One of the largest free collections of sermon illustrations, organized by topic, scripture, and theological tradition.

Stay updated

New illustrations, features & occasional discounts

Website

Browse

By Topic
By Scripture
By Tradition
By Emotion
By Source Type
Sermon Slides

Resources

Sample Illustrations
About
Premium
Contact Us
SermonWise AI
PewSearch
ChurchWiseAI

Support

Contact Us
+1 (888) 603-0316
support@churchwiseai.com
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service
Refund Policy

HomeIllustrations

10,079 Illustrations

Browse Sermon Illustrations

Search, filter, and discover the perfect illustration for your sermon

All Stories & Illustrations Poetry & Verse Quotes Biblical Insights Historical Examples Movie Analogies Devotionals Tradition Perspectives All types →

Top Rated Newest Oldest|All Sources Biblical Illustrator Spurgeon Maclaren

Free to browse · Sign up free to unlock most illustrations · Premium ($9.95/mo) for the full library of 50,000+ illustrations

Sermon Illustration

The Labyrinth at Chartres

Set into the stone floor of Chartres Cathedral in France, laid around the year 1205, is a labyrinth forty-two feet across. It is not a...

Universalobedience

247 words

PreviousPage 290 of 420Next

Sermon Illustration

The Prayer He Swore He'd Forgotten

In 1988, a commercial diver named David Wardell was working sixty feet beneath the surface of the North Sea when his air hose snagged on...

Jonah 2:1-2Universal

233 words

Sermon Illustration

The Quiet Repair You Never Notice

In 2015, Swedish scientist Tomas Lindahl shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for a discovery that reshaped how we understand life itself. Lindahl found that...

Universalgrace

248 words

Sermon Illustration

The God Who Recalculates

If you have ever missed a highway exit, you know the small mercy of hearing Google Maps say that single word: "Recalculating." The app does...

Universalgrace

237 words

Sermon Illustration

The Hymn a Coal Town Already Knew

In 1972, Bill Withers released *Lean on Me*, and it climbed to number one on the charts almost overnight. But the song didn't come from...

Universalcommunity

238 words

Sermon Illustration

When the Music Plays On

In 1741, George Frideric Handel was broken. At fifty-six, he was paralyzed on one side from a stroke, buried in debt, and mocked by London...

Universalhope

262 words

Sermon Illustration

The Hymn Born from a Broken Heart

On the evening of June 6, 1882, Scottish minister George Matheson sat alone while his sister's wedding celebration carried on around him. The festivities stirred...

Universallove

250 words

Sermon Illustration

Abraham's Trust Without Understanding - Reformed (Proverbs 3:5-6)

God told Abraham: leave your country, go to a place I will show you. Abraham went—"not knowing where he was going" (Hebrews 11:8). He didn't understand the destination, the timeline, or the method. He just trusted.

Proverbs 3:5-6Universal

Short81 words

Sermon Illustration

The Hymn Writer Who Trusted What She Could Not See

In 1873, composer Phoebe Knapp sat down at her piano and played a new melody for her friend Fanny Crosby. "What does this tune say...

Universaltrust

219 words

Sermon Illustration

The Candlesticks He Didn't Deserve

In Victor Hugo's *Les Misérables*, there is a scene that has haunted readers for over 160 years. Jean Valjean, a convict hardened by nineteen years...

Universalforgiveness

244 words

Sermon Illustration

Love as Solidarity - Liberation (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

Gustavo Gutiérrez defined love as "effective solidarity" with the poor. "Love does not insist on its own way"—this applies to nations insisting on policies that harm the vulnerable. "Love is not arrogant"—neither are liberation movements that honor the dignity of those they serve.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7Universal

Short79 words

Sermon Illustration

The Slaver Who Wrote Our Hymn

In 1748, a violent storm nearly swallowed a slave ship in the North Atlantic. Belowdecks, a young sailor named John Newton — a man who...

Universalforgiveness

242 words

Sermon Illustration

The Symphony No One Could Hear

On May 7, 1824, Ludwig van Beethoven stood before a Vienna orchestra to conduct the premiere of his Ninth Symphony. He had spent years composing...

Universalfreedom

221 words

Sermon Illustration

The Courage to Wait

In the summer of 2021, Simone Biles stood at the pinnacle of gymnastics — the most decorated gymnast in history, favored to dominate the Tokyo...

Universalpatience

228 words

Sermon Illustration

Twenty-Four Days of Heaven

In the autumn of 1741, George Frideric Handel was a ruined man. His operas had failed. Creditors circled. A stroke had partially paralyzed his right...

Universalfaith

220 words

Sermon Illustration

The Composer Who Was Already Finished

In the summer of 1741, George Frideric Handel was a ruined man. The once-celebrated composer had suffered a stroke that paralyzed his right side. Creditors...

Universalgrace

219 words

Sermon Illustration

The Song Only Love Could Write

When Bart Millard was a boy, he feared his father. Arthur Millard's temper left bruises that young Bart hid under long sleeves. By every measure,...

Universallove

229 words

Sermon Illustration

Love That Holds When Hands Let Go

George Matheson was going blind. The Scottish minister had watched the world slowly dissolve into darkness throughout his young adulthood, and according to the story...

Universallove

227 words

Sermon Illustration

The Twenty-Four Days of Handel's Surrender

In the late summer of 1741, George Frideric Handel was a broken man. Once the toast of London, he now faced mounting debts and declining...

Universalobedience

247 words

Sermon Illustration

The Song He Almost Threw Away

In 1772, John Newton sat in his small parish study in Olney, England, preparing for a New Year's Day service. He was not a famous...

Universalhumility

284 words

Sermon Illustration

The Blind Woman Who Saw More Clearly Than Most

In 1873, Phoebe Knapp sat at her piano and played a new melody for her friend Fanny Crosby. "What does this tune say?" she asked....

Universaltrust

235 words

Sermon Illustration

The Number That Cannot Be Erased

Every smartphone carries a hidden number called an IMEI — a fifteen-digit code burned into the device's hardware at the moment of manufacture. You can...

Universalidentity

231 words

Sermon Illustration

The Man Who Was Told Not to Fight Back

In August 1945, Branch Rickey sat across from Jackie Robinson in a Brooklyn office and made an extraordinary request. Rickey wanted Robinson to break baseball's...

Universalpatience

249 words

Sermon Illustration

The Hymn Writer Who Never Saw a Sunrise

Fanny Crosby was six weeks old when a minor eye infection changed everything. A man claiming medical knowledge applied hot poultices to her inflamed eyes,...

Universaltransformation

228 words