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HomeIllustrations

50,739 Illustrations

Browse Sermon Illustrations

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Top Rated Newest Oldest|All Sources Biblical Illustrator Spurgeon Maclaren

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Sermon Illustration

The Farmer Who Kept Watering Dead Ground

In 2012, Matt Barnett stood on a cracked parking lot in downtown Los Angeles, staring at what used to be a shuttered hospital. The building...

Romans 4:13, 16-18, 22Universal

238 words

PreviousPage 1132 of 2115Next

Historical

Fifty Years in the Attic

In 1988, Grete Winton was rummaging through her attic in Maidenhead, England, when she discovered a worn scrapbook. Inside were lists of children's names, photographs,...

Matthew 6:3-4Universalcompassionaction

248 words

Historical

A Small Woman and a Hundred Children on the Mountain Road

In the spring of 1940, as Japanese forces closed in on the city of Yangcheng in Shanxi Province, a small British missionary named Gladys Aylward...

Isaiah 43:2Universalfaithcourage

248 words

Sermon Illustration

The Lighthouse Keeper Who Never Left

In 1989, Hurricane Hugo barreled toward Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, with 140-mile-per-hour winds. Most residents evacuated. But the old Charleston Light — a triangular steel...

2 Samuel 22:2-3Universal

241 words

Sermon Illustration

A Thousand Finish Lines

When Rick Hoyt was born in 1962 with cerebral palsy, doctors told his parents to institutionalize him. Dick and Judy Hoyt refused. They saw a...

Universallove

235 words

Historical

A Season for Every Page

For six years, Leo Tolstoy sat at his desk in the estate house at Yasnaya Polyana, a hundred and twenty miles south of Moscow, writing...

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8Universalmeaningprovidence

239 words

Contemporary

Twelve Days After the Balcony

On April 3, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. almost did not return to Memphis. His first visit in late March had ended in violence —...

Revelation 2:10Universalsacrificehope

256 words

Commentary

Reformed (Presbyterian) Lens Commentary: Ephesians 4:25-32

We read Ephesians 4:25-32 as a practical outworking of our sanctification in the Spirit, rooted in the sovereign grace of God. This passage calls us to live as new creations in Christ, reflecting the transformative power of the covenant of grace. The imperatives here are not mere moral instructions

Ephesians 4:25-32Reformedsanctificationunion with Christ

pastor

399 words

Movie Analogy

A Man Called Otto: Wonderfully Made Despite Self-Hatred - Lutheran (Psalm 139:13-16)

In the heart of a gray, rain-soaked suburb, Otto trudges through his days like a shadow, burdened by grief and self-loathing. His once-vibrant home, now draped in silence, echoes with the memories of better times—a laughter-filled kitchen, the aroma of...

Psalm 139:13-16Lutheranobjective worthregardless of feeling

adults

272 words

Historical

Where the Light Falls

In the final year of his life, Rembrandt van Rijn stood before a massive canvas in his modest Amsterdam studio — a far cry from...

Psalm 103:10-12Universalgraceforgiveness

241 words

Sermon Illustration

Eighty-Six Years With My King

On a cold afternoon in 155 AD, the Roman proconsul in Smyrna gave the elderly bishop Polycarp one simple way to save his life. All...

Romans 10:9Universal

250 words

Devotional

Temporary Troubles, Eternal Glory - Biblical Insight

The devotional reflects on Paul's teachings regarding suffering and the importance of viewing present troubles through the lens of eternal glory. It emphasizes that while suffering is real, it serves a purpose in refining faith and motivating actions towards justice and compassion in the present, grounded in the hope of future healing and glory.

2 Corinthians 4:17-18, Romans 8:18, 1 Peter 1:6-7Arminian/Wesleyan

234 words

Sermon Illustration

The Finish Line in Barcelona

In the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, British sprinter Derek Redmond lined up for the 400-meter semifinal with everything he had trained for within reach....

Universalcourage

242 words

Devotional

Quiet Time: Inclusive Language for God - Biblical Insight

Dear God of Love and Justice, As I sit in quiet reflection today, I find myself drawn to the profound truth of Matthew 22:37-39, where Jesus calls us to love You with all our heart, soul, and mind—and to love...

Matthew 22:37-39Christocentric

368 words

Sermon Illustration

Ask App Not to Track

In 2021, Apple rolled out a small but revolutionary feature in iOS 14.5 called App Tracking Transparency. Before it existed, hundreds of apps on your...

Universalfreedom

234 words

Sermon Illustration

Twenty-Six Days

On the morning of October 31, 2003, thirteen-year-old Bethany Hamilton was lying on her surfboard off the north shore of Kauai when a fourteen-foot tiger...

Universalfaith

234 words

Theological Reflection

Theological Perspective: Hope - Teaching Material

In John 14:6, Jesus proclaims, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” This profound statement is not just a promise; it’s an invitation to a journey of hope that reassures us amid the uncertainties of life. The...

John 14:6Reformed

249 words

Commentary

Roman Catholic Lens Commentary: Amos 5:21-27

In Amos 5:21-27, we read this passage as a divine call to authentic worship that transcends mere ritual observance. The Lord, through the prophet Amos, rejects the empty sacrifices and feasts of Israel, emphasizing that true worship must be accompanied by justice and righteousness. This aligns with

Amos 5:21-27Roman CatholicThe Eucharist as the source and summit of Christian lifeCatholic Social Teaching on justice and peace

pastor

415 words

Sermon Illustration

The Garden Behind the Locked Door

In Frances Hodgson Burnett's *The Secret Garden*, ten-year-old Mary Lennox arrives at Misselthwaite Manor as a sour, neglected child — unloved and, by her own...

Universaltransformation

232 words

Sermon Illustration

New Blood

In 1956, Dr. E. Donnall Thomas performed the first successful bone marrow transplant, a procedure that would eventually earn him the Nobel Prize. Before his...

Universalhope

220 words

Sermon Illustration

The Overnight Update

When Tesla owners park their cars at night, something remarkable sometimes happens while they sleep. An over-the-air software update downloads silently, and by morning, the...

Universaltransformation

215 words

Contemporary

Fifty Years of Quiet Faithfulness

In the winter of 1938, a twenty-nine-year-old London stockbroker named Nicholas Winton canceled a skiing holiday to travel to Prague. What he found — refugee...

Hebrews 6:10Universalhumilityhidden faithfulness

258 words

Sermon Illustration

Finding The Peculiar Politics of Christ in Everyday Moments

As we navigate the swirling waters of our modern world, I am reminded of a poignant moment from my own life that illustrates the peculiar politics of Christ. A few years ago, I volunteered at a local homeless shelter. One...

Matthew 5:9Missional

266 words

Sermon Illustration

The Young Man Who Ducked Into the Chapel on Artillery Street

On January 6, 1850, a fifteen-year-old boy named Charles Spurgeon trudged through a blizzard in Colchester, England. He had been visiting churches for months, searching...

John 1:43-51Universal

242 words