Joy Illustrations
2073 illustrations evoking joy
Warren Wiersbe on Tasting Now and Forever - Dispensational (Psalm 34:8)
"We taste God's goodness now; we will feast on it forever. Present experience is appetizer; the marriage supper of the Lamb is the full meal. In this age we taste; in the age to come we feast. But eve
Bill Johnson on Abundant Life Gift - Charismatic (Romans 6:23)
"God's gift is LIFE—and not just barely alive! ETERNAL life! ABUNDANT life! SUPERNATURAL life! Sin pays death; God gives LIFE with POWER! The same Spirit that raised Christ LIVES IN YOU! Receive the g
Gustavo Gutiérrez on Life for the Poor - Liberation (John 10:10)
"The thief is the system that steals life from the poor—resources, dignity, opportunity. Jesus brings abundant life: food, justice, community, hope. Abundant life for the poor is not spiritual escapis
Howard Thurman on Mystery and Trust - Black Church (Isaiah 55:8-9)
"God's ways are not our ways—and this is hope for the disinherited. Human ways crush; God's ways liberate. What seems defeat may be victory; what seems ending may be beginning. The oppressor cannot pr
Billy Graham on Heaven's Promise - Baptist (Revelation 21:4)
"God will wipe YOUR tears—every one. YOUR pain will end; YOUR mourning will cease; YOUR death will be swallowed in victory. This is heaven's promise to YOU personally: no more crying, no more dying. H
Charles Ryrie on Grace Dispensation Gift - Dispensational (Romans 6:23)
"In this dispensation of grace, the gift is freely offered to all. Sin's wages remain constant across ages—death. But the gift of eternal life is most clearly revealed in the church age. Until the rap
Bill Johnson on Supernatural Protection - Charismatic (Psalm 27:1)
"The LORD is your LIGHT—supernatural illumination! Your SALVATION—deliverance from every attack! Your STRONGHOLD—no weapon formed against you shall prosper! Walk in BOLD confidence! Angels surround yo
Tim Keller on Life-Giving Mission - Missional (John 10:10)
"Jesus came to give life—this is the missionary message. Not rules but life. Not religion but relationship. Not scarcity but abundance. The mission offers what every culture seeks: life to the full. W
Stanley Hauerwas on Communal Tasting - Anabaptist (Psalm 34:8)
"We taste and see together—around the table, in shared meals, through mutual aid. God's goodness is experienced in community; solitary tasting misses the fullness. The church is meant to be a foretast
Martin Luther on Christ Living in the Believer - Lutheran (Galatians 2:20)
"Christ is so closely united with me that He lives in me. The life I now live is not mine but His. I still have my sinful flesh, but Christ's life overcomes it. This is the 'happy exchange': He takes
David Wilkerson on Spirit-Empowered Dying - Pentecostal (Galatians 2:20)
"You cannot crucify yourself—it takes the Spirit! When you yield to the Holy Spirit, He applies Christ's death to your flesh. Your old man dies not by your effort but by Spirit-power. Then Christ LIVE
N.T. Wright on Renewed Humans Renewing Creation - Anglican (Romans 12:1-2)
"The transformed mind participates in new creation. Renewed humans are God's agents for renewing the world. 'Prove what is good'—discern and enact God's will in every sphere. Mind-renewal is not priva
Bill Johnson on Love That Wins - Charismatic (Romans 8:38-39)
"Nothing! Not demons, not sickness, not circumstances, not your worst day! God's love WINS! You are more than a conqueror because the Love that conquered death lives in you! Declare it: NO WEAPON form
Bill Johnson on Accessing Higher Thoughts - Charismatic (Isaiah 55:8-9)
"God's thoughts are HIGHER—but He wants to SHARE them! Through the Spirit, through prophecy, through revelation, we access HEAVEN'S perspective! Don't stay limited to natural thinking—press into the S
John Piper on Covenant Faithfulness - Reformed (Lamentations 3:22-23)
"'His mercies never cease'—this is covenant faithfulness. God binds Himself by promise; His character guarantees continuity. Morning by morning, new mercies—not because we deserve them but because He
Tim Keller on Work as Mission Field - Missional (Colossians 3:23-24)
"Your workplace IS your mission field. Working as unto the Lord means excellence that witnesses, integrity that intrigues, service that points to Christ. Every job is full-time ministry when done for
Dietrich Bonhoeffer on Christ as Escape - Christocentric (1 Corinthians 10:13)
"Christ Himself is the way of escape. He was tempted in every way yet without sin—He knows temptation from the inside. We flee TO Him, not just FROM sin. In union with Christ, His victory becomes ours
Bill Johnson on Word of Wisdom - Charismatic (James 1:5)
"God gives wisdom through the gifts of the Spirit—word of wisdom, word of knowledge! When you need breakthrough wisdom, ask and EXPECT supernatural download! The Spirit will give you insight you could
Tim Keller on Gospel Delight - Missional (Psalm 37:4)
"When we delight in the Lord—truly find Him beautiful, satisfying, sufficient—we begin to desire what He desires: His glory among the nations. Missional passion flows from delight in God. Those who tr
Stanley Hauerwas on Communal Wisdom - Anabaptist (James 1:5)
"Wisdom comes through community. We ask individually but discern together. The brother, the sister, the gathered church—wisdom emerges through the body's counsel. God gives wisdom through one another.
Tim Keller on Contentment and Mission - Missional (Philippians 4:13)
"Philippians 4:13 in context is about contentment in any circumstance—plenty or hunger, abundance or need. The missionary learns: I can be content anywhere because Christ sustains me. This contentment
Thomas Cranmer on Prayer Book Renewal - Anglican (Psalm 51:10)
"'Create and make in us new and contrite hearts'—so we pray in the Collect. Weekly, daily, we ask for cleansing. The liturgy forms us: confession, absolution, renewal. The clean heart is the praying h
Kallistos Ware on Providence and Theosis - Orthodox (Romans 8:28)
"The promise of Romans 8:28 points toward theosis: God works all things for our 'good'—and that good is nothing less than our deification, our participation in the divine nature. Everything serves thi
N.T. Wright on Grace and New Creation - Anglican (Ephesians 2:8-9)
"Grace saves us INTO something: the new creation already begun in Christ. We are saved by grace through faith—not for private salvation but for participation in God's renewal of all things. Grace resc