Browse Sermon Illustrations
816 illustrations available
Bill Johnson on Glory Overflow - Charismatic (Ephesians 3:20-21)
"The POWER at work within you is RESURRECTION POWER! The same Spirit that raised Christ! Ask for healing; expect MIRACLES! Dream of breakthrough; receive REVIVAL! God is the God of IMMEASURABLY MORE!
Stanley Hauerwas on Community as Branches - Anabaptist (John 15:5)
"The branches are plural—we abide together. Individual spirituality divorced from community is a severed branch. The church abides in Christ as a body; we bear fruit through shared life. Isolated Chri
Lesslie Newbigin on Mission Beyond Plans - Missional (Ephesians 3:20-21)
"Our mission strategies are too small! God does immeasurably more than we plan, more than we expect, more than we imagine possible. The power at work in mission exceeds our programs. Expect God to sur
Charles Spurgeon on Eternal Perspective - Traditional (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)
"Do not lose heart—though the body decays, the spirit is renewed daily. Light affliction, momentary trouble—producing eternal glory beyond comparison. We fix our eyes on the unseen: what is visible is
St. John Chrysostom on Priestly Dignity - Orthodox (1 Peter 2:9)
"Through chrismation, you become priest, prophet, and king—sharing Christ's triple office. The royal priesthood participates in the Divine Liturgy, offering spiritual sacrifices. This dignity is theot
Dietrich Bonhoeffer on Christ as Light - Christocentric (Psalm 27:1)
"Jesus said, 'I am the light of the world.' The LORD who is David's light IS Christ. He is our salvation—literally, Yeshua. He is our stronghold—the rock on which we build. In Christ, this psalm finds
Metropolitan Kallistos Ware on Theotic Renewal - Orthodox (Isaiah 40:31)
"Renewed strength in the Orthodox vision is participation in divine energy. We wait, emptied of self-reliance, and are filled with God's own life. The eagle soaring is theosis pictured—lifted by divin
T.D. Jakes on Daily Renewal Power - Pentecostal (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)
"Don't lose heart! Your body may be tired but your SPIRIT is being RENEWED! DAY BY DAY! The Holy Spirit REFRESHES you! What you're going through is LIGHT compared to the GLORY coming! Fix your eyes on
Karl Barth on Waiting for Christ - Christocentric (Isaiah 40:31)
"Israel waited for the Lord—and the Lord came in Christ. Our waiting is now defined by Him: we wait in Christ, through Christ, for Christ's return. He is both the one we wait for and the strength we r
Billy Graham on Coming to Christ - Baptist (Matthew 11:28-30)
"Are you tired? Burdened? Anxious? Jesus says 'Come.' Not 'clean up first,' not 'try harder,' just 'come.' Come as you are, with all your weariness, and He will give you rest. This is the invitation o
Howard Thurman on Tears of the Oppressed - Black Church (Revelation 21:4)
"God wipes the tears of the oppressed—tears from slavery, from lynching, from exile. The spirituals sang of this: 'No more weepin' and wailin'! No more death from injustice; no more mourning from viol
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
John Piper on Mercies Motivating Sacrifice - Reformed (Romans 12:1-2)
"'By the mercies of God'—our sacrifice is response to grace, not effort to earn it. Because of God's mercies (Romans 1-11), therefore present yourselves (Romans 12). The indicative grounds the imperat
R.C. Sproul on Sola Gratia - Reformed (Ephesians 2:8-9)
"Sola gratia—grace alone. Not grace plus works, not grace plus merit, not grace plus anything. Even the faith by which we receive grace is itself a gift: 'and that not of yourselves.' From first to la
Charles Spurgeon on Eternal Comfort - Traditional (Revelation 21:4)
"He will wipe every tear—personally, tenderly, finally. No more death; the last enemy destroyed. No more mourning; sorrow turned to joy. No more pain; suffering ended forever. The old order passes; al
Martin Luther on Grace vs. Works - Lutheran (Ephesians 2:8-9)
"Here is the thunderbolt against all works-righteousness! 'Not of works, lest anyone should boast.' The law demands; grace gives. The law kills; grace makes alive. We are beggars before God, receiving
T.D. Jakes on Tears Turned to Joy - Pentecostal (Revelation 21:4)
"God Himself will wipe YOUR tears! Not just any comfort—DIVINE comfort! No more death, no more crying, no more pain! The old is GONE; the new has COME! Whatever tears you've cried, whatever pain you'v
Karl Barth on Christ Fulfilling Micah - Christocentric (Micah 6:8)
"What does the Lord require? Christ fulfills it. He did justice—confronting oppression. He loved mercy—healing, forgiving, touching the unclean. He walked humbly—to the cross. Following Jesus IS livin
Walter Brueggemann on Courage for Justice - Progressive (Joshua 1:9)
"Courage is needed not for conquest but for justice. The call to 'be strong' is not military machismo but prophetic nerve—courage to speak truth, to stand with the vulnerable, to challenge systems. Go
Charles Ryrie on Providence in God's Plan - Dispensational (Romans 8:28)
"Romans 8:28 assures believers that God is orchestrating history according to His eternal plan. In this church age especially, all things work toward the calling up of the Bride. Our sufferings are no
E. Stanley Jones on Cooperation with Providence - Wesleyan (Romans 8:28)
"God doesn't promise to exempt us from trouble; He promises to work within the trouble. And note: it says those who LOVE God. Our loving cooperation with God is part of how things work together. We ar
Pope John Paul II on Courage from Christ - Catholic (Joshua 1:9)
"'Be not afraid!' This was my constant message to the Church. God's command to Joshua echoes through history to us. Courage is the virtue that enables all other virtues in testing. Christ walks with u
Pope Benedict XVI on Love as God's Identity - Catholic (John 3:16)
"God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God. These words from the First Letter of John express with remarkable clarity the heart of the Christian faith: the Christian image of God and the re
St. Bernard of Clairvaux on Eucharistic Tasting - Catholic (Psalm 34:8)
"Taste and see—supremely in the Eucharist! We literally taste the Lord's goodness; His Body and Blood nourish body and soul. The Mass is the invitation: come, taste, see that the Lord is good. Sacrame