Sermon Illustrations

Speaking of contaminants let me tell you about a house I once helped my landlord clean. It was back when we lived in Moberly, just a few blocks away from our house. I had helped my landlord, Dr. Stan McCreary, do many things and so he asked me if I wouldn’t mind helping him fix up a house he had just bought so that students could live in it. After I had volunteered, he then told me the story behind the house and how he had acquired it. He said that he knew the lady and her daughter who lived there. They always looked clean and even smelled nice. They never looked dirty or unkempt. However, the Department of Human Services got a tip that they should go and check this person’s house because the neighbors could smell it. The DHS people went into the home only to find that these nice clean people had animal feces covering every inch of the house. It had to be the most disgusting sight I had ever seen. I put on my jeans and a shirt and then I put on scrubs over that. I used duct-tape to seal my scrubs around my ankles, my wrists, and my collar. I had two layers of gloves on my hands, a hat covering my head, and a face mask on.

I must have looked like I had come from a sci-fi audition but at least I felt somewhat safe from the germs. A friend of mine had taken some unused and unneeded bottles of medical facility grade chemicals for me to use. After scrubbing for about 6 hours a group of us had finished cleaning most of the house with one chemical that smelled like peppermint. We had no choice but to throw away everything including all the appliances in the house; even the refrigerator was finally tossed because no one could put food in without the thought of animal feces being in it. We have no idea how they ate because rotten food filled the refrigerator and the freezer was actually a giant block of ice. I guarantee you that it was the worst sight you have ever seen and then some. I’ll stop here for the sake of your stomachs but I will note it got much worse. Who could ever live in such an environment? I think we can all agree that living in such an environment was not only horrible but also very dangerous to your physical well-being.

Related Sermon Illustrations

  • The Guest  PRO

    Contributed by James Chandler on Jan 11, 2007
    based on 12 ratings
     | 2,350 views

    The Guest Author Unknown A few months before I was born, my dad met a stranger who was new to our small Tennessee town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around to welcome ...read more

  • A Missionary On Furlough Told This True Story ...

    Contributed by Johnny Creasong on May 27, 2005
     | 3,075 views

    A missionary on furlough told this true story while visiting his home church in Michigan..... "While serving at a small field hospital in Africa, every two weeks I traveled by bicycle through the jungle to a nearby city for supplies. This was a journey of two days and required camping ...read more

  • Let Me Illustrate By Telling You About How My ...

    Contributed by Todd Stiles on Feb 8, 2007
     | 1,347 views

    Let me illustrate by telling you about how my kids used to respond to me and Julie during discipline when they were very young. When they would disobey or do wrong, and the sin called for a spanking, I recall vividly the words, “Mercy, daddy, mercy!” Or, “Mercy, mommy, mercy!” What were they asking ...read more

  • If We Followed The Lead Of The Magi And Brought ...  PRO

    Contributed by Jane Willis on Dec 25, 2004
    based on 3 ratings
     | 2,352 views

    If we followed the lead of the Magi and brought our finest gifts of, some of you would ante up: diamonds, coin collections, and your artwork. Perhaps your finest possession is a nice SUV or cabin in the woods. I would have to place at Jesus’ feet my complete set of Beatles albums on CD and my new ...read more

Related Sermons

Browse All Media

Related Media


Root Of Evil
SermonCentral
Preaching Slide
Focus
Church Fuel
Video Illustration