In Sermon Illustrations: "Wicked Ways"

Don't Wait

Contributed by Brian Matherlee on Jul 23, 2008

DON'T WAIT Allison was an upbeat, enthusiastic teen. She was positive, eager, and energetic. She was one of the teens in my group and was always a joy. It was terrible the day I got the call about her dad. Allison’s dad died suddenly of a massive heart attack sitting in his office at work one ...read more

Tags: Action

Denomination: Wesleyan

A Man For All Seasons

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 11, 2008

A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS In 1966, Robert Bolt's play was made into a movie of the same name. A Man For All Seasons was a movie about Sir Thomas More. More, a member of the elite Privy Council of the Roman Catholic Church, refused to give his okay to King Henry VIII's divorce to his wife and ...read more

Tags: Character

Allison Was An Upbeat, Enthusiastic Teen. She ...

Contributed by Brian Matherlee on Sep 4, 2008

Allison was an upbeat, enthusiastic teen. She was positive, eager, and energetic. She was one of the teens in my group and was always a joy. It was terrible the day I got the call about her dad. Allison’s dad died suddenly of a massive heart attack sitting in his office at work one day. I got ...read more

Tags: Love For God

Denomination: Wesleyan

The Powerhouse  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Oct 22, 2008

The Powerhouse Stephen Kuusisto grew up feeling a stigma about being legally blind. For him, sight consisted of a kaleidoscope of shapes, colors, and shadows. Privately he would press his face close to the page of a book and memorize street names in an exhausting attempt to appear more able to see ...read more

Scripture: John 16:13

Tags: Holy Spirit In Believers

In A Poem Attributed To Archbishop Oscar Romero, ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 16, 2008

In a poem attributed to Archbishop Oscar Romero, entitled "Prophets of a Future Not Our Own," he states: "It helps, now and then, to step back and take the long view. We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God's work. Nothing we do is complete, ...read more

Tags: Church Body Of Christ

The Heart Of Worship

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 28, 2008

THE HEART OF WORSHIP In late 1990's in Watford, England, Matt Redman's church had a high caliber praise band and worship team, yet the pastor knew that the congregation had lost its way in worship. So the Pastor asked "When you come through the doors on a Sunday, what are you bringing as your ...read more

Tags: Worship Definition

Sex Is Like A ...

Contributed by Charles Wallis on Feb 19, 2009

Sex is Like a Maserati (Based on an illustration given by Pastor Ed Young Fellowship Church C3 conference February 19, 2009) Pastor Young was talking to a porn actress from Europe about salvation through Jesus Christ. She did not believe and questioned him. She wondered if she would have to ...read more

Tags: Sexuality

Denomination: Pentecostal

Waiting On The Interest  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 17, 2009

WAITING ON THE INTEREST A girl had a nice little piggy bank. Her father wanted to teach her about saving, so he talked to her about putting her money into a savings account at their bank. He very carefully explained to her that when she put money into her account, the bank would pay her interest ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 6:7-8, Romans 5:2-10

Tags: Future

A Higher Source

Contributed by Dwight L. Moody on Jun 11, 2009

A HIGHER SOURCE "I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honour him" (Ps. 91:15). First, "I will deliver." When God called Moses to go down into Egypt to deliver the children of Israel from the hand of the Egyptians, in all the world there wasn’t a man who, humanly speaking, ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 91:15

Tags: God's Omnipotence

Denomination: *other

If You Care, Give Your Testimony

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 14, 2009

IF YOU CARE, GIVE YOUR TESTIMONY God wants us to be concerned about other people. And one of the best ways we can show our concern is by giving them testimonies about Jesus. One of my all-time favorite teachers was Don Wilton. One day in class, Dr. Wilton told us about getting to serve on Billy ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 3:15-16

Tags: Evangelism The Lost

Mother Sheep Sacrifices Her Life To Save Her Lamb ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 18, 2010

Mother Sheep Sacrifices Her Life to Save Her Lamb from a Tiger William Faulkner tells the story of a mother sheep who had warned her little ones, “Do not go near the river, for a bad tiger lives there, and he will kill and eat you.” One lamb kept toying with the thought that the grass near the ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 53:6

Tags: Sacrifices

In 1914; Sir Earnest Shackleton, And Explorer ...

Contributed by Ken Mckinley on Jan 19, 2010

In 1914; Sir Earnest Shackleton, and explorer from England attempted to cross Antarctica. His exploration didn’t go so well though as his ship, “The Endurance,” was caught in the ice pack and slowly crushed as the ice closed in around it. Luckily, Shackleton and his crew managed to make it off ...read more

Tags: Second Coming

Denomination: Independent/Bible

God's Unexpected Answer To Prayer Protects From ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 6, 2010

God’s Unexpected Answer to Prayer Protects from Bomb But God provides in a variety of ways. A Messianic Jewish brother relates: "I was part of a singing group once that was scheduled to do a series of "peace" concerts in war-torn Northern Ireland. As Jews, we went with the message that Catholics ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 17:6-9

Tags: Prayer General, God's Protection

I Was Interested To Read A Comment By The Golfer ...

Contributed by David Moore on Mar 26, 2010

I was interested to read a comment by the golfer Tiger Woods this week. As we all know Tiger Woods had a spectacular fall from grace, so to speak. One minute he was this squeaky clean, highly paid sports star, the toast of the golfing world and the next it was revealed he was a serial adulterer, ...read more

Tags: Sin Exposed, Confession Of Sin

Denomination: Baptist

Drinking From My Saucer (By John Paul Moore) ...

Contributed by Dennis Selfridge on May 22, 2010

Drinking From My Saucer (By John Paul Moore) “ I've never made a fortune and it's probably too late now But I don't worry about that much I'm happy anyhow and as I go along life's way I'm reaping better than I sow I'm drinking from my saucer 'Cause my cup has overflowed. Haven't got a lot of ...read more

Tags: Growth In Christ, Blessings

Denomination: Wesleyan

Dirty Laundry

Contributed by Jason Bonnicksen on Mar 15, 2011

DIRTY LAUNDRY I have to admit, I dislike washing the laundry, but I detest wearing filthy clothes even more. Okay, truth be told, I don’t usually have to wash the clothes. My wife does most of it, and she does it well. I’m thankful, though, she doesn’t toil in the same manner as our ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 6:1-11

Tags: Atonement

Denomination: Lutheran

Resurrection Tree

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 5, 2011

RESURRECTION TREE In a cemetery in Hanover, Germany, is a grave on which were placed huge slabs of granite and marble cemented together and fastened with heavy steel clasps. It belongs to a woman who did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. Yet strangely, she directed in her will that her ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:35-58

Tags: Immortality

Colossian Philosophy: "Borrowed" Features

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 6, 2011

COLOSSIAN PHILOSOPHY: "BORROWED" FEATURES I used to collect basketball cards. This was way back in the early 90s, though I still have held on to them. Basketball cards took off well after baseball cards, and each brand over time had its own unique features. Some were UV coated, others had gold ...read more

Scripture: Colossians 1:15-23

Tags: False Teaching

The Law And The Gospel

Contributed by Alison Bucklin on Jun 10, 2011

THE LAW AND THE GOSPEL John Wesley: "There is no [conflict] at all between the law and the gospel; that there is no need for the law to pass away, in order to the establishing of the gospel. Indeed neither of them supersedes the other, but they agree perfectly well together. Yea, the very same ...read more

Tags: Law

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Improving On A Good Design...or Not

Contributed by Sermon Central on Aug 8, 2011

IMPROVING ON A GOOD DESIGN...OR NOT Years ago I bought a Chevy Caprice at a used car lot. It was a thing of beauty. It was big and stylish and it purred as I drove it down the road. Well, it purred for the first few days. Then it began to cough and sputter and I had difficulty getting above 30 ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 1:27-30

Tags: Church General