In Sermon Illustrations: "Young"

I Heard A Story One Time About A New, Cocky ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 18, 2007

I heard a story one time about a new, cocky young preacher, straight out of seminary. He was going to preach his very first sermon in a big, old Presbyterian church. The church had an elevated pulpit with a long flight of stairs leading up to it. This kid was about as prideful as he could be. All ...read more

Tags: Faith General

Song - Jesus Loves Me, Senior Version *author ...  PRO

Contributed by William Akehurst on Jun 28, 2007

SONG - JESUS LOVES ME, Senior Version *Author Unknown* Jesus loves me, this I know, Though my hair is white as snow. Though my sight is growing dim, Still He bids me trust in Him. (CHORUS) YES, JESUS LOVES ME... YES, JESUS LOVES ME... YES, JESUS LOVES ME FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO. ...read more

Scripture: John 3:16

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

I Actually Typed Into Google The ...

Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Nov 1, 2007

Illustration: I actually typed into Google the words “I hate my life!” 1. I was shocked how many I hate my life websites came up! 2. Here is the opening page of one website: You’re having a bad day. We want to know about it. Maybe your agony exceeds ours. That could be interesting. Because ...read more

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

When Shane Claiborne Was In Baghdad During The ...

Contributed by Mark Eberly on Jan 14, 2008

When Shane Claiborne was in Baghdad during the initial stages of the Iraqi war as a civilian and peacemaker, he attended a birthday party for a girl whose family he had become friends with. She was turning 13. (I told the story last week of Shane’s harrowing escape from Baghdad in the midst of ...read more

Denomination: Church Of God

How Does Adoption Change Things? ...  PRO

Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Mar 1, 2008

Illustration: How does adoption change things? Here’s a secular example: In 1952 a probation officer in New York City tried to find an organization that would assist in the adoption of a twelve-year-old boy. Although the child had a religious background, none of the major denominations would assist ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 2:15-17, 1 John 2:25-26

Denomination: Other

Pickup In The Rain

Contributed by Bill Butsko on Aug 16, 2008

PICKUP IN THE RAIN One night in the 1960s, at 11:30 p.m., an older African-American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a windy rain storm which was accompanied by lightning. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to ...read more

Tags: Christian Love

Denomination: Christian Church

For My Next Point, I Need A Volunteer. I Need A ...

Contributed by Robbie Parsons on Sep 14, 2008

For my next point, I need a volunteer. I need a young person who really likes bubble gum. (Get the volunteer and talk with him or her up front for a minute.) So you like chewing gum? What is your favorite kind? Really, that is nice. I’m sorry that I don’t have any of that king of bubble gum, ...read more

Denomination: United Methodist

Let's Talk About The Differences Inherent In ...

Contributed by Clark Tanner on Nov 1, 2008

Let’s talk about the differences inherent in being son or servant in any household. Now it may seem more than a stretch to draw from a modern fantasy tale for my illustration, but the story line of Batman offers very good examples of our point. In that story, the boy who will eventually ...read more

Tags: Servanthood

Denomination: Orthodox

Albert Einstein - Ticket For The Journey

Contributed by Christian Cheong on Dec 22, 2008

Albert Einstein, the great physicist, was once travelling from Princeton on a train when the conductor came down the aisle, punching the tickets of each passenger. When he came to Einstein, Einstein reached in his vest pocket. He couldn’t find his ticket, so he reached in his other pocket. It ...read more

Scripture: John 14:3

Tags: Heaven, Salvation, Destination

Denomination: Independent/Bible

The Best News No One Heard

Contributed by Sermon Central on Dec 31, 2008

THE BEST NEWS NO ONE HEARD Take the year 1809. The international scene was tumultuous. Napoleon was sweeping through Austria; blood was flowing freely. Nobody then cared about babies. But the world was overlooking some terribly significant births. For example, William Gladstone was born that ...read more

Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:1-5

Tags: Christmas

Isaac Watts

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 7, 2009

ISAAC WATTS Isaac Watts was a genius. At four years of age, he had learned Latin, at nine Greek, at 11 French, and at 13 years old, Hebrew. His poetic re-working of the Psalms was magnificent. Unfortunately for poor Isaac, he was not a looker. His one chance at love came and went with a young ...read more

Tags: Commitment To Christ

Make Sure We Were Abiding

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 13, 2009

MAKE SURE WE WERE ABIDING Stuart Briscoe, author and long-time pastor of Elmbrook Church in Brookfield, Wisconsin, tells about the time he traveled to Poland during the cold war. He was involved in several weeks of itinerant ministry, and one winter day his sponsors drove him in the dead of night ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:13

Tags: Jesus Teachings

Hide And Seek With God  PRO

Contributed by Johnny Wilson on Mar 7, 2009

HIDE AND SEEK WITH GOD This week I have been hammered by the immensity of what it means to "abandon," "forsake," or "leave alone" the omnipresent God, God who is everywhere. How is that possible? It is ONLY possible if God allows us to leave, allows us to turn our back upon God Himself. Yes, it ...read more

Tags: God's Omniscience

Denomination: *other

Don't Tape The Trees

Contributed by Hugh W. Davidson on Mar 13, 2009

DON'T TAPE THE TREES I was talking to a man a few years back, and he told me how he used to have a farm and how he had tried to grow different things to make money. Well, one day he said he hired a young guy to mow his lawn ,but he explained to him that he had just planted about fifty Christmas ...read more

Tags: Lies

Denomination: Baptist

Peter Marshall's Calling

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 17, 2009

PETER MARSHALL’S CALLING In her book, A Man Called Peter, Catherine Marshall tells how her late preacher-husband felt a sense of destiny a sense of call in his life. One dark night, Peter, then a young man, decided to take a shortcut across the Scottish moors. He knew there was a deep deserted ...read more

Tags: Death, Call Of The Disciples

Get On With It, You Old Goat

Contributed by Sermon Central on Apr 28, 2009

"GET ON WITH IT, YOU OLD GOAT." I heard the story about a college choir which was all set to present a concert in a large church which was to be carried live by a local radio station. When everything appeared to be ready, the announcer made his final introduction and waited for the choir director ...read more

Scripture: James 1:22-24

Tags: Action

In Fact The Idea Of Speaking Out When Confronted ...

Contributed by Michael Carbaugh on May 5, 2009

In fact the idea of speaking out when confronted with something wrong was the chief proponent behind an education development in the Reagan administration. It’s roots go back to the 1970’s where a University of Houston Social Psychology professor begin working on a model to help students resist ...read more

Tags: Worldliness

Denomination: Baptist

Love In The Driveway  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jun 25, 2009

LOVE IN THE DRIVEWAY One young boy said, "Love is when his daddy reads me a bedtime story. True love is when he doesn’t skip any pages." I remember when my son Shawn was in high school. Several times he parked his truck in the middle of the driveway. That got my dander up, because I could not get ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Tags: Christian Love

Intercession: Pyramid Prayer?

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jul 14, 2009

INTERCESSION: PYRAMID PRAYER? Philip Yancey in his book on prayer tells of a young American soldier in Iraq who learns that his wife back home has advanced cervical cancer. Doctors gave a bleak prognosis. In desperation, he sent an urgent email to his church with the request that everyone in turn ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 13:6

Tags: Intercession

Frog Prince

Contributed by Bradley Kellum on Aug 10, 2009

FROG PRINCE An 80 year-old woman was walking down the main street in her hometown one evening when she heard a low voice say, "Hey lady." She looked around to see who was talking but upon seeing nobody there she shrugged it all off and continued walking. Before she got another five feet, she ...read more

Tags: Aging

Denomination: Baptist