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Home›Browse by Type›Stories & Illustrations

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Stories & Illustrations

9,837 illustrations — Vivid stories and real-world analogies for sermon use

Browse Stories & Illustrations by Book

Psalm (82)Luke (49)Matthew (42)John (36)1 Corinthians (31)Romans (29)Isaiah (29)Genesis (25)Acts (24)Hebrews (17)Ephesians (16)Revelation (14)Jeremiah (14)Galatians (10)Colossians (10)Mark (9)Philippians (8)Deuteronomy (8)2 Corinthians (8)Proverbs (8)

Sermon Illustration

The Man Who Was Asked Not to Fight Back

In 1945, Branch Rickey sat across from Jackie Robinson in a Brooklyn office and asked him something extraordinary. Rickey wasn't just looking for a ballplayer...

Universalpatience

232 words

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Sermon Illustration

The Cell That Chose to Die

In 2002, Sydney Brenner, H. Robert Horvitz, and John E. Sulston shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discovery of apoptosis —...

Universalsacrifice

243 words

Sermon Illustration

The Web That Held Them All Together

In E.B. White's beloved *Charlotte's Web*, a young pig named Wilbur faces a terrible fate — the farmer's axe come winter. What saves him is...

Universalcommunity

227 words

Sermon Illustration

The Theology of Skin

In 1978, Dr. Edgar Rey Sanabria faced a crisis in Bogotá, Colombia. His neonatal unit was overwhelmed — too many premature babies, not enough incubators....

Universallove

218 words

Sermon Illustration

The Wave That Gave Itself Away

In the late 1970s, Dr. Amar Bose boarded a transatlantic flight and could not hear his music over the roar of the jet engines. That...

Universalsacrifice

263 words

Sermon Illustration

The Marsh-Wiggle Who Stomped Out the Fire

In C.S. Lewis's *The Silver Chair*, there is a scene that has stayed with readers for generations. The heroes — Jill, Eustace, Prince Rilian, and...

Universalcourage

250 words

Sermon Illustration

Going Under: The Trust of Anesthesia

Every day, in hospitals around the world, patients do something remarkable. They lie down on a narrow operating table, look up at an anesthesiologist, and...

Universaltrust

244 words

Sermon Illustration

The Courage to Step Back

In the summer of 2021, Simone Biles stood at the top of the gymnastics world. She was the most decorated gymnast in history, the overwhelming...

Universalhealing

226 words

Sermon Illustration

The Grocery Clerk Who Won the Super Bowl

In 1994, Kurt Warner went undrafted out of the University of Northern Iowa. Not a single NFL team wanted him. To make ends meet, he...

Universaltransformation

246 words

Sermon Illustration

The Composer Who Rose from Ruin

In 1741, George Frideric Handel was a broken man. At fifty-six, he had survived a devastating stroke four years earlier, his operas were failing, and...

Universaltransformation

234 words

Sermon Illustration

The Last Prayer of a Man Who Wasted Everything

In 1921, a Welsh coal miner named Evan Griffiths lost both his legs in a tunnel collapse outside Pontypridd. His wife had left. His drinking...

Judges 16:28Universal

245 words

Sermon Illustration

The Enemy Love Challenge

As we navigate the complexities of our modern world, the call to practice Enemy Love can feel daunting, akin to walking a tightrope suspended high above a chasm of misunderstanding and fear. Picture for a moment a young woman named...

John 13:12-17Anglican

291 words

Sermon Illustration

The Breakfast Club at Antioch AME

Every Sunday for eleven years, members of Antioch AME Church in Springfield, Illinois, arrived early to sing, pray, and study scripture. They tithed faithfully. They...

Isaiah 58:1-12Universal

238 words

Sermon Illustration

The Moment the Verdict Changed Everything

On June 19, 2019, a Dallas courtroom fell silent. Botham Jean had been shot and killed in his own apartment by off-duty police officer Amber...

Acts 2:14a, 36-41Universal

234 words

Sermon Illustration

The Masterpiece Nobody Expected

In the spring of 1741, George Frideric Handel was a ruined man. His operas had fallen out of fashion in London. Creditors circled. A stroke...

Universalperseverance

253 words

Sermon Illustration

The Letter That Arrived on a Tuesday

In 1987, a retired Sunday school teacher named Dorothy Caldwell lived alone in a small apartment in Terre Haute, Indiana. She had spent thirty-one years...

3 John 1:4Universal

243 words

Sermon Illustration

The Rescue Diver's One Instruction

In 2004, a cave diver named Dave Shaw descended into Bushman's Hole in South Africa — the deepest freshwater cave on Earth. At 886 feet...

Romans 10:9Universal

231 words

Sermon Illustration

The Storm Cellar on Route 9

Margaret Hensley was hanging laundry on the line behind her farmhouse outside Joplin, Missouri, when the sky turned the color of a bruise. It was...

Psalm 91:1-2Universal

252 words

Sermon Illustration

Science Illustration: Order and Design in Creation

A few years ago, I had the privilege of visiting a planetarium, and as I stepped inside, I was struck by the vastness of the universe projected above me. Stars twinkled like diamonds scattered across velvet, and constellations told stories...

Romans 1:20Universal

245 words

Sermon Illustration

A Contemporary Assurance Story

In our fast-paced, often tumultuous world, the quest for assurance can feel like navigating a stormy sea. Picture a mother named Sarah, who, after experiencing a layoff, found herself grappling with uncertainty. Each day, she would wake up to the...

1 Peter 5:7Anabaptist

301 words

Sermon Illustration

Modern Examples of Interfaith Dialogue

In the heart of our bustling city, there’s a small café where people of all backgrounds come together—an oasis of dialogue among the diverse tapestry of humanity. One rainy afternoon, I sat at a corner table, sipping my coffee while...

Matthew 22:37-39Roman Catholic

280 words

Sermon Illustration

A Modern Story of Temptation

In our fast-paced, hyper-connected world, temptation often feels like an insatiable beast lurking just around the corner, waiting to ensnare us when we least expect it. Picture a young woman named Sarah, a recent college graduate navigating her first job...

Romans 8:28Roman Catholic

318 words

Sermon Illustration

Science Illustration: Physics and the Stability of the Universe

Imagine standing beneath a vast night sky, where the stars flicker like whispers of ancient promises. Each twinkling light, a sun in its own right, speaks of a universe finely tuned for life. Romans 1:20 reminds us, “For since the...

Romans 1:20Universal

246 words

Sermon Illustration

The Night Shift at Station 7

Captain Maria Santos has worked the fire station on Ridge Road in Asheville, North Carolina, for twenty-two years. She once told a reporter something that...

Psalm 121Universal

236 words