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 Surgeon's Blade That Heals

In 1846, at Massachusetts General Hospital, surgeon John Collins Warren made the first incision using ether anesthesia. Before that breakthrough, every patient who lay on...

Hebrews 4:12Universal

246 words

PreviousPage 327 of 420Next

Sermon Illustration

The Piano That Played Without Love

In 1928, a young pianist named Ervin Nyiregyházi dazzled New York critics with his astonishing technique. He could play Liszt with a ferocity that left...

1 Corinthians 13:1-13Universal

242 words

Sermon Illustration

The Shadow Side of Wadi Rum

In the Wadi Rum desert of southern Jordan, midday temperatures can reach 120 degrees Fahrenheit. The sand radiates heat so intense it blurs the horizon...

Psalm 91:1-2Universal

243 words

Sermon Illustration

The Fire That Already Burned

In August 1949, a crew of fifteen smokejumpers parachuted into Mann Gulch, Montana, to fight what seemed like a routine wildfire. But the blaze turned...

1 Peter 3:18-22Universal

243 words

Sermon Illustration

The Song Beneath the Live Oaks

On New Year's Day, 1863, thousands of formerly enslaved men, women, and children gathered at Camp Saxton near Beaufort, South Carolina. Ancient live oaks trailed...

Isaiah 52:7-10Universal

242 words

Sermon Illustration

The Politician Who Stayed

In October 1785, William Wilberforce sat in a carriage crossing the French countryside, reading Philip Doddridge's *The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul*....

Mark 1:9-15Universal

259 words

Sermon Illustration

George Müller's Morning Roots

In 1841, after a decade of caring for orphans in Bristol, England, George Müller made a discovery that reshaped the rest of his life. For...

Psalm 1Universal

242 words

Sermon Illustration

Bonhoeffer's Last Crossing

In June 1939, Dietrich Bonhoeffer sat in a safe apartment in New York City, surrounded by colleagues who had arranged his escape from Nazi Germany....

Luke 13:31-35Universal

251 words

Sermon Illustration

The One-Eyed Preacher Who Saw the Future

In April 1906, a one-eyed son of former slaves named William Seymour stood in a crumbling former stable on Azusa Street in Los Angeles and...

Revelation 7:9-17Universal

232 words

Sermon Illustration

The Match Struck in Mammoth Cave

In 1838, explorer Stephen Bishop descended into Mammoth Cave in Kentucky carrying nothing but a lantern and a coil of rope. Deep in the cave...

Luke 2:10-11Universal

245 words

Sermon Illustration

The Symphony Inside a Single Cell

In 2003, when scientists finally mapped the entire human genome, Dr. Francis Collins — the director of the Human Genome Project and a devout Christian...

Psalm 139:14Universal

235 words

Sermon Illustration

Buying the House on Flood Street

In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina swallowed the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans whole. When the waters finally receded, Robert Green came back to find...

Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15Universal

232 words

Sermon Illustration

The Surgeon Who Operated Without Power

In 2010, when a 7.0 earthquake leveled Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Dr. David Vanderpool arrived at a makeshift clinic with almost nothing. No electricity. No sterile operating...

1 Samuel 17:45Universal

227 words

Sermon Illustration

The Rain That Didn't Check the Property Lines

In the summer of 1993, a drought gripped the farmland outside Broken Bow, Nebraska. For eleven weeks, the fields cracked and the cattle grew thin....

Joel 2:28-29Universal

225 words

Sermon Illustration

No Reserves, No Retreats, No Regrets

In 1904, sixteen-year-old William Borden graduated from a prestigious Chicago prep school as heir to the Borden dairy fortune. His family sent him on a...

John 12:1-8Universal

246 words

Sermon Illustration

The Cobbler Who Refused to Sit Down

In 1786, a twenty-five-year-old cobbler named William Carey stood before a gathering of seasoned Baptist ministers in Northampton, England. He posed a simple question: Did...

Jeremiah 1:4-10Universal

248 words

Sermon Illustration

Warsaw Rebuilt from Paintings

In January 1945, Soviet soldiers entering Warsaw found a graveyard of rubble. The Nazis had systematically demolished eighty-five percent of the city, block by block,...

Revelation 21:1-6Universal

237 words

Sermon Illustration

The Acorn That Became a Cathedral

In 1823, a schoolboy named Johann planted an acorn in his family's garden outside Dresden, Germany. He wanted a climbing tree — something to swing...

Ephesians 3:20Universal

246 words

Sermon Illustration

The Parlor Maid Who Was Expected in Yangcheng

In 1930, Gladys Aylward was a parlor maid in London — small in stature, plain in education, with no theological degree and no mission board...

John 1:43-51Universal

243 words

Sermon Illustration

The Lion's Jaws After the Laying of Hands

On a November evening in 1840, David Livingstone knelt in a small London chapel as elder missionaries laid hands on him. He was ordained, commissioned,...

Mark 1:9-15Universal

230 words

Sermon Illustration

The Table That Wasn't Set for Them

When Grace Community Church in Boise opened a free Wednesday night dinner in 2019, the congregation had a picture in their minds of who would...

Acts 11:1-18Universal

227 words

Sermon Illustration

The Surgeon's Unthinkable Cut

In 1846, a young mother named Alice Bennett lay dying of gangrene in a London hospital. Dr. Robert Liston told her he would save her...

Habakkuk 1:5Universal

233 words

Sermon Illustration

The First Light Over Tromsø

In the Norwegian city of Tromsø, above the Arctic Circle, the sun disappears entirely in late November. For nearly two months, the residents live under...

Luke 2:10-11Universal

238 words

Sermon Illustration

The Digital Discipleship Challenge

Imagine a small fishing boat, its paint peeling and worn by the salt and spray of the sea, battling the furious waves of a stormy ocean. The sky is a tapestry of dark clouds, and flashes of lightning illuminate the...

Ephesians 4:29Christocentric

274 words