2000 as the Rector of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Birmingham, Alabama. In his sermon entitled “The Future and Forgetting,” he shares this ...read more

Tags: Comfort

Denomination: Methodist

Another Time, Another Place

Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Nov 14, 2021

ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER PLACE I've always heard there is a land Beyond the mortal dreams of man Where every tear will be left behind But it must be in another time, There'll be an everlasting light Shining a purest holy white And every fear will be erased But it must be in another place, ...read more

Scripture: John 14:1-6

Tags: Heaven, New Jerusalem, Streets Of Gold, Songs Of Heaven

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Out Of The Shade And Into The Light

Contributed by Todd Catteau on Feb 6, 2025

It’s been cold outside! Last week I walked into the office and commented that it's not fair that we have to suffer through the hot Texas summers AND these sub-freezing temperatures. But here in Texas the snow and ice quickly melt away—except not in some places. On my commute to church there ...read more

Scripture: Numbers 6:25

Tags: Worship, Revival, Melt, Revive, Sunlight, Thaw, Light  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Dearest Jimmy, No Words Could Ever Express The ...  PRO

Contributed by R. Darrel Davis on Feb 10, 2001

"Dearest Jimmy, No words could ever express the great unhappiness I’ve felt since breaking our engagement. Please say you’ll take me back. No one could ever take your place in my heart, so please forgive me. I love you, I love you, I love ...read more

Tags: Unconditional Love, Temptation General, Marriage Commitment

Denomination: Baptist

Dearest Jimmy  PRO

Contributed by James Botts on Sep 1, 2002

Dearest Jimmy, No words could ever express the great unhappiness I’ve felt since breaking off our engagement. Please say you’ll take me back. No one could ever take your place in my heart, so please forgive me. I love you, I love you, I love ...read more

Tags: Unconditional Love

Denomination: Baptist

A Conference At A Presbyterian Church In Omaha. ...  PRO

Contributed by Paul Fritz on Jun 2, 2001

A conference at a Presbyterian church in Omaha. People were given helium filled balloons and told to release them at some point in the service when they felt like expressing the joy in their hearts. Since they were Presbyterians, they weren’t free to say "Hallelujah, Praise the Lord." All through ...read more

Tags: Worship Purpose

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Your Death And My Death Are Mainly Of ...

Contributed by Sean Smuts on Jan 29, 2003

"Your death and my death are mainly of importance to ourselves. The black plumes will be stripped off our hearses within the hour; tears will dry, hurt hearts close again, our graves grow level with the church-yard, and although we are away, the world wags on. It does not miss us, and those who ...read more

Tags: Death

Denomination: Mennonite