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Home›Browse by Type›Stories & Illustrations

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Stories & Illustrations

7,545 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

Rescued by the Wreckage

In 1982, a commercial fisherman named Salvador Alvarenga set out from the coast of Mexico on what should have been a routine trip. When a...

Jonah 1:17Universal

233 words

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Sermon Illustration

The Lighthouse That Never Goes Dark

On the rugged coast of Cornwall, England, the Lizard Lighthouse has burned without interruption since 1752. Keepers came and went. Wars raged across Europe. Empires...

Revelation 1:4-8Universal

241 words

Sermon Illustration

When the Mountain Came Down

On May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens exploded with the force of 500 atomic bombs. The blast flattened 230 square miles of old-growth forest in...

Psalm 97:1-2, 5-6, 9Universal

231 words

Sermon Illustration

Life Returns to the Gray Zone

On May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted with catastrophic force, flattening 230 square miles of old-growth forest in minutes. Everything was buried under ash...

Universalrestoration

238 words

Sermon Illustration

Wilberforce and the Long Faithfulness

For twenty years, William Wilberforce watched slave traders grow rich. Ship owners in Liverpool built grand estates. Sugar merchants in Bristol threw lavish parties. Members...

Psalm 37:1-11, 39-40Universal

227 words

Sermon Illustration

The Race He Was Called to Run

In 1924, Eric Liddell arrived in Paris as Britain's fastest sprinter, heavily favored to win gold in the 100 meters. Then the schedule was posted....

Universalobedience

222 words

Sermon Illustration

The Relay That No One Runs Alone

In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the Jamaican 4x100 meter relay team did something the world will never forget. Usain Bolt, the fastest man alive, could...

Universalcommunity

259 words

Sermon Illustration

The Man Who Stepped Forward

In July 1941, at the Auschwitz concentration camp, a prisoner escaped. Nazi protocol demanded ten men die in retaliation. As the commandant read the names...

John 13:34-35Universal

249 words

Sermon Illustration

Eric Liddell's Sacred Stride

In 1924, Scottish sprinter Eric Liddell arrived at the Paris Olympics as the favorite in the 100 meters. But when he learned the heats fell...

1 Corinthians 6:12-20Universal

228 words

Sermon Illustration

The Deepest Trench

In 2012, filmmaker James Cameron descended nearly seven miles to the bottom of the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific — the deepest known point...

Micah 7:18-19Universal

233 words

Sermon Illustration

The Nails of Coventry Cathedral

On the morning of November 15, 1940, the people of Coventry, England, emerged from their shelters to find their beloved medieval cathedral reduced to a...

Isaiah 2:1-5Universal

235 words

Sermon Illustration

Eric Liddell's Consecrated Stride

In 1924, Scottish sprinter Eric Liddell stunned the world by withdrawing from his best event at the Paris Olympics — the 100 meters — because...

1 Corinthians 6:12-20Universal

300 words

Sermon Illustration

The Farmer Who Planted After the Flood

In March 2019, floodwaters from the Missouri River swallowed Don Heger's farm near Craig, Missouri — 1,200 acres buried under silt and debris. Neighbors lost...

Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4Universal

219 words

Sermon Illustration

Escape Velocity

In 1977, NASA launched the *Voyager 1* spacecraft on a journey that would make history. To break free of Earth's gravitational pull, the probe had...

Universalfreedom

240 words

Sermon Illustration

The Genome and the One Who Wrote It First

In the year 2003, Dr. Francis Collins stood before a bank of microphones and announced that the Human Genome Project was complete. After thirteen years...

Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18Universal

223 words

Sermon Illustration

Methuselah's Second Life

In 1963, archaeologists excavating the ancient fortress of Masada in Israel's Judean Desert uncovered a small clay jar containing date palm seeds. For four decades,...

1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50Universal

229 words

Sermon Illustration

The Composer Who Wrote His Way Out of the Grave

In the summer of 1741, George Frideric Handel was a ruined man. Four years earlier, a stroke had paralyzed his right side. Creditors circled. London...

Universalredemption

226 words

Sermon Illustration

Someone Else's Blood

In a bone marrow transplant, the patient's diseased marrow — the very factory that produces their blood — is first destroyed through chemotherapy. Every last...

Universalredemption

229 words

Sermon Illustration

Victim Number One

On September 11, 2001, Father Mychal Judge ran toward the Twin Towers while thousands fled. The sixty-eight-year-old Franciscan friar served as chaplain to the New...

Wisdom 3:1-9Universal

241 words

Sermon Illustration

The Miners Who Could Not Stop Singing

In 1904, a twenty-six-year-old Welsh coal miner named Evan Roberts stood before a small congregation in Loughor and spoke with trembling conviction about the saving...

Isaiah 12:2-6Universal

238 words

Sermon Illustration

When Love Broke Through on a Slave Ship

In 1748, a violent storm nearly sank a slave trading vessel off the coast of Ireland. John Newton, the ship's mate, was a profane man...

Universallove

247 words

Sermon Illustration

When the Universe Came Into Focus

For decades, the Hubble Space Telescope sent back images that reshaped how we understood the cosmos — smudges of light resolved into galaxies, faint signals...

Hebrews 1:1-4Universal

221 words

Sermon Illustration

The Fall and the Father's Arms

In the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, British sprinter Derek Redmond lined up for the 400-meter semifinal as one of the favorites. He had trained for years,...

Universaltrust

238 words

Sermon Illustration

When Environmental Stewardship Meets Real Life

In the heart of California, nestled among vibrant vineyards and the whispering winds of the Pacific, there lies a church that is not just a sanctuary of worship but a beacon of hope in the face of climate change. This...

Revelation 11:18Traditional

277 words