One of the largest free collections of sermon illustrations, organized by topic, scripture, and theological tradition.

Stay updated

New illustrations, features & occasional discounts

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

Home›Traditions›Reformed/Presbyterian

Reformed/Presbyterian Illustrations

God's absolute sovereignty, covenant theology, and Westminster Confessional standards.

Key question: “How does this text display God's sovereign grace and purpose, and ultimately bring glory to His name?”

23,851 sermon illustrations through the Reformed/Presbyterian lens

Sermon Illustration

Kagawa and the Shinkawa Slums

On Christmas Day, 1909, a twenty-one-year-old Japanese seminary student named Toyohiko Kagawa moved into a six-foot-by-six-foot shack in the Shinkawa slums of Kobe. The neighborhood...

Isaiah 58:1-12Universal

227 words

PreviousPage 663 of 994Next

Sermon Illustration

The Laundromat on Franklin Avenue

Every Tuesday night, Maria Santos unlocks the doors of Spin Cycle Laundromat on Franklin Avenue in Minneapolis and puts up a hand-lettered sign: "Free Wash...

Isaiah 58:1-12Universal

230 words

Sermon Illustration

The Cartographer Who Mapped What He Could Not See

In 1507, Martin Waldseemuller produced the first map to label the newly discovered continent "America." Working from his small workshop in Saint-Die-des-Vosges, France, he painstakingly...

Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18Universal

243 words

Historical

The Gospel's Unstoppable Growth: From Despised Sect to Empire

The early Church was not built by imperial decree or military might, but by the Spirit's power working through ordinary believers.

Isaiah 25:15UniversalGod's unstoppable purposethe power of faithful witness

Joseph S. Exell

203 words

Historical

Three Rules for Kindly Affection Among Christians

First, *philostorgos* (kindly affection)—genuine concern born from love of God, not mere worldly sympathy.

Romans 11:10UniversalChristian virtuebrotherly harmony

Joseph S. Exell

190 words

Vivid Retelling

The Beast from the Sea: Revelation 13:1-18

Cinematic retelling of the two beasts

Universal

881 words

Sermon Illustration

The Wi-Fi That Runs Through the Walls

In 2018, a small church in Christchurch, New Zealand, shared a building with a Korean Presbyterian congregation. They worshiped at different hours, spoke different languages,...

John 17:20-26Universal

244 words

Sermon Illustration

The Astronomer Who Followed a Different Light

In 2015, NASA scientist Lucianne Walkowicz stood before a TED audience and said something that stopped the room cold: the most important discoveries happen when...

Matthew 2:1-12Universal

235 words

Sermon Illustration

The Astronomer Who Heard the Planets Sing

In 1619, Johannes Kepler published a book with a remarkable claim: the planets were singing. The German astronomer had spent years charting the orbits of...

Psalm 98Universal

233 words

Historical

Yoke-Fellows in Sin, Yoke-Fellows in Pain

The soul is punished for informing; the body for performing.

Psalms 6:3Universaldivine timingconsequences of sin

Joseph S. Exell

235 words

Sermon Illustration

Kagawa's Six-Foot Room

In 1909, a young Japanese seminary student named Toyohiko Kagawa did something his professors could not understand. He left his comfortable dormitory in Kobe and...

Isaiah 58:1-12Universal

240 words

Historical

The Faithful Messenger: Refreshment to the Weary Master

The wealthy preserved winter ice and snow in cisterns to cool summer beverages.

Proverbs 25:13Universalcharacter and conducttrustworthiness as refreshment

Joseph S. Exell

203 words

Historical

The Sun Turned to Darkness: Christianity's Threatened Light

Yet Exell extends the image to Christianity itself as the *helios* (sun) of our moral age.

Acts 1:20Universaldivine protectionspiritual warfare

Joseph S. Exell

202 words

Sermon Illustration

The First Fire of a Newborn Star

Deep in the constellation Orion, roughly 1,300 light-years from Earth, the Orion Nebula hangs like a vast cosmic nursery. Astronomers have watched this region for...

Genesis 1:1-3Universal

229 words

Historical

The Sun's Reach: Heat and Life in Divine Providence

The seasons picture human vicissitudes: the man of wealth yesterday becomes the beggar of today.

Psalms 19:6Universaldivine dependencestewardship of resources

Joseph S. Exell

215 words

Vivid Retelling

That They May Be One: John 17:1-26

Cinematic retelling of Jesus high priestly prayer

Universal

1008 words

Sermon Illustration

The Lifeboat at Dunkirk

On the morning of May 29, 1940, Private Arthur Edwards crouched behind a sand dune on the beaches of Dunkirk, watching the German Luftwaffe scream...

Romans 8:31Universal

240 words

Historical

Shebna's Fall: When Pride Precedes Divine Judgment

This unfamiliar intruder had sought prominence in Jerusalem by hewing himself a grand sepulcher—a monument to his own ambition.

Isaiah 20:18Universaldivine judgmentconsequences of ambition

Joseph S. Exell

214 words

Sermon Illustration

The Lens That Reveals What Holds Everything Together

When NASA released the first deep-field images from the James Webb Space Telescope in July 2022, astronomers wept. The telescope peered thirteen billion light-years into...

Colossians 1:15-17Universal

241 words

Historical

The Organic Life and Character of Each Church

Every congregation of Christ possesses an organic life distinct both from other churches and from the lives of individual members.

Revelation 1:6Universalchurch identity and responsibilitycorporate spiritual vitality

Joseph S. Exell

246 words

Sermon Illustration

The Stockbroker Who Searched for the Lost Children

In December 1938, twenty-nine-year-old London stockbroker Nicholas Winton canceled his ski holiday and traveled to Prague. Jewish families were desperate, their children in grave danger...

Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24Universal

236 words

Sermon Illustration

The Stone That Unlocked Fourteen Centuries of Silence

For fourteen centuries, Egyptian hieroglyphics remained an impenetrable mystery. Scholars stared at temple walls covered in elaborate symbols and understood nothing. The meaning was there,...

Ephesians 3:1-12Universal

226 words

Sermon Illustration

Nature Illustration: Seeds, Roots, and Fruitfulness

As I walked through a vibrant garden last week, I was struck by the intricate beauty surrounding me. Each flower seemed to dance in the gentle breeze, their colors shimmering under the sun. It reminded me of Psalm 19:1-6, where...

Psalm 19:1-6Universal

244 words

Sermon Illustration

The Fast That Maria Kept

Every Lent, Maria Dominguez gave up coffee, chocolate, and social media. She marked each day of self-denial on a calendar taped to her refrigerator. She...

Isaiah 58:1-12Universal

248 words