Browse Sermon Illustrations
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Warren Wiersbe on Eternal Desires - Dispensational (Psalm 37:4)
"In an age of fleeting pleasures and passing desires, we need hearts fixed on eternal things. Delight in the Lord means finding satisfaction in what lasts. The world's desires fade; God's gifts endure
Oscar Romero on Love Casting Out Fear of Persecution - Liberation (1 John 4:18)
"Oppressors use fear—fear of violence, fear of loss, fear of death. But perfect love gives martyrs their courage. Love of the poor overcomes fear of the powerful. Love of justice overcomes fear of con
Howard Thurman on Love for the Rejected - Black Church (Romans 5:8)
"Christ died for sinners—including those the world calls sinners simply for existing. The rejected, the despised, the disinherited—for these especially, Christ died. 'While we were sinners' is good ne
Dietrich Bonhoeffer on Following Jesus to the Cross - Lutheran (Hebrews 12:1-2)
"Looking to Jesus means following Him to the cross. He endured the cross, despising the shame—for us. The race is costly discipleship; cheap grace offers no finish line. But He who endured is now seat
John Wesley on Prevenient Love - Wesleyan (Romans 5:8)
"Christ died while we were sinners—this is prevenient grace in its starkest form. Before we sought God, He sought us. Before we loved, He loved. His death is the ultimate expression of grace that come
Charles Ryrie on Grace in This Dispensation - Dispensational (Romans 5:8)
"In this dispensation of grace, the gospel is clear: Christ died for sinners. Not for those under law who might earn righteousness but for sinners who could not. This is the church's message until the
St. John Chrysostom on Surrounded by Saints - Orthodox (Hebrews 12:1-2)
"The icons of saints surround us in worship—the cloud of witnesses made visible. They have finished the race; their example inspires. We run toward theosis, toward becoming what Christ is. Looking to
Jon Sobrino on Martyrs' Cloud - Liberation (Hebrews 12:1-2)
"The cloud of witnesses includes the martyrs of Latin America—Oscar Romero, the Salvadoran martyrs, all who gave their lives for justice. They ran the race of faith confronting oppression. Jesus endur
Lesslie Newbigin on God's Sending Love - Missional (John 3:16)
"Mission is not essentially an action by which the church puts forth its own power and wisdom to conquer the world around it; it is an action of God, putting forth the power of his Spirit to bring the
Martin Luther on the Gospel in Miniature - Lutheran (John 3:16)
"This text is rightly called the gospel in miniature because it contains the entire sum of the Christian doctrine in a brief compass: God so loved... that He gave... that whoever believes... shall not
Karl Barth on Christ as God's "Yes" - Christocentric (John 3:16)
"In Jesus Christ God has said Yes to humanity. The giving of the Son is the great divine Yes that precedes and grounds every other word from God. John 3:16 is not merely information about salvation; i
Martin Luther King Jr. on Moral Arc and Providence - Black Church (Romans 8:28)
"The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. This is the substance of Romans 8:28 for those who have suffered: God is not absent from history. He is working—sometimes invisibly
Gustavo Gutiérrez on God's Preferential Love - Liberation (John 3:16)
"God so loved the world—but we must ask: what does this love look like in a world of injustice? God's love is not neutral. It takes sides with the poor, the oppressed, the forgotten. To believe in Joh
David Wilkerson on Living Truth Encountered - Pentecostal (John 14:6)
"Jesus didn't say 'I teach the truth'—He said 'I AM the truth.' Truth is not just doctrine; it's a Person to be encountered. When you meet Jesus—really meet Him—you encounter the Way, the Truth, and t
David Bosch on Missionary Courage - Missional (Psalm 27:1)
"Missionaries face real danger—hostility, rejection, persecution. But the LORD is light in dark places, salvation in dangerous situations, stronghold when vulnerable. Mission courage flows from this c
St. Thomas Aquinas on Christ as Complete Way - Catholic (John 14:6)
"Christ is the way by His humanity, the truth by His divinity, and the life by both together. In His Person the divine and human meet, and through this meeting we have access to the Father. There is n
Howard Thurman on Jesus and the Disinherited - Black Church (John 14:6)
"Jesus was a Jew, a member of a marginalized group under Roman oppression. When He says 'I am the way,' He speaks from below. The way of Jesus is liberation, dignity, hope for the disinherited. He is
St. Athanasius on Theosis Through Christ - Orthodox (John 14:6)
"God became man that man might become god. Christ is the way because through union with Him we participate in divine life. He is not merely guide to the Father; He is the living bridge. In Him divinit
R.C. Sproul on Faith Given by God - Reformed (Hebrews 11:1)
"Faith is the instrument by which we receive what God gives. But even the instrument is a gift! Faith's substance and evidence rest on God's promises, revealed in His Word. We believe because God has
Rowan Williams on Truth as Person - Anglican (John 14:6)
"Truth in John's Gospel is not a proposition but a person. When Jesus says 'I am the truth,' He invites us not to master ideas but to be mastered by a relationship. The way is walked with Him; the tru
Charles Spurgeon on the Shepherd's Care - Traditional (Psalm 23)
"The sweetest word of the whole is that monosyllable, 'My.' He does not say, 'The Lord is the shepherd of the world at large.' He says, 'The Lord is MY shepherd.' The words are in the present tense: n
Walter Brueggemann on Rest as Resistance - Progressive (Psalm 23)
"The Lord makes me lie down in green pastures—this is an act of resistance against a culture of relentless productivity. Sabbath rest is prophetic protest. The anxious system says 'produce more'; the
Jon Sobrino on Jesus as Way of Liberation - Liberation (John 14:6)
"The way of Jesus is the way of the cross—solidarity with victims, confrontation with powers, love unto death. When Jesus says 'I am the way,' He invites us onto a path that leads through Golgotha. Th
Billy Graham on God's Personal Promise - Baptist (Isaiah 41:10)
"This is God's personal word to YOU: Fear not, I am with YOU. Not just with humanity in general—with YOU specifically. Whatever you're facing, He faces it with you. Whatever threatens, He is bigger. T