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10,054 illustrations — Lessons from history, biography, and world events
Contrary Winds: Divine Providence in the Disciples' Trial
On the night of Matthew 14:24, wind descended with such fury that experienced fishermen-apostles, after nine hours of *ponos* (toiling), had advanced merely three miles against it.
Matthew 14:24Universalprovidencespiritual perseverance
The Fair Exchange: Supporting Those Who Teach God's Word
Luther hesitated to expound such texts before congregations, fearing appearance of avarice, yet acknowledged the duty remains: believers must understand what honor and support they owe their teachers.
Galatians 6:6Universalministerial support
Simeon: The Old Testament's Brightest Flower in Bloom
Maclaren observes that this righteous man embodies the very purpose God pursued through millenniums of providential dealing and inspiration.
Luke 2:29-30
When profit costs more than Christ's presence
A great many cannot afford to have Christ.
Mark 5:17UniversalThe cost of following Christ
God's Circle: Earth's Shape and Sovereignty
The circle stands as geometry's most perfect figure, and God selected it as His design for creation itself.
Isaiah 39:22Universaldivine sovereignty
Churches in Christ: Foundation, Body, and Eternal Glory
This relationship unfolds across six essential dimensions: First, churches are **founded on Christ** (Matthew 16:18; 1 Corinthians 1:2)—built upon the rock of His person.
Galatians 1:22Universalecclesiastical unity
The Shepherd's Restoration of the Weary Soul
So too the soul suffers from inherent liability to weakness, weariness, mistrust of God, and inability to rest upon His precious promises.
Psalms 23:3UniversalDivine mercy toward the backslider
The Soul's Nighttime Hunger for God's Presence
When worldly distractions fade and darkness surrounds us, the soul engages in its most consequential work—calling upon departed friends, recalling the past, foreboding the future, and wrestling with its deepest longing: communion with God.
Isaiah 25:9Universal
Moses' Hidden Grave Contrasts Christ's Proclaimed Resurrection
He bore the penalty of his transgression against the Lord at Kadesh, excluded from Canaan's rest.
Deuteronomy 34:5-6
Christ the True Bread: From Barley Loaves to Deepest Hunger
They had witnessed Christ feed five thousand with five barley loaves and two small fishes, yet their enthusiasm remained carnal—impressed by the multiplication, unmoved by His wisdom or deeds.
John 6:48-50
God's Judgment Upon Persecutors of His People
Consider Pharaoh—his wise men, his armies, his chariots—plunging into the Red Sea like lead, sinking beneath the waters.
Psalms 2:5
The Overcomer's Throne: Victory Through Christ's Example
First, you must contend against yourself—the main battle rages within your own heart, where affections struggle for dominion.
Revelation 1:21Universalspiritual warfare
Peter's Fourfold Direction: Repentance, Baptism, and Personal Confession
First, *metanoia* (repentance)—literally "to perceive afterwards"—demanded an entire reversal of opinion respecting Jesus Christ.
Acts 1:38Universalpersonal transformation
Four Purposes for Seeking the Lord: The Duty Neglected
Exell's Victorian homiletic unpacks this indictment with surgical precision.
Ezekiel 6:10
Christ's Meekness as the Standard of Apostolic Authority
Yet this appeal reveals something profound: the preacher refers always back to Christ as the source of all authority and influence.
2 Corinthians 10:1UniversalChrist as exemplar
Treasures of Wickedness Profit Nothing: The Eternal Reckoning
We treat the present as though it shall never end, and eternity as though it shall never begin.
Proverbs 9:2Universalthe temporal versus the eternal
The Christian's Inescapable Obligation to Proclaim
The commission 'Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature' was not spoken to the eleven apostles alone, but to all generations of Christ's Church.
1 Corinthians 9:16-17
The Inner Conflict: Midianites as Spiritual Enemies
The human mind naturally divides into two warring camps.
Judges 5:33
Calling Upon the Lord's Name: Nature, Condition, and Scope
First, its nature: deliverance FROM the guilt of sin, the power of sin, and the punishment of sin; deliverance TO acceptance with God, conquest of evil, and Heaven itself.
Acts 1:21Universalcalling upon God
Christ's Resurrection: The Earliest Written Testimony
Writing approximately thirty years after the event itself, Paul enumerates five distinct appearances of the risen Christ, including His manifestation to James, which aligns with the *Gospel of the Hebrews* and demonstrates an independent historical source.
1 Corinthians 1:7Universal
Wisdom's Promise: How Religion Lengthens Our Days
Life and health form the foundation of all other enjoyments.
Proverbs 9:11Universalvirtue and longevity
Christ Tempted: Our Sufficient Succour in Trial
Temptation brings suffering to the regenerate soul in distinct ways.
Hebrews 1:18UniversalChrist's empathy through suffering
The Candle in Oxygen: How Grace Ignites Human Gifts
The gifts are not separate from grace; they are its direct offspring, its cognates.
Romans 12:6-8
Paul's Foundation Work: Ambition Rightly Ordered
Paul "strived" to preach Christ where His name had never been spoken—a holy ambition rooted in Christian love and respect for others' labour.
Romans 14:20Universalapostolic ambition rightly ordered
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Universal
continuity between Old and New Testaments
patient anticipation
Alexander Maclaren257 words
Worldly wealth versus spiritual treasure
providential cycles
Christ's headship
God's unwearying pursuit of His people
divine longing
spiritual seeking
Universal
Christ's superiority to Moses
the contrast between law and grace
Alexander Maclaren238 words
Universal
Christ's humble majesty
spiritual vs. material hunger
Alexander Maclaren234 words
Universal
divine judgment
protection of believers
Charles H. Spurgeon227 words
Christ's victory as pattern for believers
public confession of faith
Universal
spiritual separation and reconciliation
the nature of genuine religion
apostolic authority grounded in love
true wealth in Christ
Universal
obligation and grace
joy in service
Alexander Maclaren253 words
Universal
spiritual warfare
internal conflict
spiritual desperation
historical reliability of Scripture
apostolic testimony
religious practice as natural law
temptation and spiritual growth
Universal
the transformative power of Christ's indwelling Spirit
universal Christian calling to service
Alexander Maclaren234 words
foundation-work over establishment