Browse Sermon Illustrations
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Show Don't Tell: Genesis 1:24-31
Instead of saying "God created animals and humans," let the earth tremble with emergence. Watch cattle materialize on hillsides—warm flanks steaming in morning air, hooves finding purchase on fresh gr
Show Don't Tell: Genesis 38:1-30
Instead of saying "Judah fathered children through his daughter-in-law," untangle this dark story. Judah leaves his brothers, marries a Canaanite, has three sons. The first son marries Tamar, but God
Show Don't Tell: Matthew 5:21-26
Vivid sensory description for preaching Matthew 5:21-26
Show Don't Tell: Matthew 18:1-9
Vivid sensory description for preaching Matthew 18:1-9
Show Don't Tell: Luke 1:67-80
Vivid sensory description for preaching Luke 1:67-80
Show Don't Tell: Matthew 12:22-32
Vivid sensory description for preaching Matthew 12:22-32
Show Don't Tell: Genesis 8:1-19
Instead of saying "The waters receded and Noah sent out birds," let them feel the waiting. "But God remembered Noah." After months of nothing but water in every direction, God remembers. A wind begins
Show Don't Tell: John 12:12-19
Vivid sensory description for preaching John 12:12-19
Show Don't Tell: Genesis 2:4-7
Instead of saying "God formed man from dust," get your congregation's hands dirty. Feel the earth before rain—not sand, not mud, but something in between. Dry, waiting, barren ground that has never kn
Show Don't Tell: Genesis 11:1-9
Vivid sensory description for preaching Genesis 11:1-9
Show Don't Tell: Genesis 4:9-16
Vivid sensory description for preaching Genesis 4:9-16
Show Don't Tell: Luke 2:41-52
Vivid sensory description for preaching Luke 2:41-52
Show Don't Tell: Psalm 3
Vivid sensory description for preaching Psalm 3
Show Don't Tell: Luke 6:43-49
Vivid sensory description for preaching Luke 6:43-49
Show Don't Tell: Luke 18:35-43
Vivid sensory description for preaching Luke 18:35-43
Show Don't Tell: Genesis 9:1-17
Vivid sensory description for preaching Genesis 9:1-17
Show Don't Tell: Psalm 33
Vivid sensory description for preaching Psalm 33
Show Don't Tell: Psalm 41
Vivid sensory description for preaching Psalm 41
Show Don't Tell: Matthew 22:1-14
Vivid sensory description for preaching Matthew 22:1-14
Show Don't Tell: Psalm 45
Vivid sensory description for preaching Psalm 45
Show Don't Tell: Luke 8:4-15
Vivid sensory description for preaching Luke 8:4-15
Show Don't Tell: Psalm 125
Vivid sensory description for preaching Psalm 125
Show Don't Tell: Genesis 18:16-33
Instead of saying "Abraham negotiated with God to spare Sodom," eavesdrop on the divine deliberation. The visitors rise to leave, looking toward Sodom. God speaks almost to himself: "Shall I hide from
Show Don't Tell: Psalm 38
Vivid sensory description for preaching Psalm 38