Loading...
Search, filter, and discover the perfect illustration for your sermon
Free to browse · Sign up free to unlock most illustrations · Premium ($9.95/mo) for the full library of 50,000+ illustrations
Rather, He sets him apart for Himself—to converse with him, to communicate Himself to him as a friend and companion, making him His delight.
An able minister requires two foundational elements: natural endowments and spiritual qualities.
The phrase 'in this mountain' echoes three times through the hymn, deliberately juxtaposed with 'all people' and 'all nations.' Maclaren observes that this is no accident—the prophet insists the world's blessing cannot be vague or abstract.
For thirty years, under the guardianship of the High Priest Jehoiada, the king remained faithful to his conscience and duty.
Exell's Victorian homiletic unpacks this indictment with surgical precision.
The branches do not draw strength from soil or seasonal rains; they depend utterly upon the living sap flowing from the vine's root system.
The margin reads, "Set your heart to her bulwarks." This is no passing glance or negligent inspection; it demands wholehearted attention and deliberate investigation.
The material vine one might observe by the wayside becomes merely shadow; the truth resides in Him alone.
First, observe the *condition*—the small word "So" anchors everything.
Yet Maclaren observes that this solitude, rather than paralyzing the Apostle, clarified his method.
On the night of Matthew 14:24, wind descended with such fury that experienced fishermen-apostles, after nine hours of *ponos* (toiling), had advanced merely three miles against it.
Yet Christ's response cuts through all such speculation with sovereign authority: 'If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?
Nothing gives the believer such joy as fellowship with Christ.
The 'stout-hearted'—those untouched by conviction, ignorant of sin, self-reliant and nearly defiant before God—expect rebuke and condemnation from the Almighty's lips.
Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?' The unworthy members of Zion—the *sinners in Zion*—cry out in terror, supposing the prophet speaks of annihilation.
The wisdom of Solomon stands in sharp contrast to our modern systems, which often direct men's attention everywhere but inward.
The tabernacle in which our soul dwells is a most frail and complicated machine.
He receives Nathanael's confession—'Thou art the Son of God; Thou art the King of Israel!'—along with the magnificent titles bestowed by others: John's 'Lamb of God,' the disciples' 'Messias, which is the Christ.' These crowns, placed upon His head by...
Exell identifies three distinct enemies arrayed against the believer's sanctification.
The Greek word *parakletos* means 'one who is summoned to the side of another'—a Champion clad in celestial armour, dispatched directly from God's throne.
The commission 'Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature' was not spoken to the eleven apostles alone, but to all generations of Christ's Church.
First, God's kindness (*chesed*) embodies tenderness toward the God-fearing.
In Palestine, the Passover coincided with harvest's first fruits—*aparche*—ready for Temple presentation.
The Greek word *skolops* suggests not a splinter but one of those hideous stakes used in ancient impalement—Paul describes himself as "quivering upon that tremendous torture." This is no minor inconvenience but a piercing affliction from God's own hand.