Browse Sermon Illustrations
816 illustrations available
Joseph Prince on Radical Grace - Charismatic (Ephesians 2:8-9)
"Grace is not just unmerited favor—it is God's EMPOWERING presence! The same grace that saved you now enables you to live victoriously. Stop striving and start receiving! Grace isn't permission to sin
Martin Luther King Jr. on Courage for Justice - Black Church (Joshua 1:9)
"Courage is not the absence of fear but the strength to act despite it. 'Be not afraid'—but we ARE afraid, and we march anyway. God is with us in the fire hoses and jail cells. Freedom fighters need J
Karl Barth on Christ as God's Plan - Christocentric (Jeremiah 29:11)
"What are God's plans? In Ephesians we learn: to unite all things in Christ. The 'hope and future' of Jeremiah 29:11 finds its ultimate meaning in Christ. He IS the plan. Every promise of hope converg
Pope Benedict XVI on Providence and Patience - Catholic (Jeremiah 29:11)
"Seventy years of exile—God's plan unfolds across generations. We want immediate deliverance; God works in decades and centuries. Trust in divine providence means accepting that we may not see the ful
St. Theophan the Recluse on Prayer and Care-Casting - Orthodox (1 Peter 5:7)
"In prayer we cast our cares—the Jesus Prayer itself is a casting: 'Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.' Each repetition releases anxiety into divine mercy. The practice of ceaseless prayer is ceasel
A.W. Tozer on Faith as Spiritual Sight - Traditional (Hebrews 11:1)
"Faith is the substance—the solid ground beneath our feet when we cannot see. It is the evidence—the proof that convinces though eyes see nothing. Faith does not create reality; it perceives the reali
Karl Barth on Christ Living in the Believer - Christocentric (Galatians 2:20)
"'It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.' Our life is hidden with Christ. He is not merely our example or helper; He is our life itself. To be a Christian is to have Christ as the sub
Bill Johnson on Faith That Creates - Charismatic (Hebrews 11:1)
"Faith is SUBSTANCE—not vapor, not wish, not maybe. Faith creates atmosphere for miracles! When you believe, you're standing on solid ground that the natural eye can't see. Faith is heaven's currency;
John Stott on Contextual Hope - Anglican (Jeremiah 29:11)
"Jeremiah 29:11 must be read in context. This wasn't a promise to individuals about career success. It was God's word to a community in crisis, promising national restoration after seventy years. We c
Barbara Brown Taylor on Communal Peace - Progressive (Philippians 4:6-7)
"Peace that passes understanding is not private tranquility while the world burns. Paul wrote from prison, amid injustice. His peace was communal—'the Lord is near' to suffering people together. We pr
Martin Luther King Jr. on Hope Despite Exile - Black Church (Jeremiah 29:11)
"We've been in exile—through slavery, through Jim Crow, through ongoing injustice. Yet we hold to God's promise: there IS a future, there IS hope. The arc bends toward justice because God has plans. W
Oscar Romero on Hope for the Oppressed - Liberation (Jeremiah 29:11)
"To the campesinos in exile from their land, to the refugees, to those displaced by violence: God has plans for YOU—not the plans of the powerful who exile you, but God's plans of hope. Liberation is
Charles Ryrie on Israel's Prophetic Future - Dispensational (Jeremiah 29:11)
"This promise was given specifically to Israel regarding return from Babylonian exile—and ultimately points to Israel's future restoration. God's plans for Israel remain; the seventy years picture lon
Jon Sobrino on Spirit for Martyrs - Liberation (2 Timothy 1:7)
"The martyrs of Latin America received Spirit not of fear but of power—power to denounce injustice, love for the poor, sound mind to analyze oppression. Fear is what the powerful want us to feel. The
T.D. Jakes on Unconquerable Love - Pentecostal (Romans 8:38-39)
"NOTHING can separate you! Not your past, not your failures, not the enemy's attacks! Devils cannot snatch you; death cannot claim you; hell cannot hold you! You are LOVED with an unconquerable love!
Bill Johnson on Spirit of Power - Charismatic (2 Timothy 1:7)
"POWER—not weakness! The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in you! LOVE—perfect love casts out fear! SOUND MIND—clarity in the midst of chaos! This is your inheritance! Fear has NO leg
Dietrich Bonhoeffer on Christ in the Stillness - Christocentric (Psalm 46:10)
"Be still and know—and what do we know? We know Christ. He is the revelation of God; in Him we see who God is. Stillness before Christ, meditation on His word, contemplation of His cross—here we know
C.S. Lewis on Unshakeable Love - Traditional (Romans 8:38-39)
"Nothing can separate us—NOTHING. Paul lists everything imaginable: death, life, angels, demons, present, future, powers, height, depth. He runs out of categories and adds 'nor anything else in all cr
James Cone on Love That Cannot Be Stolen - Progressive (Romans 8:38-39)
"Nothing can separate us—not slavery, not lynching, not segregation, not mass incarceration. Powers and principalities have tried to convince Black folk that God does not love them. But nothing in all
Brian McLaren on New Creation Beyond Individual - Progressive (2 Corinthians 5:17)
"New creation isn't just about personal salvation; it's cosmic renewal. The next verse says God is reconciling THE WORLD. We're not just saved souls; we're agents of new creation—partners in making al
T.D. Jakes on Spirit-Empowered Living - Pentecostal (Micah 6:8)
"What does God require? Justice, mercy, humble walk—and the Holy Spirit EMPOWERS all three! You can't do justice in your own strength, can't love mercy with a hard heart, can't walk humbly with pride.
N.T. Wright on New Creation Living - Anglican (Micah 6:8)
"Micah's triad points toward new creation: justice is God's setting-things-right project; mercy is His character; humility is our posture. We participate in God's future now. Every act of justice, eve
Pope John Paul II on New Creation Through Baptism - Catholic (2 Corinthians 5:17)
"In Baptism we are buried with Christ and rise as new creations. The sacrament effects what it signifies: real transformation, not mere symbol. Through the waters, the old Adam dies and the new creati
R.C. Sproul on Covenant Faithfulness - Reformed (Deuteronomy 31:8)
"God's promise to never leave nor forsake is COVENANT promise—rooted in His character, not our performance. He goes before because He is faithful; He remains with because He is unchanging. Covenant se