Sermon Illustrations

Socrates wrote: "Could I climb the highest place in Athens, I would lift my voice and proclaim: 'Fellow citizens, why do you turn and scrape every stone to gather wealth, and take so little care of your children, to whom one day you must relinquish it all?"

Only a Cobbler William Carey, sometimes called "the father of modern missions," always seemed to have a humble spirit. In young manhood he had a job repairing shoes. As the years went by, honors were heaped upon him because of his many accomplishments. Yet this unassuming man would only accept

One Sunday, a minister began his sermon: "I'd like to make three points today. First, there are millions of people around the world who are going to hell. Second, most of us sitting here today do not give a damn about it." After a lengthy pause he continued: "My third point is that you are more conc

The first concern of the leadership of the church should be for the filled seats, not he empty ones. When a young preacher complained to Charles Spurgeon that his own congregation was too small, Spurgeon replied, "Well, maybe it is as large as you'd like to give account for in the day of judgment."

Moses must have seemed like an unlikely candidate for an inferiority complex. Raised in privilege as an adopted son in Pharaoh's household, he "was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action" (Acts 7:22). He even believed at one point that he was destined t

The streams of life flow from our inner heart. And at the heart of one who ministers must be character. Financier J.P. Morgan once commented that a man's best collateral is his character. -Wiersbe Wiersbe, Making Sense of the Ministry

"No man ever sank under the burden of the day. It is when tomorrow's burden is added to the burden of today, that the weight is more than a man can bear." -George MacDonald, Better Than Gold, p.45

In his powerful book The Holiness of God, R.C. Sproul observed that unbelievers often feel uneasy in the presence of an obedient Christian. The holiness of God reflected in a believer's life makes the non-Christian uncomfortable. Sproul then told the following true incident to illustrate his poi

She pleaded on the phone, "My son is dying of AIDS. Will you please come and pray with him?""Yes," said the senior pastor of a large metropolitan church."Oh, thank you, thank you," the woman sobbed. "You're the fifth church I've called.""What happened to the others?""Two hung up on me. One outright

An associate of Wesley, Samuel Bradburn, was highly respected by his friends and used by God as an effective preacher. On one occasion he was in rather desperate financial need. When Wesley learned of his circumstances, he sent him a five-pound note (then worth about $10) with the following lett