Kerux sermon and illustration databases

    Free sermons and illustration databases designed especially for Evangelical Christian workers

    Welcome to the Kerux Sermon and Illustration Database, a collection of close to 65,000 sermons and illustrations.  (Kerux) is Greek for Preacher and these files will be useful for those who preach the Word, though anyone can have them.  The database has been compiled by Rev. David Holwick with help from pastors and programmers all around the world.  It is offered free of charge and is intended to be used for the glory of God.  It may not be sold and may not be re-packaged without consent. 

    The records in this database are referenced with titles, Bible references and other searchable and sortable data.  Think of it as a huge card file that can be searched in seconds.  It is also useful for storing your own sermons and illustrations.  You can instantly copy the sermons and illustrations you want to use to your Clipboard and paste them into your word processor for studying or incorporating into your own sermons.

    The database comes in two versions.  SID is the most popular because it is self-contained and runs on most computers (but not Apple Macs, alas).  Click the link below, fill out the free registration (I don't share your personal information with anyone, but create a summary of who uses the SID database) and get the password.  After you download the executable file, install it with the password you were just given.  The file is quite large but contains everything you need.  After you download it, double-click on the filename and it will install itself on your computer.

    The second version is also free but requires two steps.  Kerux2010 is based on the Microsoft Access program.  If you already own Access (it comes packaged with the Microsoft Office Pro software) just download the mega-database below.  If you don't have Access you first download the free run-time file (details below) and then the mega-database. 

Both versions contain the same sermons and illustrations.  Visually they present the material differently and Kerux2010 can do more intricate searching.  The SID version is the most popular by far; I personally use the Kerux2010 version.

An important point - once you install the mega-database, you can update it each year by downloading a small supplement file.  You don't need to do the huge download every year!  I will tell you when there are major upgrades to the program "front-ends" but these are changed rarely.  The supplements contain new sermons and illustrations.  You can also turn your own sermons and illustrations into supplements and share them with others (hint hint).

    Filename Description Size Date uploaded
    SID for 2024
     online registration and database download    		 37,000+ illustrations and 27,000+ sermons 143 meg Version 4.0.7
    Jan 10, 2024

         

     

     

    		 The latest version of SID can be installed on any version of Windows and is 32-bit and 64-bit compatible.  You can paste fully-formatted Word documents into the database or format illustrations and sermons within the program itself since it has its own formatting editor.  Fonts, colors, underlining and indentations are all preserved.  Note that the email to contact the me is wrong on the opening screen - it should be dholwick@gmail.com, not aol.com.   Have a problem installing it?  Check out this page.

    SID supplement for 2023

    		 After you have installed the mega-database version above, this file will give you hundreds of new and newly-modified sermons and illustrations. The 2024 mega-database has nothing newer than this!
    (Supplements for previous years are here.)
    Kerux2010 for 2024
    (online registration and database download)    		 37,000+ illustrations and 27,000+ sermons 159 meg Version 8.5.004W
    Jan 10, 2024

         

     

     

    		 The Access 2010 version which was designed by Pastor Edward Barclay and is compatible with both 64-bit and 32-bit systems.  This is the standalone version, which means anyone can use it, even if you don't own MS Access.

    Summary of installation:

    1. Download and install Microsoft Access runtime (if you don't own Access). The Access 2010 runtime is no longer offered but this Access 2016 version should be compatible. Those using Microsoft 365 can download its Access runtime and use my Kerux2010 program - there is a "Security Concern" message (click "open") and an error message at startup that 'MyReport1 is already loaded' but it doesn't seem to cause any further problem.
    2. Register online to get password and download my illustration database.
    3. Close two warning screens that may appear at the start of program.

    Details:

    1. Before you install the database, you must download and install the Microsoft Access runtime program.  (If you already have MS Access 2010 or a newer version installed on your computer this won't be necessary.)  The runtime program is free and allows you to open this database.  The webpage lists 2 files.  I believe the first is for 64-bit operating systems and the second is for older operating systems.

    2. The online registration asks a few questions that give me insight on who is using the database.  This summary is all that is ever shared about users.  I do not share your information with anyone else.  The password will appear on the screen as well as the link to the mega-database download..

    3. Click the Mega website box that says you agree with their terms of service, then click "Download" and save it to your computer hard-drive.  With Firefox, you may have to allow it to install a special add-on for downloading large files like this.

    After the download is complete, you double-click the file on your hard drive.  You will be prompted for the password, which showed up on the confirmation screen when you registered online.

    Kerux2010 supplement for 2023

    		 After you have installed the mega-database version above, this file will give you hundreds of new and newly-modified sermons and illustrations. The 2024 mega-database has nothing newer than this!
    (Supplements for previous years are here.)

    A note on updating with Supplements

    All the versions of the Kerux database have a simple process for keeping up-to-date.  For users of SID, after you download a supplement, just open the database and click the "Import" icon on the Menu Bar - browse to find the supplement and select it and the contents will be added to your existing database.  For Kerux2010, go to the "Kerux Main Menu" page and click Maintenance, then Import Resources; select the supplement file and import it.

    Important - for either version, do not add supplements or sets that are older than what you already have, or your new material will be overwritten with old material.  One way to check is to sort your records by "date entered" or "date modified".  The final date shows how current you are, and you can add supplements that are more recent than that date. Be aware that if you modify the text or Bible references in any existing sermon or illustration, it might be overwritten by the updates in a supplement - unless you mark those records not to be overwritten.  Illustrations or sermons you have added yourself will not be overwritten by a supplement because your records each have a unique number.

    You should only download a mega-database once.  After that, use supplements to keep current year after year.  I have been grouping each year's changes in large annual supplements; sometimes I include seasonal supplements.

    It is a good idea to backup your database regularly, and to different hard-drives or to the Cloud.  I get many emails from pastors who had a laptop crash and they lose everything.

    Go to homepage, Holwick.com