In Sermon Illustrations: "Works"

The Message Never Got ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 17, 2009

THE MESSAGE NEVER GOT DELIVERED George Sweeting, in his book, The No-Guilt Guide for Witnessing, tells of a man by the name of John Currier who in 1949 was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Later he was transferred and paroled to work on a farm near Nashville, Tennessee. In ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 10:25

Tags: Evangelism Urgency

Billy Graham's Continuing Hope

Contributed by Brian La Croix on Apr 27, 2009

BILLY GRAHAM'S CONTINUING HOPE Billy Graham has been through the grinder in recent years. He lost his beloved wife, and he is suffering from the effects of Parkinson’s disease, making him unable to continue his crusade work. In his latest letter to the public, he has this to say about the hope ...read more

Tags: Easter Resurrection

Denomination: Wesleyan

Knowing The Father's Love

Contributed by Rickey Bennett on Aug 19, 2009

KNOWING THE FATHER'S LOVE Consider an illustration of two children and two fathers. One child feels like he’s just a tenant in the house, a servant doing what he’s commanded to do. He doesn’t know his father very well or his father’s love. He just knows what he’s been commanded to do. The other ...read more

Tags: Basics Of Christianity

Denomination: *other

While We Were In Jerusalem We Visited A Jewish ...

Contributed by Paul Carlson on Jan 25, 2010

While we were in Jerusalem we visited a Jewish shop “Treasures of the Temple” which was a sort of museum. These Jews are currently recreating all the temple items in preparation of rebuilding the temple to worship in O.T. style. Photos 796-798 We stopped by the Western Wall and there were dozens ...read more

Tags: Grace, Sin Separates From God

Denomination: Baptist

Love Me First, Then Witness To Me

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 28, 2010

LOVE ME FIRST, THEN WITNESS TO ME In our lesson we have seen that faith without works is useless. It cannot be demonstrated, it cannot change a person, it is not perfected, and it is dead! Our faith does not help us, or others, until it causes us to act. Once a chaplain walked up to a wounded ...read more

Scripture: James 2:21-24

Tags: Christian Witness

Brothers Reunited After Fighting Each Other ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 30, 2010

Brothers Reunited After Fighting Each Other During the Civil War James Campbell and his brother Alexander immigrated to America in the 1850s. James settled in Charleston where he worked as a drayman and clerk; Alexander lived in New York and worked as a stonemason. On June 10, 1862, Alexander wrote ...read more

Scripture: John 20:1-18

Tags: War

The Stress-Free Life Of The Bedouins

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 4, 2011

THE STRESS-FREE LIFE OF THE BEDOUINS The Bedouin shepherd lives in shabby box tents that dot the hillsides throughout Israel. When compared to our lives saturated with modern conveniences it seems as though they live a very difficult life. However, an interesting fact is that their average life ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:1-5

Tags: Stress

Built Out Of Junk

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 8, 2011

BUILT OUT OF JUNK Did you hear about the homeless man in Brazil who built his own car out of junk? Orismar de Souza is a homeless man in Brazil who decided to build the car using junk, spare parts and a hammer and chisel. Four years later, the "shrimpmobile" has him back on his feet. Souza, 35, ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Tags: Born Again

The Obedient Mule

Contributed by Eugene Morell on Oct 11, 2011

THE OBEDIENT MULE There is a story about a farmer who wanted to sell his mule so The put the add in the local paper. One day a man from another community came to the farm. The two farmers got to talking and eventually they got around to talking about the mule. The farmer who wanted to buy the ...read more

Tags: Obedience

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Jumping The Grand Canyon

Contributed by Daniel King, D. Min. on Jul 25, 2018

Main Idea: No matter how good you are, you cannot make it to heaven through your own effort. Verse: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV). Illustration: Once, two men had ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 2:8-9

Tags: Sin, Need For Christ, Need For Salvation

Denomination: Charismatic

Justification, Propitiation, And The Very Early Church

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Sep 30, 2019

The early church understood propitiation, the atoning work of Jesus, and justification by faith, not works: from The Epistle of Mathetes to Diognetus, Chapter IX, about 200 A.D. But when our wickedness had reached its height, and it had been clearly shown that its reward, punishment and death, ...read more

Scripture: Romans 3:21-31, Romans 5:8, 1 Corinthians 15:1-5

Tags: Reformers, Penal Atonement, Cross, Justification, Propitiation, Reformation, Grace Alone, Faith Alone, Atonement  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Independent/Bible

How Hard Do You Prepare For Sermons?

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Jan 4, 2021

Howard Hendricks shares this insight about the value of preparing and study for sermons... " When I was a college student—I worked in the college dining hall, and on my way to work at 5:30 am. every morning I walked past the home of one of my professors. Through a window I could see the ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Timothy 4:1-3, 2 Timothy 2:15

Tags: Sermons, Shepherding, Feeding The Flock, Sermon Preparation, Studying The Word  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Like A Glove

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 23, 2022

Here’s a story of how I explain the Holy Spirit in us to children. I take an empty glove and tell the kids that it's a magic glove. I tell them it is amazing because it can pick things up. Then, I drop it on a hymn book or Bible and tell it to pick up the book. When it doesn't move, I ...read more

Scripture: Acts 1:8

Tags: Holy Spirit, Abiding

The Obituary Of Someone Else

Contributed by Garris Hudson on Nov 20, 2022

Our church was saddened to learn this week of the death of one of our most valued members, Someone Else.   Someone’s passing creates a vacancy that will be difficult to fill. Else has been with us for many years and for every one of those years, Someone did far more than a normal person’s ...read more

Tags: Service, Sacrifice, Church Members, Volunteers

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

She Did Not Know Who She Was Talking To

Contributed by Glynda Lomax on Mar 2, 2025

One day I called at the counter of the tiny post office in rural Arkansas to pick up a package they were holding for JPH (my company). When the lady bringing my package looked at the PO Box address on it, she said Oh good, you work for JPH. And I said Yes maam I do. She had been watching for ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 10:19, Proverbs 13:3, Ephesians 4:29

Tags: Words, Speech, Tongue

Denomination: Charismatic

Soon After Jack Benny Died, George Burns Was ...  PRO

Contributed by Doug Lyon on Jan 12, 2001

Soon after Jack Benny died, George Burns was interviewed on TV. Burns commented, "Jack and I had a wonderful friendship for nearly 55 years. Jack never walked out on me when I sang a song, and I never walked out on him when he played the violin. We laughed together, we played together, we ...read more

Tags: Friendship General, Christian Love, Faith

Denomination: Independent/Bible

When I Was A Cub Scout We Had To Do An Age Old ...  PRO

Contributed by Keith Broyles on Jul 17, 2001

When I was a Cub Scout we had to do an age old experiment with two cans tied together by a piece of string. When the string is tight, it carries the sound waves from one can to the other, making a simple telephone. When we started doing the experiment, I thought there was no way that could ...read more

Tags: Doubt, Faith

Denomination: Methodist

Someone Once Asked Dr. Albert Schweitzer, "What's ...  PRO

Contributed by Jeffrey Benjamin on Nov 15, 2001

Someone once asked Dr. Albert Schweitzer, “What’s wrong with men today?” After a brief pause he said, ”The trouble with men today is that they simply don’t think.” “Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it.” Henry Ford “Few people think more ...read more

Tags: Christian Disciplines, Leadership General

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Let Me Share A Few Things With You Regarding ...  PRO

Contributed by Brian La Croix on Dec 2, 2001

Let me share a few things with you regarding temptation: The first comes from that great theological work, Reader’s Digest, and is written by a husband: While my wife and I were shopping at a mall kiosk, a shapely young woman in a short, form-fitting dress strolled by. My eyes followed her. ...read more

Tags: Holiness, Marriage Commitment, Temptation Sex

Denomination: Wesleyan

The Scientific World Has Been Bamboozled Into ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 6, 2002

The scientific world has been bamboozled into believing that evolution has been proved. Nothing could be further from the truth … Every competent space mathematician would assure you that such a Darwinian idea had no chance of working … Every computer expert will in fact assure you that throwing ...read more