Loading...
Loading...
12 illustrations — Illustrations from diverse theological traditions
In the monastery of the Incarnation in Avila, Teresa of Avila once described prayer not as speaking to God but as "being with the One...
In 1611, when the King James translators labored over the Greek text of First John, they came to a phrase that stopped them cold: "ho...
A small church in Portland inherited a vacant lot next door, choked with blackberry brambles and broken glass. Someone suggested a community garden. The first...
In the monastery at Gethsemani, Thomas Merton once described a moment during centering prayer when every thought finally fell silent — not the silence of...
A gifted cardiac surgeon does not express love for his patient by setting aside his medical textbooks and improvising in the operating room. He expresses...
A structural engineer was once called to inspect a building whose walls had begun to crack. The owner insisted the foundation was fine — he...
In 2019, a Progressive congregation in Portland discovered their century-old building had been condemned. Rather than fight it, they invited the neighborhood to paint the...
In her masterwork *The Interior Castle*, Teresa of Avila describes the soul as a castle with many dwelling places, each drawing us deeper toward the...
In the practice of centering prayer, there comes a moment when all words fall away. The sacred word dissolves. Thoughts drift past like clouds. And...
In a small church in Portland, the congregation voted to remove their pews and replace them with tables. Not elegant ones — mismatched folding tables...
For years, the downtown church sang the same hymns in the same arrangements, and the congregation shrank to a faithful few who knew every note...
For years, the old stone church kept its theological library locked. Only ordained clergy held keys. The shelves contained centuries of commentary, devotional writing, and...
SermonWise.ai generates complete sermon outlines for any passage across 17 theological traditions. Try it with 1 John.
Generate a sermon →