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Home›Browse by Type›Stories & Illustrations

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Stories & Illustrations

6,717 illustrations — Vivid stories and real-world analogies for sermon use

Browse Stories & Illustrations by Book

Psalm (81)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)2 Corinthians (8)Proverbs (7)James (7)

Sermon Illustration

The Painter Who Looked Higher

In 1888, the great art critic John Ruskin told Lilias Trotter she could become the finest painter in England. She had extraordinary talent — her...

Colossians 3:1-4Universal

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Sermon Illustration

A Million Repairs a Day

In 2015, biochemist Tomas Lindahl received the Nobel Prize for a discovery that should have been discouraging: human DNA is shockingly unstable. Every single day,...

Universalgrace

Sermon Illustration

Science Illustration: Faith and Reason Working Together

There’s a remarkable story about a group of scientists who embarked on a mission to explore the depths of the ocean. They developed a submersible capable of reaching the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of our planet. As they descended...

John 1:1-5Universal

Sermon Illustration

Bartolomé de las Casas and the Forgotten Flock

In 1514, a Spanish priest named Bartolomé de las Casas stood in his church on the island of Hispaniola and read the words of Ecclesiasticus:...

Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24Universal

Sermon Illustration

The King Who Did Not Want to Speak

In the autumn of 1939, King George VI sat in Buckingham Palace facing a microphone he dreaded. Britain had just declared war on Germany. The...

Isaiah 7:10-16Universal

Sermon Illustration

The Long Way Home from Hurricane Katrina

In September 2005, Marcus and Deena Williams evacuated New Orleans with their three children, two garbage bags of clothing, and half a tank of gas....

Psalm 107:1-9, 43Universal

Sermon Illustration

Real-World Economic Justice and the Kingdom

In the heart of a bustling city, a small church stood as a beacon of hope amid the overwhelming tides of poverty and inequality. Every Sunday, the pastor welcomed a diverse congregation, each with their own stories of struggle and...

Luke 4:18-19Eastern Orthodox

Sermon Illustration

The Banker Who Gave It All Away

In 1744, John Thornton was born into modest English merchant life, but through shrewd trade in Baltic goods, he amassed one of the largest fortunes...

Psalm 112:1-10Universal

Sermon Illustration

Bonhoeffer's Question in the Dark

In the winter of 1944, Dietrich Bonhoeffer sat in a concrete cell in Tegel Prison, Berlin, and wrote the poem that would outlast his captors....

Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18Universal

Sermon Illustration

The Goalkeeper Nobody Drafted

In the 2014 World Cup, Tim Howard stood in goal for the United States against Belgium. No major European club had wanted him as a...

Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24Universal

Sermon Illustration

The Woman Who Lit Newgate Prison

In 1817, Elizabeth Fry stepped through the iron gates of London's Newgate Prison and into a scene that made seasoned guards flinch. Three hundred women...

Matthew 5:13-20Universal

Sermon Illustration

The Interfaith Dialogue Challenge

In our increasingly diverse world, the call for Interfaith Dialogue can feel overwhelming, much like the moment when Peter stood on the rooftop in Joppa, contemplating his vision of a sheet filled with unclean animals. The tension between his traditional...

Luke 4:18-19Lutheran

Sermon Illustration

The Scientist Who Listened to Peanuts

George Washington Carver rose each morning at four o'clock, walking the fields around Tuskegee Institute in the predawn darkness. He called these walks his conversations...

Psalm 148Universal

Sermon Illustration

When the Words Finally Came Home

In 2015, the American Bible Society completed a translation of Scripture into Bibleless languages for a small community of Kimyal people in Papua, Indonesia. When...

Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10Universal

Sermon Illustration

Lessons from Women and Church Leadership

In our fast-paced world, the question of women's roles in church leadership often ignites passionate discussions. Let me share the inspiring story of Sarah, a vibrant young woman whose dreams of ministry were nearly extinguished by the confines of tradition....

Luke 4:18-19Pentecostal

Sermon Illustration

Pandita Ramabai and the Famine Children of Pune

In 1896, famine swept across western India, leaving thousands of child widows and orphans starving along the roads of Maharashtra. Pandita Ramabai, a Sanskrit scholar...

Isaiah 58:1-12Universal

Sermon Illustration

The Bowl That Became a Vase

In 2019, Japanese ceramic artist Takahiro Kondo was demonstrating his craft at a workshop in Portland, Oregon. He had been shaping a wide, shallow bowl...

Jeremiah 18:1-11Universal

Sermon Illustration

The Arrow Nobody Wanted to Fire

In 2009, a high school counselor in Baltimore told Howard Schultz's story to a room of discouraged seniors. Schultz grew up in the Bayview Housing...

Isaiah 49:1-7Universal

Sermon Illustration

The First Harvest at Tuskegee

When Booker T. Washington arrived in Tuskegee, Alabama, in 1881, he found a broken-down shanty and an abandoned church. That was his school. He had...

Deuteronomy 26:1-11Universal

Sermon Illustration

The Key That Never Left the Lama's Belt

In 1912, Sadhu Sundar Singh arrived in a remote Tibetan village to preach the gospel. The village lama was furious. He ordered Sundar Singh arrested...

Acts 12:1-11Universal

Sermon Illustration

The Gardener Who Trains the Vine

Every spring, in the stone-walled courtyard gardens of Provence, old roses that have climbed the same walls for generations are tended by patient hands. They...

Titus 2:11-12Universal

Sermon Illustration

The Oxygen You Didn't Know You Needed

In 2018, a family in Shelbyville, Tennessee spent three weeks suffering from headaches, fatigue, and confusion before a visiting relative walked into their home and...

Romans 8:6-11Universal

Sermon Illustration

Science Illustration: Stewardship of Scientific Influence

A few years ago, I stood in a small observatory with a group of eager young students, their faces illuminated by the glow of screens displaying distant galaxies. As the astrophysicist pointed his telescope toward the night sky, he spoke...

Psalm 19:1-6Universal

Sermon Illustration

The Search and Rescue Dog Who Never Quit

In 2010, a border collie named Keno worked with Montana Search and Rescue, covering terrain no human team could manage alone. When a twelve-year-old boy...

Ezekiel 34:11-16Universal