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HomeIllustrations

50,739 Illustrations

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Sermon Illustration

The Cello in the Crater

On May 27, 1992, a mortar shell struck a bread line in the besieged city of Sarajevo, killing twenty-two people who had simply stepped outside...

Universalhealing

226 words

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Sermon Illustration

The Night Grace Found Louis Zamperini

In the fall of 1949, Louis Zamperini was a man at war with himself. The former Olympic runner and World War II hero — who...

Romans 5:1-11Universal

240 words

Sermon Illustration

The Scholar Who Chose the Dirt Road

Clarence Jordan earned his PhD in Greek New Testament from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1939. He could have claimed a comfortable professorship, a respected...

Luke 6:17-26Universal

220 words

Sermon Illustration

The Race He Refused to Run

In the summer of 1924, Eric Liddell arrived at the Paris Olympics as Scotland's fastest man. The 100-meter dash was his event — the one...

Universalsacrifice

250 words

Historical

Searching for Hidden Treasure in a Leaking Shed

In a cramped, leaking shed behind the École de Physique et de Chimie in Paris, Marie Curie bent over a steaming iron cauldron in the...

Proverbs 2:1-5Universalperseverancediscovery

240 words

Sermon Illustration

A Modern Story of Immigration and Welcome

In our world today, the narratives of immigration and welcome ripple through our communities, echoing ancient struggles faced by our biblical forebears. Imagine a young woman named Sofia, who flees violence in her homeland, clutching her child’s hand as they...

Luke 4:18-19Progressive/Social Justice

299 words

Sermon Illustration

The Lullaby on the Back Porch

Margaret Ellison was seventy-three when she told me about the night she almost gave up. It was August 1968 in rural Kentucky, three weeks after...

Zephaniah 3:17Universal

244 words

Sermon Illustration

John Wesley's Twenty-Eight Pounds

In 1731, a young Oxford fellow named John Wesley began keeping careful accounts of his finances. That year he earned thirty pounds and found he...

Luke 6:38Universal

243 words

Commentary

Traditional Lens Commentary: Romans 1:16-17

We read Romans 1:16-17 as a declaration of the power and centrality of the gospel of Christ. This passage emphasizes salvation by grace alone through faith alone, affirming justification by faith as the cornerstone of Christian doctrine. For us, Paul is explicitly stating that the gospel is the powe

Romans 1:16-17Traditionaljustification by faithsubstitutionary atonement

pastor

367 words

Theological Reflection

Theological Perspective: Clobbering the Clobber Texts - Church Context

In our journey as a community of faith, we find ourselves at a profound crossroads where the conversation around Clobbering the Clobber Texts meets the heart of progressive theology. In Matthew 22:37-39, Jesus instructs us to love the Lord our...

Matthew 22:37-39Christocentric

276 words

Historical

The Handshake That Outlived a War

In August 1936, Jesse Owens stood on the verge of elimination in the long jump qualifying rounds at the Berlin Olympics. He had already fouled...

Romans 12:18Universalreconciliationfriendship

265 words

Historical

Across the Yellow River with Empty Hands and Full Faith

In the spring of 1940, Gladys Aylward — a former parlour maid from Edmonton, London, barely five feet tall — faced an impossible task. With...

Psalm 23:4Universalfaithcourage

229 words

Commentary

Traditional Lens Commentary: Genesis 5:1-32

We read Genesis 5:1-32 as a genealogical account that underscores God's faithfulness in preserving a godly line from Adam to Noah. This passage provides a historical framework that emphasizes the reality of human mortality due to sin, yet also highlights the promise of life through those who 'walked

Genesis 5:1-32Traditionaloriginal sinsubstitutionary atonement

pastor

337 words

Sermon Illustration

The Richest Man in Russia Who Couldn't Buy Peace

In 1879, Leo Tolstoy was arguably the most famous writer alive. *War and Peace* and *Anna Karenina* had brought him international acclaim, a vast estate...

Isaiah 55:1-9Universal

231 words

Contemporary

Leadership That Begins on Its Knees

On the morning of September 11, 2001, Todd Beamer was not a soldier. He was a thirty-two-year-old account manager from Cranbury, New Jersey — a...

Joshua 1:9Universalcouragesacrifice

264 words

Devotional

Evening Prayer: Faithfulness - Story

As the sun dips below the horizon, casting long shadows across the landscape, let us take a moment to reflect on the faithfulness of God—a faithfulness that calls us to serve and grow in His presence. Ephesians 2:8-9 reminds us...

Ephesians 2:8-9Missional

259 words

Commentary

Traditional Lens Commentary: Genesis 50

In Genesis 50, we read this chapter as the culmination of God's providential plan through the life of Joseph. We see Joseph's forgiveness of his brothers and his acknowledgment of God's sovereign hand in transforming evil intentions into a divine purpose for good. This passage affirms our belief in

Genesis 50TraditionalProvidence of GodTypology of Christ

pastor

338 words

Historical

Standing Tall in the Batter's Box

On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson walked onto Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York, wearing a Dodgers uniform with the number 42 on his back....

Psalm 27:14Universalcourageendurance

266 words

Historical

Gold in the Longer Race

On the morning of July 6, 1924, the fastest sprinter in Scotland was nowhere near the starting blocks. Eric Liddell, the flying Scotsman favored to...

Matthew 6:33Universalconvictionfaith

231 words

Sermon Illustration

The Neighborhood Nobody Forgot

When Hurricane Helene tore through Asheville, North Carolina in September 2024, the floodwaters swallowed entire blocks overnight. Roads buckled. Power vanished. Cell towers went silent....

Psalm 112:1-10Universal

239 words

Historical

The Man Who Reached for Heaven's Fire

In June of 1752, on the outskirts of Philadelphia, a forty-six-year-old printer named Benjamin Franklin walked into a gathering thunderstorm carrying a silk kite, a...

Psalm 97:4Universalwondercourage

232 words

Sermon Illustration

The Cathedral Rising from the Ashes

On the morning of November 15, 1940, the people of Coventry, England woke to find their beloved St. Michael's Cathedral reduced to a smoldering shell....

Revelation 21:1-6Universal

240 words

Historical

The Dignity of a Man Who Would Not Swing Back

On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson stepped onto the grass at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, wearing number 42, and became the first Black man to...

Psalm 27:14Universalcourageendurance

251 words

Contemporary

What the Children Were Willing to Lose

On May 2, 1963, hundreds of Black children filed out of Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, singing hymns and walking straight toward waiting...

Joel 2:28Universalyouthcourage

255 words