Nativity of St. John the Baptist

Isaiah 49:1-7LutheranServant LeadershipDivine Calling

Isaiah 49:1-7 — Lutheran (edgy)

Isaiah 49:1-7 1 Timothy 6:6-19 annoys your ego, it’s because the gospel won’t let you be your own savior.

Isaiah 49:1-7CharismaticServant LeadershipDivine Calling

Isaiah 49:1-7 — Charismatic (edgy)

Isaiah 49:1-7 Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15 never leads to holiness, what you call “power” may be performance.

Isaiah 49:1-7Black ChurchServant LeadershipDivine Calling

Isaiah 49:1-7 — Black Church (edgy)

Isaiah 49:1-7 1:1-6 calls out quiet compromise—silence in suffering is not neutral—today, not someday.

Isaiah 49:1-7DispensationalServant LeadershipDivine Calling

Isaiah 49:1-7 — Dispensational (pastoral)

Isaiah 49:1-7 1:2-10 comforts us: the future is not chaos; it is held in God’s sovereign timeline.

Isaiah 49:1-7AnabaptistServant LeadershipDivine Calling

Isaiah 49:1-7 — Anabaptist (classic)

Isaiah 49:1-7 Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15, the kingdom is practiced: enemy-love, simplicity, and truth-telling in public—today, not someday.

Isaiah 49:1-7ChristocentricServant LeadershipDivine Calling

Isaiah 49:1-7 — Christocentric (classic)

Isaiah 49:1-7 1:1-4; 2:1-4 traces the red thread to Jesus—He is the meaning beneath the words.

View all 69 illustrations for Isaiah 49:1-6→

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Psalm

In The Elephant Man, John Merrick suffers severe deformities that make him a carnival freak. Frederick Treves sees past the exterior to the gentle, intelligent soul within. I am not an animal! I am a human being! Merrick cries.

Psalm 139:13-16

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Second Reading

Acts 13:22-26

14 illustrations

Character Profile

Biblical Profile: John Mark

John Mark John Mark, writer of the earliest Gospel (the Gospel of Mark), was an assistant of three early missionaries—Barnabas, Paul, and Peter. Mark was taken along as an assistant by Barnabas and Paul on their first missionary journey.

Acts 13:4-13:5Universal

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Gospel

Luke 1:57-66, 80

1411 illustrations

Spotlight: Loosing the Bonds of Wickedness (Isaiah 58:6-7)

In Spotlight, Boston Globe journalists uncover the Catholic Church's systematic cover-up of child abuse. They share their roof with survivors, listen to painful stories, bring hidden wickedness into light.

Isaiah 58:6-7Universal

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Universal

dignity

image of God

Matthew 16:15Universalidentityauthenticity

Moonlight: Who Do You Say That I Am? (Matthew 16:15)

Chiron carries his true self buried so deep even he can barely find it. In a world that demands he be hard, he builds walls of muscle and silence. Only Juan, a drug dealer who becomes a father figure, sees the frightened boy inside.

Psalm 139:13-16Universalimage of Goddifference

Wonder: Fearfully and Wonderfully Made (Psalm 139:13-16)

In Wonder, Auggie Pullman enters middle school with a severe facial difference. He is stared at, bullied, isolated. Yet the film insists: he is fearfully and wonderfully made. The Psalmist says, I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Psalm 139Arminian/WesleyanGod's PresenceIdentity

Psalm 139 — Arminian/Wesleyan (classic)

Psalm 139: By prevenient grace, it invites a real response that grows into holy love.

Psalm 139ReformedGod's PresenceIdentity

Psalm 139 — Reformed (edgy)

Psalm 139: Under God’s sovereignty, it doesn’t flatter us—magnifies grace and summons covenant faithfulness to God’s glory.

Psalm 139Arminian/WesleyanGod's PresenceIdentity

Psalm 139 — Arminian/Wesleyan (pastoral)

Psalm 139: By prevenient grace, it meets us gently—invites a real response that grows into holy love.

View all 228 illustrations for Psalm 139:1-3→

biblical_people

sin

Acts 13:36-37Universalmortality versus eternityhuman limitation versus divine permanence

Servants Pass Away; The Master Continues Forever

Maracleren observes that all earthly teachers—however towering—accomplish limited, transient work.

Acts 13:26-39Universalauthentic witnessrhetorical humility

Paul's Humble Posture: Preacher as Fellow Receiver

He does not stand above his audience as one who possesses the message of salvation and dispenses it downward.

Acts 13:1-13Universalconversion and renewalhumility before God

Why Saul Became Paul: The Name That Marks Conversion

The apostle's shift from *Saulos* to *Paulos* was not mere accident or Roman courtesy.

Sermon Illustration

The Understudy Who Was Always the Plan

In 2012, a small community theater in Asheville, North Carolina, almost canceled their production of *Our Town* when the lead actor broke his ankle two...

Acts 13:22-26Universal

Sermon Illustration

The Four-Inch Lifeline

On August 5, 2010, the San Jose copper mine in Chile collapsed, trapping 33 miners 2,300 feet underground. For 17 days, no one on the...

Acts 13:22-26Universal

View all 14 illustrations for Acts 13:22-26→

justice

truth

Hebrews 13:2Universalhospitalityfeast

Babettes Feast: The Angel in the Kitchen (Hebrews 13:2)

In Babette's Feast, two elderly Danish sisters take in Babette, a French refugee, as their cook. For fourteen years she serves them plain food. When she wins the lottery, she spends it all on one magnificent French feast for the...

Character Profile

Biblical Profile: Mary, Mother of Jesus

Mary, Mother of Jesus Mary, the wife of Joseph, was the virgin mother of Jesus. Luke tells us that as a young girl in Nazareth, Mary was betrothed to Joseph, a local carpenter.

Luke 1:26-1:56Universalbiblical_peoplefaith

Character Profile

Biblical Profile: Martha, Mary, and Lazarus

Martha, Mary, and Lazarus The sisters Martha and Mary lived with their brother Lazarus in Bethany, near Jerusalem; Jesus loved and spent time with this family.

Luke 10:38-10:42Universalbiblical_peoplesin

Luke 10:25-37Universalneighborsacrifice

Gran Torino: The Unexpected Neighbor (Luke 10:25-37)

In Gran Torino, Walt Kowalski is a racist Korean War veteran who despises his Hmong neighbors. When gang violence threatens the teenage boy next door, Walt—the last person who should help—becomes the unlikely savior. He gives his life protecting people he once hated.