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

9,108 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 One-Eyed Preacher of Azusa Street

In April 1906, William J. Seymour — a one-eyed son of formerly enslaved parents from Centerville, Louisiana — stood in a converted stable on Azusa...

Joel 2:28-29Universal

227 words

PreviousPage 307 of 380Next

Sermon Illustration

The Courage to Stare Into Nothing

In December 1995, astronomer Robert Williams made a decision that could have ended his career. As director of the Space Telescope Science Institute, he had...

Universalcourage

241 words

Sermon Illustration

The Watchmaker's Daughter Who Found Hope in Ravensbrück

In 1944, Corrie ten Boom stood shivering in the delousing shower at Ravensbrück concentration camp, stripped of everything — her home in Haarlem, her watchmaking...

Romans 5:1-5Universal

228 words

Sermon Illustration

The Astronaut Who Saw What No One Else Had Seen

On December 24, 1968, astronaut William Anders pointed his camera through the window of Apollo 8 and captured a photograph that would change the world....

Deuteronomy 4:32-34, 39-40Universal

255 words

Sermon Illustration

The House That Built Itself Into Nowhere

In San Jose, California, the Winchester Mystery House sprawls across six acres — 161 rooms, 40 bedrooms, staircases that climb straight into the ceiling, and...

1 Corinthians 3:9c-11, 16-17Universal

245 words

Sermon Illustration

The Man Who Fed Ten Thousand Without Asking

In 1836, George Müller opened an orphanage on Wilson Street in Bristol, England, with exactly one shilling in his pocket and no wealthy donors on...

Matthew 5:13-20Universal

230 words

Sermon Illustration

The Bones That Learn From Pressure

In 1892, German surgeon Julius Wolff published a discovery that still shapes modern medicine. He found that human bone is not static. It is alive,...

Universalcourage

235 words

Sermon Illustration

The Night Fire Broke Through

On the evening of November 23, 1654, Blaise Pascal sat alone in his room in Paris. He was already famous across Europe — a mathematical...

Mark 1:4-11Universal

271 words

Sermon Illustration

The Strength of Mended Bone

In 1892, German anatomist Julius Wolff published a discovery that still shapes orthopedic medicine today. He observed that when a bone fractures and heals, the...

Universalrestoration

223 words

Sermon Illustration

The Bones That Need the Weight

In 1892, German surgeon Julius Wolff published a discovery that changed how we understand the human body. He found that bones are not static structures...

Universalcourage

256 words

Sermon Illustration

The Retouched Portrait

In 2019, photographer Lindsay Adler gave a TED Talk in New York where she showed two versions of the same portrait. The first had been...

2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2Universal

243 words

Sermon Illustration

The Burn Ward at Dawn

In 2004, Dr. Sylvia Martínez worked the overnight shift at the burn unit of Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. Her patients — soldiers...

Malachi 4:2Universal

245 words

Sermon Illustration

The Two Movements That Restart a Life

In 1960, Dr. Peter Safar demonstrated at Baltimore City Hospital that effective CPR requires two distinct actions working together. Chest compressions alone are not enough....

Romans 10:9Universal

227 words

Sermon Illustration

The Surgeon Who Wouldn't Hide Her Hands

Dr. Elena Vasquez had every reason to keep quiet. At the 2014 medical conference in Vienna, surrounded by Europe's most prestigious neurosurgeons, she was the...

Romans 1:16Universal

256 words

Sermon Illustration

The Former Slave Who Salted Los Angeles

In 1856, Biddy Mason walked out of a Los Angeles courtroom a free woman. She had been enslaved for thirty-two years, carried across the country...

Matthew 5:13-20Universal

242 words

Sermon Illustration

The Fingerprint That Changed Everything

Dr. Margaret Chen had studied fingerprints for twenty-three years at the FBI crime lab in Quantico, Virginia. She had examined over forty thousand prints across...

Psalm 139:14Universal

238 words

Sermon Illustration

When Peace Like a River

In November 1873, Horatio Spafford stood at the railing of a ship crossing the Atlantic, staring into cold, dark water. Somewhere beneath those waves, his...

Universaltrust

245 words

Sermon Illustration

The Rider Into Galveston

On June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas, carrying news that was already two and a half years old. The Emancipation...

Isaiah 52:7-10Universal

257 words

Sermon Illustration

The Morning the Bridge Appeared

On February 6, 2023, residents of Hatay Province in southern Turkey woke to devastation. A 7.8-magnitude earthquake had leveled entire neighborhoods overnight. Rescue worker Elif...

Mark 16:1-8Universal

223 words

Sermon Illustration

The Night Chicago Became the White City

On the evening of May 1, 1893, President Grover Cleveland pressed a single golden button inside the Administration Building at the World's Columbian Exposition. In...

Genesis 1:1-3Universal

229 words

Sermon Illustration

When the Music Comes Back Broken and Beautiful

In 1993, Johnny Cash was a man the music industry had discarded. Dropped by his record label after three decades, battling addiction and health problems,...

Universalrestoration

249 words

Sermon Illustration

Following the Thread You Cannot See

In George MacDonald's beloved 1872 fairy tale *The Princess and the Goblin*, young Princess Irene receives a gift from her mysterious great-great-grandmother — a thread...

Universalfaith

252 words

Sermon Illustration

The Hidden Network

In 1997, forest ecologist Suzanne Simard made a remarkable discovery in the forests of British Columbia. She found that trees are not isolated competitors fighting...

Universallove

241 words

Sermon Illustration

A One-Eyed Preacher and the Spirit That Knew No Boundaries

On April 9, 1906, at a small prayer meeting on Bonnie Brae Street in Los Angeles, something broke open that no one could contain. William...

Joel 2:28-29Universal

227 words